Business

Union Coop announces intention to list its shares on the DFM on 18th of July 2022

As part of the Dubai Securities and Exchange Higher Commission strategy

The first retail cooperative in the UAE that takes this leading step

The listing provides a regulated and transparent trading environment and supports implementation of Dubai’s financial markets development strategy

Net profits of first quarter 2022 up 2.6% to AED 116.5 million

5% compound annual growth rate of Union Coop’s net profits and 16.85% for its sales

Remarkable operational expansion from two branches to 23 branches and 4 malls

Suspension of trading on Union Coop shares as of 1^st of July 2022 until the accomplishment of the listing

The Union Coop today announced its intention to list its shares on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) on Monday, 18^th of July 2022, as the first retail cooperative in the UAE that takes this pioneering step, the listing is a part of the Securities and Exchange Higher Commission strategy aiming at increasing stock market size in the Emirate to Dh3 trillion, raise competitiveness of bourses and encourage public initial offerings (IPOs).

The Union Coop also announced the suspension of trading on its shares through the its portal as of today, Friday, 1^st of July, 2022. Trading will be resumed on 18^th of July through the DFM, noting that the Union Coop will exercise a share split as per the equation of 1 to 10 (I.e. Union Coop member shall receive 10 shares against each currently-owned share) and share price will be determined on the first day of trading.

Members of the Union Coop who have an investor number in the DFM and a trading account with one of the linseed brokerage firms will be able to trade their shares ordinarily, in the meantime the Union Coop advised members who do not have an investor number and a trading account to complete these two steps through the DFM investor services or brokerage companies, as well as through the website and smart phone applications of the DFM.

The Union Coop maintains a momentous record of operational and financial excellence since 1984, as its net profits recorded a compound annual growth rate of 20.5%, while its sales increased 16.85%. The Union Coop registered a 2.6% increase in net profits of the first quarter of 2022 to AED 116.5 million, while net profits of the full year 2021 reached to AED 413 million.

Khalid Al Falasi, CEO of the Union Coop, said: “The listing of Union Coop shares on the DFM will represent a key milestone in its development journey, as it provides our members with an efficient, regulated and transparent marketplace for trading of their shares. It also enables us, as a listed Union Coop, to leverage the numerous benefits of capital markets to implement our growth strategy and provide our members with the DFM innovative services such as the seamless cash dividend distribution. We would like to thank the DFM for their cooperation with us to accomplish this step.”

Hamed Ali, CEO of DFM and Nasdaq Dubai, welcomed the Union Coop’s announcement of its intention to list on the DFM. “This imminent listing underlines the joint efforts between the DFM and various economic sectors in Dubai to accelerate the implementation of Dubai’s strategy to develop its financial markets, aiming to increase its value to AED three trillion. We are pleased to welcome the first listing by a retail coop in the UAE, as the emergence of a promising prospects for listing of more cooperatives in the future.”

“We are persistently working under the direct supervision of the Supreme Committee for the Development of Financial Markets to achieve the strategic objectives and strengthen Dubai’s leading position as a global capital markets hub by the creation of highly efficient, transparent, diversified and deep financial marketplace,” He added.

It is noteworthy that the Union Coop’s operations witnessed a remarkable expansion over the past years from two branches in 1984 to 23 branches and 4 malls in 2021. Within the same context, number of its members reached to 36,659 members at the end of 2021 compared to 315 members in 1984.

Business

Almarai signs multiple agreements to localize jobs through training and recruitment programs

Almarai signed a cooperation memorandum with the Food Industries Polytechnic, the
Transport General Authority, and the Saudi Logistics Academy to localize jobs in the
food and beverages sector through training and rehabilitation programs ending in
employment. This came within the first international conference on the labor market,
organized by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development on 13 – 14
December 2023 at the King Abdulaziz Convention Center in Riyadh.

‘These agreements are part of Almarai’s corporate program for the social responsibility
to achieve localization in the food industry sector, which is one of the top priorities of the
comprehensive strategic plans in Almarai, especially since the company is one of the
largest working environments in the kingdom, with more than 9,000 Saudi employees,
including more than 900 Saudi female employees.”Fahad Aldrees, Chief Human
Resources Officer of Almarai, said.

He added that the agreements signed to train and qualify young people are part of the
integrated initiatives and training and rehabilitation programs for national human
resources in Almarai. He pointed out that the company provided about half a million
employee training hours during 2022, raising its retention rate to 90% during 2022.

It is worth mentioning that Almarai is the world’s largest vertically integrated dairy
company, and the largest food and beverage producer and distributor in the Middle
East. Almarai was ranked among LinkedIn’s top 15 Saudi companies for professional
career development for 2022.

Business

SEBA Bank rebrands to AMINA Bank and continues to write its success story

a fully licensed Swiss crypto bank, announced today its new brand identity: AMINA Bank AG. The group operates
globally from its regulated hubs in Zug, Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong, offering its clients traditional and crypto banking services.
SEBA Bank made history in 2019 by becoming one of the first FINMA-regulated institutions to provide crypto banking services. This rebrand marks a new chapter for the company, which has proudly been in operation for more than four years. AMINA Bank is inspired by the same trailblazing ambition to lead the way for its clients and to write its own future as a Swiss-
regulated crypto bank offering services to its traditional and crypto savvy clients around the globe. The name ‘AMINA’ stems from the term ‘transAMINAtion’, meaning transference of one compound to another. AMINA is a brand driven by perpetual change, bringing together the various ‘compounds’ of traditional, digital, and crypto banking to unlock new potential and
growth for our clients. This vision of change represents the transformation of our clients’ financial future. Franz Bergmueller, CEO of AMINA, said: “We are delighted to introduce the world to our new brand identity. While we say goodbye to the SEBA name, we remain forever proud of the achievements made by the group under the former brand. “Our brand signifies a new era in the company’s growth and strategy; we are a key player in crypto banking and are here to define the future of finance. With our client-focused approach, our years of traversing traditional and crypto finance, we offer a platform for investors to build
wealth safely and under the highest regulatory standards.” “We are grateful to be encouraged by our supportive and committed investors who have been very helpful, supporting the growth of the company. We thank our employees in all the regions
for their dedication and client focus. As we look forward to 2024, our ambition is to accelerate the growth of our strategic hubs in Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Abu Dhabi, and to continue our global expansion, building on all the successes we have laid down over the past years.” Current clients of AMINA Bank (formerly SEBA Bank) will be unaffected by the rebrand other than encountering the new name; all operations will be business as usual across the board. The branch office based in Abu Dhabi and the subsidiaries in Hong Kong and Singapore will subsequently apply for a name change to align with the head office in Zug.

Business

Uptime Appoints Mustapha Louni Chief Business Officer

Uptime Institute is pleased to announce the appointment of Mustapha Louni to the position of Chief Business Officer, a role specifically created to drive strategic leadership and client success. In this new role, Mr. Louni will assume responsibility for the global Uptime sales and marketing organizations and drive overall business value for all Uptime clients. He will retain his existing responsibilities overseeing operations in the Middle East, India, Africa, and the Asia Pacific regions. In this elevated capacity, Mr. Louni is poised to play a pivotal role in driving Uptime’s next phase of global expansion through strategic initiatives to enhance market awareness of the dramatically expanding global service lines and delivery capabilities of Uptime that uniquely support the global data center industry in its pursuit of ever higher performance through elevated availability, resiliency, sustainability, and cyber-security of digital infrastructure. Louni’s appointment renews and expands Uptime

Institute 39;s 30-year commitment to advancing excellence in the data center sector on a global scale. “Today we are experiencing the next phase of the one-time, planetary transformation from analog to digital. This unprecedented, once-in-a-generation growth in data center demand is primarily driven by continuing cloud adoption, the new promise of AI, and the demonstrable fact
that hybrid digital infrastructure is here to stay for the foreseeable future,” said Martin McCarthy, CEO, Uptime Institute. “These complex and nuanced market demands require a visionary talent like Mustapha Louni. He is someone who cannot only deftly manage specific aspects of the business but also remain ahead of accelerating changes and trends. He continues to earn client
trust and respect by timely delivery on demanding commitments while he also inspires and energizes colleagues and clients alike. I am delighted to announce Mr. Louni’s new position and know that he will continue to expand the impact that he has already brought to Uptime since his arrival.” In 2014, Mr. Louni joined the Uptime organization in the United Arab Emirates, leveraging his extensive experience from roles at Panduit and Schneider Electric in Paris and Dubai. As the company’s first commercial resource in the Middle East and Africa region, Mr. Louni played a pivotal role in expanding Uptime’s presence. Within a year, he successfully established what became and remains Uptime’s fastest growing regional office. Under his leadership, Uptime has
extended his impressive trajectory of growth in MEA to the Asia-Pacific regions, augmenting the Uptime workforce with dedicated team members spanning more than a dozen countries across these regions. A new Uptime office has been inaugurated in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) this year, further fortifying the company’s ability to meet its commitment to sustained
growth and excellence and serve clients in critical, accelerating markets for digital infrastructure.

Uptime Institute began development of its proprietary and now globally recognized Tier Standards and its Tier Certifications 30 years ago to ensure that the mission critical computing needs of all organizations could be met with confidence and understood by executive management. Since that time, Uptime Tier Certification as well as other Uptime offerings including assessments and awards in digital infrastructure for ensuring business performance in areas of management and operations, risk and resilience, sustainability, and more recently cyber- security have gained global adoption. Uptime’s expanding success is based on delivering a
unique business service that is based upon unparalleled engineering excellence and technical mastery, while remaining vendor independent and technology agnostic.