Business

China urges state firms to drop ‘Big Four’ auditors over data risk concerns

Chinese authorities have urged state-owned firms to phase out using the four biggest international accounting firms, signaling continued concerns about data security even after Beijing reached a landmark deal to allow US audit inspections on hundreds of Chinese firms listed in New York.

China’s Ministry of Finance is among government entities that gave window guidance to some state-owned enterprises as recently as last month, urging them to let contracts with the Big Four auditing firms expire, according to people familiar with the matter.

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While offshore subsidiaries can still use US auditors, the parent firms were urged to hire local Chinese or Hong Kong accountants when contracts come up, one of the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information.

China is seeking to rein in the influence of the US-linked global audit firms and ensure the nation’s data security, as well as to bolster the local accounting industry, the people said. Beijing has been giving the same suggestion to state-backed firms for years, but recently re-emphasized that companies should use other auditors than the Big Four, the people added. No deadline has been set for the changes and replacements may happen gradually as contracts expire.

While the China-US audit deal last year was hailed as a sign that the competitive superpowers can still work together on some issues, Beijing’s audit guidance is a reminder that decoupling is still proceeding in sensitive areas like SOEs and advanced technology. One risk for China is that shifting to lesser-known auditors will make it harder for SOEs to attract capital from international investors.

China’s finance ministry and representatives of the Chinese offices of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Ernst & Young, KPMG and Deloitte & Touche LLP —collectively known as Big Four auditing firms — didn’t respond to requests seeking comment.

The frosty relationship between China and the US shows no signs of abating, with the episode over an alleged Chinese spy balloon adding further tension. But the audit breakthrough last year was seen as a positive sign, ending decades-long spat that threatened to kick more than 200 Chinese firms off the American exchanges.

The US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in December completed its first-ever on-site work paper inspection of some of the largest Chinese companies and said it was able to sufficiently review audit documents during the trip to Hong Kong, which was hosted by PwC and KPMG. The PCAOB is planning further reviews this year.

However, several big state firms including China Eastern Airlines Corp., China Life Insurance Co. and Petrochina Co. have voluntarily applied to delist from the American exchanges.

Winners and Losers

Getting shut out of Chinese state-owned business would be a blow to the accounting firms. The Big Four earned combined revenue of 20.6 billion yuan ($3 billion) from all Chinese clients in 2021, according to the finance ministry.

Some 60 Hong Kong-listed companies with Chinese headquarters — state-owned and private — have changed auditors since September last year, when the PCAOB started its historic review. Smaller Chinese and Hong Kong firms gained almost 20 jobs from the Big Four, according to Hong Kong exchange filings.

Those changing to smaller audit firms in recent months include property developer Sino-Ocean Group Holding Ltd. and its subsidiary Sino-Ocean Service Holding Ltd., which dropped PwC, citing good governance practices to rotate auditors after long years of service. Furniture maker Red Star Macalline Group Corp. proposed to end a contract with EY because they “failed to reach consensus on the work schedule and expenses.”

While the Big Four dominate China at the moment, smaller rivals are edging up. Potential winners of new business could include close rivals such as Pan-China Certified Public Accountants, BDO China Shu Lun Pan CPAs, Moore Global, and RSM China.

More than 80 listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen also changed auditors since December, Chinese news outlet Jiemian reported. Chinese regulators have expressed concerns over some smaller firms’ quality of work and ability to handle troubled listed clients.

Five Chinese state-owned companies to delist from NYSE amid US tensions

US SEC adds Alibaba to list of Chinese companies facing delisting risk

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.