Business

China’s latest chip material export curbs to affect tech ties with US

China’s restriction of exports of some metals widely used in semi-conductors, electric vehicles and high-tech industries has ramped up a trade war with the United States and could potentially cause more disruption to global supply chains.
China’s commerce ministry said on Monday it would control exports of eight gallium products and six germanium products from August 1 to protect national security, a move analysts saw as a response to escalating efforts by Washington to curb China’s technological advances.

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Companies caught out by the abrupt news acted to secure sup-plies, with one US semiconductor wafer manufacturer saying it was applying for export permits to assure investors, and a China-based germanium producer saying enquiries from buyers came in overnight as prices surged.
“China has hit the American trade restrictions where it hurts,” said Peter Arkell, chairman of the Global Mining Association of China.
Jeffries analysts said timing of the measure raised questions about it being possibly directed at this week’s visit to Beijing by US Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen and whether Washington would cancel the trip.
Some in the industry said they feared China could follow this with new restrictions on rare earth exports, after curbing shipments 12 years ago in a dispute with Japan. Rare earths are a group of metals used in EVs and military equipment and China is by far the world’s biggest producer.
“Gallium and germanium are just a couple of the minor metals that are so important for the range of tech products and China is the dominant producer of most of these metals. It is a fantasy to suggest that another country can replace China in the short or even medium term,” Arkell said.
China produces most of the world’s gallium and germanium. In 2022, top importers of China’s gallium products were Japan, Germany, and the Netherlands, news website Caixin said, citing customs data. Top importers of germanium products were Japan, France, Germany, and the United States, it said.

Export permits, disruption worries

US semiconductor wafer maker AXT Inc, which has manufacturing facilities in China, said on Monday its Chinese subsidiary Tongmei would apply for permits to keep exporting gallium and germanium substrate products from China.
“We are actively pursuing the necessary permits and are working to minimize any potential disruption to our customers,” said AXT Chief Executive Officer Morris Young.
A manager at a China-based germanium producer said his company had received several queries from buyers in Europe, Japan, and the United States hoping to stockpile product before the export controls take effect. The buyers were anticipating it could take as long as two months to obtain export permits.
“Offer prices in the domestic market and the export market have increased to 10,000 yuan ($1,380) per kg and over $1,500 per kg, respectively,” he said.
While the industry had expected to see some export controls for these metals, the timing had caught it by surprise, he said.
Some downstream users with long-term sales contracts “are vexed about a possible jump in raw material prices, as it raises their production costs and may cause them losses,” he said, declining to be named citing the sensitivity of the matter.
Government officials in Taiwan and South Korea, however, downplayed any disruption from the curbs. Taiwan Deputy Foreign Minister Roy Lee said he only expects a short-term impact.
South Korea’s industry ministry said in a statement the country had sufficient stockpiles of gallium while there were other sources of germanium.
Shares in some metal producers rose on Tuesday, with Yunnan Lincang Xinyuan Germanium Industry Co jumping 10 percent by the daily upper limit, and Yunnan Chihong Zinc & Germanium Co climbing 7 percent.
Shares of Australian rare earths producers also rallied as inves-tors placed bets that more curbs could be imposed. Shares in Lynas Rare Earths, the world’s largest producer of rare earths out-side of China, rose 4 percent.

Escalation risk

China’s controls come as Washington mulls new restrictions on the shipment of high-tech microchips to China, following a series of curbs in recent years.
The United States and the Netherlands are also expected to further restrict sales of chipmaking equipment to China’s chipmakers this summer, part of efforts to prevent their technology from being used by China’s military.
Beijing last made a retaliatory move against US pressure on chips in May, when it banned some domestic sectors from purchasing products from US memory chipmaker Micron.
Jefferies analysts said they saw the export controls as China’s second and bigger countermeasure after the Micron ban.
“The risk of a rapid escalation of US-China tension is not small,” they said.
“If this action doesn’t change the US-China dynamics, more rare earth export controls should be expected.”

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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.