Egyptian billionaire and construction tycoon Samih Sawiris will step down as chairman of Orascom Development Holding and transfer his duties to his son, the company said on Wednesday.
After more than 30 years at the helm of Orascom Development Holding, Mr Sawiris said he will not be nominating himself for the chairmanship of Orascom’s board of directors at the annual meeting of the company in May 2022.
He will, however, remain available to the board in an advisory capacity under his son’s chairmanship.
Mr Sawiris’s son Naguib Samih Sawiris was unanimously nominated by the board of directors for the company’s chairmanship.
Following his ascension, Mr Naguib will replace his father as the company’s largest shareholder.
"Naguib's experience building and investing in successful technology businesses in the US, and his active role in supporting ODH through the Covid-19 crisis, has made me confident that he is both capable and committed to successfully leading ODH into the future, together with chief executive Omar El Hamamsy and the support of the Board. I wish them all the best," Mr Sawiris said.
As the company’s new chairman, “focus will be on ensuring the company returns to its former prosperity and becomes a benchmark for developing distinguished destinations", Mr Naguib said.
"I look forward to assuming the position of p;resident with a deep sense of responsibility and gratitude," he said.
ODH has been contracted by the Egyptian government to complete a number of high-profile real estate and tourism projects.
The company 's portfolio of projects span Egypt, the UAE, Oman, Morocco, Montenegro, Switzerland and the UK. The group operates a total of 33 hotels with 7,198 rooms and controls about 101.1 million square metres of land.
ODH swung to profit in the third quarter of this year, earning a net profit of 3.7 million Swiss francs ($4m), while total revenue jumped 51.3 per cent to reach 145.9m Swiss francs.
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'Lost in Space'
Creators: Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, Irwin Allen
Stars: Molly Parker, Toby Stephens, Maxwell Jenkins
Rating: 4/5
Company Profile
Founder: Omar Onsi
Launched: 2018
Employees: 35
Financing stage: Seed round ($12 million)
Investors: B&Y, Phoenician Funds, M1 Group, Shorooq Partners
One-off T20 International: UAE v Australia
When: Monday, October 22, 2pm start
Where: Abu Dhabi Cricket, Oval 1
Tickets: Admission is free
Australia squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey, Ashton Agar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Darcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa, Peter Siddle
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
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Flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh with a stop in Yangon from Dh3,075, and Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Phnom Penh with its partner Bangkok Airlines from Dh2,763. These trips take about nine hours each and both include taxes. From there, a road transfer takes at least four hours; airlines including KC Airlines (www.kcairlines.com) offer quick connecting flights from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from about $100 (Dh367) return including taxes. Air Asia, Malindo Air and Malaysian Airlines fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville from $54 each way. Next year, direct flights are due to launch between Bangkok and Sihanoukville, which will cut the journey time by a third.
The stay
Rooms at Alila Villas Koh Russey (www.alilahotels.com/ kohrussey) cost from $385 per night including taxes.
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Director: Laxman Utekar
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Rating: 1/5
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- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Ronaldo's record at Man Utd
Seasons 2003/04 - 2008/09
Appearances 230
Goals 115
Karwaan
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Director: Akarsh Khurana
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The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
