Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund has established a new company to develop and boost production of Ajwa dates in the Madinah region as part of efforts to further enhance the kingdom's food and agriculture industry.
The new company, Al Madinah Heritage Company (MHC), will focus on promoting and distributing Ajwa dates domestically and internationally, in addition to boosting the development of other date varieties to meet growing global demand, a PIF statement on Sunday said.
It will also contribute to the wider development of sustainable agriculture in the Madinah region through the adoption of the latest technology in the sector.
Ajwa dates are widely considered among the finest in the world, due to their nutritional value and health benefits. They also have religious and cultural value in the Muslim world, particularly for visitors to the Madinah region.
“Saudi Arabia is one of the world's most prominent producers and exporters of dates and its products have always been of the highest quality, catering to wide consumer demand," said Majed Al Assaf, head of consumer goods and retail in the Mena investments division at PIF.
"The date industry is a key component of Saudi Arabia’s food and agriculture sector and has an important role to play in the realisation of Vision 2030.”
One of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, the PIF is at the centre of the Saudi Vision 2030 initiative to diversify the country’s economy from hydrocarbons.
The total volume of the fund's assets under management amounts to more than 2 trillion Saudi riyals ($533 billion) and it aims to double that by 2025, Yasir Al Rumayyan, governor of the PIF, said in May.
The PIF has been instrumental in creating more than 500,000 jobs and “intends to create 1.8 million direct and indirect jobs”, he said.
The fund also intends to inject up to 1 trillion riyals into new projects in Saudi Arabia to support its efforts to "diversify the economy, support local content, develop innovative opportunities for the future and contribute to creating an attractive environment for investments”, he added.
In March, the PIF also announced three initiatives to boost the growth of the kingdom's private sector.
They include measures to increase the share of local content spending in PIF’s domestic portfolio to 60 per cent by the end of 2025 under its Musahama programme.
As part of its supplier development programme, the PIF will also seek to upskill local suppliers and vendors to meet the growing requirements of the fund's portfolio companies.
Meanwhile, the fund's private sector hub will provide companies with “greater visibility on supplier and investment opportunities” offered by the PIF and its portfolio entities.
Since 2017, the PIF has established 84 companies in 13 strategic sectors.
The setting up of MHC comes as part of the fund's strategic focus on the food and agriculture sector, it said.
The PIF has also set up the Saudi Coffee Company, which promotes Saudi Khulani coffee beans, the Halal Products Development Company and the Saudi Agricultural Investment and Livestock Production Company.
Last week, it also announced the setting up of Sawani, a new company to support the growth of the domestic camel farming industry.
Fatherland
Kele Okereke
(BMG)
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
DIVINE%20INTERVENTOIN
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Torbal Rayeh Wa Jayeh
Starring: Ali El Ghoureir, Khalil El Roumeithy, Mostafa Abo Seria
Stars: 3
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
Britain's travel restrictions
- A negative test 2 days before flying
- Complete passenger locator form
- Book a post-arrival PCR test
- Double-vaccinated must self-isolate
- 11 countries on red list quarantine
WHEN TO GO:
September to November or March to May; this is when visitors are most likely to see what they’ve come for.
WHERE TO STAY:
Meghauli Serai, A Taj Safari - Chitwan National Park resort (tajhotels.com) is a one-hour drive from Bharatpur Airport with stays costing from Dh1,396 per night, including taxes and breakfast. Return airport transfers cost from Dh661.
HOW TO GET THERE:
Etihad Airways regularly flies from Abu Dhabi to Kathmandu from around Dh1,500 per person return, including taxes. Buddha Air (buddhaair.com) and Yeti Airlines (yetiairlines.com) fly from Kathmandu to Bharatpur several times a day from about Dh660 return and the flight takes just 20 minutes. Driving is possible but the roads are hilly which means it will take you five or six hours to travel 148 kilometres.
