Yesterday the company announced it may expand its board to 11 members from eight and replace four directors.
Four of the current board’s eight members have been nominated by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai and chairman of the Executive Council of the emirate, according to a company statement posted on the website of the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) yesterday.
They include Mohamed Ali Alabbar, the chairman; Hussain Al Qemzi, the chief executive of Noor Islamic Bank; Ahmad Jamal Jawa; and Ahmad Thani Al Matrooshi.
The new members would be DP World’s vice chairman, Jamal Majid bin Thaniah, and the port operator’s senior vice president, Arif Al Dehail. Dubai Holding’s chairman of operations, Fadel Al Ali, Abdul Rahman Hareb Rashed Al Hareb, Marwan Iqbal Mohammed Abdullah Abdeen, Abdullah Saeed Balyoahah and Abdullah Mohammed Al Marri were also nominated to the board.
Four current board members who are listed on the company’s website – Drake & Scull International’s chairman, Majid Saif Al Ghurair; Saeed Al Tayer; Lowai Mohamed Belhoul; and Khalifa Hassan Aldaboos – were not included in the announcement. The term of the current board will end in April.
Emaar closed 0.3 per cent lower at Dh3.05 yesterday.
Arabtec, the UAE's biggest builder, helped to lead the Dubai bourse higher yesterday.
The stock jumped 2.5 per cent to close at Dh2.87. The gain, Arabtec's biggest one-day increase in a week, clawed back some losses from the day before when the stock fell 4.4 per cent.
Arabtec postponed its annual meeting until April 28 to open nominations for its board membership. Investors will be hoping the extension is to allow Abu Dhabi's Aabar Investments to join Arabtec's board, after it bought a 5.2 per cent stake in the builder this month.
However, Arabtec has no plans to renew talks with Aabar because its funding needs have eased, its chief financial officer said in an interview on Sunday.
"There is no need to renew these discussions," Ziad Makhzoumi told Alrroya.com.
Drake & Scull, another Dubai construction company, rose almost 1 per cent to Dh1.02 on news that it had won a Dh135 million contract in Jeddah.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index closed up 0.5 per cent at 1,668.86. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index ended the day 0.06 per cent lower at 2,604.74.
lmiller@thenational.ae
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
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.
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
The biog
First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974
Current role: Chairperson of Al Maskari Holding since 2008
Career high: Regularly cited on Forbes list of 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen
Achievement: Helped establish Al Maskari Medical Centre in 1969 in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region
Future plan: Will now concentrate on her charitable work
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Brief scoreline:
Wolves 3
Neves 28', Doherty 37', Jota 45' 2
Arsenal 1
Papastathopoulos 80'
How Sputnik V works
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
