Business today status

The National Central Cooling Company, better known as Tabreed, is bullish about growth in India and is looking at acquisitions and greenfield projects to expand in Asia’s third largest economy. Last year, Tabreed formed a new holding company with the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) to invest up to $400 million in the next five years to expand in India. As part of the agreement, Tabreed India, currently a wholly owned unit of Tabreed, will be transferred to a new holding company established in Singapore, in which Tabreed will hold a 75 per cent stake and IFC 25 per cent. The partners are targeting a portfolio of more than 100,000 refrigeration tonnes of cooling capacity by 2026 as they aim to serve industrial, commercial and retail developments in the country. India, the world's second most populous country, is “a huge market that potential is beyond what we expected in initial stages”, Khalid Al Marzooqi, chief executive of Tabreed, told The National in an int...

Saudi Arabia's Almarai, the Middle East's largest dairy company, plans to invest 405 million Saudi riyals ($108m) to drive its expansion into the seafood business and to secure poultry supplies as part of the kingdom's focus on food security. The dairy company's board of directors approved an initial investment of 252m riyals into the seafood processing business, which Almarai will finance from operating cash flows, the company said in a filing to the Tadawul stock exchange on Tuesday. The investment plan will expand Almarai's product range and contribute to the kingdom's “food security agenda as per vision 2030", the company said. The expected time frame of the seafood investment is 24 months from the date of final regulatory approval. Saudi Arabia has been increasingly focused on bolstering its food security through investments in local manufacturing and agricultural technology start-ups. The Russia-Ukraine crisis has led to an increase in the prices of b...