International donors pledge $4bn for Yemen
Neighbouring Saudi Arabia is providing the bulk of the funds, promising $3.25bn to help the goverment improve infrastructure and security. Aid agencies have warned that Yemen is on the brink of food crisis.
HDC CEO Datuk Seri Jamil Bidin said, “We can use the fund as a mechanism and propose it to the wealthy countries like in the Middle East and Brunei to inject funds and then, channel it to IDB member countries that have the ability to produce food supply.”
Malaysia’s Halal Industry Development Corporation (HDC) and Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (PEIE) have signed a memorandum of understanding for collaboration in the areas of education, training and development of industrial parks on halal products in Oman.
Jafza plan to set-up an incubation centre in the free zone to encourage Small and Medium Enterprises from Malaysia and other countries from the region to set up their operations.
With this move, Saudi Arabia is slowly beginning to make some moves towards diversifying out of oil, which is its only real exportable commodity – and towards solar power and sand-based polysilicon.
Chairman of Jeddah Chamber of Commerce, Sheikh Saleh Kamel revealed that the Sudanese government agreed to establish a free zone to be given to Saudi Arabia for cultivation. The area will be close to Port Sudan, to transport products easily across the Red Sea.
In a sign of growing confidence in the Kingdom’s economic stability, Mars Incorporated, a global food giant with annual sales exceeding $30 billion, announced on Wednesday SR225 million ($60 million) initial investment to build a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility at King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) in Rabigh, about 130 km north of Jeddah.
Dept. of Agriculture and Agrifood’s goal is the establishment a Food Development Centre (FDC). The department has thus appointed Agriteam Canada Consulting Ltd to implement the establishment of the Food Development Centre project, which is one of the projects falling under the Agrifood Development and Agriculture Biotechnology Programme of the National Development Plan 2007-2012. Statistics from 2011 showed that the agrifood industry had achieved B$57.13 million – exceeding the targeted $56.5 million.
The Port of Marseille, with the strong support of the Malaysian government, is actively developing the Halal logistics sector. Intense lobbying is in place in order to convince logistic companies to move into this developing sector.
Halal Industry Development Corp (HDC) expects to attract RM1 billion investments from local and foreign investors for all eight halal parks in the country next year. The target is smaller than this year’s RM2.4 billion investments due to global economic uncertainties.
Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary General of the Organisation Of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), has outlined a number of issues that are restricting the growth of economic development and business/trade potential in the Islamic countries. Here is an edited text of his speech:
The Republic of Tatarstan, a Muslim-majority region, has proved to be an interesting investment destination for funds with Muslim shareholders or that are based in Muslim countries. The Malaysian private equity firm Amanah Raya Capital Group, has launched several projects the republic. Their first project was the Kazan Halal Hub.
Supporting small and medium enterprises and agribusiness are key priorities for IFC in Africa, since these sectors account for the bulk of employment on the continent. Across Africa, IFC is supporting projects across the food supply chain, including processing, logistics, and distribution.
Cooperation between Sarawak and Brunei in five key areas – energy, agriculture, telecommunications, manpower exchange and tourism – is expected to increase following the visit of a state delegation there on Friday.
Halal parks should be established in Malaysia and Thailand to facilitate the permanent promotion of halal products in both countries. The governments of both countries could facilitate the setting up of the parks, including stationing English-Thai translators in the Thai halal park as well as staff well-versed with their respective country’s business environment.
In a statement Monday, the HDC said it recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SM International Wholesale (China) Centre Sdn Bhd (SMIW) for developing halal models aimed at benefiting Muslim consumers in that country.
The Ministry of Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing is in the midst of obtaining the nod from the Finance Ministry on the memorandum of association pertaining to the setting up of a company to run the RM86 million Labuan Halal Distribution Hub.
‘The meat is for all people and it will be exported to the Middle East and Africa,’ said Eshragi. About 300 people will be employed during the construction works of phase one, which is expected to last two years.