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PIF Establishes Al Madinah Heritage Company to Develop Production of Saudi Ajwa Dates

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced the establishment of Al Madinah Heritage Company (MHC).
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced the establishment of Al Madinah Heritage Company (MHC).
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PIF Establishes Al Madinah Heritage Company to Develop Production of Saudi Ajwa Dates

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced the establishment of Al Madinah Heritage Company (MHC).
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced the establishment of Al Madinah Heritage Company (MHC).

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced on Sunday the establishment of Al Madinah Heritage Company (MHC), reported the Saudi Press Agency.

The new company will play a key role in improving the quality and production capacity of Ajwa dates in the Madinah region. The launch of the Company will help further develop the Saudi Food and Agriculture industry and drive the diversification of Saudi Arabia’s economy, in line with Vision 2030.

Ajwa dates are widely considered among the finest dates in the world, due to their high nutritional value and significant health benefits. They are also a rich source of fiber, protein antioxidants and other nutrients. In addition, Ajwa dates have a religious and cultural value in the Muslim world, and for visitors to the Madinah region, in particular.

PIF has invested strategically in the Food and Agriculture sector to help diversify the local economy, and support its unique produce industries. Among these investments are its creation of the Saudi Coffee Company, which promotes Saudi Khulani coffee, the Halal Products Development Company, which invests in the halal products sector and the Saudi Agricultural Investment and Livestock Production Company (SALIC).

As well as boosting production, the MHC will focus on promoting and distributing Ajwa dates both locally and internationally in addition to other date varieties to meet growing global demand. The company will contribute to the wider development of sustainable agriculture in the Madinah region through the adoption of the latest agricultural technologies.

Head of Consumer Goods and Retail in the MENA Investments Division at PIF Majed Al-Assaf said: “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. The dates industry is a key component of Saudi Arabia’s Food and Agriculture sector and has an important role to play in the realization of Vision 2030.”

The establishment of Al Madinah Heritage Company demonstrates PIF’s commitment to enabling the Food and Agriculture sector, one of the promising sectors in Saudi Arabia that can support the diversification of the national economy.

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Boeing Reports $11.8 bln Loss, Largest since 2020

The Boeing logo is seen on the side of a Boeing 737 MAX at the Farnborough International Airshow, in Farnborough, Britain, July 20, 2022. REUTERS/Peter Cziborra/File Photo
The Boeing logo is seen on the side of a Boeing 737 MAX at the Farnborough International Airshow, in Farnborough, Britain, July 20, 2022. REUTERS/Peter Cziborra/File Photo
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Boeing Reports $11.8 bln Loss, Largest since 2020

The Boeing logo is seen on the side of a Boeing 737 MAX at the Farnborough International Airshow, in Farnborough, Britain, July 20, 2022. REUTERS/Peter Cziborra/File Photo
The Boeing logo is seen on the side of a Boeing 737 MAX at the Farnborough International Airshow, in Farnborough, Britain, July 20, 2022. REUTERS/Peter Cziborra/File Photo

28 (Reuters) - Boeing on Tuesday reported an annual loss of $11.83 billion, its largest since 2020, as it grappled with problems at its commercial and defense units and the fallout from a crippling strike by US West Coast factory workers.

The loss demonstrates the challenges facing CEO Kelly Ortberg in turning around the planemaker as it cedes more ground to rival Airbus in the delivery race and comes under the crosshairs of regulators and customers following a series of missteps.

Ortberg, who took the reins of the planemaker in August, however, said the company was making progress on restoring stability to its struggling production lines after a harrowing mid-air accident in 2024 raised concerns about the safety of its jets.

Boeing's fourth-quarter results included "disappointing" charges in several fixed-price defense programs, Ortberg said, while adding that the company was "now more proactive and clear-eyed on the risks" to the programs, Reuters reported.

The company's Defense, Space & Security business has lost $3.15 billion in the first nine months of 2024.

The planemaker last week flagged an overall fourth-quarter loss of about $4 billion, nearly triple the size expected by Wall Street.

Ortberg reiterated the company's four-part plan to turn the business around including undertaking a "multi-year journey" to fix Boeing's culture, "perhaps the most important change we need to make."

After banking record-high profits in the 2010s, Boeing has bled more than $20 billion since 2019 after two fatal crashes of its best-selling 737 MAX jet triggered production quality and safety concerns and worries that it had misled regulators during the plane's certification process.

The COVID-19 pandemic further squeezed the company, while the mid-air panel blowout on a nearly new 737 MAX in early 2024 dragged Boeing into another crisis.

"We have completed deep dives on all of our challenging fixed-price development programs," Ortberg said on Tuesday in a letter to employees.

Ortberg added Boeing has made progress with its supply chain and has returned to an output rate of five 787 jets per month at the end of 2024, despite delays in areas like seats.

Boeing's commercial planes division, now focused on getting three of its models certified, has a good handle on fixing a thrust link issue uncovered on its 777X widebody, which resumed flight tests earlier this month, he added.

Ortberg was guarded in his message about the status of solving problems with anti-icing systems on the 737-7 and -10 models. The company is "still working through the testing phase focusing on finalization of the anti-icing design solution," he said.

The company continues to invest in "core businesses while streamlining our portfolio in areas that are not core to our future," he said.