Saudi Aramco Appoints New Senior Vice President for Finance

Aramco
Aramco
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Saudi Aramco Appoints New Senior Vice President for Finance

Aramco
Aramco

Saudi Aramco has made new appointments during a meeting of its board of directors, sources told Bloomberg.

They said the board approved for Khalid al-Dabbagh to become senior vice president for finance, taking over from Abdallah al-Saadan, who is now chairman of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu.

The board also appointed Motassim al-Maashouq to the post of president of treasury, the sources told Bloomberg.

However, it did not say if al-Maashouq will keep his post of vice president of IPO development in Aramco.

The appointed Aramco officials will take over their new positions starting September, the sources said.

The new appointments come at an important stage for Aramco, which said last month that it is looking to buy a stake in petrochemical maker Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC).

Aramco is weighing tapping the international bond market for the first time to finance the acquisition of SABIC, people familiar with the talks told Bloomberg in July.

The bond is likely to be combined with bank loans, it said.

The move into global capital markets could offer an alternative to an initial public offering, it added.

In another development, Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said Thursday that Saudi Arabia has a "firm and long-standing policy" that petroleum supplies are not influenced by political considerations.

"The current diplomatic crisis between Saudi Arabia and Canada will not, in any way, impact Saudi Aramco's relations with its customers in Canada," he said in a statement.

Canadian analysts have said that the country imports from Saudi Arabia 75,000-85,000 barrels of oil per day.



Starbucks Strike to Expand to over 300 US Stores on Christmas Eve, Union Says

Starbucks employees, union members and supporters strike outside of a Starbucks store which is closed down due to the strike on December 23, 2024 in New York City. (Getty Images/AFP)
Starbucks employees, union members and supporters strike outside of a Starbucks store which is closed down due to the strike on December 23, 2024 in New York City. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Starbucks Strike to Expand to over 300 US Stores on Christmas Eve, Union Says

Starbucks employees, union members and supporters strike outside of a Starbucks store which is closed down due to the strike on December 23, 2024 in New York City. (Getty Images/AFP)
Starbucks employees, union members and supporters strike outside of a Starbucks store which is closed down due to the strike on December 23, 2024 in New York City. (Getty Images/AFP)

A strike at Starbucks' US stores will expand to over 300 stores on Tuesday, with more than 5,000 workers expected to walk off the job, before the five-day work stoppage ends later on Christmas Eve, the workers' union said.

Starbucks Workers United, representing employees at 525 stores nationwide, said more than 60 US stores across 12 major cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Seattle, were shut on Monday.

Talks between Starbucks and the union had hit an impasse with unresolved issues over wages, staffing and schedules, leading to the strike.

The Christmas Eve strike on Tuesday was projected to be the largest ever at the coffee chain, the union added. "These strikes are an initial show of strength, and we're just getting started," an Oregon barista said in a union statement.

When asked for a response, a Starbucks spokesperson referred to a company statement it released on Monday.

It said that the vast majority of Starbucks stores will continue to operate and serve customers, adding that it expects a "very limited impact" to overall operations. Starbucks has over 10,000 company-operated stores across the US.

"We are ready to continue negotiations when the union comes back to the bargaining table", the company said.

The Seattle-headquartered firm had previously claimed that the union delegates prematurely ended the bargaining session.

Earlier this month, the workers' group rejected an offer of no immediate wage hike and a guarantee of a 1.5% pay increase in future years.

The union also said that Starbucks has yet to present its workers with "a serious economic proposal."