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UAE's ADQ to Acquire 50 Percent Stake in Agribusiness Company

Image via WAM
Image via WAM
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UAE's ADQ to Acquire 50 Percent Stake in Agribusiness Company

Image via WAM
Image via WAM

The Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company (ADQ) said it has agreed to acquire a 50 percent stake in Al Dahra Holding Company which specializes in animal feed and essential food commodities.

This comes in a move that will expand the scope of ADQ’s agri-food investments which also includes Agthia PJSC, Al Foah Company and Silal.

Al Dahra specializes in the cultivation, production and trading of animal feed and essential food commodities and end-to-end supply chain management.

It has a workforce of 5,000 employees who are present in over 20 countries and caters to more than 45 commercial markets.

Al Dahra operates a landbank of 350,000 acres of irrigated land with direct access to various rivers such as the Danube, Colorado and Nile rivers, employing the latest irrigation technologies and modern farming machineries.

For his part, Mohammed Hassan Alsuwaidi, Chief Executive Officer of ADQ, said: "Food and agri-business is of importance to ADQ’s strategy because it is high growth and important for Abu Dhabi’s socio-economic agenda. Since 1995 when Al Dahra was founded in the UAE, it has grown into a global food and animal feed company and is a pillar of Abu Dhabi and our country’s food security mandate. Al Dahra will complement our existing efforts to extend ADQ’s reach in food production and distribution. With our investment, Al Dahra will be well positioned to further expand its reach and footprint while enabling Abu Dhabi to reach its goals of continuing to diversify its food sources and growing into a regional food hub."

Meanwhile, Vice-Chairman and Co-founder of Al Dahra Holding Khadim Al Darei said: "With ADQ’s wide scale operations and world-class resources, Al Dahra will benefit from a strong and reliable partner and will be better positioned to leverage the group’s expertise to execute on the government’s food security mandate, which become an even greater priority than ever before," WAM reported.

Al Dahra operates three rice mills with capacity to supply 500,000 tonnes annually in India, Pakistan and the UAE and also owns shares in three flour mills in Greece and Bulgaria that have the capacity to supply 500,000 tonnes annually.

Additionally, the company has an olive oil production plant in Morocco with an annual production capacity of 10,000 tonnes, and dairy farms in Serbia and the UAE with 20,000 cows and a production capacity of 80 million liters of milk annually.

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Business

China's Sinopec Posts 36.8% Drop in 2025 Net Profit

People walk past SINOPEC petrol station, in Shanghai, China, 19 March 2026. EPA/ALEX PLAVEVSKI
People walk past SINOPEC petrol station, in Shanghai, China, 19 March 2026. EPA/ALEX PLAVEVSKI
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China's Sinopec Posts 36.8% Drop in 2025 Net Profit

People walk past SINOPEC petrol station, in Shanghai, China, 19 March 2026. EPA/ALEX PLAVEVSKI
People walk past SINOPEC petrol station, in Shanghai, China, 19 March 2026. EPA/ALEX PLAVEVSKI

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, known as Sinopec, reported a 36.8% decline in 2025 net profit on Sunday, citing rising substitution by new energy sources, and weak petrochemical margins, according to the company's filing.

The world's largest oil refiner by capacity posted net income attributable to shareholders of 31.8 billion yuan ($4.62 billion), based on Chinese accounting standards, in a filing to the Shanghai stock exchange.

Refinery throughput fell 0.8% last year to 250.33 million metric tons, equivalent to 5 million barrels per day. The company forecast refinery throughput would remain stable at about 250 million tons in 2026.

Gasoline and diesel production fell 2.4% and 9.1%, respectively, to 62.61 million tons and 52.64 million tons, while kerosene production rose 7.3% year-on-year to 33.71 million tons.

Annual refining ⁠gross margin was ⁠330 yuan ($47.93) per ton, up 27 yuan year-on-year, mainly due to sharply improved margins for refining by-products such as sulfur and petroleum coke, which offset the impact of high import crude premiums and freight costs.

The company's gasoline sales fell 2.5% year-on-year to 61.1 million tons, with the average price falling 7.7%, while diesel sales fell 9.1% to 51.2 million tons, and the average price fell 8% in ⁠2025, Reuters reported.

Kerosene sales were 24.2 million tons, up 4% year-on-year, while the average price was down 9.9% from 2024.

In 2025, the company's domestic crude oil output reached 255.75 million barrels, up 0.7% year-on-year, while overseas crude oil output was 26.65 million barrels.

Sinopec expects domestic crude oil output to reach 255.6 million barrels in 2026, remaining largely stable, while overseas output is expected to drop to 25.31 million barrels.

Natural gas production rose 4% year-on-year to 1,456.6 billion cubic feet in 2025 and is expected to reach 1,471.7 billion cubic feet in 2026.

The company's ethylene production rose 13.5% year-on-year to 15.28 million tons in 2025.

In 2025, the ⁠company's external sales ⁠revenue from chemical products totaled 378.0 billion yuan, down 9.6% year-on-year, mainly because of lower product prices.

Sinopec's capital spending was 147.2 billion yuan in 2025 with 70.9 billion yuan on exploration and development.

Sinopec said it plans capital spending from 131.6 billion to 148.6 billion yuan this year, including 72.3 billion yuan for exploration and development, mainly for crude oil capacity expansion at Jiyang and Tahe, natural gas capacity projects in western and southern Sichuan, and oil and gas storage and transport facilities.

Sinopec's Hong Kong-listed shares have risen 0.21% year-to-date, outperforming a 1.38% drop in the Hang Seng Index , while lagging behind its peers PetroChina and CNOOC, which have posted 17.58% and 42.63% gains year-to-date, respectively.

Business

Egypt Says it Will Pay $1.3 Billion in Arrears to Oil Companies by June

Egypt had accumulated about $6.1 billion in arrears to foreign oil companies by June 30, 2024 (Ministry of Petroleum)
Egypt had accumulated about $6.1 billion in arrears to foreign oil companies by June 30, 2024 (Ministry of Petroleum)
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Egypt Says it Will Pay $1.3 Billion in Arrears to Oil Companies by June

Egypt had accumulated about $6.1 billion in arrears to foreign oil companies by June 30, 2024 (Ministry of Petroleum)
Egypt had accumulated about $6.1 billion in arrears to foreign oil companies by June 30, 2024 (Ministry of Petroleum)

Egypt will settle $1.3 billion in arrears to international oil companies by June, the petroleum ministry said on Saturday, accelerating its previous timetable for repayments.

Egypt had accumulated about $6.1 billion in arrears to foreign oil companies by June 30, 2024 due to a prolonged foreign currency shortage that delayed payments and weighed on investment and gas output. The shortage has since eased, ⁠though some companies have ⁠said that arrears have been once again accumulating.

Under its prior timetable, announced in January this year, the government had expected to still have arrears of some $1.2 billion by June.

Clearing debt may encourage ⁠foreign oil and gas companies to resume drilling, which would boost local production that has been steadily falling since peaking in 2021.

More local production would help the country to reduce its energy imports.

Business

China's Premier Vows to Expand Global 'Trade Pie'

Chinese Premier Li Qiang is seen on a big screen live broadcasting his speech at the opening of the China Development Forum 2026 held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on March 22, 2026. (Photo by Ng Han Guan / POOL / AFP)
Chinese Premier Li Qiang is seen on a big screen live broadcasting his speech at the opening of the China Development Forum 2026 held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on March 22, 2026. (Photo by Ng Han Guan / POOL / AFP)
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China's Premier Vows to Expand Global 'Trade Pie'

Chinese Premier Li Qiang is seen on a big screen live broadcasting his speech at the opening of the China Development Forum 2026 held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on March 22, 2026. (Photo by Ng Han Guan / POOL / AFP)
Chinese Premier Li Qiang is seen on a big screen live broadcasting his speech at the opening of the China Development Forum 2026 held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on March 22, 2026. (Photo by Ng Han Guan / POOL / AFP)

China's number two leader Li Qiang said Sunday that his country was willing to help expand the global "trade pie" by further opening up, state media reported, while he slammed unilateralism from certain countries.

Many of China's key trading partners have increasingly called on Beijing to reduce its soaring trade surplus owing to its impact on local competition.

Its trade surged by a fifth in the first two months of the year, official data showed earlier this month, significantly outpacing forecasts.

China "will steadfastly advance high-level opening up, import more high-quality foreign goods, and work alongside all parties to promote the optimized and balanced development of trade", Premier Li Qiang told business executives in Beijing on Sunday, according to Xinhua.

Li was speaking at the opening of the annual China Development Forum, attended this year by prominent business leaders including Apple CEO Tim Cook, AFP reported.

The Chinese premier added that Beijing would work with other countries to "join forces to make the global economic and trade pie larger for everyone".

He slammed growing unilateralism and protectionism, which he said was "no panacea for resolving problems".

Beijing has been seeking to steer a shaky economy onto a more stable path since the end of the pandemic, particularly by boosting consumption.

It had been locked in a blistering trade war last year with Washington after President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on countries including China.

The recent trade boost is a lifeline for China, the world's second-largest economy, as domestic consumer activity has slumped, and adds to the record surplus achieved last year.

The China Development Forum convenes as the Middle East war, triggered by US and Israeli strikes on Iran, rages on.

Tehran has retaliated with strikes across the region and beyond in a conflict that has threatened global energy security as well as China's oil supplies.

Li told the Chinese officials and global business executives the international rules-based order was suffering "severe disruption" with power politics "running rampant".

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng met with senior representatives of multinational companies including HSBC, UBS, Schneider Electric and Standard Chartered on Saturday, Xinhua reported.