Al-Baraka Bank Group Appoints New Chairman

Al-Baraka Bank offices in Beirut, Lebanon (File photo: Reuters)
Al-Baraka Bank offices in Beirut, Lebanon (File photo: Reuters)
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Al-Baraka Bank Group Appoints New Chairman

Al-Baraka Bank offices in Beirut, Lebanon (File photo: Reuters)
Al-Baraka Bank offices in Beirut, Lebanon (File photo: Reuters)

Al-Baraka Banking Group (ABG) appointed Abdullah Saleh Kamel as the board's new chairman, succeeding late Sheikh Saleh Abdullah Kamel, the group's founder who passed away last month.

The Group is based in Bahrain and the Central Bank of Bahrain issued a statement approving the appointment.

For more than 30 years, Abdullah has been working in the financial, business, and investment sectors and has accompanied the establishment of his father’s projects, including al-Baraka Banking Group.

The Group is one of the most prominent institutions in Islamic banking, where Abdullah served as vice-chairman for years. He was also chairman of the Group’s executive committee, contributing to the development of frameworks and strategies.

Abdullah Kamel hold the executive presidency of Dallah al-Baraka Group in Saudi Arabia. He also chairs the boards of directors of a number of companies with different activities in investment, real estate, finance, and media, including: Aseer Company, Amlak Real Estate Development and Finance, Okaz Press and Publishing Corporation, and the vice-chairman of King Abdullah Economic City Emaar.

Abdullah thanked the board for appointing him to the position, affirming that he would continue in his father's approach, adhering to the principles of modern Islamic banking.

CEO of al-Baraka Adnan Ahmed Youssef said that Abdullah is one of the founders of the group and has the full confidence of its board, adding that the approval of the board of directors for his appointment is a guarantee that the group will continue the same approach of its founder.

Al-Baraka Banking Group (ABG) is licensed as an Islamic wholesale bank by the Central Bank of Bahrain and is listed on Bahrain Bourse and NasdaqDubai. It is a leading international Islamic banking group providing its unique services in countries with a population totaling around one billion.

With a capital of $2.5 billion, ABG offers retail, corporate, treasury, and investment banking services in its subsidiary banking units and representative offices in 17 countries.

Al-Baraka Banking Group has operations in 700 branches in: Jordan, Egypt, Tunis, Bahrain, Sudan, Turkey, South Africa, Algeria, Pakistan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Morocco and Germany, in addition two branches in Iraq and two representative offices in Indonesia and Libya.



Ukraine Receives First 3 Bln Euro Tranche of G7 Loan from EU

An explosion of a drone after it hit an apartment building is seen in the sky during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine January 10, 2025. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
An explosion of a drone after it hit an apartment building is seen in the sky during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine January 10, 2025. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
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Ukraine Receives First 3 Bln Euro Tranche of G7 Loan from EU

An explosion of a drone after it hit an apartment building is seen in the sky during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine January 10, 2025. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
An explosion of a drone after it hit an apartment building is seen in the sky during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine January 10, 2025. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

Ukraine received its first 3 billion euro ($3.09 billion) tranche of the European Union's portion of the Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) loan agreed for Ukraine by the G7 group of countries, its prime minister Denys Shmyhal said on Friday.

It was the first tranche of EU loan secured by profits from frozen Russian assets, Shmyhal wrote on the Telegram app.

G7 leaders in October agreed to provide some $50 billion in loans to Ukraine via multiple channels.
"Today, we deliver €3 billion to Ukraine, the 1st payment of the EU part of the G7 loan. Giving Ukraine the financial power to continue fighting for its freedom – and prevail," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on social media platform X.

In other economic news, Ukraine's steel output rose by 21.6% in 2024 to 7.58 million metric tons, its producers union said late on Thursday, though fighting that is closing in on the country's only coking coal mine threatens to slash volumes this year.

Steel production has already suffered since Russia's invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, which has led to the destruction of leading steel plants.

Ukraine, formerly a major steel producer and exporter, reported a 70.7% drop in output in 2022 to 6.3 million tons. It fell to 6 million tons in 2023.

The steelmakers' union said in October the potential closure of the Pokrovsk mine, Ukraine's only coking coal mine, could cause steel production to slump to 2-3 million metric tons in 2025.
Advancing Russian forces are less than 2 km (1.24 miles) from the mine, Ukrainian military analyst DeepState said on Friday.
The mine's owner, steelmaker Metinvest BV, said last month it had already halted some operations at the mine and two industry sources said it was operating at 50% capacity.
Producers have said they hope to find coking coal from elsewhere in Ukraine should the mine be seized by Russian troops, but imports would inevitably be needed which would raise costs.