UAE Cabinet Approves Trading Shares of Cooperatives on Financial Markets

The decision invests the financial markets with the power to establish and develop terms and conditions that determine procedures, standards, requirements, models and mechanisms on registration, trading and complaints. (WAM)
The decision invests the financial markets with the power to establish and develop terms and conditions that determine procedures, standards, requirements, models and mechanisms on registration, trading and complaints. (WAM)
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UAE Cabinet Approves Trading Shares of Cooperatives on Financial Markets

The decision invests the financial markets with the power to establish and develop terms and conditions that determine procedures, standards, requirements, models and mechanisms on registration, trading and complaints. (WAM)
The decision invests the financial markets with the power to establish and develop terms and conditions that determine procedures, standards, requirements, models and mechanisms on registration, trading and complaints. (WAM)

The United Arab Emirates approved on Thursday a decision allowing cooperative associations to list shares on the local financial markets, state news agency (WAM) reported.

Headed by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, the cabinet approved a decision on the trading of shares of cooperatives on the financial markets in a move conducive to strengthening the regulatory environment of the cooperatives sector and driving their economic returns.

The development, the first of its kind in the region, is aimed to grow the cooperatives' sector contributions to the national economy, enhance their competitiveness and help the sector benefit from the disruptive services provided by the UAE bourses in terms of transparency, resilience and swift management of services.

The decision allows the financial markets to establish special platforms for the registration, trading and transfer of the shares of cooperatives, so that they are independent of the IPO and public trading platforms on the bourses.

The decision invests the financial markets with the power to establish and develop terms and conditions that determine procedures, standards, requirements, models and mechanisms on registration, trading and complaints.



Egypt Targets 10 mln Ton Wheat Harvest

A farmer shows wheat plants at a field in Al Fayoum Governorate, southwest of Cairo, Egypt March 21, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
A farmer shows wheat plants at a field in Al Fayoum Governorate, southwest of Cairo, Egypt March 21, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
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Egypt Targets 10 mln Ton Wheat Harvest

A farmer shows wheat plants at a field in Al Fayoum Governorate, southwest of Cairo, Egypt March 21, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
A farmer shows wheat plants at a field in Al Fayoum Governorate, southwest of Cairo, Egypt March 21, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo

Egypt expects to harvest 10 million tonnes of wheat this year, up from 9 million in 2023, driven by improved crop yields and ambitious land reclamation efforts, Agriculture Minister Alaa Farouk told Reuters late on Wednesday.

He said 3.1175 million feddans (about 1.30 million hectares) have been cultivated this season — slightly lower than the 3.5 million feddans announced earlier by the planning ministry and 3.2 million feddans in 2024 (1.34 million hectares), suggesting a possible decline in total wheat area.

Farmers have told Reuters that wheat has become less profitable compared to crops like beet, whose area increased from 500,000 feddans (210,000 hectares) to 700,000 feddans (294,000 hectares) this year.

The government plans to buy 4-5 million tonnes of local wheat and import about 6 million tonnes to provide heavily subsidised bread for over 69 million Egyptians.

Farouk said newer high-yield wheat strains developed by the Agricultural Research Center have raised productivity by 7-8.5%.

"This is vertical expansion, and horizontal expansion is coming," he said.

That horizontal expansion is led by the Mostakbal Misr for Sustainable Development, which plans to reclaim 4 million feddans across the country.

Farouk said some of that land is ready for production and the rest will follow in the next two years, offering major opportunities for agricultural investment.

Mostakbal Misr, recently tasked with wheat imports, is also developing infrastructure and growing crops tailored to local consumption, exports and agri-processing, Farouk said..

Farouk added the government is studying a potential rise in local fertilizer prices. Urea and nitrate fertilizers cost around 9,500 Egyptian pounds ($185) per tonne to produce but are sold at a subsidized 4,500 ($87.63). Export prices reach up to 20,000 pounds ($389.48), Farouk said.