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Non-government Members Appointed on Saudi Central Bank’s Board

Sheila Al-Rowaily has become the first woman to join the board of directors of Saudi Central Bank. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Sheila Al-Rowaily has become the first woman to join the board of directors of Saudi Central Bank. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Non-government Members Appointed on Saudi Central Bank’s Board

Sheila Al-Rowaily has become the first woman to join the board of directors of Saudi Central Bank. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Sheila Al-Rowaily has become the first woman to join the board of directors of Saudi Central Bank. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, has agreed to appoint five non-government members to the Board of Directors of the Saudi Central Bank to lead the Kingdom’s financial sector.

Sheila Al-Rowaily, who worked with Saudi Aramco, has become the first woman to join the board of directors of Saudi Central Bank. Al-Rowaily held several positions in the Aramco, including managing global analysis and financial risks and heading the investment department in the treasury, in addition to her membership in a number of boards, including Hasanah Investment, Al Ahli and Saudi Bank and Saudi Aramco Investment Management.

She has served as chief executive of Wisayah Investment Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Aramco, since 2019. Wisayah invests Saudi Aramco Group Companies’ pension funds, defined contribution funds and other long-term investment portfolios.

The royal order also included the appointment of Hamad bin Saud Al-Sayyari, who holds a Master’s degree in economics and assumed the position of governor of the Saudi Central Bank from 1983 to 2009, in addition to several positions such as Secretary-General of the Public Investment Fund and director of the Saudi Industrial Development Fund.

The new members also included Khalid bin Ahmed Al-Juffali, Vice President and Executive Partner of the Juffali Company, who chairs the board of directors of his privately-owned company, KJC, in New York City, and is the head of the Saudi-German Business Council. Al-Juffali has extensive experience in the field of investment and financing of major international projects.

Among the new members is Eng. Rashed bin Abdulaziz Al-Hamid, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Al-Rashed Al-Hamid Group. He participated in the establishment of the Riyad Bank, where he held several positions. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Arabian Agricultural Bank and the Saudi Electricity Company, the Higher Commission for Tourism, as well as the Advisory Board of the International Finance Corporation.

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Strait of Hormuz Ship Crossings Remain in Single Digits

FILE PHOTO: Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, September 2, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, September 2, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
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Strait of Hormuz Ship Crossings Remain in Single Digits

FILE PHOTO: Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, September 2, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, September 2, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

Vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz remained in the single digits at four on Tuesday, down from seven a day earlier, preliminary shipping data showed on Wednesday, falling well short of the 10-day average of 18.

The drop in traffic through the waterway that handled one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied ⁠natural gas supply before ⁠the Iran war comes after attacks in the region intensified.

Of the total on Tuesday, two ships were exiting and two were entering, according to the data.

No very large crude carriers ⁠or liquefied natural gas tankers were involved.

Some ships may be sailing through the waterway with their transponders turned off and they are therefore not counted.

One very large gas carrier, Salute, carrying around 470,000 barrels of liquefied petroleum gas exited via the Iranian route, while Panamax-sized tanker Nautilus, carrying around 510,000 barrels of naphtha, exited ⁠via ⁠an unknown dark route, Reuters reported.

The two ships that entered were both laden, with one being a short-range dirty products tanker and the other a dry bulk carrier. Both entered via the Iranian route.

Meanwhile, the number of ships sailing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait was at 22, little changed on Tuesday compared with a day ago at 24.

Business

Türkiye 2027 Inflation Target Realistic, Minister Says

People shop at the Eminonu district of Istanbul, Türkiye, April 25, 2025. (Reuters)
People shop at the Eminonu district of Istanbul, Türkiye, April 25, 2025. (Reuters)
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Türkiye 2027 Inflation Target Realistic, Minister Says

People shop at the Eminonu district of Istanbul, Türkiye, April 25, 2025. (Reuters)
People shop at the Eminonu district of Istanbul, Türkiye, April 25, 2025. (Reuters)

Türkiye's 2027 inflation target in its medium-term program is regarded as realistic by markets, provided that the Iran war does not continue next year, Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said in an interview with broadcaster Haberturk on Wednesday.

Türkiye should normally operate a floating ‌exchange rate regime, ‌as it provides the ‌basis ⁠for responding correctly ⁠to shocks, Simsek said.

Türkiye has always provided wage increases of at least the rate of inflation for all public workers and retirees, and will continue to do so, ⁠he added.

Once inflation ‌falls to ‌single digits, mandatory export proceeds sales requirements could ‌be lifted in favor of ‌a freer regime, he also said.

Conditions for removing the mandatory export sales requirement have not yet been met and ‌Türkiye will review the matter when they arise.

The government expects ⁠inflation ⁠to slow to 28.4% this year and to 21% in 2027 before dropping to single digits in 2029 — about two years later than previously predicted.

The US-sanctioned Golden Global Yatirim bank is small and poses no systemic risk, Simsek also said, calling on other banks to comply with international regulations and strengthen compliance.

Business

Bahrain's Alba Says Produces 1.3 Million Tons Per Year of Aluminium

The Bahraini capital (Reuters)
The Bahraini capital (Reuters)
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Bahrain's Alba Says Produces 1.3 Million Tons Per Year of Aluminium

The Bahraini capital (Reuters)
The Bahraini capital (Reuters)

Aluminium Bahrain, known as Alba, is currently producing aluminium at an annualized rate of 1.3 million metric tons, versus a pre-Iran war capacity of around 1.6 million tons, its CEO said on Wednesday.

Alba, which describes itself as the world's biggest aluminium smelter on one site, shut down production ⁠lines 1, 2, and ⁠3 following the outbreak of the war as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz restricted exports. The plant was then hit by an Iranian attack in late March.

Alba is now operating lines 4, 5 and 6 at its smelter, equivalent to 1.3 ⁠million tons per year, Ali Al Baqali told Reuters on the sidelines of the Fastmarkets Aluminium Conference in Budapest.

He described the Iranian strike as a "small, minor attack.”

"We got damages and we already repaired them. Nothing needed," Al Baqali said, adding that Alba had been covered by insurance.

Its overall capacity will return to 1.6 million tons when it completes its acquisition of French smelter Aluminium Dunkerque in the next couple of months, Al ⁠Baqali said.

To ⁠maintain production, Alba is bringing in 300 to 350 trucks carrying raw material alumina on a daily basis, the CEO said.

"We are managing to receive around 7,000 metric tons of alumina every day," Al Baqali said, describing the logistics operation as "expensive,” but offset by the high London Metal Exchange aluminium price and premiums for physical metal.

Alba is exporting metal via the Saudi port of Jeddah on the Red Sea and from Sohar in Oman, Al Baqali said, as hostilities in the Middle East continue.