38 May 2019 www.bahrainthismonth.com commercebusinessbites GFH Financial Group (GFH) announced the conclusion of its Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) for the financial year ended December 31, 2018, where the shareholders approved the distribution of cash dividends at a rate of 3.34 per cent of the nominal value of the group’s ordinary shares for a total amount of USD30 million (equating to USD0.0087 per share). The shareholders also approved the distribution USD55 million of bonus shares at a rate of 5.97 per cent of the nominal value of a share, equating to one bonus share for every 16.74 shares held on the ‘record date’, subject to the approval of the relevant authority. A Welcome Windfall In line with its strategy to diversify its investment portfolio, Bahrain Real Estate Investment Company (Edamah) BSC, the property arm of the Kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, will be acquiring 36.6 per cent of the shares in the Bahrain Car Parks Company, a publicly-listed company on the Bahrain Bourse, which specialises in the construction, development and management of parking lots, subject to obtaining the required regulatory approvals. The acquisition comes as part of Edamah’s long-term strategy to develop new projects, renovate previous projects, and manage them to global standards, implementing best industry practices while seeking to meet the needs of the market and creating value for the entire local community at large. New Acquisition New Regional Headquarters The countries that have seen the greatest growth in flight bookings from travellers in Saudi Arabia (KSA) in the last 12 months are Turkey, Egypt and the United Kingdom, according to analysis conducted by Travelport, a leading travel commerce platform. From April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019, bookings made in KSA through all global distribution systems (GDS) to Turkey increased by nearly 45,000, up 16 per cent on the previous 12 months. GDS are vast hi-tech reservation networks that allow travel agents, travel management companies and large corporations, among others, to search and book airline seats, hotel rooms, rental cars, and other travel related items. Globally in 2018 Travelport alone processed one trillion transactions through its platform. Tourism Favourites Revealed Chinese technology group, WonderNews, announced the launch of its regional headquarters in Bahrain which will offer its services to GCC clients in the e-commerce and fintech solutions sectors. WonderNews will invest USD50 million and it will offer 500 employment opportunities in the Kingdom over the next three years. The company was established in 2015 by Fujian Wangle Technology Co Ltd, a Chinese company which is committed to creating valueadded solutions and applications on content platforms, e-commerce and games for its 100 million users globally. The company is headquartered in Fuzhou, China and has offices in the UAE, Morocco, Egypt and Saudi Arabia among others. Ericsson has been selected by Batelco to commercially deploy 5G to enhance the digital lives of people, enterprises and industries across Bahrain. The nationwide 5G deployment will happen in phases in key locations. The deal, the latest in a long and successful partnership between the companies, will see Ericsson commercial 5G equipment – including 5G New Radio (NR), mobile transport and core – being deployed in Batelco’s network. Ericsson’s high-speed and lowlatency 5G technology will help Batelco meet growing data traffic demands and deliver high-quality enhanced mobile broadband and fixed wireless access experiences. The shift to 5G will bring enhanced mobile broadband to data-hungry subscribers across Bahrain with huge speed and low-latency changes in on-the-go user experiences such as streaming, downloading, gaming, infotainment and interactivity. 5G is Coming to Town
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