ABU DHABI: The new executive president of Oman’s central bank said on Sunday that his country remained committed to the rial’s currency peg against the US dollar.
Tahir Salim Al-Amri, a former director-general of treasury and accounts at the Ministry of Finance, was speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of a meeting of Arab central bank governors, in his first comments to foreign media since he was appointed earlier this month.
Al-Amri said the rial was not under pressure in the foreign exchange market, despite low oil prices that have strained Oman’s state finances and current account balance.
In October last year the Saudi Arabian-owned Al Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper quoted Hamood Sangour Al-Zadjali, Amri’s predecessor, as saying the creation of a single Gulf Cooperation Council currency had become inevitable and that “serious measures” were being studied to achieve it.
On Sunday, however, Al-Amri said that Oman was not committed to the single currency project.
“We are committed to the dollar peg but not to the single GCC currency that was decided some years ago,” he said.
Oman committed to US dollar peg, new central bank chief says
Oman committed to US dollar peg, new central bank chief says
Egypt’s Sawiris proposed as adidas chairman after brand posts record 2025 results
JEDDAH: Adidas has nominated Egyptian billionaire and board member Nassef Sawiris as its next chairman, succeeding Thomas Rabe.
The move comes as the German sportswear group reported strong 2025 results, with revenue rising 13 percent to a record €24.8 billion ($29 billion) and net income from continuing operations surging nearly 70 percent under CEO Bjorn Gulden.
Rabe, 60, has chaired adidas’ supervisory board since 2020 after joining in 2019. He is also chairman and CEO of Bertelsmann Management SE and CEO of RTL Group.
Cairo-born Sawiris, 65, is an investor and scion of Egypt’s wealthiest family, with an estimated net worth of $9.6 billion, according to Forbes. He runs OCI, one of the world’s largest nitrogen fertilizer producers, and oversees Orascom Construction.
His holdings include nearly 6 percent of adidas through his investment vehicle NNS.
Sawiris’ appointment is subject to shareholder approval at the May 7 annual general meeting. The supervisory board has also proposed extending Gulden’s contract to the end of 2030, following the turnaround he has led since early 2023.
“Following the Annual General Meeting, the Supervisory Board intends to elect Nassef Sawiris as Chairman of the Supervisory Board. He is to succeed Thomas Rabe as Chairman, whose term of office will end as planned at the close of the upcoming Annual General Meeting,” adidas group said in a statement.
“With Nassef Sawiris, the Supervisory Board will win an experienced entrepreneur and investor as Supervisory Board Chairman. Nassef has already accompanied adidas for many years as a Supervisory Board member and has contributed significantly to the strategic development of the company,” Rabe said.
He added that Sawiris’ significant shareholding in adidas through NNS underscores his strong and long-term commitment to the company and alignment with shareholder interests.
Sawiris, deputy chairman of the Supervisory Board since 2025, expressed his delight at the nomination, emphasizing that with vast opportunities in such an attractive industry, it is especially important for him to actively help shape adidas’s future alongside his colleagues and the executive board.
“I greatly appreciate the achievements of Bjorn and his team so far, and I am looking forward to continuing our close collaboration as we jointly guide adidas into its next chapter,” he said, extending thanks to Rabe for his long-standing leadership, the trustful collaboration, and his achievements for the company.
