RIYADH: Herfy, a major Saudi fast-food services company, has signed an Area Development Franchise Agreement with Greenland Services Ltd., a business unit of Greenland Group of Bangladesh, to expand its business horizon beyond the Middle East.
The agreement spells out a vision to open 30 Herfy outlets in Bangladesh in a staggered schedule within a few years.
A signing ceremony for the agreement held here recently was attended by Herfy CEO Ahmed H. Al-Said, Bangladesh Ambassador Golam Moshi and Greeland Chairman Mohammad Abdul Hye.
The ceremony was also attended by a large number of guests and
Diplomats, top executives of the Herfy Food Services led by Al-Said, and a large number of guests were also present.
This is the first agreement of its kind between the private sector of the two countries as the Bangladesh economy remained strong and resilient despite external and internal challenges.
In fact, Bangladesh is among the top 12 developing countries with a population of over 20 million, which achieved 6 plus percent growth in 2016.
Now, Bangladesh needs to focus on a growth agenda centered on sustainable and inclusive growth.
Referring to the Herfy-Greenland deal, a press statement said that the agreement entitles Greenland to open 30 stores in Bangladesh within a few years from now. Herfy, as a market leader in fast-food, aspires to expand its presence in other countries. “The business accord that ensures opening of Herfy restaurants in Bangladesh is the first step toward that direction,” said Abdul Hye.
He pointed out that the first Herfy restaurant will be opened this year. He added that Greenland was interested to bring 100 percent halal and hygienic food to the Bangladesh market following the deal with Herfy.
The move to open Herfy dine-in and drive-through restaurants in Bangladesh is significant keeping in view the rapid growth of the fast-food industry sector of Bangladesh.
The food taking habits, especially in the fast-food segment, has been changed a lot over last decade among the people of that South Asian nation.
A large number of Bangladeshi nationals, who have been residing and working in the Kingdom, have developed tastes and likings for Saudi fast-foods including Herfy.
“Today, Herfy is a major fast food restaurant chain in the Kingdom and one of the largest in the Middle East, surpassing international chains in terms of presence,” the statement added.
Herfy to open outlets in Bangladesh
Herfy to open outlets in Bangladesh
Saudi minister at Davos urges collaboration on minerals
- The reason of the tension of geopolitics is actually the criticality of the minerals
LONDON: Countries need to collaborate on mining and resources to help avoid geopolitical tensions, Saudi Arabia’s minister of industry and mineral resources told the World Economic Forum on Tuesday.
“The reason of the tension of geopolitics is actually the criticality of the minerals, the concentration in different areas of the world,” Bandar Alkhorayef told a panel discussion on the geopolitics of materials.
“The rational thing to do is to collaborate, and that’s what we are doing,” he added. “We are creating a platform of collaboration in Saudi Arabia.”
The Kingdom last week hosted the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh. Alkhorayef said the platform was launched by the government in 2022 as a contribution to the global community. “It’s very important to have a global movement, and that’s why we launched the Future Minerals Forum,” he said. “It is the most important platform of global mining leaders.”
The Kingdom has made mining one of the key pillars of its economy, rapidly expanding the sector under the Vision 2030 reform program with an eye on diversification. Saudi Arabia has an estimated $2.5 trillion in mineral wealth and the ramping up of extraction comes at a time of intense global competition for resources to drive technological development in areas like AI and renewables.
“We realized that unlocking the value that we have in our natural resources, of the different minerals that we have, will definitely help our economy to grow to diversify,” Alkhorayef said. The Kingdom has worked to reduce the timelines required to set up mines while also protecting local communities, he added. Obtaining mining permits in Saudi Arabia has been reduced to just 30 to 90 days compared to the many years required in other countries, Alkhorayef said.
“We learned very, very early that permitting is a bottleneck in the system,” he added. “We all know, and we have to be very, very frank about this, that mining doesn’t have a good reputation globally.
“We are trying to change this and cutting down the licensing process doesn’t only solve it. You need also to show the communities the impact of the mining on their lives.”
Saudi Arabia’s new mining investment laws have placed great emphasis on the development of society and local communities, along with protecting the environment and incorporating new technologies, Alkhorayef said. “We want to build the future mines; we don’t want to build old mines.”
