Hamad Malallah

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 14: United Projects for Aviation Services Company (UPAC), a commercial ‎real estate and facilities management company, today announced its financial results for the second ‎quarter of 2025. For the six months ended June 2025, the company reported net profits of KD 497 ‎thousand, down 62% from 2024, or 0.94 fils per share, with revenues of KD 3.29 million down 25.6% ‎from 2024. ‎

Eng. Hamad Malallah, Chief Executive Officer at UPAC, said: “The second quarter presented a ‎transitional period as we successfully concluded the project to manage and operate Terminal 1 at ‎Kuwait International Airport, officially handing it over to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation ‎‎(DGCA) in May 2025. While this shift has naturally impacted the company’s revenues, it also paves ‎the way for new avenues of growth and development as we focus on future projects and strategic ‎partnerships. It is important to note that UPAC built the entire project and operated it throughout the ‎contract term before transferring it to the DGCA under the Build, Operate, and Transfer (BOT) system. ‎We take great pride in the success of this national project over 26-year and in delivering it to the ‎State.”‎

Malallah continued: “I’m pleased to share that in July, we welcomed our first operator at Messilah ‎Beach: Villa Shams, Kuwait’s first ladies-only beach club. Officially opened on 10 July 2025, Villa ‎Shams offers a premium, private experience designed exclusively for women, in a secure and refined ‎setting. This milestone reflects UPAC’s vision to create inclusive recreational environments that cater ‎to all segments of society.”‎

‎“Planning for other areas on the Messilah Beach site has also been progressing steadily. Our teams ‎are actively working alongside confirmed operators, both global and local brands, to support their ‎on-ground preparations for upcoming openings with a list of exciting tenants. We are looking forward ‎to be bringing an exceptional, family-friendly beach destination experience to Kuwait through ‎Messilah Beach, which is set to become a vibrant, year-round destination,” added Malallah. ‎

Malallah concluded: “We remain committed to identifying and pursuing strategic business ‎opportunities within our industry that drive growth and create value for the company and its ‎shareholders.”‎

Al Messilah Beach, one of Kuwait’s prime family entertainment destinations, was developed by ‎Touristic Enterprises Company as part of its role in spearheading growth of Kuwait’s tourism sector. ‎UPAC is managing all aspects of the site including leasing, entertainment activities, facility ‎management, and overall project operations.‎

UPAC is a co-investor in Abu Dhabi’s $1.3 billion Reem Mall on Reem Island. Reem Mall is Abu ‎Dhabi’s latest signature shopping, dining, and entertainment family destination spanning an ‎impressive 183.4K sqm GLA. Anchored by a hyper-market and various notable entertainment and ‎home furnishing concepts, the mall will be home to around 400 international and local brands. Snow ‎Abu Dhabi, one of the mall’s entertainment anchors, is the city’s only snow park. The mall also has ‎one of the largest home furnishing offerings in Abu Dhabi as well as one of the largest Carrefour ‎outlets in the city. One of the prominent new openings was Sharaf DG, an expansive 3,334sqm ‎electronics retail space with 34 brand experience zones making it the largest store of its kind in Abu ‎Dhabi.‎

The mall is one of the region’s first fully integrated omnichannel retail ecosystems with digital, e-‎commerce, and logistics capabilities. It brings together all consumer and retail services to ensure a ‎seamless customer experience. ‎

As of June 2025, around 66% of GLA is open and trading, with an additional 14% under fit-‎out, bringing the effective leased GLA to 80%. As of date, Reem Mall has also secured signed ‎proposals covering a further 4% of GLA. Key performance metrics continue to show strong ‎momentum, with footfall and tenant sales increasing by 30% to 40% year-on-year. Notably, the mall ‎achieved two consecutive record-breaking months in May and June 2025, setting new highs for both ‎visitor numbers and sales.‎

Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between US dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, on Aug 14. (AP)

MANILA, Philippines, Aug 14, (AP): Asian shares were mixed on Thursday after days of gains driven by hopes for lower US interest rates, while US futures slipped. Bitcoin rose more than 3% to a new record of over $123,000, according to CoinDesk. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 fell 1.3% to 42,705.36 as investors sold to lock in recent gains that have taken the benchmark to all-time records.

The Japanese yen rose against the dollar after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with Bloomberg that Japan was “behind the curve” in monetary tightening. He was referring to the slow pace of increases in Japan’s near-zero interest rates. Low interest rates tend to make the yen weaker against the dollar, giving Japanese exporters a cost advantage in overseas sales.

The dollar fell to 146.31 Japanese yen early Thursday, down from 147.39 yen. The euro fell to $1.1703 from $1.1705. In Chinese markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index shed less than 0.2% to 25,655.26, while the Shanghai composite index added 0.1% to 3,686.07. South Korea’s Kospi fell less than 0.1% to 3,222.99, while Australia’s S&P ASX 200 index added 0.5% to 8,866.70. Taiwan’s TAIEX fell 0.5%, while India’s Sensex edged 0.1% higher.

“Asian markets opened today like a party that ran out of champagne before midnight – the music still playing, but the dance floor thinning out,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary. The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down less than 0.1%. On Wednesday, US stocks ticked higher, extending a global rally fueled by hopes the Federal Reserve will cut USinterest rates.

The S&P 500 rose 0.3% to 6,466.58, coming off its latest all-time high. The Dow climbed 1% to 44,922.27, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.1% to its own record set the day before, closing at 21,713.14. Treasury yields eased in the bond market in anticipation that the Fed will cut its main interest rate for the first time this year at its next meeting in September. 

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 13: Subsidies for basic food supplies, milk and baby food, and construction materials increased by 0.9 percent during the first half of 2025, rising by KD 1.6 million compared to the subsidies for construction materials in the same period of 2024. The total value of subsidies reached KD 181.7 million, including KD 95.5 million for construction materials (52.4 percent), KD 77.5 million for basic materials (42.6 percent), and KD 8.8 million for milk and baby food (5 percent) of the total food subsidies during the first half of the year.

Official statistics from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry showed that approximately 2.3 million individuals benefited from cumulative subsidies by the end of June 2025, along with the registration of about 272,134 cumulative ration cards during the same period.

Detailed data show that subsidies for basic commodities disbursed through ration cards during the first half of the year increased by 14.3 percent, about KD 11.1 million, compared to KD 66.4 million in the same period last year. Subsidies for milk and baby food rose by 18 percent (KD 1.6 million) this year, up from KD 7.2 million in the first half of 2024. Meanwhile, subsidies for construction materials declined by 10.5 percent (KD 11.2 million) to KD 95.2 million, compared to KD 106.4 million in the first half of last year.

Statistics also recorded that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry supported food commodities in June with a total of KD 32 million, of which KD 17 million (55 percent) was allocated to basic commodities, which is a 26 percent increase compared to May. Milk and baby food subsidies totaled about KD 2 million, representing 7 percent of the total subsidies disbursed and marking an 84 percent increase compared to the previous month. Subsidies for construction materials amounted to approximately KD 12 million, accounting for 39 percent of the total disbursed and reflecting a 24 percent decrease compared to May.

Data from the Construction Supply Department for June 2025 showed that 333 new requests for subsidized construction materials were issued, which is a 46 percent decrease compared to the previous month. Renewals of subsidized construction material transactions numbered 26, down ten percent, while three requests for exchanging subsidized materials were submitted, a 67 percent decrease. Requests for certificates of receipt of materials totaled 26, a four percent increase, and requests for certificates of non-receipt of materials reached 72, a three percent increase.

By Marwa Al-Bahrawi
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff