KEF Holdings' Chairman Faizal E. Kottikollon appointed to SRTIP Board of Directors
Sharjah: Faizal E. Kottikollon, Founder and Chairman of KEF Holdings, has been appointed to the prestigious board of directors at the Sharjah Research, Technology, and Innovation Park (SRTIP). This appointment represents a significant milestone for KEF Holdings, with Faizal Kottikollon bringing his expertise and entrepreneurial vision to contribute to the development of SRTIP under the leadership of Sheikha Bodour Bint Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi.
SRTIP is poised to become a leading hub for cutting-edge research, technological advancements, and innovation in the region. The inclusion of Faizal Kottikollon on the board of directors reinforces KEF Holdings' commitment to innovation and sustainable impact in the fields of offsite construction, healthcare, education, and clinical wellness.
The esteemed board of directors comprises distinguished individuals such as His Royal Highness Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Sheikh Dr. Majid bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Dr. Abdulaziz Saeed bin Butti Al Muhairi, Dr. Hamid M.K. Al Naimiy, Hussain Mohammed Al Mahmoudi, Dr. Susan Mumm, Najla Ahmed Al Midfa, Ahmed Obaid Al Qaseer, Khaled Issa Al Huraimel, Dr. Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, Adel Abdullah Ali, Samer Salim Al Sayegh, Abdulaziz Basem Al Loughani, Mudassir Sheikha, and Alisha Moopen. Together, they will shape the strategic direction of SRTIP.
Faizal Kottikollon expressed his enthusiasm for the collaboration with SoiLAB, a venture within SRTIP, which aims to cultivate an environment conducive to creativity, technological advancement, and lasting impact on innovation, entrepreneurship, and technological progress not only in Sharjah but also beyond.
Faizal is the son of renowned Malayali entrepreneur and philanthropist PK Ahammed, Chairman of Peekay Group of Companies. He is married to Shabana Faizal, daughter of Late B Ahmed Haji Mohiudeen, Founder of B A Group, Thumbay, and a prominent business and community leader.
About KEF Group
KEF Holdings invest in businesses that are innovative, sustainable, cost-effective, and deliver positive disruptive solutions across core business sectors encompassing infrastructure, healthcare, and technology, to benefit society and build a better tomorrow.
It has a 20-year legacy of building successful businesses. It began its journey in 1995 with the opening of Al Ahamadi General Trading in Ajman, following this it launched a world-class Foundry, and a valve trading company JC Middle East. It then created Emirates Techno Casting, an integrated facility incorporating cutting-edge engineering and design lab, the world’s largest automatic molding line, steel refining furnace, machine shop, and research and development lab, rated among the top 3 technologically advanced foundries in the world.
In 2012 Tyco International, bought the business for USD 400 million, becoming the impetus for the launch of KEF Holdings' two new verticals KEF Investments and KEF Infra. KEF Investments, have built a global investment portfolio by capitalizing on low-risk, high-income opportunities in growing markets.
In the year 2018, KEF Infra announced a strategic merger with Katerra, the Menlo Park US-based technology company, revolutionizing the design and construction industries.
Staying true to its belief of being a social enterprise the company, in close collaboration with stakeholders in the public and private sectors, actively drives, funds, and supports high-impact social activities undertaken by the Faizal & Shabana Foundation
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Iran offers to reopen Strait of Hormuz if US lifts its blockade and the war ends: officials
Cairo (AP): Iran has offered to end its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the US lifting its blockade on the country and an end to the war, while proposing that discussions on the larger question of its nuclear programme would come in a later phase, two regional officials said Monday.
US President Donald Trump seems unlikely to accept the offer, which was passed to the Americans by Pakistan and would leave unresolved the disagreements that led the US and Israel to go to war on February 28.
With a fragile ceasefire in place, the US and Iran are locked in a standoff over the strait, through which a fifth of the world's traded oil and gas passes in peacetime. The US blockade is designed to prevent Iran from selling its oil, depriving it of crucial revenue while also potentially creating a situation where Tehran has to shut off production because it has nowhere to store the oil.
The strait's closure, meanwhile, has put pressure on Trump, as oil and gasoline prices have skyrocketed ahead of crucial midterm elections, and it has pressured his Gulf allies, which use the waterway to export their oil and gas.
The closure has also had far-reaching effects throughout the world economy, raising the price of fertilizer, food and other basic goods.
The proposal would push off negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme to a later date. Trump said one of the major reasons he went to war was to deny Iran the ability to develop nuclear weapons.
The two officials, who had knowledge of the proposal, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations between Iranian and Pakistani officials this weekend. The Axios news outlet first reported Iran's proposal.
It came as Iran's foreign minister visited Russia, which has long been a key backer of Tehran. It's unclear what, if any, assistance Moscow might offer now.
Strait of Hormuz remains blocked
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Iran's ability to choke off traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, has proved one of its biggest strategic advantages in a war that has often boiled down to which side can take more pain.
Oil prices have risen steadily since the war began and tankers full of crude became stranded in the Persian Gulf, unable to safely transit through the strait and reach global distribution points.
On Monday, the spot price of Brent crude, the international standard, was trading at around $108 per barrel, nearly 50 per cent higher than when the war began.
Iranian foreign minister holds talks as negotiations with US stall
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Trump last week indefinitely extended the ceasefire the US and Iran agreed to on April 7 that has largely halted fighting. But a permanent settlement remains elusive in the war that has killed thousands of people.
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi landed in St. Petersburg on Monday morning ahead of a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“It is a good opportunity for us to consult with our Russian friends about the developments that have occurred in relation to the war during this period and what is happening now,” Araghchi said in a video interview posted by IRNA.
It comes as Pakistan has been seeking to revive stalled talks between Iran and the US, and negotiations had been expected in Islamabad over the weekend. Instead, Trump called off a trip by his envoys and suggested the talks could take place by phone instead.
Over the weekend, Araghchi made two stops in Pakistan and a visit to Oman, which shares the strait with Iran. He also spoke by phone with counterparts in Qatar and Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
Iran wants to persuade Oman to support a mechanism to collect tolls from vessels passing through the strait, according to a regional official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to discuss the matter.
Oman's response wasn't immediately clear.
The official, who is involved in mediation efforts, also said Iran insisted on ending the US blockade before new talks and that Pakistan-led mediators are trying to bridge significant gaps between the countries.
Trump says Iran has offered a much better proposal
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Trump told journalists Saturday that after he called off a trip by his envoys to Pakistan, Iran sent a “much better” proposal.
He did not elaborate but stressed that one of his conditions is that Iran “will not have a nuclear weapon”.
Iran insists its programme is peaceful, but the US wants to remove Tehran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which could be used to build a bomb, should Tehran choose to pursue one.
Since the war began, at least 3,375 people have been killed in Iran and at least 2,509 people in Lebanon, where fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group resumed two days after the Iran war started. Another 23 people have been killed in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon, 13 US service members in the region and six UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon have been killed.
The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has been extended by three weeks. Hezbollah has not participated in the Washington-brokered diplomacy.
