{"id":80155,"date":"2023-10-19T01:00:35","date_gmt":"2023-10-19T01:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2023\/10\/19\/uae-veggitech-seeks-funding-for-expansion-plans\/"},"modified":"2023-10-19T01:00:35","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T01:00:35","slug":"uae-veggitech-seeks-funding-for-expansion-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2023\/10\/19\/uae-veggitech-seeks-funding-for-expansion-plans\/","title":{"rendered":"UAE Veggitech seeks funding for expansion plans"},"content":{"rendered":"

AGRITECH-<\/strong><\/p>\n

UAE Veggitech seeks funding for expansion plans:<\/strong> UAE-based agritech company Veggitech<\/a> is considering expanding its hydroponic farming operations into Jeddah, where its majority shareholder Snasco Holding<\/a> is headquartered, company CFO Rami Nairat told Zawya Projects<\/a> in an interview. \u201cWe are in the study phase and are looking at investments between AED 15 to 20 mn (USD 4 to 5.5 mn) through equity investors, banks or alternative sources of funding,\u201d Nairat said. Veggitech is planning to acquire one farm a year, he added.<\/p>\n

Veggitech isn\u2019t forgetting its home base:<\/strong> The company is also in discussions with the UAE\u2019s Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and a leading bank to get funding for a pilot project to implement its new Build-Operate-Transfer model, according to Zawya<\/a>.<\/p>\n

About Veggitech:<\/strong> Veggitech has worked in tech and food processing for two decades, and has designed and manufactured a sophisticated light assisted hydroponics system with a patented growth light which speeds up harvesting time by 3 fold<\/a>. Snasco Holding\u2019s acquisition of Sharjah-based Veggitech in 2021 marked the Saudi investment company\u2019s first venture into the agritech sector outside the kingdom, Zawya writes. The company has built five hydroponic farms \u2014 over 360k sqm \u2014 in the last 3 years, ahead of its initially planned timeline of 6 years, according to Nairat, who added that Veggitech\u2019s sales have grown 200% y-o-y.<\/p>\n

ELECTRIC VEHICLES-<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lucid Group\u2019s shares drop 5% on news of weak EV deliveries for 3Q:<\/strong> Public Investment Fund-backed EV maker Lucid has delivered a total of 1.45k EVs of its Air sedan model<\/a> in 3Q 2023 not meeting the projected sales for the quarter and causing a 5% drop in shares earlier in the week on Tuesday\u2019s market close, CNBC<\/a> writes. The 3Q figures, while representing an increase from the 1.4k deliveries in 2Q and 3Q 2022, are down from projected sales of 2k cars for the period, the news outlet notes, citing an analyst poll by FactSet. Lucid\u2019s shares have dropped almost 23% from the beginning of 2023 on the back of low demand for its Air models. The company is expected to share its earnings report after US markets close on 7 November.<\/p>\n

Lucid has been taking heavy losses: <\/strong>Lucid \u2014 which last month inaugurated its first<\/a> overseas production facility in Jeddah\u2019s King Abdullah Economic City \u2014 saw its net losses increase by 71.2%<\/a> y-o-y in 2Q 2023 y-o-y to USD 766.6 mn. This came despite the company\u2019s revenues increasing by 35.5% y-o-y in 2Q to USD 150.9 mn. PIF owns a 60.5% stake in the EV company, and has committed to buying at least 50k EVs<\/a> from the automaker over the coming decade, with an option of doubling the volume. The company aims to manufacture over 10k vehicles in 2023.<\/p>\n

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-<\/strong><\/p>\n