The Savola Group is a Saudi public listed company and one of the largest diversified conglomerates in MENACA region

(Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia) managing a wide portfolio of businesses. The company was established in 1979 with an initial SR 40 Million Capital & grew significantly in subsequent years to SR 5 Billion. Savola's first business was in the edible oil industry in Saudi Arabia. It is now one of the most successful and fastest growing multinational food groups in the Gulf and the Middle East Region, North African & Central Asian countries, with a wide portfolio of businesses including Edible Oils, Sugar, Noodles/Pasta, Retail, Packaging, Real Estate and Franchising. Savola currently has market shares of 62% of the Edible Oils market and 68% of the Sugar market in the Kingdom as well as 113 Retail outlets Supermarkets/Hypermarkets). The Savola Group operates its businesses through four Core Sectors; "Savola Foods Sector", including Edible Oils, Foods and Sugar and "Savola Retail Sector", including Retail (Panda - and Hyper Panda), Real Estate Sector (Kinan International) and Savola Plastics Sector. In addition to this, Savola also has a Franchising Unit which has exclusive rights in Saudi Arabia for internationally renowned brands of fashion wears from different countries. It worthy to mention that the Group has a work force of more than 17,000 employees (inside KSA & Overseas), however the total number of Saudi forces in the Group and its subsidiaries reached 5,200 employees approximately (which represents 43% of the total workforces in KSA), on the other hand it has around 160,000 shareholders and ranked number 12 among the top 100 Saudi Companies in 2009 as per (Al-Eqtisadiah Newspaper Report). Savola's Investments Savola has major investment in Al Marai Dairy Company (30%), Herfy Foods Company (47%), Jordanian Tameer Company (5%), Founding Shareholder of Knowledge Economic City in Madinah and Founding Shareholder of King Abdullah Economic City in Rabigh, Saudi Arabia. Savola & the Community Savola is a pioneer in the region in the areas of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), corporate Governance and Ethics & Values. More information on these initiatives is available in the relevant sections of this website. We welcome you to our website.

Dear Respected Visitor, It is my pleasure to welcome you to our Savola Group website and to introduce you to our vision, strategy and culture. Our vision for The Savola Group is to build a leading publicly listed diversified investment group in the Middle East, North Africa & Central Asia, focusing on basic ambient foods and on Retail. The cornerstone of our culture is the "Balanced Way," a corporate culture that balances the interests of the stakeholders while providing the internal environment to grow and prosper. In the years ahead, our mission is to grow a focused portfolio of successful businesses in basic ambient foods and in retail in order to manage a balanced expansion program in Savola's chosen areas of activities in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. Savola will constantly seek to leverage its core competencies and the strength of its balance sheet to serve this strategy. This Focus and Leverage should result in a substantial share price appreciation, and allow us to continue a generous dividend policy. On behalf of myself and my colleagues, I would like to thank The Savola Group's respected shareholders for their continued trust and support. Best Regards,
Dr. Abdulraouf M. Mannaa , Group, Managing Director

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Our Strateg y
"We have a clear vision of success through a balanced approach towards our corporate culture, a set of enhancing support activities and good intentions".

O u r S tr e n g t h s

Group Major Achievements

Highlights About Savola Evolution: Savola began life in 1979 as an edible oils company with SR 40 million capital and 200 employees, importing and refining raw vegetable oils under the name of Saudi Vegetable Oils & Ghee Co. Today, Savola's capital has grown to SR 5 billion with market capitalization of more than SR 17 billion and employees number more than 17,000 employees (inside KSA & Overseas), however the total number of Saudi forces in the Group and its subsidiaries reached 5,200 employees approximately (which represents 43% of the total workforces in KSA). The early days were inauspicious. Faced with intense competition from the strong presence of multinationals in the Saudi market, the business struggled and very nearly foundered. But the response to development challenges greatly contributed to the company's survival, and its current strong position follows a long journey of efforts by great men who left no stone unturned to get there. Praise is due to all founders, board members, executives, managers, and employees at all managerial and operational levels for their remarkable contributions to this great enterprise. We take this opportunity to pray for those who have passed away, and express our thanks to the company's past and current management teams. The early response to adversity was to compete hard and compete intelligently, taking a close look at areas where advantage could be gained. Seeking a competitive edge led to focus on market research and on commodity research - at the time virtually unheard of business tools in Saudi Arabia. By talking to consumers, researching their likes, dislikes, and desires, Savola was able to develop products that matched market demand. The very act of asking consumers about their preferences gave Savola a distinct competitive advantage. From inception, Savola realized that raw materials account for about 70 percent of end product total cost. Therefore, Savola focused on procuring raw materials based on advanced methods of commodity research that helped in securing better purchase contracts, enhancing Savola's competitive advantages against international companies. Since then, these principles have been integral to Savola's business management - not only in the original edible oils operation, but in subsequent diversification to additional food products, plastics, retail, and real estate. Establishing plastics production in 1991 was a natural development for the edible oil business.

Purpose
There is a substantial body of literature on Ethics in Business. Two central questions run through this literature: Does a corporate entity have a moral status of its own; or does morality fall only within the domain of the individual? And secondly, should the manager invoke his own moral position in making business decisions or are these moral positions the exclusive prerogative of the shareholders with whom he is engaged in legal contract? We, in Savola, take the view that regardless where one falls on this spectrum, the ultimate in the execution of shareholders mandate (presumed to be the long term survival and prosperity of the organization) is done through, and only through, the adoption of a moral standard or a code of ethics. Specifically, individuals in an organization function more efficiently, and, consequently, the organization functions in a more coordinated manner in the presence of a guiding set of ethical principles. Therefore, the true fulfillment of our "obligation" as per our contract with the shareholders is best achieved in a context of an ethical framework. Not only does a system of ethics provide a set of guiding principles, it also provides a balancing force among competing interests both within the individual and among the contending stakeholders with whom an organization deals in the normal course of business activities. There are two reasons for this assertion: First, individuals are moral creatures. The presence of an explicit system of ethics that is congruent with their own innate morality increases the comfort level in the work environment and mitigates possible frictions and conflict. The realization that one's own business decisions are in agreement with one's own moral code results in higher job satisfaction and more efficient decision-making process. Second, is our belief that despite all efforts, success in business needs a blessing from Allah. That blessing comes only if our intentions are moral, and free from hypocrisy. To reiterate words from our vision, "we firmly believe that Allah's help and blessings will always be there supporting those who maintain good and sincere intentions."

The Balance d Way

Savola Ethics full document (PDF 489 KB)

The Ethics Framework Many, if not most, of the major organizations do invoke a statement on ethics as part of their Mission statement. In some case this ethics declaration comes in the form of guidelines (Do's and Don'ts); in some others, it comes as a general statement of principle. All aspire to ensure a common culture for the organization and aspire for a higher standard of performance. Savola takes a structured approach in crafting its statement on ethics. Specifically, we recognize that as an organization and as individuals we engage in two types of interaction: One with external parties and one with our own selves. In all of these types of interaction lies a potential for differing value judgment and conflicting interests. A comprehensive statement on business ethics, therefore, needs to address these dimensions and set to prescribe the "proper" guide for action for each. Specifically, we engage in three classes of external relations with our partners, with our third party customers (customers, suppliers and the community at large) and with our colleagues. At the same time, we are in constant touch with our own selves. These relationships and interactions are governed through the four ethics of Honesty (Amanah), Conscientiousness (Taqwa), Caring Justice (Birr), and Personal Control (Mujahadah). Many, if not most, of the major organizations do invoke a statement on ethics as part of their Mission statement. In some case this ethics declaration comes in the form of guidelines (Dos and Donts); in some others, it comes as a general statement of principle. All aspire to ensure a common culture for the organization and aspire for a higher standard of performance. Savola takes a structured approach in crafting its statement on ethics. Specifically, we recognize that as an organization and as individuals we engage in two types of interaction: One with external parties and one with our own selves. In all of these types of interaction lies a potential for differing value judgment and conflicting interests. A comprehensive statement on business ethics, therefore, needs to address these dimensions and set to prescribe the proper guide for action for each.

Values
All of us strive to succeed in all we do. Success, however, is not easy. It needs sustained effort, focus, and determination to achieve. To facilitate this and to ensure our efforts are spent in the most effective manner we have developed the "Savola 8" document. On the surface, the "Savola 8" describes as set of traits geared towards enabling our success. At a deeper level, however, the "Savola 8" is a comprehensive and balanced system designed to bring about positive change to our inner traits, habits and characteristics, as well as in our external perceptions of people and events. "Habits" alone are not sufficient to result in the type of deep character building we aspire for. For one, habits may not be purposeful. Habits may not be mutually enforcing. They may also be ethically inconsistent. While good habits, ones that are carefully crafted ( such as the "7 Habits of Highly Effective People - proposed by Steven Covey) go a long way to make us more effective, we in Savola are in search of deeper, more character building traits. Such a set is proposed here in the Savola 8. Our "Savola 8" will enable us to achieve success both in our business and personal lives. They achieve this by helping us identify and up -root those personal attitudes that hinder our success. Then they help entrench the attitudes needed to propel us towards achievement of personal and business objectives. The "Savola 8" is divided into two groups. First, there are the internal drivers we need to establish a sound, stable, and balanced set of attitudes and behaviors. These "internal 4" drivers work by creating a comprehensive framework that identifies the key behaviors, or traits we need to become more self - aware of our performance, and to remain driven to enhance that performance. The second set of drivers is the "External 4". The "External 4" addresses an area key to our success, which is our ability to interact and work effectively with others. The "External 4" achieves this by enabling us to employ a process of developing effective interpersonal relationships. Click on item to see its description below