based Savola Group , the Middle East's biggest sugar refiner, expects its turnover from sugar units in Egypt and Saudi Arabia to rise 41.5 percent this year, a top executive said Sunday. “This year, the two refineries should generate a turnover of SR3.48 billion ($928 million), up from SR2.46 billion in 2008,” Zouhair Eloudghiri, chief executive of Savola Foods told Reuters. He was speaking after Savola announced it had reached an agreement to buy minority stakes held by British sugar refiner and sweetener group Tate and Lyle Plc's in sugar refineries in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The deal covered the purchase from Tate and Lyle of a 3.58 percent stake in a sugar refinery in Egypt and a 9.68 percent stake in another refinery in Saudi Arabia. Savola did not disclose the value for the deal. ‘Tate and Lyle wants to focus on sugar within Europe and on the production of starches, sweeteners and ethanol,' Eloudghiri said.
