Zetwerk submits updated documents for IPO to regulator SEBI

Supermarkets in Abu Dhabi are reviewing store layouts, checkout displays, and online platforms ahead of the implementation of new regulations. These standards aim to prevent the conspicuous placement of high-fat, high-salt, and high-sugar (HFSS) products, while healthier alternatives may occupy these busy areas.

HFSS products will not be completely banned from sale; they will continue to be sold, but retailers are required to move them from locations such as entrances, end-of-aisle displays, and checkout zones. In the online environment, such items must not be highlighted on main pages, search results, pop-up advertisements, or checkout pages.

These rules become mandatory on January 1, 2027, and apply to supermarkets larger than 4,000 square feet. They restrict the placement and promotion of goods classified as unhealthy according to the SEHHI classification of the Abu Dhabi Public Health Center.

Retailers informed Khaleej Times that they have already begun analyzing their merchandising strategies and identifying healthier products that could take priority spots.

At Choithrams, changes are expected to involve relocating some products currently in highly visible, impulse-buy locations. Mark Mortimer-Davis, CEO of Choithrams, noted that after products are classified under the new system, rules will emerge defining where and which categories of goods can be displayed.

He added that at the checkout, for example, sugar-free gum and other compliant snacks might remain, and there is also an opportunity to introduce healthier options there. The retailer is reviewing its entire assortment, not just confectionery and traditional sweets, as the rules cover high-fat, high-sugar, or high-salt products.

Choithrams has already started assessing its portfolio and store layouts, awaiting further clarification regarding the final product classification before making any physical changes. The company also forecasts the impact of these changes on its supply chain, as moving healthier products into higher-traffic areas may increase demand for them.

Mortimer-Davis emphasized that this is not merely moving products from one shelf to another: 'Changing the placement of products changes their sales velocity.' He also noted that retailers will need to ensure sufficient stock and production capacity if healthier products begin selling in larger volumes. Furthermore, he mentioned that the commercial impact may vary between products, as some healthy alternatives may come at a higher price.

GMG is already implementing healthier options at checkouts across all its stores. The new Monoprix Abu Dhabi store, scheduled to open in August-September, will feature at least one Healthy Checkout zone. Florian Hutmayer, President of Grocery Department at GMG, stated that the company is also integrating principles of healthier merchandising into the design of new stores and reviewing the presentation of healthier products on its digital platforms.

GMG announced that it is expanding its fresh produce range and adding more convenient healthy meal options while controlling the visibility and discoverability of these items online. Lulu Group has also begun reviewing its merchandising strategy, store layouts, advertising displays, and digital platforms in anticipation of the January deadline.

V. Nandakumar, Marketing and Communications Director at Lulu Group, stated that healthier alternatives will receive more attention, while HFSS products will be placed according to the new requirements. The retailer reported expanding its healthy product range through its global supply network and expects the new rules to further increase their visibility.

For shoppers, the key change is not whether the products are available, but where they are found. HFSS products will be sold, but retailers anticipate that healthier alternatives will become more noticeable in areas traditionally used to stimulate spontaneous purchases.

Mortimer-Davis suggested that product positioning can influence consumer behavior because 'prime spots, checkouts, and promotional zones are used because visibility helps increase sales volume.' He concluded that if healthier products occupy more such positions, customers will naturally encounter them more often, and sales volumes are expected to respond accordingly.

GMG noted that this policy will reinforce the existing consumer trend towards healthier eating, while emphasizing that customers retain the freedom to choose. Retailers are using the months leading up to January 1st to assess affected products, determine their placement, and prepare their stores and online platforms for the new requirements. The policy was developed in collaboration with Healthy Living, Abu Dhabi Registration Authority, Abu Dhabi Department of Health, Abu Dhabi Public Health Center, Abu Dhabi Quality and Compliance Council, and Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority.

JSVW MG Motor plans to soon introduce a new product to the Indian market, which the company has been testing in the country for a long time. This is about the MG Hector Hawk, which could potentially be released at the end of this month. The company has the possibility to present this plug-in hybrid vehicle on August 26, 2026.

This car will be the first mass-market budget plug-in hybrid vehicle in the Indian market. Although the final name and technical specifications of the car have not yet been announced, reports suggest that the company may use the existing Hector branding. The car might appear as the Hector Hawk.

The new MG vehicle will combine the appeal of a rugged SUV with modern electrification solutions, offering fuel consumption comparable to a hatchback while maintaining an SUV appearance. MG presented the platform for this car last month. The future MG SUV will be based on the ADAPT platform.

The future MG SUV will be based on the Wuling Starlight 560, which is available on the global market. This will be the first vehicle from MG on the flexible ADAPT platform. This platform allows for the use of any type of powertrain—from EV and Strong Hybrid to Plug-in Hybrid and Range Extender.

Currently, the vehicle will be presented in a plug-in hybrid version. It may be equipped with a 1.5-liter gasoline engine connected to an electric motor and a 20.5 kWh battery pack. On the global market, the vehicle is capable of producing 197 hp and 230 Nm of torque. In fully electric mode, the vehicle offers a range of 125 kilometers, and when using both gasoline and electric modes, it can cover up to 1100 kilometers.

The MG Hector Hawk may be released at a price ranging from 20 to 27 lakh Indian rupees, including export duties. This vehicle will compete in the Indian market against both electric and traditional internal combustion engine vehicles. Its dimensions will be 4745 mm in length, 1850 mm in width, 1770 mm in height, and 2810 mm wheelbase. Because it will be longer than the Hector Plus, it may feature a three-row configuration, allowing for a seven-seater version.

Shell's plan to search for oil and gas off the Wild Coast has become unviable after the Constitutional Court annulled the right to explore on Friday.

This ruling overturns the Supreme Court of Appeal's 2024 decision, which had previously upheld the right to explore. That decision allowed the Department of Mineral Resources to retain the project by conducting proper public consultations with the Wild Coast communities, which had not been conducted initially.

The company Impact Africa obtained this right in 2014, and seven years later brought in Shell under a half-share agreement. Both companies have spent about 1.1 billion rands on this project.

Initially, the project was cancelled by the High Court of Makhanda in 2022, which found that the communities had never been properly informed about what the seismic survey off their coast would entail.

Friday's ruling reinstated this decision, annulling the 2014 decision that granted the right, as well as two subsequent extensions.

Seven of the nine judges supported the majority opinion written by Judge Jody Collapen, with the agreement of Chief Justice Mandisa Maiya, Judges Matopo, Mkhlantla, Teron, and Chshiki, and Acting Judge Musi.

The Court ruled that conducting consultations with the communities now, more than a decade later, and subsequently making a decision would not remedy the violations. The Court emphasized: 'Consultation is not just an opportunity to express an opinion or influence the outcome.' It continued: 'At a more fundamental level, regardless of whether the product of consultation will have any impact, it is a process that affirms human dignity by giving a seat at the table to those whose lives and livelihoods may be affected by decisions.'

The Court added that notifying the communities about the possibility of consultation more than ten years later would not heal their right to dignity, but merely indicate to them that the violation of their rights was a procedural, not substantive, issue.

This step would also have allowed the companies to bypass a government moratorium currently blocking new exploration rights along the entire South African coast. The Court noted: 'It would also have provided the respondent company with an unexpected advantage, allowing them another three extensions if a decision were made to grant the exploration right.'

It concluded that this would have had an anomalous result, providing a tangible advantage to those who benefited from an illegal process and participated in it.

The Court deemed the initial application fatally flawed, and Impact Africa 'contributed to the illegality of the decision in alarming ways.' The Court ruled that any other outcome 'would allow financial investments to outweigh serious constitutional violations and signal subservience of the rights of affected parties to commercial interests.'

The Wild Coast is a 250 km stretch of coastline in the Eastern Cape, which is a place of traditional fishing rights and spiritual practices for local communities.

Impact Africa applied for the right in 2013 and received it on April 29, 2014, and then extended it in 2017 and 2021, without conducting significant exploration during the first three-year period. The CEO signed the transfer of participation in the right to Shell for 50% in June 2021. In October of the same year, Shell notified the start of 3D seismic surveying along the coast. In December of the same year, a group including Sustaining the Wild Coast, All Rise Attorneys for Climate and Environmental Justice, members of the Umgungundlovu and Dvesa-Tsebe communities, Wild Coast fishermen, and Kei Mouth Fisheries obtained an injunction halting this.

Natural Justice and Greenpeace later intervened. The High Court cancelled this right in September 2022 on three grounds: the affected parties were never properly informed about the content of the survey or did not have a real chance to respond; the minister ignored the damage to marine life, the spiritual and cultural rights of the communities, and climate change; and claims of job creation were unsubstantiated by data.

The Court of Appeal agreed that the right was granted illegally but stayed the cancellation to allow the minister to consider an application for a third extension with an additional round of public participation to rectify the shortcomings. The communities appealed this ruling to the Constitutional Court, which heard arguments last September and concluded that the extension process did not provide for the type of consultation envisioned by the Court of Appeal.

In disagreement, Judge Owen Rogers, with the agreement of Judge Savage, stated that there was no basis to interfere with the Court of Appeal's remedy, and this would preserve the possibility of a final three-year exploration period after proper consultation. Rogers acknowledged that the communities' right to consultation had been ignored, and their cultural, religious, and environmental concerns had not been adequately addressed, but argued that a fair remedy must consider all sides. According to him, the majority's ruling sent the application into an 'unacceptable grey area: presumably neither approved nor rejected, but effectively incapable of ever being approved.'