BMA Capital, Pakistan’s premier investment bank, has been rated the best performing Pakistani & South Asian investment bank by Bloomberg Financial News Agency. The bank advised on deals worth $2.58 billion in June 2005. Bloomberg ranked BMA as number two overall, behind J.P. Morgan, by value of the M&A deals it advised. No other Pakistani firm features in Bloomberg’s list of top 20 firms. The ranking comes after the firm successfully advised Etisalat, the Middle East telecoms giant, on its acquisition of Pakistani government telecoms provider PTCL. Upon finalization of the deal, PTCL’s privatization will generate $2.598 billion for the government of Pakistan, making it the largest privatization in Pakistan’s history. It is also the largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow ever in Pakistan and the largest telecom M&A deal in Asia since July 2003.

DCI

DiamondCluster International (DCI), the global top management consultancy firm, yesterday announced it has set up its regional headquarters in Dubai Internet City (DIC) as demand surges for its cutting edge expertise in telecoms, media and high tech in the Middle East. Adam Gutstein, president of DCI, said: “The Middle East represents a vibrant and expanding market for the company and this move reflects its importance.” Victor Font, managing director for the company’s Middle East operations, said: “By creating a scalable support infrastructure in Dubai we can better serve our clients needs. Our investment in Internet City will enable us to develop further in line with our rapidly expanding regional client base. DIC’s status as the regional hub for telecommunications and high technology will create further opportunities for us.”

VAIO T-SERIES

Built for productivity and equipped for entertainment, the new VAIO T-Series notebook PCs has it all from stamina power and smart size for the mobile professional. The 1.38kg, compact and lightweight T-series VAIO notebooks are ideal for active lifestyles, geared for switching from compiling data to DVD playback with the simple touch of a button. The VAIO T-Series notebook builds on Sony’s expertise in packing big time capabilities into small, beautiful packages,” said Dharmendra Lalai, senior manager, IT marketing division for Sony Gulf FZE. “The perfect mobile companion, it will keep you productive and entertained while inspiring envy anywhere you go.” The new model line blends style and stamina into a trim textured metal alloy casing of midnight blue. Entertainment playback buttons on the unit’s hinge are conveniently exposed whether the machine is open or closed and put the power to play, pause or rewind music or movies right at your fingertips.

LG

LG Electronics’ (LG) SolarDOM, the world’s first counter-top light-wave oven to combine conventional oven and microwave oven technologies, is gaining international renown for both performance and design. In a cooking performance test designed and conducted by LGA QuailTest GmbH, a renowned German product certification institute, SolarDOM received the “Good” rating - on par with a conventional oven. In the same trial, every conventional microwave oven tested fell below the SolarDOM standard. The evaluation was based on number of factors, including preheating, deviation and variation of hot air, baking, roasting and grilling. SolarDOM achieved the highest performance marks among all ovens and microwave ovens tested in three different categories including baking, roasting and grilling.

NCB

The National Commercial Bank (NCB) recently launched a Sales Consultant Program which is considered one of the programs of community service department by the bank. It is organized in cooperation with Al-Safwa Training Center in Jeddah. A constant effort on behalf of the bank is exerted in the field of qualifying and training Saudi youth. Mahmoud Turkistani, NCB head of the Community Service Unit, stated that the program targets high school graduates who have the desire to acquire administrative skills in the field of sales and want to pursue a job as sales consultants in the private sector. Turkistani stated that such programs enhanced the bank’s efforts in community services and confirms its commitment to perform social duties.

Global Investment House

Global Investment House has signed yesterday a KD25 million agreement with Housing Finance Company KSCC (Iskan), acting as a lead manager for a two-tranche, five year bond issue, to increase Iskan’s activities and develop its investments. Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Iskan’s chairman, and Maha Khaled Al-Ghunaim, Global’s vice chairman & managing director, signed the agreement during a special ceremony that took place at Global headquarters in Kuwait. After signing the agreement, Abdullah said, “The bonds issue is to fulfill the company’s desire to retain cash liquidity to achieve its strategic goals. Iskan plans to expand its operations, products, and services in real estate housing finance.”

Amlak Finance

Amlak Finance announced yesterday that its debut Islamic Sukuk issue received subscription of $200million from investors in the UAE and GCC. The issue will be a Floating Rate Note (FRN) with a tenure of 5 years and will pay a return to investors of 120 basis points over 6 months LIBOR. The issue will be listed on the Dubai Financial Market. Mohammed Al-Hashimi, CEO of Amlak, said: “We are very pleased with the response to the Sukuk. The success of the issue is evidence of the trust that investors have in Amlak Finance. Our strong track record as the UAE’s leading home finance provider and our solid financial results have significantly contributed to the issue’s overwhelming response.” The proceeds of the Sukuk will be used for general working capital purposes and to fund Amlak’s growing real estate portfolio. HSBC Amanah and Emirates Islamic Bank were the joint lead managers for the Sukuk. HSBC Amanah was the sole bookrunner for the US dollar denominated issue.

Lloyds TSB Dubai

Leading Dubai-based bank, Lloyds TSB Dubai, has launched a new Customer Service Center at the Arabian Ranches development. This initiative is part of Lloyds TSB’s ongoing commitment to ensure convenience, flexibility and better banking services for its customers. The new center will be a one-stop-shop for customers to apply for new accounts, loans, credit cards, check books and other products and services. Developed by Emaar Properties, Arabian Ranches is as a prime residential project on the Emirates Road. The service center is staffed by a team of three and will be open seven days a week from 10 am to 10 pm.