Underscoring its commitment to contribute to the infrastructure development of Jordan, Gulf Finance House (GFH), one of the leading Islamic investment banks in the region, yesterday said that Jordan Gate, the first phase of the $1 billion Royal Metropolis, was a beginning and the bank would like to enhance its investments in Jordan. Speaking at the 4th Conference for Jordanian Businessmen and Investors being held in association with the Economic and Development Department in the Royal Court, Esam Janahi, chief executive officer of GFH said the bank was convinced about the emerging economic prospects and investment potential of Jordan. “Royal Metropolis is our stepping stone to Jordan, and we do believe it is a milestone project, the success of which will lead to more investments in Jordan in future,” Janahi said. Royal Metropolis comprises two phases - Jordan Gate and ‘The Districts.’ Jordan Gate is the official sponsor of the conference which will end on Aug. 17 2005.
AMLAK FINANCE
Amlak Finance announced yesterday that it intends to provide finance, for the first time, for Abu Dhabi’s rapidly growing domestic real estate market. Dubai’s first specialist Islamic financing company has submitted its application to the relevant authorities to open new branches in Abu Dhabi, which will serve all potential buyers of Abu Dhabi real estate. “Amlak was the first specialist property finance company in Dubai, and now we intend to bring our experience and expertise to help buyers of Abu Dhabi real estate,” said Mohammed Ali Al-Hashimi, CEO of Amlak.
NOORSAT
Noorsat, the satellite communications platform dedicated to providing the whole spectrum of high quality voice, video, data and Internet satellite communication solutions across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe, has commenced operations. Created by Arab investors from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region, the platform can provide transponder capacity from five satellite locations including the two Middle East hot spots at 26 degrees East co-located with ArabSat, and 7 degrees West co-located with NileSat. Omar Shoter, Noorsat CEO, commented: “We provide customized satellite transmission, Internet and communication services to clients at more favorable and competitive terms than any other provider through a wide range of broadband frequencies with enough capacity to cater to the requirements of regional television broadcasters and telecom operators.
NCB
The National Commercial Bank (NCB) recently held 12 training courses in which a large number of clients from the bank’s commercial service center participated. This was initiated by the bank in an effort to make its clients aware of the latest changes regarding legal trust documents. Abdulrahman Addas, NCB corporate sector head, stated that the goal of these encounters was to exchange ideas and information between bank officials and clients. In order to reach a better standard of service, to keep up with the continuous and fast pace of development occurring in the banking industry and meet the client’s expectations. These meetings focus on the bank’s strategy of placing the client first on its list of priorities and the bank’s preparation to extend its courses throughout the Kingdom.
EMPORIO ARMANI
The Emporio Armani sunglasses range for 2005/2006 favors originality and a casual look. The identity of the brand is conveyed powerfully and decisively: Studding, diamanté, enamel and laser work interweave throughout the collection to give each model a unique and unmistakeable personality. One of the styles that most accurately reflects the mood of this collection is EA 9240/S, with its injection moulded sports mask, the lower front section outlined in metal. For an added touch of novelty and charm, the eagle logo defies convention by being embedded into the left arm only, and is presented in a layer of contrast color enamel. This style is available in petrol blue with matching lenses, lilac ruthenium with lilac lenses, blue ruthenium with dark blue lenses, black ruthenium with grey lenses, grey-green ruthenium with matching lenses, and white ruthenium with grey or black mirror lenses.
ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLY LAMP
Amidst concerns stemming from the sick building syndrome, an environment friendly lamp will make its debut on the Saudi market today. The multipurpose lamp, made in Korea, will remove pollutants from the air such as cigarette smoke, carbon monoxide, sulfuric gas and others. “The therapeutic lamp is an anion making cleanser which will not only give the required light but will also electrically neutralize and remove the pollutants in the air ,” K.B. Seong, executive director of the Alternative Medicine Company in Riyadh told Arab News. An anion, described as an ionic species with a negative charge, plays an important role in checking air pollution. He added that the lamp will be sold initially in the company’s showroom, Bdeel Therapeutic Center on Al-Arubah Road in Sulaimaniyah district. He pointed out that the product will not be sold in electrical shops since it has healing properties not available in electrical lamps found in shops.
NBK
Global Finance, the leading magazine in the world of finance, has selected National Bank of Kuwait as the Best Corporate/Institutional Bank and the Best Consumer Internet Bank in Kuwait. The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has offered an advanced Internet-based banking tool designed for corporate and institutional customers to enquire and complete their transactions securely since 2003. Designed to build customer loyalty and satisfaction levels, and to maintain its leading technological edge Watani Online Corporate (WOLC) is today a highly sophisticated and secure tool that is rapidly growing in popularity.