Trident International Holdings (TIH), a real estate development company, has awarded the construction of its second luxurious freehold residential project, the Marinascape, to multinational engineering and construction conglomerate, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Ltd. “L&T is undoubtedly Asia’s foremost engineering company with a strong base in the Middle East. With an unmatched quality track record in construction work in the region as well as across the globe and by successfully partnering us in our first project, L&T was our obvious choice,” TIH Chairman A. S. Jamal, chairman said. “All our project partners are from among the very best in the world and L&T is no exception to the list,” TIH MD Sadrudin Ali said. L&T takes over from Bauer Spezialtiefbau GmbH, the German-based world leader in advanced foundation technology, which has been working on the earthwork including piling and foundation of the project since early this year. “Being awarded the second project from Trident is indeed an honor for us, as much as it would be a challenge to create new benchmarks set by TIH,” K.P. Raghavan, VP & head at L&T’s buildings and factories, said.
TISSOT
Al-Ghazali, Tissot’s agent in the Kingdom, held its annual sales promotion for Tissot watches at the Jeddah InterContinental on Saturday. Egyptian actor Hasan Hussney and Swiss Embassy representatives were among those present. “Tissot is making advances over other brands from mother company Swatch in the region,” Dr. Ulrich Fischer, head of global sales, said. Tissot was created in 1853 at Lecole Mountain in Switzerland. A book is available from the agent on the history of the company. Fischer claimed that global sales had grown from 19 percent to 20 percent last year. Subsidiary markets accounted for the rest of the sales. Tissot has agents in more than 150 countries and has an annual sales turnover of over 4.2 billion Swiss franks worldwide. Sales are growing in the Eastern markets while those in Europe and America are declining. Dedicated stores have been established in Hong Kong. These stores score over retailers in terms of sales.
SHOWTIME
Showtime, a pay-TV provider in the Middle East, has announced the opening of its 17th outlet in the Kingdom, at the new Serafi Mega Mall in Jeddah. Serafi Mega Mall opened in May and features a number of anchor stores like Danube, City Max, Addidas, Sawani and Zara. According to Wisam Edghaim, Showtime’s director for Saudi Arabia, the company is on track to reach a total of 25 outlets by the year-end. This is all part of the network’s strategy to improve customer satisfaction by increasing the number of direct points of contact. “Our research indicates people like to buy direct from our staff. Our showrooms allow us to control the whole sales process and provide accurate information on new channels and technical developments,” he said, adding that feedback from customers has been very positive indicating that Showtime’s objectives are being met.
LG ELECTRONICS
LG Electronics has signed a joint venture agreement with Nortel Networks, a Canadian telecom company, to provide cutting edge telecommunications equipment and networking solutions in the wireline, optical wireless, and enterprise areas. The joint venture, tentatively named LG-Nortel Networks, will focus on developing and producing telecom equipment for 3G wireless networks based on wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) technology. Nortel supplies wireless communications equipment and solutions to mobile markets in 150 countries. The partnership with LG, which is a major player in next-generation wireless networks, will target domestic and foreign markets by combining Nortel’s telecom equipment and LG’s terminals, LG’s CEO & Vice Chairman S. S. Kim said. “Our joint venture with Nortel is expected to create greater synergy between our cutting-edge technology and Nortel’s expertise in delivering communications capabilities,” he added. “Nortel is a powerhouse in the world’s telecommunications equipment market with strong technology and global competitiveness, while LG is a top-notch telecommunication equipment and solutions provider - we were the first company to provide a WCDMA system with video telephony in late 2002. We now want to set the standards for the next generation infrastructure and improve time-to-market in this competitive environment,” he said. “This is another milestone for Nortel as we continue to demonstrate our commitment to expand in Asia,” said Bill Owens, vice chairman and CEO at Nortel Owens.
SONY ERICSSON
Sony Ericsson’s eagerly awaited Walkman Phone (W800i) has been launched across the MEA region. The iconic phone is the first in the new ‘Walkman phone’ family by Sony Ericsson. “August marks the beginning of an eagerly awaited journey as digital music and mobile telephony combine to enable consumers to enjoy their music without ever missing a call,” said Husni Al-Assi, Sony Ericsson’s GM for MEA. “The Walkman is back,” he said reminding the glory of the Walkman of the 1970s. By introducing a comprehensive family of Walkman phones, the company aims to enable as many people as possible to enjoy mobile music anywhere, anytime. “The W800i embodies total personal independence by combining an MP3 player capable of recording 125 tracks of digital music, a cell phone and a 2 mega pixel, auto focus digital camera together in one pocket-size mobile device,” he added.