The National Commercial Bank received three Islamic fund awards — “Best Islamic Fund Family,” “Best Islamic European Equity Fund,” and “Most innovative Islamic Fund in 2005” at the First Annual Failaka Islamic Funds Awards for 2005 held earlier this week by Failaka International Inc. The AlAhli family of funds’ net asset value reached over SR33 billion recently and was recognized by the independent Islamic fund research and analysis institution as the “Best Islamic fund family” for 2005. Over the past 26 years, the AlAhli Family of Funds’ including equities, balanced and income funds grew richer and more diversified to meet the needs and requirements of various investors. “We’re honored to receive these awards,” said Ahmed Farid, the bank’s head of asset management.
PEPSICO
Pepsico International organized a field trip for 50 children and teenagers from Al-Birr Charitable Society to meet the Saudi National Football Team last week. The group, all orphans between nine and 16 years old and cared for by Al-Birr, met their national football heroes before the team took on Iraq in a warm-up friendly match at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah. Pepsico International presented gift packs, which included branded T-shirts, caps and some surprise gifts, to the youngsters to help with the festivities. “It was a great opportunity to do something positive for children who are sometimes below the public radar,” said the spokesman for Pepsico International GCC marketing management. “These kids love football, so we thought of doing something really positive for them.”
AL HARBI
Al Harbi Trading & Contracting Co. has signed a contract for constructing the cross point between Jeddah-Madinah Road and Al Mansour Street. The SR78.5 million project includes excavation, construction and finishing works in accordance with the approved standards. The contract is in line with the Makkah region’s strategy to develop main roads inside the cities to control traffic jams. “The new project is another challenge for the company that has many achievements to its credit, more so as it will develop the road network in the holy city,” Nayef Al Harbi, GM, Al-Harbi Trading and Contracting Co. said. The Kingdom has more than 13,000 contracting agencies, 30 percent of them in the Eastern Province, 20 percent in Jeddah and 15 percent in Riyadh.
SAP
Fortune magazine has ranked SAP AG, the world’s leading provider of business software solutions, No. 3 in the computer software category, in its annual ranking of America’s most admired companies. The list of rankings appears in the March 6 issue of Fortune. Its most admired companies are those known for high-quality products and services, driving innovation, effectively managing talent, delivering consistent returns to shareholders, and demonstrating social responsibility.