Alhamrani Company for Investment in Trade CEO Khalid Ali Alhamrani and Saudi Credit Bureau (SIMAH) GM Nabil Abdullah Al-Mubarak have signed an agreement of cooperation. SIMAH is described as the first company in the Kingdom that gathers information and provides local banks and member companies with credit information pertaining to customers. As such it is a national institution owned by local commercial banks and supervised by Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), aiming to provide credit information to members as a step towards development of loan mechanisms, ensuring safety of the procedures adopted in this field. SIMAH also provides the necessary protection to the clients’ information records as well as safe keeping of its confidentiality in accordance with laws and regulations. According to Alhamrani, financing companies are in great need of accurate and detailed credit database that helps the approval or rejection of a financing request. “Limiting the financial information to banks only while excluding the private sector is a great risk for private companies and will increase the size of bad debts in the market,” he said.

SAMACO/BUPA

BUPA Middle East, a major health insurer in the Kingdom, has been selected to provide medical cover for the employees and dependents of SAMACO Group, the sole agent of Audi, Volkswagen and Porsche cars in the Kingdom. “We value and care for our employees and want to provide them with best benefits. By choosing BUPA Middle East as our health care insurer we’re sure that their health and wellbeing are in the best possible hands,” SAMACO Group Vice President Mohammed Sherbatly said. “As one of the Kingdom’s largest automotive agents, SAMACO seeks to provide its employees the best medical cover and this agreement is recognition of BUPA’s commitment to provide unmatched health coverage,” BUPA Chairman Loay Nazer said.

GTB

Deutsche Bank, at its second annual Global Transaction Banking (GTB) conference held in Bahrain, has told delegates that the increasing demand for corporate borrowing is no longer being met purely by traditional methods of finance and that alternative methods are becoming more commonplace. The growth in corporate borrowing in the MENA region is fuelled mainly by infrastructure projects in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and met by the huge lending appetite of banks in the region. However, the capacity to finance more than an estimated $1trillion in future projects is finite, forcing lenders and borrowers to increasingly look to new sources of finance such as Islamic bonds. Supporting this trend, Deutsche Bank has developed Structured Trade & Export Finance (STEF) which offers a funding alternative that incorporates tailor made, often-complex, financial solutions with substantial in-built risk mitigation in support of cross-border trade transactions covering the export of goods and services either to or from the Middle East over short to long term tenors, typically 1-15 years.

Tang

Tang, a major refreshment and thirst quenching fruity drink for more than 40 years in the GCC, ended its Ramadan promotion across the GCC with a 3 kg tin (500g free) in a commemorative packaging. “Ramadan is a month of generosity and compassion, a month of sharing and togetherness,” a company spokesman said. During this time, the sense of family values and traditions are highly magnified. This is why Tang found it no better time than this auspicious period to help highlight the heritage of Tang in the region — by presenting a fantastic promotion across Saudi Arabia and most of the other parts of GCC — that offered Tang drinkers a choice between the delightfully refreshing orange flavor and the exotic tasting tropical mango thirst quencher, in a graphic designed 3kg tin. Relished by consumers in more than 60 countries, Tang is one of Kraft Foods’ most global largest bands. Holding the number one position in powdered beverages worldwide, Tang is available across the Gulf in eight different fruit flavors including mango, lemon, fruit cocktail and pineapple.

Natura Bisse

Natura Bisse International SA, claimed to be the world’s most luxurious and recognized revolutionary exclusive skincare cosmetics brand, manufactured in Barcelona, Spain, is increasing its reach in the Middle East by joining hands with international PR agency GolinHarris. The avant-garde elite manufacturer has appointed Nayton Cutino as general manager for the new company, having previously worked as its export area manager overseeing the Middle East region. Cutino, who worked for more than two years as Sales & Marketing Manager with the Natura Bisse distributor for the GCC region, will be heading the new company covering the entire Middle East, North Africa and Indian Subcontinent from its newly established Dubai offices. “Since its introduction to the GCC market, Natura Bisse has received exceptional response from customers who have experienced the prestigious brand’s outstanding product lines,” Cutino said.

Close Up

“Lychee” is the winner of the Close Up “The Big Vote” marketing campaign to choose the new flavor to join the toothpaste brand range. Close Up held an election celebration at Al Shalal Theme Park and Ice Rink in Jeddah recently with the cooperation of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI). “It’s a significant moment in marketing vote campaign,” said Ahmad Osilan, Close Up brand manager for the GCC. Close Up posed the question, the public answered in large numbers and the new flavor is now in the range. The big vote campaign was supported by a huge promotion in stores, and on TV and radio that triggered the interest of more than 60,000 votes across the GCC to make the choice of which toothpaste should become a permanent feature of the Close Up range. Omar bin Salem Al-Hibshi, commercial services specialist at the JCCI, said: “Close Up came up with a novel idea and the public voted at supermarkets and through SMS messages and the Internet.”

Master Foods

The Master Foods Academic Awards for Excellence in Marketing were recently hosted to identify the top three marketers for each participating university. A committee for the award of top prizes judged participants from King Saud University in Riyadh, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran and King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah. This was the initial judging stage, with competition being organized separately in each university and the three winners chosen will go on to compete in the second stage which is the competition for the Master Foods Awards for Academic Excellence Grand Prize. The competition, which aims to support talented students in order to develop their creativity and initiative, was also designed to prepare them for the high level of competitiveness that exists in the real world of product marketing.

Fikr 5

The Arab Thought Foundation (ATF) yeterday announced Orascom Telecom as partner sponsor of its fifth annual conference, Fikr 5, to be held in Beirut from Dec. 2-3. Orascom Telecom, a major telecommunications firm in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, and Hamad Al-Ammari, the board member of the ATF, signed the agreement in Riyadh, underlining its ongoing support for the foundation’s activities. The fifth ATF conference is an opportunity for the Arab world to demonstrate its solidarity toward Lebanon through helping to restore the country to its former glory, said ATF Chairman Prince Khalid Al-Faisal. Fikr 5 will bring together leading Arab thinkers, eminent politicians and influential businesspeople to focus on the theme of Arab solidarity and the revival of Lebanon. Key issues will include the re-building of Lebanon, particularly the economic infrastructure and restoration of the tourism sector. Orascom Chairman & CEO Nagib Sawiris said: “This conference highlights the bright cultural future of the Arab world even in light of the recent events in Lebanon, which we feel serve to prove our resilience and ability to rebuild.”

Tide

Following a successful first draw at the Geant Hypermarket in Aziz Mall, Jeddah, the Tide, Fairy and Downy White Musk Ramadan promotion came to an end at the Danube Supermarket in Serafi Mall, Jeddah, when a further 16 winning raffle ticket numbers were drawn in the presence of Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry representative Khalid Bukhari. In total, two lucky consumers of Tide, Fairy and Downy products won the grand prizes of 10 nights stay at a five-star hotel in Makkah, while a further 28 winners received prizes of two night stays at a five-star hotel in Makkah during Ramadan. Grand prize winners are Hamdi Mohamed Awad and Mohamed Nabeel Daha, and 14 winners in the second stage of the draw include Attah Al-Rahman Ali, Ashraf Mohamed, Saad El Deen Ashor, Haithem Makkawy, Ahmad Mahmoud Salam, Fahad Al-Jehani, Najdi Gusha, Khaled Saleh Sindi, Alaa Mahmoud Al-Kahloot, Abdulallah Eid Al-Dhahir, Abdul Rahman Abdul Razzaq, Fatma Al-Lehaidan, Mohamed Adel Quraishy and Hanadi Al-Fadel Mohamed.

MLA

One of Egypt’s leading authorities on animal welfare has welcomed a Memorandum of Understanding to re-open the live export trade between Australia and Egypt. “I was pleased to hear that Australia expects to increase the amount of live sheep and cattle it exports to the Middle East over the coming years. As a friend of animals, I’m pleased that Australian industry has shown committed effort to lifting animal handling standards across the Middle East and North Africa,” a spokesman for Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) said yesterday, quoting Ahmed El Sherbiny, chairperson of Egyptian Society of Animal Friends. “I look forward to Australia lifting the bar for all exporters and abattoirs. Without a major partner in the region’s meat trade taking such a stand I believe standards in our part of the world might even fall,” El Sherbiny said.