SABB

With the countdown to Eid Al-Fitr under way, SABB has come out with “Eid Gifts” for poor and needy families in Riyadh. The bank’s humanitarian gesture which is part of its social responsibility involves distribution of gift packs consisting of food, consumer products, clothing and other items for the Eid festivities. A group of SABB employees volunteered for this program, which was implemented within the framework of the bank’s firm commitment to serve the community. Commenting on SABB’s initiative, Ibrahim Abo-Mouti, head of corporate communication, at SABB said: “The bank’s objective is to stress its commitment to provide charitable activities, and reflect our keenness to promote social programs, that serve the community.” “Eid Gifts” is one of those projects that underline the Bank’s commitment to social responsibility. He lauded the initiative by SABB’s team which is composed of employees from different departments. The latest initiative by SABB is part of its community outreach programs which include SABB’s scholarship program for a master’s degree from the UK, and SABB’s sponsorship of the chair of finance at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, as well as continuing support and sponsorship of “The School Bag Project,” initiated by the Riyadh Orphans Charitable Society “INSAN.”

VISA

Visa announced in San Francisco yesterday that it intends to restructure its organization in order to create a new public global corporation called Visa Inc. As part of this restructuring, Visa Europe will remain a membership association, owned and governed by its European member banks and become a licensee of Visa Inc. Visa expects the proposed restructuring will best position the company to meet the evolving needs of its customers and accelerate its growth by improving organizational efficiency, addressing certain legal claims that exist in some markets and increasing access to capital. “This is a great time in Visa’s history to make this transition - we continue to be a leader in the payments industry, our growth and emerging market strategies are succeeding, and the growth potential in the global payments industry is tremendous,” said William I. Campbell, chairman of the Visa International board of directors.

CRYSTAL AURA

Swarovski and Avon have created Crystal Aura eau de parfum, the newest fragrance. “We’re thrilled to be working with Swarovski on this sparkling, inspiring fragrance,” said Jill Scalamandre, SVP, Global Beauty Brands. “Both Swarovski and Avon are iconic brands that have emotional connections to women all over the world, so this is a natural partnership that we feel will truly excite our consumers.” Crystal Aura bottles the brilliance of crystal with a shimmer of sensuality that is both sophisticated and luminous. It celebrates that extra bit of sparkle that adds a special, feminine touch to the everyday. The multi-faceted, rectangular bottle mimics the shape of a crystal, encasing the beautifully crystallized fruity floral fragrance -a radiant blend of star fruit, amethyst rose, musk and woods.

TOSHIBA

Toshiba International Company hosted a distributors conference in Cyprus for its projection and display technology, commemorating its 10th anniversary. The Arabian Business Machines Company (ABM-Olayan) received the “Excellent performance” award for the Middle East. ABM-Olayan has this year won several different international awards from Toshiba and other corporate entities. The company’s intention to continue with its successes at all levels was also reiterated at the event.

GIB

New York-based Global Finance magazine yesterday named Gulf International Bank (GIB) as the “Best project finance bank in the Middle East and Africa for 2006.” The bank wins this particular award for the second year in a row. The awards include the top global bank and top banks active in four global sectors and seven world regions, including the Middle East and Africa. The magazine bases its selection of the winning banks on a wide range of subjective and objective criteria including innovation in financing techniques, market position, project size and complexity, strength of project finance teams, geographic dispersion and opinions of analysts, lawyers and bankers involved in the industry. GIB’s Chief Executive Officer Dr. Khaled M. Al-Fayez said: “For five years GIB has been the Middle East’s primary provider of project and structured finance services. Our expertise encompasses underwriting and arranging limited-recourse term financing, in addition to a complete range of debt finance products such as syndicated debt finance, Islamic finance and export credit agencies.”

HHA

Haji Husain Alireza and Co. Ltd. (HHA) opened first “Quick Lane” center at the intersection of Madinah Road and Sari street in Jeddah, among other centers for quick services to be opened in the future, to provide excellent and quick service to Ford, Mercury and Mazda cars across the Kingdom. This step comes to satisfy the need of customers for quick services for cars, which need light services without the need to go to the workshops, which take longer time due to work pressure. Quick Lane centers will provide quick services of high-standards adopted by Ford, Mercury and Mazda Motor Corporation. The new center contains the best quick service techniques for light maintenance in addition to modern electronic equipment with highly skilled operators and technicians to ensure highest level of service at shortest possible time. The center also has a special section for spare parts and supplies in addition to a luxury-waiting lounge where customer can wait for his car to be ready.

NCB

The National Commercial Bank (NCB) in collaboration with the Handicapped Children Foundation Center (HCFC) in Jeddah recently launched its campaign to make mosques accessible for the handicapped under the title “Prepare God’s House for God’s Worshippers.” The agreement was signed by Mahmoud Al-Turkistani, the NCB head of community service unit and Dunia ibn Ali, the director of the “You’re Not Alone” Program at the HCFC. The bank donated SR155,000 in aids to make some of the Jeddah mosques more easily accessible by the handicapped.