The National Company for Sales and Marketing (LINGO) has concluded an exclusive agreement for marketing KTV Middle East products that falls within the company’s plans for expansion in the Saudi market. This coincides with the increased demand for electronic equipment, particularly LCD TVs. Alahleya Co. Executive Manager and Managing Director Nizar Abdalla Othman and KTV General Manager Saad Omar Al-Khashnabi signed the agreement in Riyadh in the presence of Hun Shoi, KTV representative in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe; Abdulla Abu Baker Baashen of KTV and Mohammad Sanjar of Lingo in their capacity as agreement engineers. As per the agreement, Lingo will assume the responsibility of marketing and selling LCD TVs exclusively in the Saudi market for three years to wholesalers and retailers and will provide post-sale services to company clients.

SAMA

SAMA, Saudi Arabia’s new low-fare airline, will begin service from Dammam and Riyadh to the Kingdom’s favored summer mountain destination Abha tomorrow. The inaugural Dammam-Abha flight is set for Saturday, with the Riyadh-Abha service beginning the next day. The launch of the new destination, the sixth Saudi Arabian city in SAMA’s flight schedule, comes days after the airline was named official carrier of the Abha Shopping Festival 2007. The festival began on Wednesday. Faisal Al-Duhaim, marketing director, SAMA, said: “This initiative reinforces the airline’s commitment to the nation’s infrastructure and its people. SAMA is the first low-cost carrier flying daily to Abha, one of the Kingdom’s most famous tourism destinations. The addition of this new destination is part of our strategy to cover all major Saudi Arabian cities, and to offer tourists, families and businessmen a brand new option and a simpler, more affordable way to fly.”

Saudi Aramco

Saudi Aramco, a fully-integrated, global petroleum enterprise and the world’s leading energy supplier, and The Dow Chemical Company, described as the world’s leading science and technology company providing innovative chemical, plastic and agricultural products and services to consumers around the globe, yesterday announced the selection of KBR as the project management contractor for the Kingdom’s proposed world-scale chemicals and plastics production complex — Ras Tanura Integrated Project. KBR, based in Houston, Texas, is a leading global engineering, construction and services company supporting a variety of sectors including the refining and petrochemicals industry. “KBR’s capability to provide best-in-class large project management expertise and their competitiveness were the critical factors in our selection process,” said Bob Donaho, project director for the Ras Tanura Integrated Project for Dow.

Kia Motors

Seoul-based Kia Motors Corporation has outperformed the non-premium average for the first time in the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Initial Quality Study (IQS), which surveys the number of problems new vehicle owners experience after three months of ownership. Kia, one of the fastest growing automakers in the world, posted an 11-point year-on-year improvement on 2006, scoring 125 points. The company has seen a consistent improvement in scores, which captures issues experienced by owners in two distinct categories — quality of design and quality of production (defects and malfunctions). Kia has improved by 43 points since 2003, meaning it has recorded the best percentage-gap-to-average improvement of all non-premium brands on the survey over the last five years. Yong-Hwan Kim, senior executive vice president and chief operating officer of Kia Motors Corporation, said: “This result reflects our consistent improvement.”

BUPA Middle East

BUPA Middle East, the “only specialized medical insurance company in Saudi Arabia,” is placed eighth out of hundreds of companies surveyed by Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper to determine the best companies to work for in the Kingdom. BUPA Middle East emerged as the only insurance company of any type to make it into the Top 10. “We are very proud of this recognition because it is the result of our success in creating a work environment in which our employees can enjoy carrying out their duties,” said BUPA Middle East Managing Director Tal Nazer. “I truly believe that we have one of the best customer-focused teams in the industry, consisting of people who have achieved a balance between job satisfaction and job enjoyment, and it is this harmony that is a key factor in the company’s success.” Each month, it conducts a one-day induction program for new employees, followed by a four-week orientation.

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals

In an effort to raise the standards of health care in the region, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals sponsored 45 specialists from across the GCC to attend the four-day 8th Annual European Union League Against Rheumatism (EULAR 2007) in Barcelona. One of the major topics discussed at the conference was the importance of early diagnosis in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. “The management of different rheumatic diseases varies widely among countries, doctors and settings so international events such as the EULAR conferences are crucial in obtaining a set of recommendations and standardized operating procedures,” said Dr. Hussein Al-Halabi, consultant rheumatologist, King Faisal Hospital, Jeddah.