FMQ SONS
Faysal M. Al-Qahtani Sons Company (FMQ Sons Co.), a Saudi owned company and pioneer in the pipeline construction and engineering services in Saudi Arabia, was cited by the Business Initiative Directions (BID) of London for its outstanding dedication to quality, leadership, technology, innovation and development in human resources. The company was awarded with the prestigious 6th International Quality Crown Award, a citation given to the company on the basis of the commitment to QC100 Total Quality Management (TQM). The International Quality Crown is considered as an “Oscar” or “Nobel” in the business world. The BID crown symbolizes leadership and prestige - excellence and commitment to quality. It also represents a path to be followed by managers who make their companies sustainable by modernizing and paying attention to market tendencies. The presentation of the award took place in Guoman Tower Convention Hall in London with Jose E. Prieto presiding the event. Charly A. Azucena, general manager, FMQ Sons Company received the award from Jose E. Prieto, president and CEO of BID in London.
LAZURDE, WGC
Lazurde jewelry and the World Gold Council (WGC) launched the second phase of their Kingdomwide campaign to produce fashion gold jewelry at a function held in Riyadh last week. Abdul Aziz Al-Othaim, chairman of the board of directors of Lazurde, and Bisher Diab, WGC’s counselor for Gulf region, were among those present. “Lazurde has played a unique role in producing attractive designs in gold jewelry and its works have drawn immense interest from countries in the Middle East and North Africa, Europe and America, aside from Saudi Arabia,” Othaim said. He added that his company’s participation with the WGC was geared to increase the demand for gold sales in the Kingdom and rest of the Gulf, Yemen, Sudan and the other Arab countries. Diab said that by joining with Lazurde in its campaign, there would be more new designs of gold jewelry in the market that would eventually benefit the consumers to get a wide selection in the open market. Speaking about the importance of yellow gold in the lifestyle of modern women, Diab said: “It reflects the beauty of life filled with radiance and distinction, and sophistication.
SHOWTIME
Life in the fast lane, the carpool lane, proves a hilarious occasion for male bonding for four guys from very different backgrounds in SHOWCOMEDY’S new comedy series, CARPOOLERS which premiered last month and is telecast on every Sunday at 9 p.m. The foursome uses their commuter confessional as a way to commiserate about their jobs, their families, their hopes and their secrets, because in the carpool lane no one can hear you scream. CARPOOLER feeds on growing enthusiasm to conserve energy and reverse global warming. The four typical suburban men are made up of Laird, a recently divorced dentist and self proclaimed playboy; Aubrey, who is the sole provider for his family, especially for his wife who is a couch potato; Gracen, a professional mediator, who is all about traditional values and is married to Leila, who is a house flipper; and Dougie, who is the new guy to the group and just married Cindy. Even though “what happens in the carpool stays in the carpool,” they’ll go beyond the boundaries of this fast-moving commuter confessional to get involved in each other’s lives and develop friendships. For them, carpooling isn’t just a way to get to work - it’s a way of life. Viacom, Inc.
BNP PARIBAS
BNP Paribas in the Gulf has announced that a team from BNP Paribas Real Estate has joined the regional GCC platform from January 2008 bringing real estate services and investment advice to clients in the region. Real Estate is an increasingly challenging business, in which clients are seeking advisers with skills and expertise beyond those of traditional real estate advisers. BNP Paribas Real Estate has risen to this challenge and is now providing its customers with a wide and complete range of services covering Western European Countries with a leading position in corporate real estate services. BNP Paribas Real Estate is organized in four complementary business lines. The establishment of BNP Paribas Real Estate into the GCC will reinforce the group’s presence in the region and emphasize its strong commitment to the Gulf. Based in Bahrain, Olivier Ghattas and Rupert Jones will be responsible for nurturing existing and developing new client relationships within the region, particularly for Arabic investors looking for investment opportunities in Europe.
GULF AIR
Following the recent announcement of a major decision to purchase 16 Boeing Dreamliners with an option for another eight, Gulf Air has finalized the deal at a ceremony in Washington last week. The ceremony, celebrating the US-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement and the Contract for the 787 Dreamliner Aircraft between the Boeing Company and Gulf Air, was held under the auspices of US-Bahrain Business Council, the US Chamber of Commerce and the Embassy of Bahrain. Gulf Air Chairman Mahmood Al-Kooheji and President and Chief Executive Björn Näf attended the event, graced by members of the US Congress, diplomats, bureaucrats and VIPs from the US trade and business. “This signing ceremony marks yet another milestone in the historic friendship between Bahrain and the US,” said Al-Kooheji. “The US has become a major trade partner since the signing of FTA between the US and Bahrain in 2004. In 2006, trade volume between the US and Bahrain rose to $1.5 billion. This reflects the incentives provided by the FTA and the Kingdom’s strategic commitment to opening markets and expanding opportunities for Bahraini businesses.”
HOME CENTER
The inauguration of the largest Home Center, the new furniture showroom on Khuraish Road in Riyadh yesterday marks a new era in the furniture industry. The showroom, which is divided into two levels has space of about 100,000 square feet, said Neelesh Bhatnagar, chief executive officer of Al-Bandar Group, which owns and operates Home Center stores across the Kingdom. “The Home Center store is the largest concept in terms of space consumption and items,” Bhatnagar said. “This will definitely help us to accommodate more customers in the long run, who will find all their furniture needs in our store,” he said. The store exceeds the expectations of home furniture gurus through creating unique display techniques of world-class furniture and accessories brands. “Stretching over a two-floor wide display space, visitors will be struck with new lines of furniture that were never displayed in Saudi Arabia,” he said. “Home Center’s ability to reflect contemporary culture, to sense and anticipate trends, to respond to changes in taste and living needs, has resulted in a collection of world-famous furnishings, which account for a crucial chapter in the history of furniture design,” said Vittal Prabhu, chief operating officer.
ADIB
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank has appointed Tirad Mahmoud to the position of chief executive officer in accordance with ADIB’s long-term plan to enlarge its geographical presence locally and regionally. Mahmoud brings to ADIB more than 25 years of regional and international banking experience through occupying several senior management positions at Citigroup and Saudi American Bank, including a general manager and head of corporate and investment banking — SAMBA and a CEO and managing director for Citibank-Eastern Europe, chief risk officer for Citibank in Egypt and Northern Africa, vice president for corporate real estate finance for Citibank in Canada as well as senior regional coverage posts for Citibak’s businesses in GCC.
MARAFIQ
Jassem Aamir Al-Hajji, the director general of Royal Commission for Jubail has undertaken a visit to the Independent Water and Power Project initiated by Marafiq and owned by Jubail Water and Power Company (JWAP). Thamer S. Al-Sharhan, the chairman of JWAP who is also president and CEO of Marafiq, and other members of JWAP received him. Al-Hajji was accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising of senior executives of the Royal Commission and Bechtel. The IWPP plant consists of a Combined Cycle Gas Turbine plant with a capacity of approximately 2,750MW, and 800,000 cubic meters of water per day. The project will deliver electricity and water to Marafiq under a 20-year power and water purchase agreement (PWPA). The project company is a joint venture formed and owned by Marafiq, holding a 30 percent investment, Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), holding five percent and the public investment fund (PIF) of the Ministry of Finance, also holding five percent. The developer, Suez Group Consortium, holds the balance investment of 60 percent. It reflects Marafiq’s efforts to promote international investment in the privatization of the power and water industry in Saudi Arabia.
SAMSUNG
Samsung Electronics has ranked at the top for two straight years in the global TV marketplace in 2007, further widening its lead against rivals. According to the latest report by the market research firm DisplaySearch, Samsung commanded a 13.6 percent share in the global TV market last year in unit sales, followed by LG Electronics with 11.4 percent, Philips with 7.4 percent, Sony with 6.6 percent and TCL with 5.8 percent. In revenue, Samsung again emerged on top with a share of 17.8 percent, followed by Sony with 12.4 percent, LG Electronics with 9.6 percent, Philips with 8.1 percent and Sharp with 7.8 percent. The gap between the front-runner and second tier players further widened to 2.2 percent points in unit sales and to 5.4 percent points in revenue. In the category of flat panel TVs, Samsung Electronics recorded share of 17.2 percent in unit sales, followed by Sony (10.6 percent), Philips (10.2 percent), LG Electronics (9.7 percent), and Sharp (8.9 percent). In revenue terms, Samsung’s share was 19 percent, dwarfing rival companies. Following Samsung were Sony (13.9 percent), Sharp (9.5 percent), LG Electronics (9.5 percent), and Philips (9.1 percent).
TAMEER
Tameer Holding has been declared winner of the Mohammed Ibn Rashid Al-Maktoum Business Awards 2007 in the real estate development category. The award is an initiative by Dubai Chamber of Trade and Commerce, with the aim to encourage the best business practices and to raise the bar of business excellence in the UAE. The region’s leading property developer received the award, considered one of the UAE’s most important awards, after the judging had evaluated several entries based on the ‘Business High Performance Model’ which covers issues related to the management and performance of firms, in addition to strategic initiatives, quality imperatives, corporate culture, corporate social responsibility and the company’s contributions to the development of the national economy. Omar Ayesh, president of Tameer Holding, said, “We are thrilled to be competing with the UAE’s top businesses, whose achievements are apparent throughout the country. We have adopted the highest international standards of management, high speed and flexibility to stay abreast with the requirements, latest trends, developments and changes in the markets,” he said.
MOBILY
Mobily, the Kingdom’s second mobile operator, announced yesterday that it signed a managed services deal for the first time in the Middle East, with Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent and Huwaie, where the three international telecom companies will provide operation, maintenance, network optimization, spare parts management and technical support for Mobily’s multi-vendor mobile network for three years. The three companies will support Mobily’s efforts to boost the overall efficiency of its network operations and maintenance, as well as reduce its network operating costs while improving the overall reliability of the network, thus enabling Mobily to meet its customers’ fast-growing demand. “To consistently and reliably meet our customers’ expectations, it is imperative for us to ensure a high level of network availability and performance but at the same time we need to minimize our operating costs, for this reason we have signed the managed services agreement,” said Mobily CEO Khalid Al-Kaf. “We want to focus more on customers, by applying the most recent trends in the world, that is, outsourcing the network.” Mobily, which started operations in mid-2005, has been able to capture around 38 percent of the market share in less than three years in the biggest telecom market in the Middle East. It has also been able to extend its 2.5G, 3G, and 3.5G/HSDPA network to cover all the cities in the biggest GCC country at the cost of $1.5 billion, establishing the state-of-the-art network enhanced by a modern fiber optic network.