ACCOR
Accor, one of the largest hotel chains currently managing more than 4,000 hotels worldwide, has signed an agreement with Saudi Business Insight Group (SBI) in Riyadh. The agreement will authorize the SBI to work as the “Preferred Sales Agent” for Accor hotels and provide instant information about rates, availability and confirmation of hotel accommodation in any part of the world. The agreement was signed by Suhail M. Ajina, SBI’s Group Managing Director and Dr Abderahman Belgat, Accor’s Director General for Saudi Arabia. The event was also attended by Bertrand Besancenot, French ambassador; Abdulaziz Al-Sheikh, Adar Corp president; Francois Sauvageot, Riyadh Novetel general manager; Shaukat Ali Khan, Accor operations manager, and Mohammed K. Moinuddin, regional manager.
KTV/DAIHATSU
Dubai-based KTV Middle East Company and Daihatsu represented by Lingo, the exclusive distributor for KTV televisions in the Kingdom, and Saudi company Abdul Latif Jameel Retail Ltd., respectively, signed an agreement to supply one thousand 23-inch LCD TVs. The agreement stipulates that as part of Daihatsu’s rewards program customers that purchase the five-seater Daihatsu Terios Car will be presented with a KTV LCD television. The agreement was signed by Abdullah A. Baeshin, AGM and operations manager of Korean KTV in the Kingdom; and Adil Izzat, MD, Daihatsu; and Ahmed Azoni, marketing manager of Daihatsu; in the presence of Eiad Al-Zain, the projects manager at Al-Ahlia. “KTV Middle East has taken a step in the right direction to successfully promote its products in the region through promotional offers that benefit the customers and entering into significant partnerships with numerous companies and establishments in the region, allowing KTV to gain the trust of its target customers in the Gulf Market,” Baeshin said.
CARREFOUR
The UAE Ministry of Economy (MoE) and MAF Hypermarket (Carrefour) have signed a memorandum of understanding that will see Carrefour fix the prices of several basic food commodities throughout 2008. The move is part of a series of initiatives to implement the first phase of a program wherein Carrefour will retain the 2007 prices of around 52 prime commodities in the UAE. Mohammed ibn Abdul Aziz Al-Shihhi, undersecretary, MoE, and Henri Changeux, senior vice president of Carrefour, signed the MoU in Dubai. “The signing of the MoU with Carrefour is the result of discussions and cooperation between the two parties, and is in line with the continuous efforts by the ministry to stabilize prices, reduce inflation levels, maintain market balance and protect the consumer. It is also part of a series of initiatives implemented recently by the ministry that aim to encourage private sector companies and cooperative unions to support the ministry’s call to fix prices of basic food products and sell them at cost prices,” said Shihhi.
EMAAR.E.C
Emaar, The Economic City (Emaar.E.C), the Tadawul-listed company developing King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), has strengthened the company’s management team with the appointment of Joseph Kilar as chief operating officer and Dr Hani T. Gharbawi as general counsel and company secretary. Reporting to Fahd Al-Rasheed, chief executive officer, Emaar.E.C, Kilar will lend his extensive expertise in the construction industry in developing KAEC, and Dr Gharbawi will oversee and advise in the legal aspects of the company’s operations. Al-Rasheed said: “Joseph Kilar and Dr. Hani T. Gharbawi bring to Emaar.E.C several years of hands-on experience. Their breadth of know-how in their respective fields will drive the growth of Emaar.E.C and give further momentum to the development of KAEC.”
LG PLANT
LG’s $30 million assembly plant for airconditioners in Riyadh has started its trial production and is set for official opening. “The LG-Shaker AC Factory has been successfully producing split and concealed airconditioners, to begin with, and is gearing up for its official opening on June 4,” Yong Kim, LG’s general manager of corporate airconditioning division in the Middle East, said recently on the sidelines of the Korean electronics giant’s launch of a new line of airconditioners in cooperation with its distributor, H.G. Ibrahim Shaker Co. Ltd. “Our production of the first batch of airconditioners at the new plant is being distributed locally,” he said exuding confidence that the Riyadh plant will ultimately become the base for the entire Middle East region.