NCB

Minister of Finance Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf has praised the role of the National Commercial Bank (NCB) in the area of social responsibility. He expressed his appreciation for the bank’s initiative for issuing sustainable development report, the first publication issued by financial institutions in the Kingdom and the Middle East. NCB Chairman Abdullah Bahamdan recently visited Dr. Al-Assaf and presented him with a copy of the report of sustainable development. Dr. Al-Assaf said the NCB took the lead in this regard and its efforts to highlight the importance of the concept of sustainable development in the Kingdom and the Middle East was commendable.” Bahamdan said the NCB was keen to contribute actively to meet the needs of society. “The report reflects the bank’s efforts of sustainable development and shows what it has done in the area of social responsibility to satisfy staff, clients and society as well as the environment in which it operates. He expressed his pride that the NCB was one of the first to compile and present this report to business community in the Kingdom hoping that it would encourage more business institutions in the region to issue their reports also. The NCB report for sustainable development had received ‘B’ rating from the World Organization for Standards for sustainable and social responsibility in the Kingdom and the Middle East.

JENAN

Jenan Real Estate Company (JREC), a closed joint stock company and a new player in the real estate sector of the Eastern Province, has announced the appointment of GRMC to conduct a market and best-use study for a large scale mixed use project in Alkhobar. The announcement was made just a few weeks after the company launched itself. The appointment was formalized at a signing ceremony held at JREC’s offices in Alkhobar. “At Jenan we believe in working with partners who are professional and committed toward making our vision a reality. We found those key points in GRMC, and their understanding of the local and regional market semantics, skill, experience and innovative solutions were the deciding factors for us to partner with them,” Jenan’s CEO and MD Dr. Bassam Boodai said. “Our unwavering commitment toward building large-scale iconic developments leads us to appoint GRMC who will advice us on the steps to be undertaken for future developments,” he added. “Our team at GRMC is very glad at being appointed as the advisor for Jenan, as the company is backed by a very strong and experienced management which understands the need and requirement of conducting professional research and studies before a project is embarked upon,” GRMC’s Executive Manager Harvey Monk said.

OPTHA CLUB

Optha Club, which has allocated SR100,000 annually for its program of continuing medical education, held its annual meeting in Jeddah, which was attended by more than 500 specialists and physicians in the field of ophthalmology. Sponsored by Magrabi Hospitals and Centers for more than eight years, specialized lectures in surgery and latest developments in the treatment of eye diseases were presented at the meeting. Dr. Tarek Eid, general supervisor of the program of continuing medical education and of Optha Club activities at Magrabi Hospitals and Centers, reviewed the club’s activities. The program of continuing education helps familiarize practitioners with the latest developments and new global research findings, he said. In the past year, an intensive course on the treatment of cataract was held for over three months. In addition, a special department in the club is exclusively dedicated to the organization of mini-conferences held for managers and senior surgeons where they are presented with difficult surgical cases and open dialogues between physicians, he added.

SJAHI

The Japanese have shown willingness to support Saudi Japanese Automobile High Institute (SJAHI), located on Jeddah-Makkah Road, as it is one of the successful projects outside Japan, according to SJAHI Director Salim H. Al-Asmarei. He recently visited Japan and sought new support for SJAHI from the Japanese government. “The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has promised future support for SJAHI after the expiration of the current support from the Japanese government that SJAHI has been getting through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Japan International Cooperation Agency,” Al-Asmarei said. “The current support will expire on Aug. 31. For the new support, SJAHI has been registered with Saudi-Japan Industrial Cooperation Joint Taskforce as desired by the Japanese government. This registration has facilitated to proceed for the required support from the Japanese government since SJAHI is one of the strong feeders preparing Saudi youth to work as technicians in workshops and service centers of the Japanese Automobile Distributors in the Kingdom (JADIK) and also for training technicians in the field of automobile assembly for future use. During his visit, Al-Asmarei sought support for SJAHI through exchange of SJAHI tools, equipment, vehicles and training materials with new ones for updating the training tools, equipment and vehicles in accordance with the current curriculum. The training provided at SJAHI enables Saudis to work at the workshops and service centers of JADIK as Japanese automobiles maintenance technicians.