Through its exclusive inVision service, STC is giving the Kingdom’s football fans an opportunity to share in the excitement of all 32 matches in the Asian Cup Final 2011, which is being held in Doha from Jan. 7-29. With Saudi Arabia among the 16 national teams playing in the finals, the championship is attracting huge interest throughout the Kingdom and STC is living up to its reputation for delivering timely and innovative services by taking viewers to the heart of the event and enabling them to watch the matches at any time through Aljazeera sports channel and Abu Dhabi sports channel. STC’s advanced interactive television service (IPTV), launched last July, is a stunning interactive way to enjoy programs with high clarity picture quality on a TV screen through Internet connection. Features include the ability to stop live transmissions and instant replay the action or watch it later, recording and Video on Demand (VOD) service. The service also features Catch-up technology that enables retrieval of any program or game transmitted within the last seven days on any space channel. In addition to providing full coverage of the entire Asian Cup, STC inVision offers Afaq DSL Shamel customers a wide range of viewing content that includes matches in the English, Spanish and Italian football leagues and the European championships, as well other sports events, cultural and religious programs, documentaries and videos.
 

The Northern Borders University (NBU), Saudi Arabia, has selected SunGard Higher Education, a global provider of education software and technology services, to support its mission for quality higher education in the remote areas of Arar, Rafha and Turaif in the Kingdom. This is one in a series of initiatives planned to help ensure that students from these areas can obtain quality higher education without having to migrate to the major cities in the Kingdom. SunGard Higher Education, in collaboration with International Turnkey Systems (ITS), will help NBU deploy the Banner Digital Campus as part of a multi-phased project. The first phase of the project will involve the deployment of Banner Student and Banner Financial Aid with the associated Arabic Language User Interface support. These solutions are tailored to help institutions like NBU streamline their administrative processes and provide enhanced learning resources to students and faculty members. Students will be able to search and register for classes by term or date as well as retrieve relevant data online, while faculty members will be able to manage course information, rosters, grading, and advise students from remote locations. “This project will be a key turning point in our evolution as a new institution of higher education in Saudi Arabia,” said Abdulrahman bin Ali Said Malawi, vice rector, NBU. Mathew Boice, VP, EMEA and India, SunGard Higher Education, said: “The growing community of Banner customers in the Kingdom provides new opportunities for institutions to share best practices and collaborate on new ideas.”
 

At the new bC India trade fair to be held from Feb. 8-11 in Mumbai, Liebherr is displaying 10 exhibits representing the group’s vast construction equipment and component program. Liebherr’s stand is showcasing a tower crane, two truck mixers, a crawler crane, a material handler, a wheel loader and a rotary drilling rig, and three exhibits from Liebherr’s components division. Liebherr is also presenting its 71 EC-B 5 FR.tronic flattop crane with the 63 LC interior climbing system. This combination of flattop crane and compact interior climbing system is ideal for the Indian market. Extremely simple, safe assembly on the construction site is an additional advantage. Liebherr has designed its 63 LC interior climbing system specifically for use on small to medium-sized construction tasks. It permits the crane to be located centrally inside the building. The tower is based on a module of only 1.2 x 1.2 meters and is therefore ideal for climbing even in very compact lift shafts or air conditioning ducts. From its truck mixer range, Liebherr is displaying the HTM 704 S and the HTM 1004. The drums of both mixers are manufactured from LH-37, a special alloy steel. This innovative material, developed in close cooperation with leading steel producers, is especially wear-resistant and capable of withstanding the rigors of day-to-day concrete transport. This benefits service life and reduces operating costs. The program of components that Liebherr develops and manufactures ranges from mechanical and hydraulic to electrical and electronic items for drive-train and control functions.
 

The Saudi British Bank (SABB) has been named the “Best Trade Finance Bank” in Saudi Arabia for 2011 by Global Finance magazine. Each year Global Finance selects the best financial institutions around the world. These awards have become a recognized and acknowledged standard of excellence. Global Finance editors with input from industry analysts, corporate executives and technology experts selected the best trade finance banks in 71 countries/regions. Criteria for choosing the winners included transaction volume, scope of global coverage, customer service, competitive pricing and innovative technologies. While the award is for 2011, it is based on performance during 2010. This is the third consecutive year that SABB has won this award, highlighting yet again the market leading position that SABB enjoys among trade finance banks in the Kingdom. David Dew, MD, SABB, said: “Customer care is a priority for us as we will continue to provide the highest service quality and innovative products. We are delighted with the appreciation that we have received from Global Finance magazine for the third consecutive year in recognition of our leading role in financing trade in the Kingdom.” SABB offers a comprehensive suite of conventional and Shariah-compliant trade products with the ability to structure and implement bespoke solutions to meet complex requirements of local and multinational customers, using local expertise and resources backed by HSBC’s global presence.
 

The first official sketches of the next generation Kia Rio revealed recently show a powerful, bold design that marks “the next big step” in the company’s ongoing design revolution. Longer, lower and wider than the existing Rio, the new model is designed to inject emotional appeal into the B-segment, targeting progressive, energetic consumers in the 25-49 age group. Described by Kia’s Chief Design Officer Peter Schreyer as ‘sporty and elegant’, the B-segment newcomer has a swept-back profile and a character line rising out of the front wheel, which gives it a sense of movement and fluidity even when stationary. Inside, new Rio will offer a feeling of quality typically associated with larger, more expensive models. “Downsizing is becoming more and more of a trend these days, and a B-segment car as attractive as all-new Rio with its driver-oriented cabin and interior trim options will no doubt help consumers to be more comfortable making that switch. New Rio is the ‘next big step’ in Kia’s design revolution and we anticipate this model becoming even more popular than the current vehicle,” says Soon-Nam Lee, director of overseas marketing, Kia Motors Corporation. The new Kia Rio will make its global debut at the Geneva International Motor Show on March 1. The current Kia Rio was the company’s third best-selling vehicle in overseas markets during 2010 with sales of more than 205,000 units.