The $1 billion Bahrain Financial Harbor (BFH) project opened a purpose-built customer relations center (CRC) in Manama, near the upcoming integrated, self-contained financial city. The CRC was formally opened by Abdullah Hasan Saif, minister of finance and national economy, at a high-profile ceremony that was attended by senior dignitaries, business leaders, government officials and representatives of Bahrain Monetary Agency, Bahrain Stock Exchange, Economic Development Board, BFH, financial institutions and the diplomatic corps. The CRC will initially serve as an information hub aimed to raise awareness of the various facets of the project. “The information center will evolve into an investor relations center, serving as an information facility for potential an existing investors,” Esam Janahi, chairman, BFH, said. “The systematic dissemination of accurate and relevant information is key to the success of a milestone project such as BFH, the only of its kind in the region. The opening of CRC is a milestone development for BFH,” he added.
HSBC
HSBC has been recognized as best international provider of Islamic financial services and best international sukuk house in Euromoney’s 2003 Islamic finance awards. The magazine said that the breadth of services and the respect with which it is held in both Asia and the Middle East meant that the award was won by HSBC, which has not only developed a comprehensive range of products and services at its Islamic division, Amanah Finance, but has also marketed them aggressively through its global banking network. Significantly, it is selling its Islamic products to non-Islamic as well as Islamic customers. The sukuk award has gone to HSBC for the “highly professional” management of its deal for Qatar, with which it built on an already strong reputation gained when it issued the first sovereign sukuk for Malaysia. HSBC’s work on the government of Malaysia sukuk in 2002 was previously recognized by Euromoney, as best Asian sovereign bond, and by Institutional Investor, which named it deal-of-the-year reflecting the pre-eminence of HSBC Amanah Finance in the provision of Islamic financial services. “We’ve been able to gear ourselves up both in terms of investment and management capability to pioneer products and structures that give us a seat at the top table of the world’s Islamic finance industry,” Iqbal Khan, CEO, HSBC Amanah Finance, said.
Zamil Air Conditioners
Clima Tech Airconditioners GmbH, one of the strategic business units of Zamil Air Conditioners (ZAC) based in Austria, and its subsidiary business Kessler Clima Tech GmbH in Germany, have successfully implemented a quality management system leading to the award of ISO 9001: 2000 certification. IQNet and DQS GmbH have awarded the certification for the scope of development, production, sales, installation and service of air-conditioning systems. “The achievement aligns us more closely with ZAC’s overall vision of providing and maintaining superior quality in all its products and services,” Clima Tech General Manager Gunther Petri said. Clima Tech Airconditioners, headquartered in Grunbach Austria, specializes in the development and manufacture of technology based air-handling units and related high-quality components for hygiene, climate and clean room applications. These are usually installed in high sterile areas, such as the OT rooms in hospitals, procedure technical plants, pharmaceutical clean rooms, electronic clean rooms, foodstuff production, universities, power plants and industrial projects, among others. Kessler Clima Tech is a well-known name for air handlers and ventilation units in Germany. Its ventilation and air-handling units are suitable for almost all applications in the industrial and comfort areas and are available for indoor and outdoor installation as well as for use n the hygiene sector.
IAA
Dubai has won the bid to host the 40th World Congress of the International Advertising Association (IAA) in March 2006. About 3,000 of the world’s most influential advertising, marketing and media professionals will attend the three-day Dubai 2006 advertising convention. Dubai’s bid to host the congress was presented to the IAA global board by a team led by Joseph Ghossoub, area director of the IAA for the Middle east and Africa at the recently held Asian Advertising Congress (Ad Asia 2003) in Jaipur, India. Key members of the team included IAA UAE Chapter board members Rajiv Khanna and Tanvir Kanji. “I congratulate the IAA on the excellent quality of its Dubai 2006 bid and urge it to match Dubai 2003, the recently held World Bank/IMF annual meetings in September this year for flawless organization and delegate hospitality,” said Mohammed Al-Gergawi, chairman of the Dubai Development and Investment Authority. He congratulated the UAE chapter of the IAA, and in particular Joseph Ghossoub, for their vision and efforts in bringing the congress to Dubai.
Giordano
Mohammed ibn Mohammed Abdu Al-Jair of Jeddah drove off an Audi TT that he won as a grand prize in the Giordano seasonal promotion. He was the winner among 15,000 participants in the raffle. Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry Secretary General Mohamed A. Al-Sharif and Saudi ETA Group Director General Hani Abdul Aziz Saab supervised the draw. Other prizes offered included TV sets. Meanwhile, Giordano’s sporty, utilitarian style featured in the autumn “Simple Me” collection, takes on warmer tones for the ongoing season. The winter hues feature more festive reds, blues, grays and dark greens that contrast with the ever-reliable white and black. “The Simply Me collection for winter is fresh and exciting,” says Naomi Kasad, head of buyer, Giordano Middle East. “The warmer colors, new innovations in fabrication and classic styling make for clothing that is durable and looks good for the season.” Giordano Middle East is on target to increase its stores from 80 to 100 by 2005-end, as Giordano International Chairman Peter Lau recently visited the region with senior members of his team for discussion on the group’s expansion. During the last 18 months, Giordano has continued localizing each individual store, catering specifically to the local population, providing lines and colors, which appeal directly to the consumers living or working within the radius of the store. This form of micro marketing affords closer interaction with consumers, allowing Giordano to respond quickly to specific needs.
Nestle Middle East
Nestle Middle East (NME), a local joint venture company, is celebrating its 70-year relationship with the region. “Our purpose of celebrating the landmark event is not to promote our sales, as all of our products are selling well and ahead of others in the competition, but create awareness about the Nestle company,” Abdulrauf H. Redwan, head of personnel at Saudi Food Industries Co. Ltd.-Nestle, told reporters during a visit to the company’s production plant in Jeddah on Sunday. Nestle is a global company with a strong history of Swiss heritage. NME was formed in 1997 and has since been consolidating its presence in the GCC and Levant countries. With the company’s operations extending to Iran and Iraq, the NME market now consists of 13 countries covering a population of 175 million. Nestle’s regional headquarters is in the Jebel Ali Free Zone since October 2001. NME, which “endorses its ability to think globally and act locally,” extends its involvement with local partners and consumers through products specifically formulated to meet their needs. Nestle’s founder Henri Nestle started the company in Switzerland in 1867 with the development of the first infant food for babies. Today, it is a multinational company with 255,000 employees worldwide. Its annual global turnover exceeds $70 billion. It invests $700 million annually in research and development, said Christian Laplace, factory manager in his presentation. NME has more than 50 brands of products in nutrition, milk, confectionery, coffee, beverage creamers, culinary, water and cereals. “We’re committed to investing in local employment and training and pursuing the Saudization program,” Redwan, added. “Saudis constitute 44 percent of our 160-member staff.” The joint venture has been continuously scouting for talent among young Saudi school graduates. They are given on-job training in all departments and are assigned jobs depending on their interests and capability. Nestle’s brands include Nido, Cerelac, Nescafe, Carnation, Maggi, Nesquik, Klim, Nestle Pure Life, Nestle Fitness, Nestle Cornflakes, Kit Kat and Quality Street.
