Tameer Holding, a major real estate developer in the region, recently celebrated the sales launch of Al Salam City, the company’s project based in Umm Al Quwain. Sheikh Abdullah ibn Rashid Al Mualla, deputy ruler of the emirate, and Omar Ayesh, president of Tameer Holding, were among those present. “Al Salam City is simply an extension of the success story that Tameer began a few years ago,” Ayesh said. Tameer Holding is offering a 10 percent discount until Thursday on property purchases. Situated on the Emirates and the Pan-Emirates roads, the project is an integrated residential and commercial area, consisting of a number of districts. The development has been designed to house up to half a million residents with an area that will include parks, playgrounds, entertainment centers, horse riding stables and cable car facilities.
VISA
Visa International, a major provider of payment solutions, is hosting a conference in Dubai today (March 7) on “The Future of Payments - Visa Avenue 2010.” The conference will discuss current and future technological developments that are set to play a significant role in spreading electronic payment solutions to both the private and public sectors.
“The e-government project that is now well under way critically brings technology directly to our stakeholders and allows us to have much more effective and efficient interaction with them,” UAE’s Minister of State for Finance & Industry and Keynote Speaker Dr. Mohamed Khalfan ibn Khirbash remarked. E-government automates financial transactions across all government entities and allows for a more efficient interaction between the government and the private sector.
USA RICE/MEMAC OGILVY
The USA Rice Federation recently appointed Memac Ogilvy as its advertising and PR partner in the Middle East, after a three-side pitch. The agency’s brief will be to educate Middle East consumers about the advantages of American rice and increase its market share. The agency will provide a range of communication services to implement strategic advertising and PR campaigns in the client’s key markets of Jordan and Saudi Arabia. “The Middle East imports the vast majority of rice it consumes and is therefore an important market for USA Rice. The decision to hire Memac Ogilvy was based on their unique creative approach to the food industry supported by a solid Middle East network,” USA Rice Federation’s Regional Director Hartwig Schmidt said. The federation carries out an extensive program on behalf of the US rice industry.
EITC
EITC, the UAE’s second telecommunications operator, has revealed its new brand as “du.” The brand was unveiled by EITC’s Chairman Ahmad Bin Byat and CEO Osman Sultan at a press conference at Emirates Towers in Dubai, during which they discussed some of the company’s strategies, including that it would start offering its services in the second half of 2006. “Revealing the new brand under which EITC will launch and provide all of its products and services, signals the start of a new era and opens the door for competition in an industry sector of great strategic importance,” Bin Byat said, adding that the timing of the launch is of great importance as it coincides with the boom in the national economy and a period in which the UAE is establishing itself more as an international business, commerce, tourism and services hub.
NOKIA
Nokia, a leader in WCDMA contracts and deployments, has announced new frequency variants for its small and modular Flexi WCDMA base station. The base station is on track for commercial deliveries in the latter half of 2006. The wide choice of frequencies covered by the base station will enable 3G operators all over the world to build cost-efficient 3G networks. It is a high capacity base station, which is small, lightweight, modular, future proof and capable of generating up to 70 percent savings in base station site costs. “Increasing numbers of operators are realizing the revenue opportunities offered by 3G and are devising creative service packages,” said Robin Lindahl, vice president, radio networks, Nokia, which has completed its acquisition of Intellisync, a leader in platform-independent wireless messaging and applications.
UMA
Universal Motor Agencies, a major GM agent in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Middle East, has opened its new showrooms in Jizan & Wadi Al-Dawaser in the southern region. The Jizan showroom covers an area of 4,100 sq m with a 1,600 sq m aesthetically designed display center, a 2,500 sq m space for new cars, a full equipped service center with highly qualified and trained workers and a warehouse for spare parts. The Wadi Al Dawaser showroom covers a 3,000 sq m area with a new service center and warehouse aside from a storage area for new cars. Saleh Naqeeb, sales and marketing manager of UMA, said the two new showrooms would provide the best service ever like its network of existing showrooms comprising service centers and spare parts shops all over the Kingdom. UMA has an ambitious plan to expand.
HUMMER
The 2006 Hummer H3 is now available in the Kingdom, according to Aljomaih Automotive Company (AAC), its dealer in Saudi Arabia. The H3 can be found in AAC’s showrooms including at Khurais Road in Riyadh, Tahlia Street in Jeddah, and another near the Sport City exit of the Dammam-Alkhobar highway in Dammam. “The H3’s compact size is expected to create strong demand in the Kingdom. It has already generated waiting lists for customers keen to own the adventurous H3, which is set to continue the legacy of Hummer, building on the passionate following of the brand in this region,” Chase Hawkins, premium brands director at GM, Middle East, said. “We’re extremely delighted to finally offer the H3 to our customers,” said AAC Vice Chairman & CEO Sheikh Ibrahim Aljomaih.
GUCCI
Gucci is honoring two of its most celebrated fragrances with the launch of limited edition collectibles for its EDP and EDP II. These ‘fragrance jewels’ are available in a precious design of smoky brown glass for the EDP and pink glass for the EDP II. Nestled within showcase coffrets, the bottles re finished with a gold and silver seals and double GG logs stamped n their respective camps. A magnificent piece of art for the dressing table, the coffrets show off their precious gifts to perfection. Thick, clear Plexiglas, with either a gold or silver pedestal, a metallic clasp and the double GG log repeated on the top, this box can later be used to keep precious items and keepsakes. Florals bloom at the heart of the scent. A deep musk brings body to the juice.
DAMAS/WGC
Damas and World Gold Council have launched an innovative youth campaign aimed to introduce fashionable, contemporary and highly affordable gold jewelry that appeals to the younger generation. Singing sensation Nancy Ajram has signed on as the youth ambassador, and for two years she will be the face of Damas’ latest gold jewelry collections, specially designed to capture the imagination of the young. “Gold is evolving to become more trendy and fashionable with attractive designs, more in tune with the times and the changing profile of consumers. The youth today make up a major percentage of the region’s population. Through the campaign, we aim to enhance gold’s status and Nancy Ajram, with her natural charm, energy and popularity among the youth, was the obvious choice for this campaign,” the spokesman for Damas said.
EIIB
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has informed the European Islamic Investment Bank Plc (EIIB) that it intends to grant authorization on satisfactory completion of its systems and IT control forms. EIIB, which was incorporated in the UK in January 2005, will thus become the first independent Shariah compliant Islamic investment bank to be authorized and regulated by the FSA. “We’re delighted by the news from the FSA. We’re now in the later stages of implementing our systems and are therefore on track to open for business with FSA authorization around the end of the first quarter of 2006,” EIIB’s MD John Weguelin said. “Islamic investment banking now involves a wide range of capital market and treasury products, all structured on a Shariah basis.
THE LAND
THE LAND, a Middle East based company that operates across the region, has announced its plan to build seven residential towers on the Pearl-Qatar, the $2.5 billion island being reclaimed offshore the Qatari capital of Doha. The project is investing over two billion Qatari riyals for its first project in the country, which will be one of the largest at Porto Arabia, the main marina of the Pearl-Qatar.
The decision to invest in Qatar coincides with a boom in the property market and the economy as a whole, which grew by more than 20 percent in 2004 to stand at $28.5 billion according to the Economy and Commerce Ministry. Recent forecasts suggest that $120 billion worth of investments will be channeled into the country over the next five years for infrastructure improvement. Qatar has been experiencing a period of unparalleled growth.
