Amlak, described as the largest publicly listed Islamic finance company and pioneer in home finance in the UAE, has announced its further international expansion schedule, with the upcoming launch of the Egyptian office in Cairo. The company will operate under the name “Amlak Finance & Real Estate Investments” as per the Commercial Register in Egypt. Due to open this month, the company will become the first UAE Islamic home finance house with an international branch. At existing levels, Egypt is facing a shortfall of 2.5 million housing units in unmatched demand while anticipating an increase of 1.5 million inhabitants each year, resulting in an added need for about 350,000 housing units annually. Registered under the Egyptian joint stock company law as a home finance company, Amlak will offer Islamic home finance products in Egypt in accordance with Shariah principles, to meet the housing needs of nationals, as well as offering investment opportunities for expatriates from around the Middle East.
NCB
The National Commercial Bank (NCB) held a reception for its employees to exchange Eid Al-Adha greetings at its main management headquarters in Jeddah on Saturday. Abdulrahman Addas, head of the bank’s corporate banking sector, was among those who greeted the well wishers on behalf of Chief Executive Officer Abdulkareem Abu Al-Nasr. The event was attended by senior bank officials. Addas said that the bank’s upper management was committed to keeping all channels of communication open between the bank and its staff and taking advantage of every occasion to meet with its employees. The annual event is meant to bring employees together and enable them to have direct contact between the bank management and its staff. “The function reflects the bank’s philosophy toward enhancing team spirit which contributes in making the NCB one of the Kingdom’s best work environments in the private sector.
NADEC
The National Agricultural Development Company (Nadec) in cooperation with the Ministry of Education recently organized a two-day educational milk event targeting hundreds of boys and girls at elementary schools in Riyadh. The event was held at 250 elementary schools for girls and at Ruwad Al Oloum elementary school for boys, and was designed to combine a serious educational element with copious amounts of fun, where it opened with a short play that focused on the nutritional value of milk properties like calcium, vitamins and minerals. “Health education is vital, especially for children at elementary stage,” said Ahmad Al-Mehmadi, brand manager, Nadec. The event was marked by “Fill the bucket” milking sessions involving a dummy cow, emphasizing the natural source of food, followed by an interactive session tracing the production process from cow to Nadec milk packed in Tetra Pak packages that “Protects what’s good.”
DTC
According to a study conducted by JWT, the fourth largest global agency and a pioneer of consumer research, 90 percent of affluent consumers think diamond jewelry is an appropriate gift to celebrate the birth of a child. In fact, 86 percent of target consumers said they would want to receive a piece of diamond jewelry to celebrate the birth of a child. Consumers rank the birth of a child as the second most appropriate occasion for diamonds, after engagement and before an anniversary. “Timeless diamond jewelry pieces are sophisticated enough to become part of a woman’s jewelry wardrobe even when her child is grown,” says a UAE national new mother. “It’s not just a thank you, it’s a celebration of ‘the new us’ a celebration of the fact that we’re now a family. This is an amazing moment in life,” says the new mother. “Diamond jewelry is personal and it physically represents your connection to your child. Even when they move away, you’ll have it close to you forever.”
LANGE
Switzerland’s watch-making award, the “Grand Prix d‚ÄôHorlogerie de Geneve,” was held at the Geneva Grand Theater recently. The “Prix Special du Jury” was won by the tourbograph “Pour le Merite,” a limited-edition model of just 101 watches that combines a tourbillon with a chronograph rattrapante mechanism and is the second Lange timepiece since the re-establishment of the company to be provided with a fusee-and-chain transmission. This is the fourth time that the traditional watch brand “A. Lange & Sohne” from Saxony in Germany has won this award, following previous successes with the Langematik in 1997, the Datograph in 1999 and the Lange Double Split in 2004. The jury of watch experts also honored another Lange watch with the Richard Lange model winning second prize in the “Men’s watches” category. This three-hand watch with sweep seconds has been designed for superior timekeeping precision and pays tribute to Richard Lange (1845-1932), the eldest son of company founder Ferdinand Adolph Lange. Initially released in April 2006, this Lange watch beat off competition from 76 other entries from the most famous watch brands. Walter Lange, CEO Fabian Krone and Managing Director Hartmut Knothe accepted the award at the event.
