Awali/Arbah
Awali Real Estate Investment, a major real estate investment firm in the region, recently celebrated the launch of the company’s headquarters in the Kingdom with its partners, at a special ceremony hosted by Arbah Capital, a joint-stock company licensed by the Saudi Arabian Capital Market Authority, and attended by the firm’s shareholders and some of the Eastern Province’s leading businesspeople. As the first and only Islamic wealth management firm based in the area, Arbah Capital celebrated the grand opening of its new corporate office and client lounge in Dammam. Company chairman, Sheikh Adel Al-Muammar, said the company’s official launch, which was scheduled to take place in August. Al-Muammar stated that Arbah Capital’s distinctive presence and identity would leverage the most out of its strategic location in Eastern Province. “We uniquely positioned to capitalize on our location in the Eastern Province,” said Al-Muammar. “Our shareholders are all already well established within the business and culture of the region, which bodes extremely well for us in terms of communicating our commitment to providing first-rate Islamic wealth management services in the local market.” Chief executive officer, Saad Al-Hassosah, said that Arbah Capital already had an experienced, multinational team with successful track records in place. He also provided guests with a glimpse of the preparations currently under way behind the scenes, saying, “Arbah Capital will launch five innovative funds in the period between our official opening in August and the end of this year. We hope to make our mark in the Kingdom as a pioneer and a truly customer-oriented firm.”
ALJCSP
Abdul Latif Jameel Community Services Programs (ALJCSP) has launched a new franchising support program, which is aimed to create new job avenues by identifying franchising opportunities from international and local companies. ALJ Small Business Fund will support potential franchisees. Saleh Yahya Mohanshe received a loan from Bab Rizq Jameel Franchising Program to start his own ‘7 Car Wash Arabia’ outlet. Bab Rizq Jameel Franchising Program supports Saleh, who likes car-washing business, with a loan to start his own business. ALJCSP signed agreements with saleh and six other Saudi companies at International Franchising Expo in Riyadh recently. They include Zuhoor Al-Reef (cosmetic store), RE/MAX Arabia (real estate outlet), Jawharat Surrati Perfume (cosmetic kiosks), Mochachino (coffee house), Perky’s Pizza (pizza kiosk) and Kwik Kopy (business center outlet). They agreed to work with ALJCSP Franchising Support Program by signing MoUs. The franchisee owns his business and is legally independent but benefits from the know-how, the brand image and the reputation of a franchise. The franchisee also benefits from the franchise system of sales management, its advertising and marketing campaigns. “We are keen to support our local people by providing small business opportunities. Young people have great interest to open their own coffee houses and we agreed to work together with ALJCSP. The business know-how and follow-up will be given from our side and business will be funded by ALJCSP as a loan to entrepreneur,” said Mohammed Medher, GM, Mochachino (United Company for Coffee and Chocolate Trading).
Kharafi Group
The M.A. Kharafi Group has created an independent hospitality, tourism and real estate investment company based in Geneva, Switzerland under the name of Sovereign Hospitality Holdings. The new company has regional offices in South Africa and Egypt, and has been launched to expand through strategic acquisitions, financing and developing assets in the hotel, real estate and tourism industry in Singapore and worldwide. Sovereign Hospitality Holdings has seamlessly integrated assets of $800 million to date, and is a member of the M.A. Kharafi Group, a Fortune 500 company registered in Kuwait with an annual turnover of $4 billion. The group operates in 25 countries and employs more than 100,000 employees worldwide. Sovereign Hospitality Holdings’ existing portfolio consists of 21 hotels and resorts with over 4,000 rooms, which it owns and operates in Egypt, South Africa, the Gambia, Syria, Lebanon and Albania. Further projects are under development in Libya, Senegal, Ethiopia and Mauritania. In addition to owning and managing its hotels, Sovereign Hospitality Holdings has management agreements with a number of hotel management companies, said Mohamed Fahmy, chief executive of Sovereign Hospitality Holdings. “Our objective, with the support of the Kharafi Group, is to expand through strategic acquisitions in Singapore and worldwide. We have a successful track record and a long-term approach to foster strategic relationships with partners to deliver solid returns through high yield opportunities in both emerging and established markets,” he added.
KPMG
Fund managers have struggled to recruit and retain appropriate talent to match the increasing demand for and sophistication in the use of complex financial instruments, according to research by KPMG International. KPMG International’s latest research into the investment management industry, “Beyond the credit crisis: the impact and lessons learnt for investment managers,” was undertaken to determine how fund managers have been affected by the credit crisis and what strategies they are adopting in response. The research was based on a survey of 333 senior executives in 57 countries from across the global fund and investment management community, including respondents from the UAE. Key findings of the survey: Investors do not have the same enthusiasm for complex instruments as fund managers, trust in fund managers has fallen as a result of the credit crisis, lack of skills and experience is a key concern, risk management, valuation methods and governance structures are all being shaken up, and Making fund management successful in the future requires a renewed focus on the client proposition. Tom Brown, European head of investment management in the UK, said: “Staff skill sets have struggled to keep up with the growing sophistication of the industry. These firms cannot afford to continue ‘flying blind’.
ADTA & ADNEC
The Abu Dhabi Police have joined platinum sponsors, Eitsalat, Capital Center and the Abu Dhabi Authority for Cultural and Heritage, in supporting the ongoing Summer in Abu Dhabi family festival. The Abu Dhabi Police has offered to support the must-see “Science of Spying” attraction on Adventure Island, which will operate throughout the eight weeks of the event. The interactive educational exhibition will offer children an insight into real-life detective work with secrete passwords to break and missions to accomplish. Children will be able to go undercover and explore the skills and abilities by real law enforcement agents, using some of the latest technologies to help gather and analyze information. First Lt. Fawaz Ali Abdulla of the Abu Dhabi Police said: “Initiatives that improve society and strengthen the wider community of the UAE are aligned with the vision of Lt. General Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, minister of interior. The Abu Dhabi Police is honored to take part in such an exciting and educating event that collectively brings individual people and families together.” Faisal Al-Sheikh, head of events section for ADTA, said: “We thank the Abu Dhabi Police force for their generous contribution. We have been honored by the support of some of the UAE’s most prestigious organizations and we are exerting every effort to produce one of the most memorable edutainment events in the Middle East.” The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) and Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) have jointly organized the event that ends on Aug. 18.
JCCI/NCB
The National Commercial Bank (NCB) has signed an agreement with the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry to support youth entrepreneurs. The agreement signed during the four-day Business Youth Exhibition 2008, which ended in Jeddah yesterday, aims to help young people succeed in their businesses. NCB CEO Abdulkareem Abu Alnasr, who signed the agreement with Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry (JCCI) Chairman Saleh Al-Turki, said that the NCB’s program sought to deepen its contributions to serve the community through the qualification of this sector of entrepreneurs wanting to establish their small enterprises. Al-Turki said that the JCCI was working to support the private sector and fulfill its needs in coordination with the concerned parties. The chamber, through the Jeddah Small Enterprise Development Center, provides many services including training, and consultations in the administrative technical and financial aspects. It also conducts initial investment studies and provides information to help entrepreneurs overcome the obstacles, simplify procedures and define and find available funding to finance small and medium enterprises. Fawzan Abdaljawad, chairman of Youth Business Committee in Jeddah, all efforts were directed to serve the new generation of entrepreneurs who share the dream of starting their own enterprises and also contribute to their country’s economic development and prosperity.
MDEC
One of Saudi Arabia’s leading ICT figures was in Malaysia in May to lead discussions as to how the Kingdom can best improve upon the on-going accomplishments of Yesser e-government program. Ali Al-Soma, adviser to the minister of ICT and director general of the Kingdom’s e-government program met with representatives from Malaysia’s ICT industry as well as worldwide ICT executives during the 16th World Congress for Information Technology held in Kuala Lumpur to foster new means of cooperation as the Kingdom looks to become the first country in the GCC to develop a complete e-government platform. As a keynote speaker for the panel discussion on Doing Business in Asia, Ali Al-Soma said that Saudi Arabia’s streamlined rules and regulations have attracted more foreign investments but the Kingdom is still working on many initiatives to fully develop its human capital. “The local ICT industry now contributes more than five percent to the Kingdom’s GDP, but our goal is to create an economy based on knowledge and learning. That is the basis for the Yesser project, and we’re keen to explore ways of working with countries such as Malaysia who were the first to pioneer and pilot e-government initiatives,” said Al-Soma. “Malaysia was one of, if not, the first to understand the concept of e-government, and what it can do for both individuals and businesses. We’ve opened our arms to Al-Soma and his team as they look to develop solutions that fit into Saudi society,” said WCIT 2008 Chairman and MDeC CEO Badlisham Ghazali.
