Gulf Daily News Wednesday, 6th November 2013 23
In association with www.tradearabia.com
Gulf joint ventures ‘must extend to more sectors’
MANAMA: More Gulf joint ventures not only limited to the industrial sector but extending to other
areas are the need of the hour, a
top official has said.
The Premier’s Adviser for
Industry and Oil Affairs Shaikh
Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa, who is
also GPIC chairman, said this
during his inaugural address at
the ninth International Chemistry
in Industry Conference and
Exhibition (ChemIndix 2013)
being held at the Gulf Hotel’s Gulf
Convention Centre.
Being held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prime
Minister Prince Khalifa bin
Salman Al Khalifa, the conference is organised by the Chemical
Society’s Division of Chemical
Sciences in Saudi Arabia under the
theme “Energy Transformation:
Feasibility to Sustainability”.
“The realisation of Gulf unity
has become an urgent demand, not
only for regional leaders but also
for the people of the Gulf states,”
Shaikh Isa said.
Lauding the annual event which
attracts large numbers of scientists
and researchers in chemistry and
its applications in industry, he
highlighted the key facilities provided for this event.
Shaikh Isa praised the outstanding role played by the kingdom in
hosting major events and conferences.
The success of such events
make the kingdom the destination of choice for hosting Arab,
regional and international conferences and exhibitions, he added.
He also lauded efforts of the
organisers. He added that this
was a demonstration of the depth
of brotherly relationship among
GCC states.
He considered the GPIC as a
model example of the success
of joint co-operation given that
the company has made significant successes in more than three
decades.
ABC Islamic Bank net
profit increases 34pc
MANAMA: ABC Islamic
Bank yesterday reported 34
per cent increase in net profit
for the first nine months of the
year at $9.2 million.
n Mr Khan
This compares with $6.8m registered for the same period last
year.
Net profit for the third quarter
was $3.2m, 13pc higher than the
figure for the same quarter last
Oman company
launches sukuk
DUBAI: Omani real estate
developer Tilal Development
Co has sold the country’s first
Islamic bond, a 50 million rial
($130m) sukuk that could pave
the way for similar issues by
other companies in the sultanate.
Tilal’s five-year sukuk, offering a profit rate of five per cent
and based on an ijara structure,
a leasing arrangement commonly used in other Islamic markets, was privately placed with
investors, arranger Al Madina
Investment said yesterday.
About 95pc of the sukuk,
rated BBB+ by Cyprus-based
Capital Intelligence, was placed
with local investors including pension firms and banks,
according to Mohsin Shaik
Sehu Mohamed, head of Islamic
finance at Al Madina.
Tilal, 40pc-owned by sovereign wealth fund Qatar
Investment Authority, will
use proceeds from its sukuk
to expand the Tilal Complex
in Muscat, a flagship project
which includes the Muscat
Grand Mall as well as residential and office space.
year and 15pc higher than the
profit for the second quarter this
year.
Total operating income for the
quarter rose to $4.7m from $4.3m
for the third quarter last year.
Operating expenses remained
unchanged at $1.4m.
Shareholders’ equity as at
September 30 stood at $245.4m,
as against $236m at the end of
last year.
The bank said its capital base
remains strong, with a capital
adequacy ratio of 26.2pc, predominantly tier 1, which is 25.1pc
of the total.
Total assets stood at $1.078
billion at the end of the third
quarter, as against $1.067bn at
the end of last year.
“Financial results are encouraging based on new customer
acquisition and balance sheet
growth,” ABC Islamic Bank
managing director Naveed Khan
said.
“The growth in operating
income has come about from a
gradual build-up in asset portfolio, notwithstanding lumpy
repayments, accompanied by a
healthy increase in fee and commission income.
“We remain optimistic looking
forward,” he added.
Gulf Air wins top honour
MANAMA: National carrier
Gulf Air has won one of the
most prestigious awards at
Gitex Technology Week in
Dubai.
The airline was chosen as
the winner of the award from
over hundreds of entries in
the category of ‘big data
solution project’.
Gulf Air won for its implementation of the technology
aimed at processing huge
and complex volumes of
data, to create a system to
monitor and analyse online
Arabic dialogue about the
airline.
Created using open
source big data solutions,
the highlight of the pioneering system is its unique ability to handle the complexity
of Arabic language by factoring in colloquial forms,
including regional dialects
and informal phrases, into
the analysis.
The event also saw Gulf
Air winning two other major
awards – one from Arabian
n Dr Haji, left, receiving the award
Computer News for Hospitality
& Tourism for ‘implementation of the year’, which is the
second consecutive win for the
airline in this category.
The other award, received
from Computer News Middle
East (CNME), was in the
‘achievement of the year’ category, for the airline’s implementation of big data on cloud
computing platform.
“These awards reflect Gulf
Air’s commitment and focus
on information technology
excellence which is vital in
the aviation industry today,”
said Gulf Air director of
information technology Dr
Jassim Haji, who received
the awards.
“We are delivering on
our promise to continuously
improve our services to better meet the evolving needs
of our passengers through
utilising newer and smarter
technologies to make their
travel experience more
enjoyable and satisfactory,”
he added.
Bahrain’s national carrier
has been at the forefront of
introducing several improvement and innovations in its
operation.
The airline was the first
organisation in Bahrain
to introduce private cloud
computing in its information technology operations
that enables it to achieve
much faster and more efficient business performance,
resulting in enhanced customer service at every step of
a passenger’s journey.
Firm sells Maroc stake to Etisalat
DUBAI: Vivendi has agreed terms
to sell its 53 per cent stake in Maroc
Telecom to the UAE’s Etisalat for 4.2
billion euros ($5.7bn), the latest step
in the French conglomerate’s drive to
become more media focused.
Looking to pay down its debts and
revive its shares, Vivendi is selling
assets such as Maroc Telecom and
video games maker Activision Blizzard
to concentrate on music and pay-TV
businesses that it believes have greater
growth potential.
The deal for Maroc Telecom marks a
return to acquisitions for Etisalat following a pause to digest some problematic
purchases, and gives it a market-leading
operator in Morocco as part of a drive to
diversify from its home country.
The transaction, which Vivendi said
would likely be concluded in early
2014, will see Etisalat pay Vivendi
3.9bn euros for the stake, plus a further
300 million euros in 2012 dividends
from Maroc Telecom. The sale is subject to various regulatory approvals and
follows protracted negotiations following Etisalat’s initial bid in January.
n Shaikh Isa
New CFOs
appointed
by Batelco
MANAMA: New chief financial
officers (CFO) for Batelco Group
and Batelco Bahrain have been
named, it was announced yesterday.
Taking over the role of group
CFO is Faisal Qamhiyah, who
has held the position as CFO of
Batelco Bahrain operations since
January this year.
Sameer Altaf has been
appointed Batelco Bahrain CFO.
Prior to joining the Batelco
Bahrain
team,
Mr
Qamhiyah
held the position of CFO
of Batelco’s
J o r d a n
subsidiary
Umniah.
He brings
a wealth of
knowledge
and financial
n Mr Qamhiyah
hands-on
experience coupled with a passion toward the telecom industry.
Mr Altaf joined Batelco in
2008 to lead the financial control
function for Batelco Group and
Bahrain, and has held a number of
key roles within the financial division including most recently, the
post of group financial controller.
“Both have proven records
of achievement having
served in key
senior financial
roles
within the
group
for
some time,”
B a t e l c o
chairman
S h a i k h
Hamad bin
Abdulla Al
n Mr Altaf
Khalifa said.
“We are confident that they
have the necessary credentials
to meet the stringent criteria
required for their respective
roles,” he added.
Meanwhile, the executive
search for a new group chief
executive is ongoing with the
process well underway and proceeding according to plan.
The supervisory committee of
the board, consisting of deputy
chairman Murad Ali Murad,
executive committee chairman Abdul Razak Al Qassim
and director Waleed Ahmed
Al Khaja, continues to assume
the role of the chief executive on a temporary basis till
a new chief executive is appointed.