:: OER - August

BILLBOARD

Jumbo’s second showroom
Jumbo Electronics Co, the leader in consumer electronics in the Middle East, opened its second showroom at Al Araimi Shopping Complex, Qurum. This new showroom of Jumbo Electronics will showcase an extensive range of Sony consumer electronics products, a wide range of Laptops including VAIO, HP, Acer, Lenovo, mobile phones and complete range of Supra appliances and electronics products. Jumbo stores promise a high level of shopping pleasure by providing hands-on display supported by personalised attention to individual customer needs through friendly and knowledgeable sales staff.

The Wave, Muscat support for disabled
The Wave, Muscat recently extended its support towards the Oman Association for Disabled by enabling them to buy adaptive equipment to customise 10 cars for disabled drivers. In this regard, Nick Smith, CEO of The Wave, presented a cheque to Yahya Al Amri, Chairman, Oman Disabled Association.

“The integration of handicapped people into society is an essential part of life today and we at The Wave, Muscat are delighted to be able to help, even in this small way, to improve the lives of those less fortunate than ourselves,” said Nick Smith commenting on the Association’s endeavours for the disabled.

A’Saffa Poultry’s Khareef celebrations
A’Saffa Poultry Farms has put up a stall at Salalah Tourism Festival and has a number of promotional activities lined up. As part of the activities, A’Saffa is advertising in hypermarkets through booklets and pamphlets and cooking chicken the traditional Omani way called ‘Madhabi’, which involves taking fresh chicken and cooking it in hot stones and adding the traditional spices to it, to bring out its inherent flavour.

To involve the family, A’Saffa is also conducting several games, radio shows and puzzles for children; surprise gifts are in the offing as well. Says Mohammed Ahmed Shanfari, Assistant CEO (Admin Affairs), A’Saffa Poultry Farm, “last year we had 26,000 visitors at our stall and this year we are expecting around 40,000 visitors. Tourists coming from all over the Gulf, Europe and Asia like our products, especially the Madhabi. The way it is cooked and the freshness of our chicken, only makes people want to eat more.”

OAB sponsors ground tennis team
Ibrahim Al Saidi, Zubair Al Abri and Ali Al Mughaisni, members of the Sultanate team of ground tennis for the disabled, expressed their deepest thanks to Oman Arab Bank for providing the team with wheelchairs (Top End T 5 Tennis Aluminum Chairs) to enable them to play tennis.

Wheelchairs have been specially imported for the team. The chairs were handed out to the team in the presence of Abdul Kader Askalan, CEO of Oman Arab Bank.

The bank has also provided special computer sets (Communication Through Sight) to the Disabled Children society and the Omani Society for Disabled. These computers will help the disabled who cannot use their hands, to communicate through their eyes and express themselves through printed letters and shapes by just looking at the monitor.

Top^

August - 2008

Cover Story

Rockstars of MSM
OER-Gulf Baader Capital Markets present a survey of the Top 10 stocks which have given the highest shareholder returns over the last three years

Other Headlines

PREMIUM POSITIONING
With Oman Mobile and Nawras competing in the BlackBerry market, customers can rest assured about better pricing and service coming their way in future, reports Mayank Singh

A TALL ORDER
After spending five wonderful years in the Sultanate, Annelies Boogaerdt bid adieu to Oman recently. In a freewheeling chat with OER’s Deepa Rajan the former Dutch ambassador speaks of her tenure and the special memories she will carry from Oman

GOING GREEN
Paint manufacturers in Oman are gearing themselves up to meet customer needs and the demand fuelled by numerous real estate projects. Visvas Paul D Karra checks out on the top three paint companies to find out what Oman can expect in the next few years

‘We want to be everybody’s first choice’
As DHL completes 30 years, its Country Operations Manager, Oman, Geoff Walsh explains to OER’s Visvas Paul D Karra the reasons that have made DHL a trusted name for its customers

Upping the ante
Though Oman Arab Bank has become aggressive in the personal loans category the bank insists that it is not deviating from its core focus, writes Mayank Singh

Court Failure To Succeed
Failure is not a plague to be quarantined, but a life-saving bacteria that needs to be befriended in most cases. No risk, no reward. No failure, no success. Acknowledge failure and we all will be richer

LOGICAL COMPENSATION
Determining executive compensation can be a complicated task. Pascual Berrone, Jordan Otten and Luis R Gomez-Mejia discuss some possibilities

JAPANESE JEWEL
The new mazda 6 has great handling, good looks and build quality. writes Malcolm Xavier CRASTA

A TIME FOR CHANGE
As the government works on redrafting the Foreign Direct Investment policy, OER speaks to legal eagles about the strengths and concern areas in the existing framework and the changes that would facilitate foreign investment into the Sultanate. Mayank Singh reports

Friendi’s friendly services
Antti Arponen, CEO, Friendi Mobile, who has nearly 12 years of international experience in the telecommunications field, speaks to Visvas Paul D Karra of OER about global trends which are contributing to an exciting mobile telephony market

Auto finance: Freedom to buy a car
Various financial schemes offered by auto finance companies translate into easy monthly installments for the car buyer. This has fuelled the proliferation of cars on Oman’s roads

Investing in values
Hiking is a good way to inculcate values as it builds friendship and helps in character building and self discovery, says Suleiman Masoud Al Harthy, CEO, Taameer Investments Company

BREAKING INTO THE BIG LEAGUE
A consistent ability to win big contracts has helped Hasan Juma Backer Trading and Contracting to emerge as a major player in the infrastructure space, writes Mayank Singh

Inflation settles in!
Delinking the currencies could not fully control inflation as declining value of the US dollar is merely part of the problem. Another challenge concerns expansionary fiscal policy through higher allocations for capital and current expenditures

Telecom shares – what next
Telecom scrips in the region offer a good potential, but there is a need for investors to choose their stocks carefully. Kuwait’s Zain is one of the most successful telecom operators in the GCC and the recent IPO of its Saudi venture was a success

Fighting the inflation hydra
Oman’s fight against inflation has been intensified, showing just how seriously the authorities take the problem and its impact on Omanis. The key to easing medium-term price pressures, though, may lie in global factors as much as domestic strategy

Online banking trends
Customer data can provide a foundation for understanding shoppers and tailoring promotions. But marketers still wonder why some promotions hit the mark and others don’t?

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