OMANI PRODUCT MAP LAUNCHED
Oman Product Map is an invaluable handmaiden for companies looking at harnessing the export market

The Omani Centre for Investment Promotion and Export Development (OCIPED), in association with the Geneva-based International Trade Centre (ITC), has launched the Oman Product Map, a vital trade information web portal covering 72 sectors. H E Ahmed al Dheeb, undersecretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, launched the web portal. OCIPED has also launched the latest version of Trade Secret Document, the export answer book for small and medium-sized enterprises. Says H E Dheeb, “Oman Product Map is a very important commercial and business intelligence tool, which will provide the business community in Oman with vital trade data. Essentially it is a virtual library for Omani businessmen.”

ITC is the technical co-operation agency of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the World Trade Organisa-tion, for operational and enterprise-oriented aspects of trade development. ITC supports developing and transition economies in their efforts to realise the full potential for developing exports and improving import operations. Says Friedrich von Kirchbach, chief, market analysis section and OIC, trade information section, ITC, “Oman Product Map provides one with direct access to a unique array of information on 72 sectors encompassing trade in over 5,000 different products. It is, in fact, both a product focused database and information management system, which can incorporate new sources of information.”

Oman was the first country in the Middle East and North Africa to introduce a trade map five years ago. Worldwide it has been the first country which has added full information on exporters to a product map and the first to introduce a national version of the product map. And the proof of the success of such efforts finds a reflection in the surge in exports. Oman’s exports grew at 20.2 per cent per annum between 2001 and 2005. Oman’s exports stood at RO555.3mn in 2005.

Nawras bags award at Pan Arab Web Awards
The Omani Qatari Telecommunications Company was awarded the Golden Trophy at the Pan Arab Web Awards 2006 Competition, held recently in Amman. The Golden Trophy was the second award for the Nawras website, after it won the Golden Trophy for Software and Telecommunication at the Oman Web Awards in 2005. The competition attracted over 350 participants in 21 categories, in which the website, nawras.om, won the Golden Award in the ICT (Information and Communica-tion Technology) section. Says Tariq Hilal al Barwani, online manager, Nawras, “We are proud of being selec-ted as the best ICT website in the region. Serving our customers and putting Oman firmly on the global ICT map is one of our goals.” The objective of the competition was to raise the standards of the regional websites developed in the Arab world, and boost creative and technical excellence in the field.

Visit Malaysia Year 2007 launched
The Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board, as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the country’s independence, has launched a campaign to attract Arab tourists for its ‘Visit Malaysia 2007 Campaign’. Datin Dalilah Ahmad, deputy director general, Tourism Malaysia, outlined the facilities her country offers - especially to Omani tourists - including visa on arrival and Arabic speaking frontline staff at hotels, airports and shopping malls.

Kuala Lumpur is a special tourist attraction for Arabs because of its Al Ain Arabia, a specially designated area for them. H E Dato’ Saipul Anuar Abd Muin, Malaysian Ambassador to the sultanate, said the objective of the campaign is to promote Malaysia as an outstanding tourist destination.

CUSTOMER DELIGHT
National Bank of Oman (NBO) has upgraded its savings scheme Al Kanz to Al Kanz Plus. The new savings account offers five times better value to customers than normal savings accounts in Oman. More importantly, customers have the option to earn the highest interest rate on offer amongst all banks (up to 2.5 per cent per annum) and stand a chance to win attractive cash prizes.

“We are proud to be the pioneers in providing the most flexible savings account in the sultanate. We continuously innovate and upgrade our products and services to meet the growing demands of customers and offer them the best value,” says Asif Redha al Radhvi, NBO’s acting head, consumer banking division. On customer demand, NBO has also introduced new prizes for women and teac-hers in its savings scheme .

The bank has also launched a summer promotion, ‘You Shop We Pay’ scheme, for its credit card customers. Five monthly winners will get back up to RO100 of what they spent using cards. There are 15 additional end of promotion prizes to be won, which include eight prizes of up to RO250 each, six prizes of RO500 and one prize of up to RO5,000. The offer is valid from May 1 to August 31, 2006.

In order to win, each NBO customer must spend a minimum of RO50 per month to be eligible for the monthly prizes and a minimum of RO100 before the end of the promotion to be eligible for the end-of-the-promotion prizes. Every RO10 spent gives eligible customers one chance to win.

THE TECH PLATFORM
Cutting-edge technology and a focus on customer service mark the 16th annual COMEX

At the 16th COMEX, a platform for the IT, telecom and technology industry, the focus was on better solutions and services. Over 100 companies exhibited their products at the show, held from April 26-30, and the competition, combined with the improvements in technology, ensured action for both exhibitors and shoppers.

Engineer Salem al Ghattami, president of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI), inaugurated COMEX 2006 at the Oman International Exhibition Centre. Says Ghattami, “The fact that a lot of new companies from the private sector are participating in COMEX is encouraging. The technology industry is an advanced one. Companies have to compete internationally to succeed. This benefits customers as well as the companies themselves.”

Interaction and inventiveness marked the presentation of products and services at the stalls at COMEX. Representatives of various organisations used flat-screen televisions, laptops, and mobile phones, among other gadgets, to relay information, even as live demonstrations with products were held across the different days of the event.

The specialised exhibition, organised by Oman International Trade and Exhibitions (OITE), was held under the auspices of the Ministry of Transport and Communications and supported by OCIPED. BusinessToday was the official business magazine at the event, which saw several presentations that simplified cutting edge technology solutions. At the COMEX awards, Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM) won for promoting innovation and entrepreneurship. Mohamed al Maskari, acting director general, KOM, saw the recognition as encouragement for further progress. Among the other winners were Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) for most interactive stand, Siemens for trend setting communication solutions and Oman Mobile for best stand design. Khalid al Zubair, vice-president of OCCI, presen-ted the awards.

LeBANESE-OMANI BUSINESS FORUM to be launched
The two countries hope to share their experiences and successes in various economic areas

To facilitate bilateral trade and investment between Oman and Lebanon, the Beirut-based Confex International will be organising a Lebanese-Omani business forum on June 3 and 4 at Shangri-La’s Barr al Jissah Resort and Spa. Also associated with the forum are the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI), OCIPED, Banque du Liban, the Union of Arab Banks, the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, Beirut, and Mount Lebanon, the Association of Lebanese industrialists. The forum will be held under the patronage of H H Sayyed Haitham bin Tarek al Said, Minister of Heritage and Culture. Sheikh Saad al Dine Rafic Hariri, president of Future Parliamentary bloc, Lebanese Parliament, will be the guest
of honour.

Says H E Mohsin al Balushi, advisor at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, “We are hoping that Oman and Lebanon will be able to share their experiences and successes in various economic areas through the forum.” Rafic Zantout, chairman of Confex International, added that registration forms were being mailed to selective groups and individuals.

BORROW SENSIBLY, LIVE HAPPILY
BankMuscat to use a wide variety of mass media tools to educate people across the country on the dangers of excessive borrowing

BankMuscat has launched a social awareness programme to promote sensible borrowing in the country. This is the first such programme in the country to be endorsed by the Ministry of Social Development and the Central Bank of Oman (CBO). The launch event was organised under the patronage of H E Ahmed Rashid Mohammed al Mamari, undersecretary of the Ministry of Social Development and H E Hamoud Sangour al Zadjali, executive president, CBO.

Distinguished members of the government, public pension funds and leading educational institutions were present on the occasion.

Says AbdulRazak Ali Issa, chief executive, BankMuscat, “To support the significant efforts made by the Ministry of Social Development and CBO to enhance the welfare of our people and promote the long-term growth of the national economy, the bank has decided to launch a social awareness campaign addressing the dangers of excessive personal borrowing. This campaign is intended to recognise responsible consumer len-ding as a key value and crucial growth engine in our society.”

The Ministry of Social Development and CBO have for quite some time now remarked on the growing consumerism within the country, which has resulted in the fuelling of excessive personal lending across the sultanate. CBO has, on more than one occasion, asked key players within the domestic banking industry to exercise restraint and resort to self regulation when it comes to the liberal disbursement of loans. This programme is meant to further strengthen the efforts to bring about an awareness of the dangers of excessive loan taking and promote ‘sensible borrowing’.

Hinging on the philosophy that one needs to ‘borrow sensibly to live happily’, the programme will use mass media tools to reach out to people across the country and create greater awareness of the dangers of excessive borrowing.

MOVING AHEAD FULL STEAM
HP sets up first office in Oman, its eighth in the Middle East

Hewlett-Packard (HP) Middle East opened its eighth office in the region, at the Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM). The opening signifies the latest step in a continued investment across the region and fulfils HP’s objective to be clo-ser to its customers and develop relationships with its channel.

“Oman is critical to our continued success and future growth in the Middle East region and we have great pride in opening HP’s first Omani premises at KOM,” says Joseph Hanania, managing director, HP Middle East. “HP already has a strong track record of success in Oman, particularly within government, services, and finance. As the sultanate
continues to strengthen its own position on the Middle East map, the new office will enable us to engage more closely with existing and potential customers, helping them achieve their personal and business goals through our cutting-edge technology.”

The Muscat office will be a direct resource for HP’s distributors and retailers in Oman. It will develop the channel to enhance overall customer experience from pre-sale to support. “HP’s ongoing success in Oman is dependent not only on winning new customers but on ensuring that customers have the right support at all stages of implementation – before, during and after sales. We continue to integrate our Omani partners into our highly successful channel improvement prog-rammes,’’ says Hanania. Says Sultan Salim al Habsi, executive president, KOM, “We are confident that HP will add substantial value to Oman’s rapidly growing ICT sector.”

Exploring relations
Delegation from South African province KZN identifies key areas for trade ties with the sultanate

South African province, KwaZulu Natal (KZN), is exploring business opportunities in Oman. “We are keen to boost our economic and trade ties with the Sultanate of Oman, and there are numerous opportunities and expertise for South Africa and Oman to share,” says Dr Zweli Mkhize, KZN’s provincial Minister of Finance and Economic Development. The minister added that businessmen from the KZN province and Oman could join hands to build strong industrial houses in the Middle East and Africa.

“The key areas we have identified include agro-processing, oil and gas, tourism develo-pment, property development, construction, maritime, furniture, human capital develo-pment, development finance, as well as equine trading,” says Mkhize, who headed the 50-member business delegation from the South African province.

The minister said that there was enough potential in joint development initiatives to boost tourism infrastructure and encourage more South Africans to visit Oman and more Omanis to explore investment avenues in South Africa, and that holds especially true for the KZN province.

The delegation has already visited the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar. The delegation comprising professor Gabriel Ndabandaba, provincial minister of agriculture and environmental affairs; Weziwe Thusi, minister of arts, culture and tourism; Zanele Hilatshwayo, mayor of Msunduzi Municipality; and Ruth Bhengu, deputy mayor of Ugu district municipality, lauded the Omani hospitality.