Click image to view larger version

Internet-based trading on MSM launched

Al Amin Securities launched its online trading platform on November 19 at the Muscat Securities Market (MSM). The launch is significant as it has a number of advantages. One, it gives investors the convenience of trading on their own without going through a broker. Two, this has the potential of increasing the volume of trade on MSM. The platform will allow investors from other GCC countries to invest on MSM and vice-versa. This facility will be up and running in a couple of months. Says Ahmed Saleh al Mar-hoon, director general, MSM, “With more companies providing the facility, the volume of trade through the Internet will increase. This will also open the market to investors outside the country increasing liquidity on the exchange.”

The daily trade turnover on MSM averages RO15mn. “The platform may lead to a 50 to 100 per cent jump in the volume of trade on MSM,” says Hussain Ali al Raisi, executive president, Al Amin Securities.

The website was inaugurated by H E Darwish al Balushi, secretary general, Ministry of Finance. The launch was attended by H E Yahya al Jabri, executive president, Capital Market Authority (CMA), officials and dignitaries.

Al Amin will provide services through www.alamintrade.com on the Mubasher platform. To avail of the facility investors need to open an account with Al Amin Securities. A brokerage fee of 0.4 per cent will be charged on every transaction. Says Rashid al Ballaa, senior executive Mubasher, “With Mubasher, trading can be done on both the regional and international networks and the platform has been adopted by banks and financial institutions in the region and in countries like Pakistan and Tunisia.” Internet-based trading should be welcomed as it will empower investors in the sultanate.

Winds of change

Oman will soon have a swank new bank. The board of governors of the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has approved the establishment of a new commercial bank called Oman Merchant Bank (OMB). The bank will have a capital base of RO50mn. OMB will be backed by a number of Omani and GCC investors. The bank will divest 40 per cent of its shares through an initial public offering (IPO), enabling public participation. Says Raman Kaicker, CFO, Bank Sohar, “The idea is to develop the market and to make it more efficient. The entry of new banks will lead to better pricing, more transparency and better service standards.”

CBO has also approved the application of Alliance Housing Bank (AHB) to convert into a commercial bank. AHB has been operating as a housing finance bank. Says Abdulaziz al Balushi, CEO, AHB, “We will go about the conversion in a pragmatic way but we are confident about competing in the market effectively.” The bank is looking at leveraging synergies from its new shareholders like Ahli United Bank of Bahrain (35 per cent stake) and International Finance Corpo-ration (9.95 per cent stake) to shore up its performance.

BankMuscat has got an in principle approval to take 35 per cent stake in Saudi-Pakistani Commercial Bank of Pakistan. The board has also approved BankMuscat’s proposal to increase its capital by allocating 15 per cent of its equity to the Dubai Financial Group. Its application to open a fully owned investment banking branch in Saudi Arabia got the go ahead.

In Limelight

Samir J Fancy
Chairman
Renaissance Services

Has UMS been sold? Is the buyer a Kuwait based company? The market has been rife with speculation about the future of the technology, media and training businesses of the Renaissance group. As rumours built up, Samir J Fancy, chairman, Renaissance Services, took on the responsibility of clearing the air. The Chairman’s report on the interim results of the first nine months states, “In line with our declared strategy we are also pressing ahead with our programme to divest assets that do not fit directly in the Renaissance oil and gas services growth strategy. While Renaissance has always moved swiftly to remove non-performing assets, we have, for the first time, started initiatives to consider divestment of our high-performance, high-potential technology, media and training businesses… These businesses contribute less than ten per cent of Renaissance current operations and we hope to complete at least one divestment in 2007 and continue the programme into 2008.”

Jamal Said al Ojaili
Chairman
United Finance Company

United Finance Company (UFC) celebrated ten years of its operations in the sultanate by inaugurating its new corporate office in Wattayah. Jamal Said al Ojaili, chairman, UFC, says UFC will endeavour to provide enhanced levels of customer service with the new building. The RO1mn new office has been designed to facilitate a smooth workflow, improve operational efficiency and provide better service. The chairman also announced a plan to construct a pedestrian bridge across Sultan Qaboos Street outside the new office on its own expense. Explaining Al Nemu, a non-conventional product introduced by the company as part of its tenth anniversary celebrations, Ojaili says, “In non-conventional financing there is no application of interest on the basis of time value of money. Instead a negotiation with the customer, a profit sharing arrangement or a mark up on the sale and purchase transaction is maintained. This will suit the discerning customer."

David Crickmore
CEO and managing director
Amouage

Amouage, the luxury perfume brand, recently celebrated its silver jubilee and marked the special occasion by unveiling its new logo, bottles, packaging and launching two commemorative 'Jubilation' fragrances. A new Bath & Body Collection and Home Collection of parfums d'ambience was also unveiled at a gala event in the presence of a VVIP gathering that included royal family members, ministers, ambassadors and top dignitaries from the public and private sectors. Says Amouage CEO David Crickmore, "This is a momentous year for the house." "Our new identity, fragrances and product lines will position us at the forefront of niche luxury fragrance brands around the world and we will launch a planned international expansion. Amouage is a unique brand with a rich and colourful heritage that fires the imagination of all who come into contact with its products." Master French perfumer, Guy Robert, who created the first Amouage fragrance, was felicitated.

News updates

In Person. The meltdown of the US dollar has been hitting the headlines with unfailing regularity. As most GCC countries have their currencies pegged to the US dollar a weakening greenback is leading to record inflation levels. Having tracked the fate of global currencies for over a decade as the global head of foreign exchange strategy, HSBC Bank, David Bloom sees trends that escape most market watchers.

What is the headline for the year?

For the first time in my career I have started to think that the dollar could start to appreciate. This is a big change as I have been bearish on the dollar for the last five to seven years. This change may come as a surprise as most analysts are turning bearish on the dollar. I feel that from a cyclical point of view a recovery of the dollar may be in sight. At the moment there seems to be revulsion towards US assets as investors feel that they can do better in equity markets outside the US, especially in the emerging markets and Europe. Most people in the US are avoiding credit and property prices are hitting new lows because of the sub-prime crisis. All of these have led to a depreciating dollar.

When do you expect the trend to reverse?

I think that from the middle of 2008 the greenback will seem cheap from a valuation and equity point of view. The property market may also become attractive as prices would have bottomed out. All this will augur well for the dollar. Overall we need to look at two equations. One, how low can the dollar go? Two, do we start looking at a turning point in the trajectory at some point of time? It may be worth remembering that in financial markets nothing moves in straight lines.

Is it time for companies to start re-evaluating their strategies?

Just because everything is going wrong (with the dollar) does not mean that corporates should build their strategies on the present. Strategies should be built on predictions of what is going to happen in future. At HSBC we have gone from being underweight on the US equity market to a neutral one and the next step would be overweight and this is based on the valuation of these companies. If you compare valuations of some companies in the emerging markets and compare them to the US, the latter have started to look cheap.

Are you taking a contrarian view or are there fundamentals to back your claim about the dollar?

From a credit cycle and corporate side I do not think things in the US can get any worse. For the dollar to depreciate it is essential to feed the bear market. The question is what can you feed the bear with? Where are the new stories on the dollar’s negativity going to come from? I agree that the momentum of the dollar is poisonous and the desire for US assets is poor but underlining all this is an improvement in the US economy and that is sure to help the dollar.

Muriya unveils projects

Muriya Tourism Development Company has unveiled project models for two integrated tourism complexes at Jebel Sifah and Salalah beach. The launch was held under the auspices of H E Ahmed bin Abdulnabi Macki, Minister of National Economy and deputy chairman of Financial Affairs and Energy Resources Council and H E Rajha bint Abdulameer Bin Ali, Minister of Tourism and chairperson of Oman Tourism Development Company, Omran. Several ministers and dignitaries attended the event. The diverse range of commercial, tourism and high-end luxury real estate prospects of the two projects were showcased before prospective investors.

BankMuscat in Saudi Arabia

BankMuscat has formally inaugurated its operations in Saudi Arabia, thus becoming the first bank from the sultanate to open its office there. The BankMuscat Khayrat branch is located on King Fahad Road in Riyadh. Says H E Dr Mohammed bin Sulaiman al Jasser, Vice Governor of Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, “The commencement of BankMuscat’s operations in the kingdom is one of the fruits of joint Gulf cooperation that the leadership of the two countries has endeavoured to deepen in all areas. I hope BankMuscat will contribute to the Saudi banking system, along with domestic banks and branches of other Gulf and international banks, in achieving our cherished objectives of enhancing competition, serving customers and furthering the diversification of banking services in the kingdom. I wish BankMuscat Khayrat and members of its staff prosperity and success in the kingdom.”

Sugar refinery in Sohar

Al Hafri Sugar Refinery, a part of H H Al Sayyid Asaad al Said’s group of companies, has signed agreements to construct and manage a new integrated sugar refinery complex in Sohar. Under the terms of these agreements with the various ministries and Sohar Industrial Port Company, Al Hafri Sugar Refinery will produce approximately 660,000 tonnes of sugar per year utilising the expertise of Cordonnier, a leading European engineering company, which will supply the technology, design and equipment. The refinery will be one of the largest in the region and is designed to meet growing regional demand.

Octal’s financial closure

Octal Petrochemicals has signed a US$166.5mn loan deal with banking major BankMuscat. This is the initial phase of financing for Octal Petrochem’s plastic packaging venture in Salalah Free Zone (SFZ). Sheikh Saad Suhail Bahwan, chairman, Octal, and Abdulrazak Ali Issa, chief executive of BankMuscat, formally signed the multi-million dollar loan facility for Octal’s APET (amorphous polyethylene terephthalate) sheet packaging plant. The facility is made up of a US$148.5mn term-loan, of which US$34.5mn has been syndicated to BankDhofar and US$18mn in working capital.

Corporate training

Bin Tamman Modern Enterprises (BTME), in association with High Places, India, a company specialising in corporate training in the outdoors, launched its programmes in November. These can be conducted in and around Oman or the teams can be taken to India where BTME-High Places has its own dedicated training centre. The programme is based on the methodology of experiential learning. The themes offered by BTME-High Places include building effective teams, enhancing leadership, fostering personal awareness, induction of trainees, managing change as well as creating and communicating vision.

Mahindra Scorpio returns

Mahindra and Mahindra has returned to Oman with custom-made versions of the all-new Scorpio. Says Annurag Chawla, brand manager, Towell Auto Centre, “The Scorpio seems apt for Oman’s rough roads as well as the long drives to interiors. With space in abundance, the seven-seater is apt for a perfect family outing. The inside hasmulti-storage features, essential for convenience. The interiors reveal elegance and comfort with stylish seats and upholstery.” The four-cylinder Scorpio comes with a 2,000cc petrol engine and conjures up 121bhp. The five-speed manual transmission is tuned to optimally match the high performance of the engine and draw the full pleasure of the ride. The Scorpio comes in seven colours. In addition to free insurance, free registration, two years/50,00km warranty, customers also get free service up to 25,000km at every 5,000km interval.

BP in cleanup initiative

BP participated in the global community clean up initiative ‘International CleanUp Day’ sponsoring the Sub Aqua Beach and Underwater Clean Up event held in Salalah. The community initiative was organised by the Sub Aqua Dive Centre and attracted more than 150 persons. The two-day event was run in conjunction with thousands of other volunteer events in more than 100 countries around the world, who joined in the campaign to tackle beach debris and conserve aquatic environments worldwide. Says Howard Johnson, fuels market manager, BP Marine, “BP is committed to the highest environmental standards and participating in this initiative is a great way for BP to support the local community of which we are a part, contributing to a venture that reflects our own core values while protecting the beaches all of us enjoy.”

New NBO service

National Bank of Oman (NBO) has launched a corporate internet banking service called Sama. The 24-hour service enables corporate customers to check balance and trade enquiries across various NBO accounts held by them as well as view or print transaction history. The service facilitates telex transfers, demand drafts, third party transfers to other accounts within NBO, chequebook requests and bulk remittances. Sama is a VeriSign certified secure site.

Aqua Mix plans Dubai plant

Aqua Mix, the industry leader in water-based products for stone, tile, masonry and grout, plans to set up a plant in Dubai to cater to the booming building industry in the region. “The plant will be set up in the Jebel Ali Free Zone at a cost of US$14-15mn and will have an area of 15,000sqm. The machinery will come from Germany,” says Binoy Jhaveri, managing director of Ikan Inc, who will be forming a joint venture with the US-based Aqua Mix. Says Real Bourdage, vice president and chief operating officer of Aqua Mix, “The plant in Dubai will serve as a hub for the region and take care of demand from all the countries in the region, including Egypt. And we plan to service Oman as the first export destination.” Maxx International distributes the Aqua Mix range of products in the sultanate.

New Holland facility opened

International Equipment and Construction Company (IECC), distributors of the New Holland Construction range of equipment, has opened a US$10mn dedicated facility in Ma’abelah. IECC is a part of the Suhail Bahwan Group. New Holland Construction president and CEO Franco Fenoglio inaugurated the facility. The purpose built facility will offer sales, service and parts for New Holland equipment and Iveco trucks. It will also be manned by a 24-hour helpline and vans for onsite support to minimise loss in productivity due to breakdowns. It will offer New Holland Construction’s full line of 13 product families, 80 base models and over 600 configurations. “We are confident that our joint resources of high performing and competitive products together with a highly committed partner with its strong distribution network will be the key success factor for our mutual growth in this region,” says Fenoglio. IECC will also be making additional investments to reach out to customers in Salalah and Sohar.

AIG insurance solutions

Global insurance leader AIG has launched its new general insurance operations in the sultanate – AIG Oman – which will provide insurance solutions for direct as well as reinsurance clients. It will offer home, travel and motor insurance solutions to individuals and small business owners. AIG Oman is a unit of AIG MEMSA Insurance Company, which was launched in September 2006 with its regional headquarters in Dubai. The company has brought AIG’s industry leadership in underwriting standards to corporations and consumers in the Middle East, Mediterranean and South Asia.

SOMC holds investor meet

Shell Oman Marketing Company (SOMC) held a meeting with investors and analysts at the Capital Market Authority to share with them the company’s performance for the first nine months of 2007 and the outlook for the rest of the year. The company has posted a net income after tax of RO8.07mn, an increase of 14.5 per cent in the first nine months compared to RO7.05mn last year same period. “Customer initiatives undertaken by the company are proving popular and our business performance is showing a healthy trend owing to the economic development,” says Faisal al-Hashar, managing director of SOMC. The company also plans to open two more petrol stations by the year-end having already opened four such stations earlier this year.

MGI’s new website

Modern Gulf Institute (MGI) has launched a new website, www.moderngulf.com, to familiarise users with the wide range of services it offers. The website provides links to the various courses offered at the institute, timings and costs. MGI, which offers English language classes, recently expanded its list of programmes to include specialised business management training and information technology courses in a modern computer lab setting. The institute says all courses are conducted by competent native speakers.

OWSC updates on projects

The Oman Wastewater Services Company (OWSC) has announced that work on the Muscat Wastewater Project, which was suspended temporarily in the wake of Cyclone Gonu, will resume in December. The project is divided into three phases and is envisaged to serve 90 per cent of Muscat’s population by 2017. Says Omar bin Khalfan bin Nasser Al Wahaibi, CEO of Oman Wastewater Services Company, “We plan to connect Seeb and Bausher to the system by 2011, Muttrah, Wadi Kabir and Hamriya by 2012, Muscat and parts of Ruwi by 2013, and Quriyat by 2014. We already have 85,000 customers, primarily in Ruwi area, connected to the network, who are enjoying the benefits of an integrated wastewater system.”

Omantel net profit up

Omantel’s net profit for nine months ended September 30 was up by 36 per cent, while the revenue increased by 12.5 per cent to RO270mn from RO240mn in the same period last year. Operating expenses increased by five per cent from RO169mn to RO177mn, while net profit after tax increased by 36 per cent from RO60.6mn to RO82.5mn for the nine months in 2007.

Did you hear?

Cows flee after seeing McDonald’s

McDonald’s? The burger joint? Stampede! Eight cows escaped from a trailer when the rear gate opened as the driver pulled into a McDonald’s. It took about two hours to round them. Lt. Kevin Burns has a theory: “They didn’t like their future.” The roundup was called “Operation Hamburger Helper”. A nearby resident even hopped on his horse. “I thought my eyes were lying,” said Wayne Sanders.

Supermodel ‘rejects dollar pay’

Gisele Bundchen, the world’s richest model, has reportedly reacted in her own way to the sliding value of the US dollar – by refusing to be paid in the currency. Bundchen, 27, is said to be keen to avoid the US currency because of uncertainty over its strength. The Brazilian, thought to have earned about US$30mn in the year to June, prefers to be paid in euros, her sister and manager told a news agency. The greenback has hit long-term lows against the euro and the pound.

Eatery offers US$25,000 dessert

This is one rich cup of haute chocolate: A New York eatery is offering a US$25,000 dessert bulging with top-grade cocoa, edible gold and shavings of a luxury truffle. The Frrrozen Haute Chocolate was declared the most expensive dessert in the world last month by Guinness World Records. The dessert is served in a goblet with a band of gold decorated with one carat of diamonds and served with a golden spoon.

Texas town sold on eBay

A small, uninhabited town in Texas has been sold on the Internet auction site, eBay, to a buyer in Italy for a little over US$3mn. The town, called Albert, is about 100km outside San Antonio. The winning buyer will take over an icehouse created from the frame of the old general store, a pavilion, an 85-year-old dance hall, a tractor shed and a three-bedroom house, together with peach and pecan orchards. The town's current owner, Bobby Cave, 47, an estate agent, said he was checking the identity of the buyer, to confirm the deal. He added he had several other serious bids should the sale fall through.

Visitor view

Air-conditioner sales warming up
H Y Nho, president, Air Conditioning Division, LG Electronics

On his maiden visit to the sultanate, H Y Nho, president – Air-Conditioning Division of LG Electronics, was highly impressed with the infrastructure developments taking place here, especially the large-scale integrated tourism projects. LG plans to
target its commercial cooling products at the premium hotel segment and the integrated tourism projects. “The economic landscape of the sultanate is changing. While we are the leaders here in the
residential segment, we will be increasingly concentrating on the commercial segment as well,” says Nho. To support the growth and enhance customer service, LG plans to set up an air-conditioning training academy. The academy, which will be ready some time next year, will provide training to personnel in installation, maintenance and servicing. This also means that LG’s partners in Oman, Oman Gulf Enterprises (OGE), a part of the OTE group, will not have to send its staff for training to Dubai. Nho was pleased with the growth of LG’s business in Oman achieved by OGE. He feels that with the manpower and systems in place, OGE is poised to scale greater heights in the years to come.

Mining for opportunities
Sandile Nogxina, director-general of South Africa’s Ministry of Minerals and Energy

South Africa is looking at improving economic ties with Oman in the mining and minerals sector and wants to expose business opportunities that exist there to potential Omani investors. Sandile Nogxina, director-general of South Africa’s Ministry of Minerals and Energy, who was here with a seven-member delegation, met H E Nasser bin Khamis al Jashmi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Oil and Gas, Oman LNG, ministries of commerce and industry, national economy, and oil and gas. “The talks were very fruitful. The kind of discussions we had will not yield instant results. They were more of a relation-building exercise and were meant to identify opportunities for South African and Omani companies,” says Nogxina. He says South Africa has over 300 years of expertise in mining and has extensive knowledge in mine health, safety and regulation. “We have a new regulatory framework for the industry in our country. We have also offered our services in a wide range of mining-related activities.”

Bringing in a familial touch
Navroze Godrej, Scion of Godrej family

Godrej and Khimji Ramdas (KR) celebrated their 50-year old partnership in Oman at an event at Shangri-La’s Barr al Jissah Resort & Spa recently. The Godrej group was represented by Navroze Godrej a fourth generation scion of the Godrej family. The Godrej Group is a leading business house from India with a turnover of close to US$2bn, and a track record of 110 years. Says Godrej, “Both the organisations share a number of value systems and neither of us believe in taking shortcuts to success. This has been the bedrock of our long standing relationship.” Though he has been inducted into the family business, the 24-year-old is still to get an official designation at the company. Speaking about the onus of taking up the family baton, Godrej says, “Though the scale of things might have changed our value proposition has not and as long as we are true to those ideals things should be fine.”

Arif Ali
CEO, BankMuscat Khayrat, Saudi Arabia

BankMuscat has announced the appointment of Arif Ali as the new chief executive of its Saudi Arabia operations, BankMuscat Khayrat. Educated at Syracuse University in the US, Ali held senior positions at ANZ Bank in London, ANZ Grindlays Bank in Karachi and Deutsche Bank Pakistan prior to this appointment and currently serves as a non-executive member of the board of First Dawood Islamic Bank.

Kashif Kalam
Partner, business advisory services, PricewaterhouseCoopers

Kashif Kalam started his career in 1991 with Pricewaterhouse in Karachi. Having qualified as a chartered accountant in 1996, he was offered a position within the firm in Saudi Arabia. In November 2005 he moved to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Dubai office. Says Kalam, “We see great potential in Oman and are looking at bringing (and strengthening) all lines of our business to the sultanate.”

Jaffar Juma al Lawati
Country manager, Etihad Airways, Oman

Jaffar Juma al-Lawati joins Etihad Airways from Gulf Air where he worked in a variety of senior commercial roles for 17 years, the last four as the airline’s general manager for Oman. His career at Gulf Air inclu-ded spells as area manager in Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Syria. “I’m delighted to be joining Etihad at such an exciting time. The timing could not be more perfect, with the recent boost in Etihad services.”

Hervé Corvest
General Manager, Crowne Plaza Sohar

InterContinental Hotels Group has appointed Hervé Corvest as general manager, Crowne Plaza Sohar, the first branded hotel due to open here by the end of 2007. Corvest has been with InterContinental Hotels for over 17 years. He started his career as assistant F&B manager at the Europa InterContinental in Brussels, Belgium. Corvest’s most recent position was executive assistant manager of InterContinental Muscat.

Devaratth Nambiar,
CEO, BTME

An MBA from Rushmore University, USA, Devaratth Nambiar has worked across sectors during his 13 year long career. Prior to joining BTME he worked with Oman Resources Development Consultants (ORDC) for four years as business development manager and lead consultant. He holds a diploma in business from Chiefly Business School, Australia and a post-graduate diploma in computer science from Software Solutions Integrated, Chennai, India.

FrontRunner
Rashad Jaffer al Shaikh, 31
Head, retail marketing and business development, OAB

When Oman Arab Bank decided to strengthen its presence in the retail segment a year back the onus of executing its strategy fell on the young shoulders of Rashad al Shaikh. The man has since lived up to the management’s expectations by developing and launching new retail products like Al Dar housing loan and Al Madmoon, a personal loan in the market. A firm believer in creating ownership by delegating responsibilities he says, “I can motivate people and see this as the primary responsibility of anybody working in a team.” Having joined OAB four years back as an assistant manager, his rise has been meteoric. “I would like to grow to handle bigger responsibilities.” An alumnus of Sultan School and a BBA degree holder from Orlando University, Florida, Shaikh started his career with NBO in 1998. Over the years he has worked on the corporate and retail sides of banking business. An ability to build teams and execute makes this promising executive a cut above the rest.