Company News

Muscat, 18May 2013 –Nawras is offering all customers the opportunity to win one of 90 exciting prizes with the new Nawras Gift Club promotion. Each day for three months, customers have the chance to win either a Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone, BlackBerry Z10 smartphone, 42” Samsung LCD TV, 32” LG LCD TV, a Sony Vaio laptop or a cash prize,aftercorrectly answering a series of triviaquestions by SMS.

Muscat, 15 May 2013 – Marking another first for Oman’s customer friendly communications provider, Nawras is introducing a new and exciting data plan offering social media and free music downloadsto Shababiahcustomers, withincredible savings of almost 40 per cent. Designed for internet browsing enthusiasts and social media savvy customers, the weekly Shababiah plan includes 150 MB national data and 100 MB data for Facebook and WhatsApp as well as75 national minutes for calls from Shababiah to other Nawras and Shababiah customers; all for only threeOmani Rials.

“Young people want to be constantly connected to their friends and followers on social media sites as they share their latest happenings so we are really excited to be launching our first plan which includes broadband data, for our growing number of Shababiah youth customers.  They can enjoy fantastic savings of almost 40 per cent when compared to buying the services separately,” said Mohammed Al Shanfari, Senior Youth Proposition Manager at Nawras. “Youth in Oman consume their data allowances mainly through social networking sites and so by including data, Shababiahcustomers can enjoy these popularsocial media sites as they arechatting, posting photos and communicating even more with their friends. And they get all ofthis for a much lower weekly cost.”

As an added bonus,the Western music catalogue on ‘Backstage’ is being offered for freefor three months. Customers can enjoy downloading the latest chart topping hits in English without paying a Baiza extra.

The new headquarters of Siemens in the Middle East was honored with the award for GCC Sustainable Project of the Year at last night’s MEED Quality Awards for Projects 2013, accepted by the project’s main contractor, Al Fara’a Construction Group. The building, which has been designed to optimize energy-efficient technology to achieve significant reductions in energy and water use, is situated in Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City. Designed to achieve Pearl 3 according to the Estidama rating scheme of the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC), the project is also on track to achieve LEED Platinum status.

Kay Zwingenberger, CEO of Siemens in the UAE, said: “Our new headquarters is a prime example of how Siemens is prepared to ‘walk the talk’ when it comes to living our values. We’re proud to be the world’s largest provider of green technologies and we believe it is essential that we demonstrate this not only through our customers’ projects, but also our own. It’s exciting – for us and the region - that our new headquarters has been publicly recognized for its commitment to sustainability at the MEED Quality Awards for Projects 2013.”

Muscat, May 14^th 2013 – Bin Mirza International (BMI), the leading pioneer in the hospitality industry, recently signed a franchise agreement with Escape Enterprises Ltd. to open the first Steak Escape Sandwich Grill in Oman and outside the United States of America. The latest addition to the extensive BMI international franchise portfolio is expected to open late 2013 and is a step forward in diversifying the dining options available in the Sultanate.

Jannat Moosa, Marketing Director at Bin Mirza International said, “We are excited to introduce a modern fast-casual concept to the local market, where customers’ can enjoy a meal that is grilled before their eyes and to their expectations. Steak Escape offers an alternative to fast food with grilled cheesesteaks, customizable sandwiches, salads, smashed baked potatoes and freshly squeezed lemonade. Steak Escape Sandwich Grill is an elevated sandwich experience with sizzle.”

BMI has been committed to bring leading international brands that cater to the local tastes and culture since its establishment in 2004. Over the years the company has grown to acquire the rights to five international franchises including Second Cup, BreadTalk, Nando’s, CinnZeo as well as Steak Escape. This is a testament to their unfaltering dedication to world-class standards in quality and in service.

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Muscat, 14May 2013 –As a member of Ooredoo, Nawras is inviting Omani youngsters Majid Al-Shabli and Mohamed Al Balushi to meet Ooredoo’s global brand ambassador Lionel ‘Leo’ Messiwhen he visits Qatar to launch a new global initiative later this month. With this once-in-a-lifetime experience, football hero Messi is set to make dreams come true for children from around the world including Majid and Mohamed.

Mohamed Al Balushi recently triumphed as one of the winners of a competition held in Oman for budding sports commentators, while Majid Al Shabli’s dedication and enthusiasm for football stood out during a Kickworldwide leadership course, sponsored by Nawras in Sohar. Both boys are overjoyed to be travelling to Qatar to be a part of this exciting occasion.

“Nawras is thrilled to be able to offer Majid and Mohamed this amazing chance to meet the world famous footballing star, Leo Messi,” said Ross Cormack, Nawras Chief Executive Officer. “We are very excited that these talented Omani youngsters are about to have such an inspiring experience. Nawras shares Ooredoo’s commitment to the development of opportunities for young people within our community.”  

Ooredoo is committed to enriching people’s lives and stimulating human growth – enabling people to achieve their aspirations and, in particular, supporting youth in achieving their potential. The company is working with Messi and the Messi Foundation on a number of key projects to make a difference across Ooredoo’s markets. The first in the series of initiatives will focus upon young people’s welfare and development.

PointsPay, the innovative solution enabling members of Etihad Guest, Etihad Airways’ industry leading loyalty program, to convert their Etihad Guest Miles to cash, has gained industry recognition with Loylogic - the developer of PointsPay and a leading innovator of loyalty e-commerce and e-payment solutions, winning the Loyalty category at the 2013 Contactless & Mobile Awards (CMA) in London on April 30.

This follows a similar success earlier this year, when Loylogic won the prestigious MPE Loyalty Award at the Merchant Payment Ecosystem conference in Berlin in February.

The awards were in recognition of the PointsPay application, an exclusive, real-time transaction solution that was developed in close partnership between Etihad Airways and Loylogic to enable Etihad Guest Members to convert their miles into cash, with unlimited freedom to spend in-store or online at over 30 million outlets worldwide.

PointsPay was launched globally to Etihad Guest members at the end of September 2012, and has since proved to be a tremendous success with nearly 20,000 registered users redeeming more than 100 million miles at more than 5,000 online and in-store merchants around the world.

-       Deloitte’s Challenges of delivering mega projectsand country by country analysis in Deloitte GCC Powers of Construction Report

13 May, 2013 –With 2013 forecasted to be a year of optimism and opportunity for construction in the Middle East, all eyes are back on governments in the region and how they propose to manage their spending, according to Deloitte Middle East’s newly released annual report on the sector: “GCC Powers of Construction: Meeting the challenges of delivering mega projects”.

In a region where there is an acute deficit in terms of infrastructure, the ingredients for capital projects could not be better, says the new Deloitte report, the fourth publication in its series and the only one of its kind amongst the Financial Services industry in the Middle East. The I&CP (Infrastructure & Capital Projects) market is growing rapidly with governments announcing projects across the Middle East region, utilizing trillions of petro-dollars over the coming years.

However, regional economies are facing different priorities from political stability to economic sustainability. Their treasury functions are under increasing pressure to save costs and increase revenue, whilst at the same time pushing an infrastructure agenda that doesn’t necessarily ‘pay back’. With everyone focused on the spending, it is now more relevant than before to balance the focus on costs, as per the Deloitte Report.

“With significant investment in major infrastructure programs increasing over the coming years across the GCC, contractors, consultants and clients alike need to rethink the way they engage each other if they are to truly realize the benefits each can bring to the process,” says Cynthia Corby, audit partner and leader of the Construction industry for the Middle East.

Ghalib Al-Hosni: the awards are the fruit of Omantel efforts in cooperation with the Trade Union to achieve employee’s aspirations

Ahmed Al-Riyami: The recognition motivates us to exert more effort in order to improve Trade Union activities at Omantel

Muscat, May 12, 2013: Omantel, the pioneer  integrated telecom services provider in the Sultanate, has won four awards during the International Workers Day celebration held under the auspices of His Highness Syyid Taimur bin Asaad bin Tariq Al-Said, the Assistant Secretary General of The Research Council for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Education Theatre in Muscat on May 1. The event was organized by the Worker’s Magazine to honor active personalities in Trade Union action.

Muscat, 12 May 2013 – Nawras’ new website at nawras.om has won the gold award in the telecommunications category at the tenth edition of the Pan Arab Web Awards where Ross Cormack, CEO was named Telecommunications Man of the Year, for the second time. The awards were presented during a ceremony held at the Burj Al Arab in Dubai after a distinguished panel of judges reviewed and evaluated over 700 websites.

These latest accolades came hot on the heels of four distinctions including Website of the Yeargiven to Nawras at the Oman Web Awards held in Muscat last month.

“Providing a rewarding customer experience is ourtop priority. Consistency in delivering pleasingly different service across all platforms is paramount and this is what we aimed to achieve with our new and exciting website. Whether you visit our stores, speak to our Customer Contact Centre or browse our website, we want you to enjoy a fun, informative, helpful and enjoyable experience,” Cormack explained during the awards event.“The new look, feel and functionality of our website is a fantastic reflection of the enthusiasm and passion we share for serving customers in the very best way we can.”

He added, “While I am delighted and greatly honoured to receive the Telecommunications Man of the Year award, this accolade is really in recognition of the tremendous teamwork and dedication of the entire Nawras family and accordingly, I would like to share this awardwith everyone at Nawras.”

Sami Al Hassan to further strengthen the business and boost fundraising

Muscat, Oman: GroFin, the pioneering SME development financier in Africa and the MENA, announces the appointment of Sami Al Hassan as General Manager of its operations in Oman.

Sami has been a member of the GroFin team for the last six years and his experience and expertise will deliver continuity of leadership and successful development of the business in Oman.

For GroFin in Oman, 2013 represents a landmark year, with its highest ever targets for investment disbursements, for fund raising and continued business support of the portfolio companies, and Sami’s appointment comes as the natural next step.

Under Sami’s new leadership, the team will be further strengthened by the secondment of Jacques Rossouw from GroFin in Pretoria, South Africa as Investment Specialist, to assist in delivering on the challenging targets of the Oman business.