Egypt Pumps Gas Again
For a while now, Egypt had been unable to send natural gas due to damage. But, according to MENA news agency, the problem was fixed last week and the country was able to resume its pumping. Israel for example, is now receiving gas again which is great, but the levels have been way below contractual obligations, which is problematic. In other words, while gas supply has been restored, it is nowhere near at full capacity.
Unfortunately, the North Sinai pipeline has undergone some quite substantial problems following the deposition of Hosni Mubarak. Indeed, it has been blown up 10 times, with the most recent attack occurring last month. Such attacks have resulted in approximately $4bn worth of damage to Israel’s economy.
But, there is a small piece of good news. Now that gas pumping has been resumed (albeit on a lower level), there was a 3.6 percent escalation on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange of Ampal-American Israel Corp. (proprietor of a stake in a company that exports gas from Egypt to Israel).
ROP Annual Day Celebrations
January 5 marked the Royal Oman Police’s Annual Day. This year marked a new stage of its security and service achievements under the tutelage of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said, the Supreme Commander of ROP. Due to his input, Oman has really made significant inroads both regionally and internationally.
The ROP’s task is to establish and maintain security throughout Oman. It is constantly working to maintain, improve and expand on all the services and functions it offers to the people. For example, new services are always being added, more modern methods are being added, etc. Currently, its police force is well trained and new police establishments have been developed throughout Oman. New cadres are being trained and a whole slew of job seekers joined ROP units too.
Good News for Oman Businesses
Oman’s Oil Making an Impact
Oman’s oil is being very positive for the Sultanate. Due to a huge increase in oil revenues, the Sultanate’s fiscal surplus has reached 8.2 percent of 2011’s GDP. According to the International Monetary Fund, Oman’s projected GDP growth was 5.5 percent and 6.4 percent in non-hydrocarbon GDP.
There has also been an acceleration of economic activities in Oman which is significantly helping the economy. This trend looks set to continue in the New Year. In addition, Oman’s economy hasn’t been so impacted by problems in the international financial markets as well as the European crisis. It seems that banks in Oman have not felt the regional unrest that is causing issues in general for other economies in Europe. Close to 80 percent of Oman’s oil exports go to Asia limiting the impact of Europe’s crisis. Let’s hope things continue in this way for Oman and the Sultanate.
Oman Islamic Economic Forum
Yesterday witnessed the beginning of the Oman Islamic Economic Forum, at the Al Bustan Palace Hotel. Organized by the Amjad Group, in attendance was Tun Abdullah bin Haji, Malaysia’s ex-Prime Minister, State Council honorable members, various ministers, undersecretaries and other political VIPs. As well, there were influential economic executives including those from Islamic banking institutions within and out of the Sultanate.
Finance Matters
The main crux of the forum was discussions on banking regulations in Oman; Islamic banking practices; finance products; Islamic capital markets; charitable endeavors, the development of an alternative Islamic economic system, etc.
At the forum, the Central Bank of Oman’s Chief Executive President, Hamoud bin Sanjour al-Zdjali, pointed out the importance of Islamic banks keeping up with various accounting standards that are accepted by the parties stock market trading, while being conducive to international standards that affect them.
Understanding Islamic Banking Practices
Islamic banking practices work alongside Sharia (Islamic law) and its application through Islamic economics. In simple terms, this forbids fixed/floating payment or agreeing to specific interest or fees for monetary loans. In addition, one is not allowed to invest in businesses that sell anything that would be antithetical to Islamic principles.
Big News for Oman
Omani Exhibitions Industry
Ahmed Baabood has made a name for Oman. At the 78th UFI Congress which took place in Spain (hosted by Feria Valencia) last month, he was elected board member of the Union Foire Internationale (UFI) – the Global Association for the Exhibition Industry. This will give him decision-making power and influence over the Trade Fair Industry and for sure be good for the country of Oman.
On this achievement, Baabood said, “when I first entered the Exhibitions Industry my ambition was to elevate the Omani Exhibitions Industry to world standards. I have worked hard to make this a reality and am very pleased to have now been appointed a Board member for UFI which is the global authority of our Industry, based out of Paris. I dedicate this achievement to all my hardworking colleagues in the Exhibitions Industry here and I look forward to serving them by strengthening relations between various regional organizers and suppliers. With the announcement of the new Convention Centre recently, Oman is now poised to become a prominent place on the map of the Trade Fair business.”
At the Congress, approximately 400 delegates were in attendance (from 52 countries) – a record for such a European UFI Congress. Eric Everard, the UFI 2011 President, pointed out that the industry had to carry on developing ways to promote exhibitions to global marketers. He said, “if we can do our bit to convince businesses and governments that, when times are tough, exhibitions and events are the place to focus their marketing dollars, then there will have been a silver lining in those storm clouds for our Industry.”
UAE 40th National Day
Various greetings were expressed to President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan. He received congratulatory messages from His Majesty the Sultan, Shaikh Khalifa and His Highness Sayyid Harib bin Thuwaini al Said. Khalifa also expressed his desires that good relations between the Omani people and the UAE would continue to thrive, at the benefit of all the citizens concerned. As well, hopes were conveyed that further advancement and growth would arise for the entire people of the UAE.
Celebrations marking the milestone were held at Zayed Sports City. Minister of State and Governor of Muscat, Sayyid Saud bin Hilal al Busaidy, went along with Sayid Harib on the UAE visit, along with Minister of Legal Affairs, Dr. Abdullah bin Mohammed al Saeedi and UAE’s Sultanate Ambassador, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah al Qatabi.
The event was enjoyable and guests were privy to musical performances by the Royal Oman Symphony Ochestra (ROSO). It was a true evening of good feeling and goodwill and the UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs spoke of his gratitude to HM Sultan Qaboos and the entire Omani people, saying, “we are delighted with any brotherly gestures from the noble Omani people and we consider such gestures as an honor and a manifestation of the strong ties between the leaders of Oman and the UAE.”
Oman’s National Day: Global Celebrations
Oman’s National Day takes place every year on November 18. It is also the birthday of Sultan Qaboos and the country holds camel races and traditional dancing marking the events. Indeed, no place in Muscat or Oman remains undecorated – the entire city is lit up with festivity and fanfare, as well of course, as the traditional fireworks. Each street is lined by cutouts of the birthday boy as well as Oman’s royal flag. So let’s take a brief look at how other countries mark the occasion.
America
Oman’s UN Permanent Delegate, Her Excellency Liotha Bint Sultan Al Musgiriah, hosted a reception in New York. Naser Abdulaziz Al Nasr, Head of the General Assembly, UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, various journalists and diplomatic corps were also there.
Berlin
A reception in Berlin took place in recognition of Oman’s National Day. Hosted by Her Excellency Dr Zainab Bint Ali Al Qasmiah, Ambassador of the Sultanate to Germany, representatives from the German Union for Trading, ministries, Oman-German friendship Association, Arab-German Society, the German Union for Trading, Omani Air executives, Arab-Germany Chamber for Commerce and Industry Sec. Gen., Germany’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and other executives and professionals were also in attendance.
Malaysia
A reception in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was hosted by Malaysia’s Sultanate Ambassador, HE Aflah Bin Suliman Al Taei, and had as its honorary guest, the Deputy Minister in the cabinet, Datok Haji Ahmad Maslan. Diplomatic corps’ heads, executives, students and academics were also in attendance.
The Netherlands
At The Hague, there were celebrations for Oman’s Day too, held under the auspices of the Sultanate’s Ambassador to the Netherlands, HH Sayyid Mohammed Bin Hareb Bin Abdullah Al Said. Members of Parliament, judges, senior officers, ruling family representatives and more, were in attendance.
BankMuscat and IOSH Sign HSE Policy
BankMuscat and the International Organization for Safety and Health (IOSH) just signed a Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) initiative. The signing took place at a ceremony at which the IOSH President, Subash Ludhra, was in attendance. BankMuscat took the opportunity to reveal its HSE logo.
Demonstrating its commitment to managing risk and protecting people, the Bank also unveiled its HSE logo on the occasion. The health and safety initiative marks an international first for Oman as BankMuscat is the first to create a safety management system in place in the banking sector in Oman.
Yaseen Abdul Latif, AGM — Finance and Strategy, said: “The BankMuscat HSE initiative is a natural progression of the health and safety measures adopted by the Bank to global benchmark standards. As ambassadors for health and safety in the banking community in Oman, we are happy to take the lead to ensure legal compliance with Ministerial Decision 286/2008 issued by the Ministry of Manpower and comply with the Central Bank of Oman mandate for all banks to develop safety management systems.”
Abdul Latif said: “The BankMuscat HSE policies are developed to prevent and avoid health and safety issues. Also if problems do occur, we are ready to ensure our emergency response is timely, disciplined and immediate to mitigate any injury or accidental damage. By establishing health and safety policy as an integral part of our safety culture, we embrace the individual and group values of our staff and take ownership of our social responsibility.”
OARC Production Capacity
Great expectations are in sight for Oman Aluminum Rolling Company (OARC) over the coming few years. By 2014, it is hoped that commercial operations will begin for the company. According to Buddy Stemple, OARC’s CEO, five years thereafter, it is due to reach its production capacity of 160,000. He mentioned this at the Arabal Aluminum Conference that was held recently at the Muscat’s Grand Hyatt. It is anticipated that the growth will start at around 55,000 tons per annum until it reaches its full capacity. This is going to be part of a five-year plan.
Supporting the Project
A few months ago, building on the plant began, with an injection of $387m (US). It started in the Sohar Industrial Area, near the Sohar Aluminum smelter. The National Bank of Oman along with Bank Dhofar contributed a loan at the value of $193m (US). This will provide part of the finance for the project.
Project Goals
So what will the project achieve, once it has been completed? It is hoped that Aluminum Rolling will be able to develop ‘light gauge’ coils, which will be user-friendly for all types of industries, such as foil, light industrial process, air conditioning, packaging and more. In addition, for the people of Oman, many more jobs will be created. During construction more than 1,000 will be needed and thereafter there will be 275 permanent jobs available. As well, as other industries start developing due to this project, even more jobs will be created. So there is much hope around for the people of Oman as this project gets underway.
Etisalat Honor
A telecommunications company in the United Arab Emirates – Etisalat – was recently honored with three awards from the International Business Awards. Better known as the “Stevie’s,” getting even just one of these awards is an extremely prestigious achievement. But to get three is very impressive. Etisalat received awards for: the Best Chairman, Best Customer Care and the Most Innovative Company. Muhammad Omran took the award for Best Chairman (being the company’s chairman). And he certainly deserved it, given the fact that it has been under his leadership that the company’s customer base has escalated from 4 to 140 million since 2004 spanning 18 markets! As well, revenues have increased to $8.7bn within a four year period and between 2005-08 growth-rate increased 25 percent.