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.
Oman: Celebrating Children
Next year sees a true celebration of children in Oman. To celebrate in style, there will be an Internet contest for kids, called ‘Sail with Colours’ to design a sail for a small dinghy sailboat – an RS Q’BA. This is being launched by Oman Sail for the Omani Year of Children, 2012.
Oman’s Maritime Heritage
The contest is aimed at increasing awareness for children on Oman’s maritime and seafaring heritage. It is the first action that has come forward in response to the announcement of the Year of Children 2012. Hopefully children in the region will want to show off their artistic talents and, at the same time, encourage them to participate in the upcoming sailing culture among the young people. Children between six and sixteen-years-old are invited to take part in the contest through Oman Sail’s FB page; it will be split into two contests, one for 6 to 11 year olds and the other for 12 to 16 year olds.
The winner of the competition will be used on a design for a sail of an RS Q’BA boat. As well, the sinner gets an actual RS Q’BA boat! Second prize is a weekend away at the Shangri-La Resort Spa as well as sailing lessons there (and a certificate); third prize is yet unknown (a surprise).
Focusing on Oman’s Youth
Oman is striving to focus on its youth, looking to the country’s future for potential. This project will be teaching them to sail through the company Oman Sail. Indeed, over 30,000 young Omanis will have the opportunity to learn this skill through its ‘Try Sailing’ program.
Oman’s Construction Industry
In order to strengthen the Sultanate’s construction industry, the role of its local stakeholders has to be boosted. It was the contractor/builder institute – the Oman Society of Contractors (OSC) – that made this suggestion. One way to actualize this is by promoting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the industry. A meeting was organized to discuss this matter. According to the CEO of Oman Society of Contractors, Mr. Salim Talib Al Sheedi, the meeting was meant to help work out how to achieve the objectives of the OSC to support construction companies in Oman.
This was the second meeting held in the series in the Sultanate. There was a proposal by the Tender Board to unite the SMEs as a way of beefing up their contribution to the national economy. In addition, it was suggested that part of the region’s building worked should be reserved for the SMEs working in that area. It also might be a good idea for small companies to form consortiums (band together) to beef up their profiles, which will make them more attractive as they will have more to offer, and this will result in them being more in the running for larger projects.
OSC Pushes for Better Standards
The OSC is always pushing for improved standards for the industry. It held policy dialogues with ministries as a way of trying to achieve a conducive and productive atmosphere in the building sector. The response to this was successful and resulted in greater participation from Oman-based companies.
For future improvements in the building sector, local companies that have the necessary skills need more encouragement so that they can face the global challenges that exist. Tender Board authorities have responded well to OSC’s requests. There is now work being done to reduce the dependency over international companies and give the Oman Construction Industry more capabilities with greater confidence.
BlackBerry® Torch™ 9860 and Torch 9810 Reaches Oman
Two new smartphones are being launched in Oman via Oman Mobile and Research In Motion. The BlackBerry® Torch™ 9860 and Torch 9810 are going to be available in Oman. They both have the BlackBerry® 7 operating system; a handset with all-touch; a huge 3.7” display and the perfect capacity for website, video, photo and gaming display. According to GM of Marketing at Omantel Consumer Business Unit, Saleem Ahmed Abdullatiff, the companies working on this project are delighted to be able to bring such sophistication to the Sultanate.
Out of all the Blackberry smartphones currently available on the market, these two for sure have the best features which are giving the manufacturers confidence that they will be very popular in the Oman mobile phone market. Those looking for faster browser features and improved quality screen display, will definitely be interested in the phones. As well, the price is reasonable, especially in comparison to other packages available.
Both phones are currently available in all Oman Mobile and Omantel stores.
Oman Business News
The Omani Conference and Industry Ministry organized a new loans venture for small- and medium-sized enterprises through the SME’s Loans Guarantee Program. According to executive Eng. Ahmed bin Hassan al-Dheeb, there was an attempt to gain the support of the Small Business Administration through the Commerce and Industry Ministry. This followed various actions that were taken such as employee training at both the ministry and the banks which were all involved in the implementation of the program. In addition, when the National Business Centre hopefully begins work next year, it will make further recommendations to the bank and evaluate the various business proposals that come forth. The Oman banks that have already signed up to the program are: Oman Arab Bank, Bank Muscat and the Oman Development Bank.
Majlis Ash’shura Elections
The Wilayat of Wadi Al Ma’awil representative — Khalid bin Hilal al Ma’awali — was just elected chair of the Majlis Ash’shura 7th term. The session – seen by many as historic – was quite spectacular in many ways. In an unprecedented move, it marked the first time the chairman was elected by members under His Majesty Sultan Qaboos’ directives following the Royal Decree No 99/2011, Article 85 (bis 12). Two deputies were elected at the same session, first deputy Salim bin Ali al Ka’abi and second deputy, Abdullah bin Khalifa al Maja’aly. As well, presiding over the session was Salim bin Ali al Khatheri (who is the oldest member). It was practically a full attendance with only one person missing. The secret ballot was supervised by the Majlis Ash’shura General Secretariat. The entire election process was monitored by assistant trustees and legal experts. The event was covered by media.
Unprecedented Elections
So why were these elections so different? Well, some of the reasons have been discussed above. But there are other features which also distinguishes them from others that have taken place in the past. Any members that get elected to the 7th Majlis term are subject to increased flexibility vis-à-vis legal and auditory rights and abilities. Second, it is a far more modern and efficient ballot process. Third, the entire process is way more democratic than it’s ever been as it is a far more accurate and representative election – vis-à-vis the peoples’ desires – than it has ever been in the past. This in turn gives credence to democracy in general and democratic confidence in particular of Oman and its Sultanate.
So overall, yesterday’s elections certainly gave the people something to talk about, and something positive at that.
Gaddaffi and Oman
The murder of Gadaffi should be having an impact on other Arab countries now and the way they run their governments. This includes Oman. Tyrants have to start realizing that their undemocratic ruling is on shaky ground and simply cannot last forever. The Arab region has, to date now, witnessed the end of three-long serving rulers in the space of 12 months.
In the Arab world though – amongst regular people living in the region – it seems that Gadaffi’s murder was not a surprise, nor was it unwelcomed. According to a recent Reuters news article Libyans, Egyptians and others have described it as “deserving” since he was a dictator who never listened to the cries of his people pleading for a “more open and free society.”
Now that Gadaffi is dead, Egyptians are “looking forward to helping the Libyan people rebuild their country.” In Muscat, the capital of Oman, Gadaffi’s death is being hailed as “a lesson to other Arab rulers [who] will face such a fate if they keep oppressing their people,” Haji Ismail, a banker from Muscat said.
Gaddaffi and Oman
The murder of Gadaffi should be having an impact on other Arab countries now and the way they run their governments. This includes Oman. Tyrants have to start realizing that their undemocratic ruling is on shaky ground and simply cannot last forever. The Arab region has, to date now, witnessed the end of three-long serving rulers in the space of 12 months.
In the Arab world though – amongst regular people living in the region – it seems that Gadaffi’s murder was not a surprise, nor was it unwelcomed. According to a recent Reuters news article Libyans, Egyptians and others have described it as “deserving” since he was a dictator who never listened to the cries of his people pleading for a “more open and free society.”
Now that Gadaffi is dead, Egyptians are “looking forward to helping the Libyan people rebuild their country.” In Muscat, the capital of Oman, Gadaffi’s death is being hailed as “a lesson to other Arab rulers [who] will face such a fate if they keep oppressing their people,” Haji Ismail, a banker from Muscat said.
Oman Gets New Mobile Broadband Packages
Omantel will be launching some new mobile broadband packages. This will be conducted through the company’s mobile telecommunications branch, Oman Mobile. The new packages will offer customers a whole slew of different options (price-wise) to connect to Oman’s widest 3.5G coverage. These rates have been substantially reduced from previous ones and there will be many more usage allowances available too. Rates will start from as low as RO 1 daily. This will result in over 2 million customers getting Internet access from their phones or laptops.
According to the company’s VP for Customer Business Unit, Haitham Abdullah al Kharusi, “as Oman’s population becomes increasingly mobile, the demand for internet connectivity on the go has increased significantly over the past few years. We listen to our customers and the new mobile broadband packages are a direct response to their demands. Listening to the need of our customers ensures that Oman’s largest mobile operator will continue to enrich the Omani market with innovative products.”
Given that this area is the country’s largest mobile community to use the Internet wirelessly, the company has attempted to build packages to respond to this need. Omantel has been focusing on great packages at exceptional prices for its customers. One example of the packages it offers is monthly 500 MB package subscriptions that sells at RO 12 will be getting an upgrade to the 1GB package for a mere RO 5. And of course there are many other attractive plans too. So Oman mobile users will be getting true value for their money and great mobile enjoyment on the move thanks to Omantel.