ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2015

32BUSINESS

Event to provide insights on real estate markets offering attractive opportunities for Kuwaiti investors

Learn the secrets of profitable investment at Cityscape KuwaitKUWAIT CITY, Nov 29: For the firsttime, those people interested in real estateinvestment, will have the opportunity tolearn the techniques of how to build aninternational property portfolio, throughfree-to-attend seminars, as part of theupcoming Cityscape Kuwait. The event isheld under the patronage of His HighnessSheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Prime Minister of the State ofKuwait, on Dec 9-11, 2015, at the KuwaitInternational Fairgrounds.

In addition to the local market, theCityscape Kuwait Investment Series willalso provide attendees with insights onthose global real estate markets offeringattractive opportunities for Kuwaitiinvestors. Particular focus will be onTurkey, UAE, UK, Germany, US andSaudi Arabia.

Shai Zamanian, Managing Director atSTEP America, a forthcoming speakerthis December explains “Investment sym-posiums like Cityscape become integralas global markets continue to expand.Established and now emerging investorsneed a forum in which to gain new marketinsight, exchange ideas on trade, and toprosper beyond established borders.”

Fellow speaker John Akthar, Directorat Oxford Acquisitions concludes;“Cityscape Kuwait is the place to meetleaders in real estate, get advice that mat-ters and discover investment opportuni-ties.”

Alongside the Investment Series pro-viding opportunities for investors, theCityscape Kuwait Business Forum willbe a platform for more than 200 industry

decision makers and government toaddress pertinent issues for the Kuwaitreal estate market, including the impactof low oil prices on real estate, commer-cial property invest-ment, REITS, andthe latest investmentopportunities byregion and sector.

Chairman of theKuwait Real EstateUnion and con-firmed speakerTawfikh Al Jarrahstates; “The govern-ment of Kuwait hassigned a $13 billionmega constructionproject to build anew refinery whichis poised to create45,000 new jobs.”

“The project hasbeen in the pipelinefor a long time, andonce completed, the615,000-barrel-a-day refinery will bethe largest facility ofits kind built in asingle phase. Thefact that it has finally been awardedshows a commitment to delivering onlong-delayed projects. It is important thatthis momentum continues and progress ismade with utilities, transport and housingprogrammes.”

Sharifa Al Shalfan, Research Fellow atthe London School of Economics —

Kuwait Programme and another forth-coming speaker at the Business Forumagrees that the country’s real estate focusshould now be on action. “As Kuwait

faces an unprece-dented waiting listfor public housing,and other real estateunattainable tomost, it becomescrucial to rethink itshousing distributionpolicies and urband e v e l o p m e n tapproach for thefuture.”

Sharifa will beexploring Kuwaitihousing policiesduring her presenta-tion on day one ofthe Business Forum,which is takingplace on the 9th and10th of Decemberduring theCityscape KuwaitExhibition.

The Forum is achance for realestate developers,

brokers, institutional investors and otherrelevant industry insiders to network, ini-tiate new relationships, and enhanceone’s knowledge, through key topicsincluding the impact of the oil prices onKuwait based real estate investments, —a high profile issue made more problem-atic by the rising cost of raw materials.

Abdulmohsen Abdulaziz Al Babtain Co (AABC),the exclusive agent of Nissan in the State ofKuwait, is proud to announce that 10 of itsNissan sales executives were awarded with theN-SPEC (Nissan Sales Program for ExecutivesCertification) certification and are now officiallypart of Nissan’s elite certified global sales team.

Leading the ceremony were Al-Babtain GroupChief Operating Officer Mohammed Shalaby,Al-Babtain Group HR General ManagerAbdulmohsen Abdulaziz Al-Babtain, SalesGeneral Manager (Nissan, Renault & Citroen)

Issam Salameh; who welcomed the Nissan GulfFZCO Dubai (NGF) delegates to the event.

Director of Sales & Marketing CameronGowing, awarded the Nissan Al-Babtain salesexecutives with their Nissan customized pins,trophies and certificates.

With their hard work and dedication, the cer-tified sales executives have successfully com-pleted their certification program courses andpassed the assessment conducted by NissanMiddle East Sales Training Manager TamerYasin.

The Nissan N-SPEC certification is a global-ly recognized certification course for salesexecutives, based on the Nissan global salestraining templates to upgrade the knowledgeand skills of the sales executives and therebyincreasing customer satisfaction. Al-BabtainGroup recognizes the importance of staff train-ing and development and invests heavily inthis area. With its recently developed staff L&Dcenter, the company is introducing more andmore training and coaching sessions to devel-op its sales team’s skills.

10 Nissan sales executives awarded N-SPEC certification

We advise our clients to invest in Birmingham: Al-Qaddoumi

TREG offers residential development project in UKKUWAIT CITY, Nov 29: MohammedWaleed Al-Qaddoumi, Deputy ManagingDirector, Marketing and Manager,Canada branch of Top Real Estate Group(TREG) said that the Group is proud tooffer its clients in Kuwait and Qatar oneof the best real estate residential projectsin Birmingham, UK.

This project is developed by SevenCapital, a firm specializing in real estatedevelopment across central and northernUK. Al-Qaddumi added that Birminghamis the second largest city in Britain follow-ing the Capital City of London and wasranked on the top of Western Europe’s top10 most attractive cities for investments.

Many banks and private companiesmoved their head offices to Birminghamdue to its unique location in UK andlower costs of living and accommodationas compared to London.

He added that over the past years, above£4 billion were injected in infrastructureprojects in the city to develop the same.Al-Qaddumi said that the city has fivemajor universities and four colleges withabout 73 thousand students, out of themabout 10 thousand students come from theFar East and Middle East regions.

He pointed out that the city offers manyjob opportunities and attract staff for vari-ous sectors from several regions. These fac-

tors help the real estate residential segmentin the region prosper and grow demand.

On the other hand, private companiesexecute dozens of residential and com-

mercial develop-ments in the Cityand its downtownarea. Upon comple-tion of such devel-opments, the City isset to become one ofthe most beautifulemerging cities inEurope.

With respect to theproject background,Al-Qaddoumi said

that it comprises residential buildings to beexecuted in several phases. The develop-ment is located approximately one mileaway from the railway station and shop-ping center in the City.

Al-Qaddoumi indicated that Phase Iconsists of 291 luxury apartments rang-ing from studio to three bedrooms withdifferent spaces and the prices start from£134 thousand. The acquisition is forrenewable leasehold term of 125 years,adding that the project is under construc-tion and handover will take place at theend of 2017.

With respect to payment terms, he said

that a client will pay 30 percent advancepayment and the outstanding balance hasto be paid upon handover.

He indicated that the payment and con-tract procedures will be processedthrough the client’s lawyer or a lawyerrecommended by the Group. Al-Qaddoumi explained that the Group’slawyer examined all project related docu-ments before offering it to our clients.

Al-Qaddoumi said that Birmingham isthe fastest growing City in UK and sig-nificant real estate activities made it themost attractive destination for investors.Good returns on lease can be realizedranging from 5-8 percent per annumwhile a property under construction real-izes about 25 percent upon completion ofconstruction.

On the other hand, annual growth rateof property value in the city ranges from5-10 percent depending on the location,specifications and benefits of the proper-ty. Al-Qaddoumi stressed that the Group,given its deep-rooted experience in UKreal estate market, advises its clients toinvest in this project and in Birmingham,which is set to witness a major shift inincreasing values of properties over thenext five years. Early investment in theCity will achieve a positive return in thefuture.

A group photo of thehonored Nissan execu-

tives.

KIB representatives with JPMorgan officials during the award ceremony.

AUB representatives receiving the award from JPMorgan officials.

S-Class LED headlamps

S-Class Amdient Lighting

S-Class command center

Recognition proves Al-Dawli’s leading position in Islamic banking industry

KIB wins JPMorgan STP Quality AwardKUWAIT CITY, Nov 29: Once again,Kuwait International Bank affirms its leadingposition in the Islamic banking industry bywinning the Elite JPMorgan Chase QualityAward for the year 2015 in recognition of itsoutstanding performance in Straight ThroughProcessing (STP) payments and efficiency inprocessing international transfers in US dol-lars. Mohamed Said El Saka, Acting CEO &GM — Financial Control & PlanningDepartment at KIB, commented: “We arevery proud to receive this outstanding awardthat translates the sound success achieved byimplementing our new promising transfor-mation strategy at the beginning of this year,which aims at sustaining our leading positionlocally and abroad by providing quality serv-ices that comply with the Islamic Sharia prin-ciples”.

He added that this award was earned bythe bank in recognition of its outstandingperformance in STP payments and efficien-cy in processing international transfers thatmeet our clients’ growing needs. He hailedthe dedication of the staff that played animportant role in achieving the bank’s suc-cesses, while giving special credit to theoperations team headed by Mr.Abdulraheem Al Awadhi, GM – CorporateSupport Department, for their constant hardwork and commitment that helped in receiv-ing this prestigious Elite award and posi-tioning the bank at the forefront in its field.

This award is granted to select banksworldwide that meet the strict criteria forprocessing US Dollar payments throughJPMorgan Chase Bank where KIB exceed-ed the stringent STP performance stan-dards by achieving an STP rate of 99.09%for the MT103 category of payments.

Purest embodiment of our brand promise

Mercedes-Benz S-Class: Tech ahead of timesvIn the history of the automotive indus-

try there are few vehicles that havemade an impact quite like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Redefining luxury,advancing telematics and setting newbenchmarks across all segments, the S-Class extends the boundaries of technolo-gy on many levels. It is not just a techno-logical spearhead for Mercedes-Benz, butfor automotive development as a whole.

As with every generation before it, cus-tomers expect the S-Class to set standardsacross the board to retain its accolade as“the best automobile in the world”. Ratherthan focusing purely on safety or aesthet-ics, power or efficiency and comfort ordynamism, the S-class embodies ‘the bestor nothing’ in every respect.

“Within the Mercedes-Benz portfolio,the S-Class is the purest embodiment ofour brand promise. It offers the best andlatest technology, complete efficiency,pure LED lighting and more functionsand features than ever before. It’s nowonder it maintains its position at the topof the luxury segment, completelyredefining benchmarks at every turn,”said Michael Ruehle, Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Abdul Rahman Albisher & ZaidAlkazemi Company.

100 years or so after the introductionof electric lighting in motor vehicles,Mercedes-Benz made a complete switchto LED technology with the S-Class asthe first vehicle in the world whose inte-rior and exterior do without a single lightbulb. The lighting’s multi-level function-ality is another world first: out of consid-eration for any road users behind, theintensity of the brake lights is reduced atnight or while waiting at traffic lights, forexample. Almost 500 LEDs illuminatethe road, the vehicle, the interior and theboot. Depending on equipment, theseinclude:

Headlamps: each with up to 56 LEDsTail lights: each with up to 35 LEDs

(plus 4 for the rear fog lamp)Visibility is enhanced by two assis-

tance systems that have undergone somekey improvements – Adaptive HighbeamAssist Plus and Night View Assist Plus.Thanks to a new stereo camera and multi-stage radar sensors, the S-Class has 360-degree all-round vision and detectspotential dangers on the road better.

Suspension: the world’s first suspen-sion with “eyes”

The S-Class is the world’s first car tobe able to detect bumps on the roadahead. If road surface scan detects suchunevenness by means of the stereo cam-era, magic body control instantaneouslysets up the suspension to deal with thenew situation. This innovative suspen-sion system is available as an option forthe eight-cylinder models. Standard

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AUB receives JPMorgan QualityAward for Banking OperationsKUWAIT CITY, Nov 29: Ahli UnitedBank is proud to announce thatJPMorgan has awarded Ahli UnitedBank their quality award for bankingoperations for 2015. The award wasoffered to the bank in appreciation ofits high operational performance inbanking transfers. This award is yetanother additional recognition of thebank’s professional standardachieved in this regard.

On this occasion, Mrs Jehad Al-Humaidhi, Ahli United Bank’sGeneral Manager of Operations andIT, announced in a press release that:“We are delighted with this high-level international recognition from arenowned institution such asJPMorgan as a result of our contin-ued efforts to maintain the high levelof performance and precision for thesecond consecutive year. Thisreflects our philosophy and our dedi-cation to a culture of service excel-lence and the achievement of thehighest international standards quali-ty”.

Mrs Al-Humaidhi added: “This

award will be added to the numerousother awards which the Bank hasobtained all of which commended thequality and proficiency of transac-tions excellence. We shall continuethis trend relying on the experienceand dedication of our teams, the solidIT infrastructure, and the multi serv-ice channels of Ahli United Bank”.

JPMorgan indicated that only 1%of its clients qualified for the awardin 2015, with Ahli United Bankbeing one of this limited elite selec-tion of banks.

This quality appreciation award inbanking operations has been offeredby JPMorgan since 1997 to the bankswhich achieve the highest compe-tence rates in accomplishing interna-tional transfer transactions and treas-ury processes.. This was achievedafter the bank accomplished a highlevel of precision for MT103 SWIFTmessages, which pertain to “BankingTransfers Service to clients” andMT202 messages in US dollarswhich relate to “implementing theinter-banking transfers.”

Zain-Uber alliance recognized asmost innovative service by OvumKUWAIT CITY, Nov 29: Zain Group, aleading mobile telecom innovator in eightmarkets across the Middle East andAfrica, is pleased to announce that itspartnership with Uber — the technologycompany that is evolving the way theworld moves, has been recognized byglobal renowned research companyOvum, as its most innovative service forNovember 2015. Ovum reviewed 82innovative services launched by serviceproviders around the world in its TelcoServices Innovation Radar monthly sum-mary, and deemed the Zain-Uber allianceas the most innovative stating, “It is notoften that we find a strategic partnershipthat can bring so many key benefits foroperators.”

Announced in September 2015, thefirst of its kind collaboration in the regionsaw Zain becoming Uber’s main mobileservice provider for any future Uber serv-ices in any country where Zain operates.Ovum identified that for Zain, Uber’scontinual growth across the region is a

bonus having the potential to createincremental revenues, attract new cus-tomers, and increase customer loyalty.

The partnership is currently opera-tional in Bahrain, Jordan and SaudiArabia, offering Zain customers dis-counted and preferential services whenusing the Uber platform locally and whentravelling abroad. The partnership is setto be expanded to other Zain markets indue course including Kuwait, whichrecently offered travelling customers tothe USA, UK and UAE a free ride forfirst time Uber users.

Ovum stated Uber could be looking atthis partnership as a way to recruit driversin countries where Zain operates, withexclusive phone and data deals being anattractive prospect to potential drivers,further supporting the extension ofUber’s service to a wider user base as itrapidly expands across the region.

Additionally, Ovum noted that, “It wasimportant for Uber to cooperate with atelecom operator that had a powerful,wide-reaching and superior networkquality across the region, acknowledgingZain’s customer scale as important to thepartnership.

Commenting on the recognition, ZainGroup CEO, Scott Gegenheimer said,“As we transform Zain into a digital serv-ices company, partnering with leadingtechnology providers such as Uber is akey component of our strategy.Innovation has been central to ZainGroup’s evolution, and we are gratified tosee our initiatives being recognized byglobal research companies of the statureof Ovum.”

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Al-Qaddoumi

Al-Jarrah

Zamanian

Akthar

Al-Shalfan