Tweet
• NCB
• Investbank
• Rosewood Corniche
• Toyota Corolla
• Ewaan
• Lulu Hypermarket
• GO
• MPC
• STC
NCB
The National Commercial Bank (NCB) has announced its participation for the second consecutive year in Earth Hour, taking place for an hour from 8:30 p.m. on Saturday. NCB's participation comes as part of a global awareness campaign spearheaded by the World Wildlife Fund and joined by hundreds of millions of people and institutions from around the planet, standing up together on the challenges of climate change. The bank's involvement this year will include turning off all external lightings at its head and regional office buildings in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam, in addition to turning off all light signs at its branch network across the Kingdom during the hour. Moreover, and in response to the campaign's call for participants to go beyond the hour in 2011, NCB announced the day as a "No Print" day in all its offices in the Kingdom with the aim of reducing the paper consumption. The bank also launched an internal awareness campaign about Earth Hour, raising environmental awareness of its staff across the Kingdom and encouraging their involvement in the global movement by turning off lights at homes, minimizing the consumption of energy sources, and introducing environmentally-friendly initiatives that could contribute to the education of the children and to minimizing our collective impact as a society on the environment. NCB's CEO Abdulkarim Al-Nasr said the bank's involvement in this global event exemplified the role of the Kingdom within the international community and highlighted its positive contribution in attending to global issues of concern that face humanity and the environment.
INVESTBANK
The global environmental cause "Earth Hour" will take place Saturday at 7 p.m. at Wild Jordan restaurant in Jabal Amman, Jordan. The Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) has organized and Investbank sponsored the event. INVESTBANK has invited all of its clients to participate in this event to encourage the community to stop the over consumption of energy and to conserve on Jordan's carbon emissions. Investbank is a provider of financial services in Jordan, employing over 300 employees in nine strategically located branches across the Kingdom. Investbank comprises five business segments - corporate banking, SMEs, personal banking, wealth management and investments. Investbank's subsidiaries including Al-Imdad and Mawared for Brokerage compliment the bank's offering as a premium boutique bank. Investbank intends to revolve around the market's needs to provide growth, security and prosperity to all its stakeholders in addition to contributing to the advancement of the local community.
ROSEWOOD CORNICHE
The five-star Rosewood Corniche hotel in Jeddah will observe Earth Hour by turning off all exterior lighting as well as the lights in the hotel's public areas, back of house, and common areas on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. The hotel staff will also heed the Earth Hour 2011 message to “go beyond the hour” and create lasting environmental change at home, at work and in the community. "We are proud to participate in Earth Hour again this year," said Hans-Peter Lietske, MD, Rosewood Corniche. "We look forward to building on the success of last year's event and to implementing more sustainable initiatives in the hotel throughout the year so we too can go beyond the hour," he added. Hotel guests will also be encouraged to take part in the global event. They will be invited to dine by candlelight in the hotel's four world-class restaurants, and to dim non-essential lights in their luxurious suites. Earth Hour 2010 was the largest Earth Hour to date. More than 128 countries and territories took action against climate change alongside the earth's major urban landmarks, religious sites and natural wonders. This year, Rosewood Corniche will dim its lights together with the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi, Cape Town's Table Mountain, the Sydney Opera House in Australia, and thousands of cities across the globe, some of which will use the event to launch major sustainable initiatives in their cites in order to 'go beyond the hour' for generations to come.
TOYOTA COROLLA
The Toyota Corolla has long been the most popular car in Saudi Arabia because it offers smart options that combine economic and strong performance, high reliability, modern design and superior safety. After 50 years of continuous developments on the best-selling car in the world, the Corolla 2011 completes the model's deep legacy. The 2011 model is characterized by the strong performance of engines that are bigger than their predecessors. In addition, the manual 6-speed transmission gives more excitement and smoothness when driving, while improvements to the interior offer more comfort along with the electronic side view mirror as a standard in all models. Also, the improvements include the head and rear lights plus the front grille along with the bumpers. Faisal Abdalla, VP, Abdul Latif Jameel Company, said: "When we talk about the Corolla, the first thing that comes to mind is a car built to the highest standards yet is economically priced to make it affordable without compromising any of the characteristic features that are appreciated by all of our customers every time they drive a Toyota vehicle." The Corolla is available in four models that have different specifications, starting with the high standard 1.6 Xli, then the advanced 1.6 Xli Exec., followed by the 1.8 Xli, and the 1.8 Gli, which is considered the highest among Corolla models. The 1.8 Gli is distinguished by luxurious details such as its auto air conditioners, leather steering wheel with audio switch control, leather shift lever and knob, leather seats, rear spoiler, cruise control, optitron speedometer, leather console box, and moon roof. Other features include a 6 speaker audio system, manual rear curtain and silver instrument panel center cluster.
EWAAN
Ewaan Global Residential Company has decided to employ Saudis on its several projects. Selection of the Saudi citizens for the new positions will be based upon company's database of candidates who previously applied for employment at the company. Ewaan's CEO Fahad Mohammad Al-Mutawa said" "The initiative comes in response to the generous Royal decrees issued by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, which are of utmost value for creating job opportunities for Saudis." Al-Muawa said that Ewaan's Saudization level was currently 38 percent, and would rise to 45 percent by employing more Saudis during Q2 2011. He added that the company is highly committed to Saudization based on its belief that Saudi nationals represent the future of the company. Commenting on the real estate industry in the Kingdom, Al-Mutawa said that housing and real estate industry was witnessing an unprecedented boom in all stages, starting with ideas, development, finance, and ending with marketing and sales. Ewaan's CEO added that the various elements of real estate industry require skilled people capable of achieving ambitions, a fact that motivates Ewaan to seek the Saudi citizens, who are undoubtedly the future of the Kingdom.
LULU HYPERMARKET
Lulu Hypermarket in Alkhobar recently conducted the "Lulu Dream Drive Mega Lucky Draw" as part of the hypermarket's first anniversary celebrations. Two winners won a Lexus GX460 car each and others received a number of gift vouchers valued at SR20,000. The winners of the two cars were Saudi national Nasser Hussain Mohamed Al-Qahtani and Indian expatriate Jafar Siddique. Lulu Hypermarket Regional Manager Abdul Basheer said the contest drew huge response from its customers. "Within one year, we have been able to win the hearts of Saudis and expatriates through our quality products, competitive prices, interesting campaigns and a very friendly and efficient team," he said. "Every day, the number of visitors to our landmark hypermarket in Alkhobar is rising steadily." General Manager Hashim said Lulu Hypermarket now boasts of a variety of quality food items, electronic gadgets, ready-to-wear dress material, imported from Europe, the Americas, India and many other countries around the world. "We are also promoting local agriculture produce in a big way to help support the local Saudi farmers," he added.
GO
Etihad Atheeb Telecom Co. (GO) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with ZTE Corporation on Monday to deploy fiber-optic network within the cities (Metro Fiber Ring). The first phase of this network implementation project will start in Riyadh and will serve the government sectors and business (FTTB) and homes (FTTH). Zaid Al-Shabanat, chief executive of GO Telecom, said: "We are pleased to sign this MoU, which represents a new step toward building the most advanced telecommunications network in the Kingdom. The new fiber-optic network integrates with the Fourth Generation (4G) wireless communications technology, WiMAX 802.16e, to provide GO Telecom products and services that meet the needs of various government, business and home sectors, both for Broadband Internet service and Voice services, and opens up more opportunities to provide other Value-Added Services. The second phase of the project will continue in each of the cities of Jeddah and Dammam. Building a new fiber-optic network will reinforce the infrastructure of the company and its competitive standing in the Saudi market and will establish a long-term partnership with ZTE Corporation. It may be noted that the founding partners of GO have committed 65 percent of share on the raising of company capital."
MPC
Modern Products Company (MPC) was recognized on Wednesday by Prince Mishaal bin Majed, governor of Jeddah and chairman of Majed Society for Development and Social Services, for its sustainable charity projects. The recognition comes as a result of the company's contribution of SR1 million last year in the "Let's Bring the Smile Back" campaign to help Jeddah's flood victims. The money donated by the company was given to the Majed society to fund its campaign to rebuild homes damaged by the flood catastrophe in Jeddah. This exceptional cooperation resulted in the furnishing of the houses of 292 families who were victims of the flood. Additionally this year, the MPC undertook the Tide Loads of Hope laundry service campaign where the company put up tents in flood-affected areas to wash people's clothes that had been muddied from the catastrophe. In cooperation with Albir Association and the First Women's Charity Association, the MPC also donated products to 8,000 families in great need of home supplies. Osama Abu Dawood, chairman of Modern Products Company, said: "We are proud of the collaboration with Majed society that allowed us contribute to rebuilding the homes of those devastated by these catastrophic floods and we will continue helping in any way we can." Hammam Zare, GM, Majed Society for Development and Social Services, said: "We are thrilled at the success of this campaign and to have helped affected families with a better standard of living, especially those who are most in need."
STC
Saudi Telecom Company (STC), the Kingdom's telecommunications provider, has selected Motive, a leading provider of customer experience management solutions for fixed and mobile broadband services and an Alcatel-Lucent company, to deliver its Network Analyzer - Fiber (NA-F) solution. Motive's NA-F will help STC reduce the complexity and cost of delivering and managing new fiber services such as high-speed Internet and IPTV. The solution also will help improve customer service while reducing customer support handling times and generate new revenue by simplifying processes needed to increase line speeds. NA-F provides STC with a comprehensive line testing and quality management tool that ensures its fiber lines meet quality and stability requirements for the successful deployment of advanced services. When combined with Motive Home Device Manager and Motive ServiceView, STC customer service representatives will have a single, consolidated view and control over STC services from the access network deep into the home, enabling them to add on services or resolve problems much faster and more efficiently. "STC is committed to continuously utilizing the newest and most advanced technologies to upgrade and enhance the customer experience as well as to introducing new and innovative services to keep pace with the ever evolving needs of the Saudi market," said Maziad Al-Harbi, STC's GM for network services solutions. "The addition of NA-F helps us meet our objectives to retain existing customers and attract new ones by improving the quality of the service we can provide through STC's advanced fiber services."
