Starwood Hotels and Resorts Middle East recently celebrated an ‘Iftar for Cabs’ initiative that brought more than 30 of their properties in the region together for a worthy cause. At iftar time, representatives from participating Starwood Hotels including Le Meridien Alkhobar Hotel distributed packs of food and drinks to cab drivers as they drove through the main entrance of each hotel. Catering teams at each property prepared up to 200 iftar packs for drivers, which included a variety of food and beverages. Staff from all departments within the hotels — including catering, administration and guest services — worked together on the ‘Iftar for Cabs’ initiative. Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 1,000 properties in nearly 100 countries and territories with 145,000 employees.
HANCO (Al-Tala’a International Transportation Co. Ltd.), a Saudi car rental and leasing company, launched its “largest and most luxurious” fleet to date since the company’s inception as part of its strategic plan. The new fleet, which includes brands such as Toyota, Chevrolet, Honda and Hyundai, is worth over SR130 million and is a landmark in HANCO’s history. “This new investment paves the way for more opportunities and growth, and is part of the company’s continuous efforts to acquire more vehicles to satisfy its clients’ needs, provide them with the best rental services and offer them a variety of options from its network of offices and service centers covering major cities in the Kingdom,” said HANCO’s CEO Bob Farrow. “We are in a major transition phase in our company’s journey, which will enable us to compete in the Saudi rental market and give our customers added value. HANCO is currently ranked amount the top three car rental companies in the Kingdom. Today, we are on the verge of strengthening our position in the Saudi market by implementing customer focused plans, improving our workforce and expanding our branches, which will enable us to become the largest and the best in the Kingdom.” Jeddah-based HANCO, which was founded in 1976, operates a fleet of over 10,000 vehicles and has a network of five regional offices, 27 rental outlets and eight workshop facilities located across Saudi Arabia.
More than a third of respondents across the Middle East and North Africa said their management is more prone to hire fresh graduates after the recession, according to the latest online poll series conducted by the Middle East’s number one job site Bayt.com. The results of the ‘Fresh Grads in the M.E Workforce 2010- 2011’ poll showed that 37.6 percent of respondents said management was keener on hiring fresh graduates since the recession, 26.4 said they were less and 19.2 percent said things remained unchanged. When asked which percentage fresh beginners constituted in the workplace, 27.7 percent of respondents said up to 10 percent, 14.6 percent said between 10 and 20 percent, 12.4 percent said between 20 and 30 percent, 9.7 percent said between 30 and 50 percent, 18.2 percent said more than 50 percent, and another 17.4 percent said there were no fresh beginners in their office right now. The polls went on to ask the region’s respondents how many fresh graduates on average their companies had recruited in the past 12 months. Over half of those polled (56.3%) said only 0 to 5 percent, 16.8 percent said 5 to 10 percent and 27 percent said more than 10 percent. Amer Zureikat, VP Sales, Bayt.com said: “The results of our most recent poll show that in times of economic strife employers are perceived as more likely to hire fresh graduates mostly due to the fact that they accept a lower salary and require fewer benefits.”
An interactive viral campaign that gives anyone a chance to become the man of the year, has taken the online community by storm. The “Man of the Year” campaign, brought by Holsten, a non-alcoholic beverage in the region, has to date attracted large numbers of fame lovers and distinction seekers in 116 countries. According to the company, hundreds of thousands of photos have been uploaded onto the campaign’s website. The majority of people who took part in the campaign were from the Middle East region with Saudi Arabia online community having the lion’s share. Salah Sultan, 20-year-old university student living in Jeddah, heard about the campaign and was curious to know what “Man of the Year” was all about. “I logged on to the website. I found it amazing and the clip was so easy to create. Within minutes, I created my own movie and my photo was posted on large buildings in key cities across the world. That was great.” Salah added: “That was real fun. I was not in doubt my friends will also like it. On the spot, I decided to spread it out and share the fun with my loved ones.” To win a share of fame, one can log on to www.imholsten.com and easily upload his photo or that of a friend onto a pre-produced video clip, and within minutes the person in the photo is declared man of the year to a large audience of over excited cheering fans and paparazzi. A link of the video clip or the version itself can later be posted on the friend’s Facebook page, or used as an email teaser to trigger curiosity.
Volkswagen, described as Europe’s largest automotive manufacturer, celebrated the production of its 100,000th third-generation Scirocco this month, just two years since the compact sports coupe model’s market launch. Since first roaring onto the scene in 1974, the Scirocco has been the most successful Volkswagen in its segment, with 795,650 vehicles sold by 1992. The latest generation Scirocco has been manufactured at the Volkswagen Autoeuropa — Automoveis Ltda. plant in southern Portugal since 2008, where 3,000 employees also produce the Eos and the new Sharan. The Scirocco, with its attractive design and sporty appearance, has won the AutoBILD Design Award as well as being named Car of the Year by Top Gear magazine in 2008. “The Scirocco is one of the most important cars that we produce. For myself personally, it was a moving moment,” said Autoeuropa Plant Manager, Andreas Hinrichs, as the celebrated car — a Scirocco R 2.0 TSI in Rising Blue Metallic with a Titan Black interior, radio navigation system, Park Pilot and a tilting sunroof — rolled off the production line. “With new versions now available and demand continuing to grow, we expect this niche performance vehicle to keep on performing,” said Stefan Mecha, MD, Volkswagen Middle East.
LG electronics hosted an iftar party for orphans from Beit El Rafeef of Al Faisalilah charitable Organization at Shallal theme park in Jeddah last week. The party was part of the South Korean electronics giant’s corporate social responsibility activities. John Lee, MD, LG Saudi Arabia, addressed the invitees. The evening concluded with kids enjoying the games and rides at the park. Lee said: “It gives us great pleasure to have the presence of orphans from Beit El Rafeef of the Faisaliah Charitable Organization. This is part of our CSR plan, and we hope to see more opportunities for interacting with the Al Faisaliah Organization in the near future.” Beit Al Rafeef focuses on providing orphans with a sense of security through a normal family life and healthy upbringing. A similar iftar party was held in Riyadh on Wednesday, at Sheraton Riyadh. “Such events are good opportunities for us to welcome and meet our media club members in the two cities as well.”
Emirates NBD, a major bank in the region, says Standard & Poor’s Fund Services has assigned an ‘A’ fund rating to Emirates NBD Asset Management’s three global, multi-asset class funds, making them the first managed funds with such a diverse asset allocation to receive an S&P fund rating in the GCC. Emirates NBD Asset Management currently has approximately $1.6 billion of assets under management across a range of mandates. Emirates NBD Asset Management’s multi-assets funds (Conservative Managed, Balanced Managed and Active Managed) were all deemed by S&P to demonstrate high standards of quality with regard to their investment process and management consistency. In addition, the Emirates MENA Top Companies and Emirates MENA Opportunity funds were also assigned “A” fund ratings by S&P. S&P Fund Services lead analyst, Peter Brunt, said: “Overall, this is a young, but solid team whose size is sufficient given the approach. The process is sound and although the track record is relatively short, it is encouraging.” Roberto Demartini, lead analyst, S&P Fund Services, said: “The clear approach, strong and reasonably stable resources and the good organizational framework surrounding the fund manager all point to the comfortable achievement of an S&P ‘A’ rating.” Deon Vernooy, head of Emirates NBD Asset Management Ltd. regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority, said: “The S&P fund rating will help investors recognize the quality of our funds, as S&P rates all funds to a common global standard.”
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, has unveiled the ST80, a 14.2 mega-pixel point-and-shoot camera that joins Samsung’s growing line of Wi-Fi enabled digital cameras. With wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi and Samsung’s AllShare (DNLA) connectivity, the ST80 makes it easy to share images on the move and keep friends and family updated from anywhere at any time. “In the new world of ever heightened senses, where seeing, touching and feeling is expressed instantly, our shared memories shine with a vivid light. Samsung Electronics Imbues technology with emotion so people’s lives are unique and immediate,” said Inamullah Butt, marketing and PR manager, Samsung Electronics in Saudi Arabia. “Connectivity is everywhere, and at Samsung we are committed to bringing these wireless capabilities to the digital imaging world by developing innovative cameras that satisfy the distinct needs of our consumers “sharing rich experience with Happiness and ease.” The innovative and stylish design of the ST80 is also a testament to the strong vision of Samsung’s design engineers. It’s the perfect digital imaging solution for today’s well-connected consumer.” The unique style of the ST80 immediately makes it stand out from the crowd. Consumers will be drawn to the ST80’s slim and rounded design. They will also enjoy the smart features found within the camera.
