Document 395316

Burgan Bank announces daily draw winners
Burgan Bank announced today the
names of the lucky winners of its
Yawmi account draw, each taking
home a prize of KD 5,000.
The lucky winners for the daily
draws took home a cash-prize of
KD 5,000 each, and they are:
Manal
Abdullah
Alkhaldi;
Katabjiwala Salma Saifaldein;
Mohammad Abdullah Ali; Ahmed
Mahboob Al-Amer.
To further add to the anticipation
of Yawmi account customers,
A promotion flyer of Burgan Bank’s
Yawmi Account
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Burgan Bank now offers a
Quarterly Draw with more chances
to win higher rewards, entitling one
lucky customer to win KD 125,000
every three months.
The Yawmi Account now offers
Daily and quarterly Draws, the
Quarterly Draw requires customers to maintain a minimum
amount of KD 500 in their
account for 2 months prior to
draw date. Additionally, every KD
10 in the account, will entitle
customers to one chance of winning.
If the account balance is KD 500
and above, the account holder will
be qualified for both the quarterly
and daily draws.
Burgan Bank encourages everyone to open a Yawmi account
and/or increase their deposit to
maximize their chances to becoming a winner. The more customers
deposit, the higher the chances
they receive of winning.
31-10-2014
Closing pts
27,865.83
5,505.00
16,413.76
4,105.06
4,250.51
23,998.06
9,326.87
Change
Closing pts
Business
Lender continues to deliver solid growth: Al Ajeel
Burgan Bank Group posts KD 48.7 mln profit in 9 months
KUWAIT CITY, Nov 2: Burgan
Bank Group announced today the
first nine month results for the
financial year 2014. Compared to
the same period last year,
Operating income surged to KD
200.8million while Operating
Profits before provisions soared to
register KD 112.6. Net income for
the 9 months surged by 177%
reaching KD 48.7 million.
In the third quarter and compared to the same period last year,
Operating income grew 17%
reaching KD 70.3 million while
operating profit before provisions
grew by 16% reaching KD 39.9
million.
The positive leading indicators
continues to point north, Burgan
Bank Group achieved an annualized growth of 11% in loans, mirroring the bank’s increased market
share in the core market and
abroad.
Majed Essa Al Ajeel, Chairman
of Burgan Bank Group said:
“Once again, Burgan Bank Group
continues to deliver solid growth
in all business lines, in all markets,
thanks to the prudent execution of
the group strategy.”
“Our Balance sheet remains
strong with a continuous enhancement of the asset quality, Our
Capital adequacy ratio stands at
18.6% under Basel 2. We are in
the process of adjusting the capital
for Basel 3, we started with the
introduction of an innovative AT1
instrument which was launched
successfully and oversubscribed
in Q3 and we will further increase
the capital through rights issuance
once we receive the required regulatory approvals.” Added AlAjeel.
“Our leading financial indicators
Majed Essa Al-Ajeel, Chairman of
Burgan Bank
continue to point to the right direction, The international operations
contributes to 51% to the group’s
revenue. Once again, we are optimistic about our performance
going forward.” Added Al-Ajeel
“On behalf of the board, I take
this opportunity to thank our customers and shareholders for their
confidence in our capabilities. I
would also like to thank our executive management team for their
leadership and the excellent execution of the corporate strategy,
and to our staff for their continued
support and commitment,” con-
cluded Al Ajeel.
The consolidated financials
encompass the results of the
Group’s operations in Kuwait, and
its share from its regional subsidiaries, namely Jordan Kuwait
Bank, Gulf Bank Algeria, Burgan
Bank - Turkey, Bank of Baghdad,
Tunis International Bank, in which
Burgan Bank owns a majority
stake. Burgan Bank Group has one
of the largest regional branch networks with more than 233branches across Kuwait, Turkey, Jordan,
Algeria, Iraq, Tunis, Lebanon and
Palestine.
Kuwait’s KPI mulls construction
of ‘large’ refinery in Bangladesh
Feasibility study on project completed
Oman Brand launch 1
Promotions to customers offered
Ooredoo set to change
digital lifestyle in Oman
DOHA, Nov 2: The Nawras brand in
Oman has transformed into Ooredoo
this week, becoming the seventh
market to take on the global brand of
Ooredoo.
Since its launch in 2004, Nawras
has been one of the most innovative
and customer-focused of the
Ooredoo Group companies and, in
taking on the Ooredoo brand, the
company is demonstrating the
strength of its connection with its
customers and its bold ambitions for
the future.
As Ooredoo, the company strivesfor consistency in delivering the best
customer experience, providing a
robust network and offeringa wide
range of cutting edge products and
services to enable digital lifestyles.
A celebratory event was held in
Muscat to mark the occasion, attended by HE Sheikh Abdullah Bin
Mohammed Bin Saud Al Thani,
Chairman of Ooredoo Group; Dr
Nasser Marafih, Group CEO,
Ooredoo; Greg Young, Ooredoo
CEO in Oman; Ooredoo Oman
Board members and a host of major
Omani dignitaries and senior business leaders.
His Excellency Sheikh Abdullah
said: “In taking on the Ooredoo
brand, our Oman operation is embracing a new identity that will combine
the best of our existing communityfocused efforts in the Sultanate with
our on-going work to support human
growth across our global footprint.
Ooredoo today is fast becoming a
global communications company that
leveragesits data leadership, international partnerships and world-class
networks to offer an enhanced range
of life-enriching services to its customers that enable them to pursue
their ambitions and aspirations.”
With the Ooredoo name present in
Qatar, Algeria, Tunisia, Kuwait, the
Maldives, Myanmar and now Oman,
customers have already seen significant benefits and changes to the customer experience accompanying the
brand transformation. Ooredoo operates in heavily youth-oriented markets
characterised by strong and rising
demand for data services, and each
operation has been able to share experiences and resources to fully meet the
demands and needs of customers.
In Oman, customers have already
seen the full physical transformation
of the nationwide network of
Ooredoo shops, as well as the launch
of new mobile packs as a foretaste of
an impressive plan for new services
and innovations. The new postpaid
promotion enables customers to use
their local minutes when roaming
overseas, while prepaid customers
have received more international
calls.
The company is also leveraging its
global relationships with major
device manufacturers to bring the latest technology to Oman, launching
the iPhone 6 with a special postpaid
bundle so that customers can get the
most out of the device.
Businesses are also seeing a new
range of benefits, including the launch
of “Email Everywhere” packs for
small and medium enterprises,
designed for customers who have not
yet picked up a data plan and who need
email access across their companies.
Ooredoo is also set to launch
“SmartWoman,” a new web application designed especially for women
in Oman that provides an online
community incorporating a variety of
features such as expert content and
networking tools to support women’s
economic empowerment.
The launch of new services follows on from the company’s OMR
97 million ($250 million) network
investment programmeof the past 36
months, which has delivered superfast 3G and 4G LTE services across
Oman.
Ooredoo is also completing its
nationwide Fibre infrastructure, supported by a global submarine cable
network, to offer homes and business
the fastest Internet connections over
the most robust national system.
Dr Nasser Marafih, Group CEO,
Ooredoo, said: “Ooredoo is enrichinglives through communications
technology across multiple markets,
and our customers in Oman can
expect great things in the near future.
We are building world-class networks, transforming the customer
experience and working with leading
developers in order to contribute to
the digital future of Oman, and support His Majesty’s 2020 Vision for a
knowledge-based and digital society
underpinned by information and
communication technology.”
Greg Young, CEO in Oman,
Ooredoo, said: “As Ooredoo, we will
stay ahead of the game, by providing
the best network and the widest range
of services to an international standard through our strong local presence. Ooredoo is a company that supports human growth and empowers
people with the right tools and technology they need to achieve their
aspirations and access new life
opportunities through education, personal development and entertainment.”
KUWAIT CITY, Nov 2:
Kuwait
Petroleum
International (KPI), which is
affiliated
to
Kuwait
Petroleum
Corporation
(KPC), is currently looking
into the possibility of constructing a crude oil refinery
in Bangladesh with a capacity of 10 million tons per year
at an estimated value of
US$6.0 billion, says a highranking oil sector official.
It has been reported that a KPI
delegation headed by President and
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Bakheet Al Rashidi visited
Bangladesh last week where they
met top officials of Bangladesh
Petroleum Corporation (BPC),
Board of Investment (BoI).
According to sources, the KPI
delegation’s visit is aimed at presenting details of requirements for
constructing the crude oil refinery.
KPI intends to demand from the
Bangladeshi government all the
required infrastructure in the project site such as land and its development, electricity, fresh water,
roads and communication.
KPI will also request for tax holiday and 100 percent profit repatriation benefit for the project and its
foreign employees.
Another reliable source revealed
the existing international regulations state that investment of at
least $6.0 billion is necessary to
construct a refinery with capacity
of 0.2m barrels or 10 million tons
per day.
Meanwhile, BPC Chairman Md
Eunusur Rahman has been quoted
as saying, “KPI informed us that a
0.3m barrels per day crude oil
refinery would be of a standard
capacity refinery it wants to build
and it should not be less than 0.2m
barrels per day capacity for its economic viability.”
“We have informed KPI about
the benefits of foreign direct investment in Bangladesh, which include
tax holiday for a certain period, 100
per cent profit repatriation etc. The
Kuwaiti firm is eyeing to build a
complex refinery having arrangements to convert less valuable
petroleum output to valuable ones,”
the chairman revealed.
He went on to say, “KPI also
wants that the refinery must have
options for future expansions to
cater to the needs of growing petroleum demand in the country as well
as the region. The refinery project
might be of a joint venture with
BPC or KPI alone could build it
with its international partners,
while the modality of the project
would be decided later.”
“We shall send the outcome of
the discussion with the KPI to the
Energy and Mineral Resources
Division of the ministry of Power,
Energy and Mineral Resources
(MPEMR) for future action.
Everything depends on the decision
of the government. We shall
inform KPI the government’s feedback on its investment proposal
after getting feedback from the
government,” he added.
On the other hand, sources disclosed that prior to the meeting,
KPI conducted a feasibility study
on the construction of the refinery;
covering Bangladesh’s oil import
trend, demand- supply status,
source of imports and other aspects.
It also looked into the South Asian
region’s oil import and consumption pattern to see whether the
planned refinery could serve the
regional demand.
If the project pushes through, it
will be considered the second refinery in Bangladesh which currently
has one - the Eastern Refinery
Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BPC. It has 1.5 million
tons per year crude oil refining
capacity plant which actually can
refine 1.4 million tons at its derated capacity.
Earlier in March 2012, BPC sent
letters to KPC and KPI inviting
them to set up an oil refinery plant
in Bangladesh.
Sources disclosed Bangladesh
currently imports around 6.0 mil-
lion tons of refined and crude oil
combined every year to meet the
growing domestic demand.
BPC imports a total of 1.4 million tons of crude from Saudi
Aramco and Abu Dhabi National
Oil Company. Saudi Aramco and
ADNOC supply 700,000 mts of
crude each.
It imports refined petroleum
products from KPC, Petco - the
trading arm of Malaysia’s Petronas,
Emirates National Oil Company
(ENOC), PetroChina, Vietnam’s
Petrolime, Middle East Oil
Refinery (MIDOR) of Egypt,
Philippines National Oil Company
(PNOC), Bumi Siak Pusako of
Indonesia and Unipec Singapore
under term deals.
Bangladesh’s oil imports have
been increasing steadily over the
past several years in order to meet
the rising demand, especially for
oil-fired power plants.
Amid fast-depleting natural gas
resources, Bangladesh in 2010
launched a drive for more oilbased power plants and nearly
three-dozen of those plants most
of which have already come
online.
The new oil-fired power plants
alone require over 2.0 million mts
of oil products — around 1.2 million mts of fuel oil and 0.8m mts of
gasoil — to generate electricity,
BPC statistics spells out.
— The Financial Express
A ‘wake-up call’ to US space community: Boeing CEO
‘NASA crash underscores need for new US engine’
WASHINGTON, Nov 2, (RTRS):
The crash of an unmanned Orbital
Sciences Antares rocket is a “wakeup call” to the US space community
about the need to develop a new US
rocket engine, the head of Boeing
Co’s defense division said on
Thursday.
Chris Chadwick, chief executive
of Boeing Defense, Space and
Security, said the failure of the rocket on Tuesday was a “sad and tragic”
reminder that the space business was
complex and difficult, but he did not
expect a lasting setback to the overall industry.
The incident underscored growing
concerns about US reliance on
Soviet-era and Russian engines that
power rockets used for US civilian
space, military and intelligence purposes, Chadwick told Reuters in an
interview.
The Antares rocket was powered
by a pair of Soviet-era NK-33
engines that were rebuilt by Aerojet
Rocketdyne, a unit of GenCorp, and
resold as AJ-26 engines. Even
before the crash, Orbital had
planned to switch to another engine
given the age of the motors and
uncertainty about future supplies.
US lawmakers and defense officials have also raised concerns about
newer Russian-built engines used
for the Atlas V rockets built by
United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin
Corp, given concerns that Russia
could cut off those supplies.
“It’s a wake-up call that we need
to move forward, we need to move
smartly, we need to move together to
protect this industry,” he said. “We
need to move beyond today’s technology ... and look for that next generation of engine that’s even more
reliable, even more capable.”
Investigating
US authorities are investigating
the explosion, which destroyed
cargo and equipment that was bound
for the International Space Station.
Orbital on Thursday said a preliminary investigation showed the failure initiated in the first stage of the
rocket, which housed the AJ-26
engines, but it provided few additional details.
Analysts and industry officials
this week said the Antares explosion
over Virginia could accelerate US
efforts to develop a homegrown
rocket engine.
The Pentagon is considering its
next steps in a bid backed by congress to replace the RD-180 engines
— an initiative that has drawn great
interest from Boeing, Aerojet
Rocketdyne, and Alliant Techsystems
Inc, which is now reviewing its plans
to merge with Orbital, as well as privately held Space Exploration
Technologies, or SpaceX.
Chadwick said he saw great promise in United Launch Alliance’s
decision to partner with Blue Origin,
a company founded by entrepreneur
Jeff Bezos, and leverage the smaller
company’s three years of work and
investment in a new rocket engine.
Meanwhile, Virgin Galactic could
have a new spacecraft ready to fly
by next year, the chief executive of
Richard Branson’s space tourism
company said in an interview published on Sunday, reacting to concerns about the safety of technology
used in the Virgin craft that crashed
last week
George Whitesides, the head of
the company dedicated to Branson’s
vision of bringing everyday passengers into space, told the Financial
Times the new fuel system used in
Virgin’s SpaceShipTwo during
Friday’s test flight in the Mojave
Desert was rigorously tested. One
pilot was killed and the other badly
injured in the crash.
Whitesides said a second craft
being built for Virgin was about 65
percent complete, sounding a note of
optimism about the program even as
federal investigators were just
beginning what is likely to be a yearlong investigation into accident.
“The second spaceship is getting
close to readiness,” he said, adding
that it could be ready to fly by next
year once the probe by the National
Transportation Safety Board reached
its conclusions.
His remarks followed a somber
assessment of the future of Virgin
Galactic by founder Branson, who
hoped to be among the first passengers on its maiden voyage that had
been expected early next year.
“We really thought by March of
next year, we’d be there,” the billionaire entrepreneur told the BBC
after arriving in Mojave on
Saturday. “Something went wrong.
We need to find out what went
wrong and fix it.”
US investigators say the powered
test flight of Virgin’s SpaceShipTwo
on Friday was well recorded, giving
them an abundance of information to
help determine what caused it to
crash and spread debris over a 5mile (8 km) swath of the Mojave
Desert, 95 miles (150 kms) north of
Los Angeles.