Founded 1975 . Volume 41 No. | Pages . Baisas 200 . Subscription OMR63 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company | Chairman/Editor-in-Chief: Mohamed Issa Al Zadjali | Printed & Published by Muscat Media Group

May 31, 2016 24 Sha’aban 1437 AH

TUESDAY

4085

On the occasion of the 7th National Day, 1977

FROM THE WORDS OF HIS MAJESTYTHE SULTAN

Medical facilities have been substantially developed during the past year in the key areas of our country.

‘His Majesty’s Wisdom’

His Majesty gets thanksMUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has received a cable of thanks from President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt in reply to His Majesty’s condo-lences cable on victims of the Egyptian plane that crashed while coming from Paris.>A6

E G Y P T

OMANStranded expats’ case

1Stranded Sawadi Beach Resort workers will not learn of their fate until at

least June 6. >A2

REGIONCapture of Falluja

2 The Iraqi army stormed to the edge of Falluja under US air support. >A9

MARKETOman sukuk market

3Omani private firms are keen to raise funds by way of sukuk. >B1

T O P T H R E E I N S I D E S T O R I E S

A414 Oman locations to be tourism hotspots

Indian schools restrict outdoor activityTimes News Service

MUSCAT: To protect school-children from the summer heat, the Board of Directors of Indian Schools has directed the princi-pals of all 19 Indian schools to re-strict outdoor activities to ensure that children are not exposed to excessive sunlight.

“This is a note of caution, be-cause temperatures have been

soaring of late and prevailing hot weather conditions cause discom-fort to everyone and everywhere. While it is known that schools are taking precautionary measures to prevent children from exposure to sun and dehydration, it is felt there is a need to be very cautious, in view of the heat wave that may engulf certain areas of the Sultan-ate,” a note from the Indian Board stated. >A6

E X C E S S I V E H E A T

Case of employer asking worker to give-up flight home in payment for No Objection Certificate

“Trading NOC is illegal,” advisor to Minister of Manpower tells company bosses in the Sultanate

“Employees should expose such companies violating law,” says Oman trade union leader

‘ILLEGAL TRADE’

TURN TO >A5

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A2 T U E S DAY, M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 6

OMANFIRE AT AMERAT SCHOOL DOUSEDA fire broke out at a school in Amerat was put out by firefighters, the Public Authority for

Civil Defence and Ambulances (PACDA) tweeted on its official twitter handle. “There are

no causalities in the accident,” the PACDA tweeted. -Supplied photo

Case of stranded workers to be heard on June 6REJIMON Kreji@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Stranded Sawadi Beach Resort workers will not learn of their fate until at least June 6, as their employer again failed to appear at a labour dis-pute department meeting, ac-cording to workers.

“We were hoping that the em-ployer will come and the issue would be settled. However, only his lawyer came. Our side was represented by our lawyer. The hearing has been postponed to June 6,” Suleiman Khalid Kazi, the manager of the resort, who is among the 28 stranded work-ers, told Times of Oman. The workers were left without food, water and power after the resort closed on March 11.

However, Oman trade union members came forward to sup-port the workers by providing food and legal support. After news of their plight was report-ed by Times of Oman, a popular

Facebook page in Oman, What’s Happening Muscat Oman (WHMO), also launched a cam-paign to collect food and other items for the stranded workers.

The WHMO members raised money and collected needed personal items for the stranded workers. Further, members of the group have paid some of the workers’ debts, including school fees and loans. Sarah Green-wood, a WHMO member, has been on her phone talking to the stranded workers and up-dating WHMO members. “It is very worrying for everyone con-cerned. No one should have to live in such conditions,” she said.

Meanwhile, workers said that it is quite difficult to cope, especially. “We have families back home, and we have been not able to send money to them, since salaries are pending. It will be quite hard for them dur-ing the holy month of Ramadan. So we hope the case is settled soon,” a worker added.

S A W A D I B E A C H R E S O R T

886 detained for violation of Labour Law

W E E K L Y U P D A T E

HAVE YOUR SAY Send us your comments at facebook.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com haveyoursay@timesofoman.com

It is very worrying for everyone concerned.

No one should have to live in such conditions

Sarah Greenwood, member,

What’s Happening Muscat Oman

Times News Service

MUSCAT: In all 886 expatriates were found violating the Labour Law and detained by the Ministry of Manpower between May 22 to May 28, 2016.

Of them 738 were commercial workers, 44 farm workers and 104 domestic workers. The inspection teams from the Ministry of Man-power arrested 870 of the expatri-ate workers of whom 235 were ab-sconders 611 had been relieved of their jobs and 24 had been referred to the ministry by other authorities.

North Al Batinah recorded the highest number of arrests with 270 followed by Dhofar with 187. The violators were referred to the re-sponsible authority at the ministry to continue with legal procedures.

Meanwhile, 387 labour law vio-lators have been deported during the same week.

A3

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‘Extending visa ban in Oman will affect market adversely’FAHAD AL GHADANI fahadnews@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Extending visa ban will affect the market adversely, com-pany officials said.

A temporary ban on issuing new visas for certain job categories in the private sector will be extend-ed by another six months by the Ministry of Manpower, a decision

uploaded on the Ministry of Legal Affairs’ website says.

The decision states that nine professions will have a prolonged visa ban. The decision clarified that carpenters, metallurgists, black-smiths, brick kiln workers will not get a visa for another six months coming into effect from July 1.

The decision also notes that the temporary visa ban on professions

including camel breeder, sales, marketing, construction workers and cleaning workers will come into force on June 1, 2016.

“Banning visas for sales and marketing expatriates are affect-ing the market. It is continuing here for a long time now. There is no other option than adjust with it,” a marketing firm official said on condition of anonymity.

“We are struggling a lot. Already business is down due to austerity measures adopted by the govern-ment. In addition to that, visa ban on certain profession like sales and marketing is affecting the business a lot,” the official added.

Construction firm officials said that they are caught in a Catch-22 situation with the Ministry of Manpower deciding to extend the

ban on visas for expat construction workers for another six months. Many of them complained that they are unable to complete projects on time due to the shortage of workers.

Since November 2013, there has been a temporary ban on visas for construction workers, which is ex-tended every six months.

The ban, however, does not ap-ply to firms rated ‘excellent’ by the

Ministry of Manpower, interna-tional firms and consultancy firms, and firms executing government projects. “We know that almost all companies are affected by the shortage of workers. The compa-nies are compelled to undertake desperate measures to overcome worker shortage and complete projects on time,” said a construc-tion company official.

J O B M A R K E T

Minister holds talks with industrialistsMUSCAT: Challenges and ob-stacles facing the marketing of Omani products in domes-tic and international markets and the methods of globalising Omani products were discussed yesterday.

The discussion was held be-tween Dr. Ali Mas’oud Al Sunai-di, Minister of Commerce and Industry and factories’ repre-sentatives in Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI).

Mechanisms and methods of displaying Omani products in large shopping malls in the do-mestic market and the challeng-es facing those products, were also discussed. The importance of strengthening the positive re-lationship between the factories, the centres of retail sale (super-markets and hypermarkets) was emphasise at the meeting.

The owners of factories af-firmed that Omani products can compete with other similar products if they were commer-cialised using the right method, as some Omani products com-pete the quality of international products in global markets.

The factory owners hoped that shopping malls can be a gateway for their products to access to the markets of other countries while others assured the necessity to intensify efforts for their promotion. -ONA

O C C I

Ensure proper disposal of garbage.

Don’t litter a beautiful country like OMAN.

ANSWERING QUERIES: Madiha Al Shibaniyah said that the mul-

tipath of teachers is a challenge that the Sultanate’s education is

facing as well as other educational systems. -ONA

A4 T U E S DAY, M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 6

OMAN14 hotspots selected to boost tourism in Oman

HASAN SHABAN AL LAWATIhassan@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Fourteen locations across Oman have been selected to become the country’s leading tourist attractions, as part of a plan to attract some five million visitors per year by 2020, an of-ficial at the Ministry of Tourism announced on Monday.

In 2014, the number of inbound visitors stood at 2.1 million, ac-cording to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

Some of the suggested clus-ters include the coastal lands in Musandam governorate, the old cultural areas in Muscat, the forts and mountainous villages in Al Dakhiliya governorate, the coastal areas in North Al Sharqiyah gov-ernorate and the frankincense route in Dhofar.

The proposed sites have been included in a draft for the minis-try’s 2016-2020 master plan.

Other sites, such as the Bedouin areas in North Al Sharqiyah, Mu-sairah Island and parts of South Al Batinah governorate, will be developed by the ministry in 2021, according to the current plan.

Real Estate ForumThis was announced during the Real Estate Forum, which hosted industry leaders at the Crown Plaza Muscat Hotel

In 2026, three additional pro-jects are planned in Al Dhahirah, Al Wusta and North Al Batinah governorates, while in 2031 the ministry plans to invest in the colourful dunes near the Oman-UAE borders in North Al Batinah, the country’s deserts and the wild western area in Dhofar, according to Ahmed bin Zahran, an official at the ministry who spoke on behalf of Hilal bin Ghalib Al Hinai, green tourism advisor at the Ministry of Tourism.

He said that these locations aim to attract tourists who seek entertainment for at least three days, adding that by the year 2040, some 80,000 rooms will be available in Oman’s hotels and guest houses.

Zahran also said that in order to attract international investments, businessmen who want to invest in Oman’s tourism sector will be exempt from paying income tax for a period of five years from the opening of the projects.

“Oman can be the Middle East’s capital of wellness and history,” said Vikram Loomba, director for hospitality, real estate and leisure advisory practices at PwC Mid-dle East. He pointed out that the Sultanate should focus on middle market integrated tourism com-plexes (ITC), as residential prop-erties have shown high levels of activity in 2015, with greater de-mand observed in the affordable housing segment.

He also recommended utilizing

modern forms of housing tour-ists, such as ‘Airbnb’, which is a website for people to list, find, and rent lodging.

Renting propertiesHe added that with this technol-ogy, homeowners can benefit by renting their properties during holiday seasons.

Meanwhile, Phil Taylor, manag-ing director of team leisure LLC, said the booming tourism and en-tertainment sector in Dubai and Abu Dhabi can help bring more tourists to Oman.

“Oman has genuine people and history, and this can’t be created,” he said, adding that the Sultanate should focus on a different type of tourism than found in the UAE.

In 2014, the number

of inbound visitors

stood at 2.1 million,

according to the

National Centre

for Statistics

and Information

ATTRACTION: Oman can be the Middle East’s capital of wellness and history, said Vikram Loomba,

director for hospitality, real estate and leisure advisory practices at PwC Middle East. — File photo

HASAN SHABAN AL LAWATIhassan@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Oman will host an estimated five million annual visitors by 2020, a 120 per cent increase from 2015, according to an official at the Ministry of Tourism.

While this seems a tall order, it is worth noting that Oman’s inbound tourism dou-bled between 2005 and 2014.

At the same time, domestic tourism has more than tripled, according to the National Cen-tre for Statistics and Informa-tion (NCSI).

By the end of October 2015, the number of inbound visitors stood at 2.2 million, according to NCSI.

After 24 years, according to the ministry’s plan, Oman will receive some 12 million visitors per year, the source added. “Out of the 11.7 million people who are expected to visit the Sultanate in 2040, a whopping 5.3 million will be international tourists, while 4.6 million are domestic tour-ists,” the official said during the Real Estate Forum, which hosted the industry’s leaders at the Crown Plaza Muscat

Hotel. The NCSI has recently released figures indicating that tourism will account for 6 per cent of Oman’s gross domestic product by 2040.

According to data from the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), the number of in-ternational travellers in 2014 reached 1.1 billion, represent-ing a 4.7% increase from 2013. This data is in line with a five year trend showing strong growth in the tourism sector. Despite instability in some regions, the Middle East saw a 4% rise in visitors, attracting 2 million additional travellers.

5 million tourists expected by 2020

Source: THR, NCSI.

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

2,2243,153

4,643

5401,420

1,905

3,191

5,328

618 1,036 1,636

4,747

7,380

11,707International visitorsDomestic visitorsOne-day visitors International

visitors

TotalExpected growth

Domesticvisitors

One-dayvisitors

2013 2020 2030 2040 2013 2020 2030 2040

Oman’s future attractions

Graphics

1

23

465

78

9

10

11

12

1314

Musandam

N Al Batinah

S Al Batinah

Al Dahirah

N Al Sharqiyah

Al Wusta

Dhofar

Sea of Oman

A plan to attract domestic and international visitors was announced yesterday. Fourteen locations across Oman have been considered.

Muscat

Steps

2016Year 2021 2026 2031

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89

1011121314

Coastal areas Sand dunesSinbad house projectBronze and iron age ruinsFortsForts, cultural locationsForts, villagesand mountain valleysNatural treasuresBedouin areaMasirah islandOman modern cityEmpty Quarter desertFrankincense routeWestern wild

Suggestedclusters

OMAN

Ahmed bin Zahran said that in order to attract international investments, businessmen who want to invest in Oman’s tourism sector will be exempt from paying income tax for a period of five years from the opening of the projects

Shura Council’s talks with minister of education endTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Majlis Al Shura con-cluded their meeting with Dr Ma-diha bint Ahmed Al Shibaniyah, Minister of Education, where sev-eral discussions took place cover-ing the quality of teaching and the ministry’s education policy.

Discussions about the level of school education in the Sultan-ate and international competi-tions took place as well as human resources and services offered to support the education process.

Shura members focused their queries on where the teaching graduates fit in the labour market and the philosophy and strategy of the ministry.

Al Shibaniyah said that the mul-tipath of teachers is a challenge that the Sultanate’s education is facing as well as other educa-tional systems.

Shura members also voiced their concern on the lack of teach-ing some materials and the com-plications some female teachers have when assigned outside of their local areas. One of the mem-bers suggested implementing a hotline to make contact easier.

Al Shibaniyah said that the min-istry is striving to provide dorms for the teachers as well as super-vise the area in addition to provid-ing the essential facilities.

Al Shibaniyah responded to queries about investing in private

schools by ensuring that the min-istry of education is in contact with the ministry of housing about the issue.

Some members suggested that the Arabic teacher should speak in the proper Arabic dialect (Quranic Arabic) and that there should be solutions for those who have diffi-culty reading.

Third semesterOther Shura members suggested installing surveillance cameras in schools, and to add a third semes-ter to the academic year instead of two.

They also called for regarding the studying hours during exam periods, and to have indicators to measure the performance of each school.

During the meeting, some mem-bers called upon finding a suitable environment for both teachers and students. They also asked the min-ister to reveal her ministry’s plan for the coming four years, while requesting to involve teachers in drafting this plan.

Addressing the members, the minister explained that some pro-motions in the education sector have been delayed due to the re-cent economic situation.

The members also discussed some behavioural issues in Oman schools which include spread of tobacco and frequent absences from school.

C O N S U L T A T I O N S

Anti-cancer bioactive

compounds in marine

organisms near Oman

Staff Reporter

MUSCAT: A research team at Sul-tan Qaboos University (SQU) has found that chemical compounds produced by Omani marine organ-isms can be used in anti-cancer treatments.

The study, headed by Dr Sergey Dobretsov of the Centre of Excel-lence in Marine Biotechnology at SQU, suggests that chemical com-pounds produced by Omani ma-rine organisms have cytotoxic properties and can be used for an-ti-cancer treatments. The results of the study have been recently published in the Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal.

Dr Dobretsov said that it has been shown that these organisms create unique bioactive com-pounds that can be used by phar-maceutical industries.

The first marine-derived anti-viral compound was isolated from

a sponge in the 1950s. This was considered the starting point for the search for “drugs from the sea”.

Since then, more than 15,000 new anti-microbial, anti-viral, an-ti-cancer and anti-inflammatory compounds have been discovered.

“The information about bioac-tive compounds from marine or-ganisms inhabiting the Arabian Sea and the Sea of Oman is limited. Only a few studies have been done and a limited number of bioactive compounds have been isolated,” Dr Dobretsov added.

During this collaborative pro-ject, SQU scientists from two col-leges, Agricultural and Marine Sciences and Medicine and Health Sciences, at University Hospital and the Centre of Excellence in Marine Biotechnology, collected marine fungi, bacteria, sponges, sea weeds, soft corals, tunicates, bryozoa, and sea cucumbers from Omani waters.

C Y T O T O X I C P R O P E R T I E S

Trap, neuter and release only option to control stray animalsStaff Reporter

MUSCAT: Trap, neuter and Re-lease (TNR) is the only solution to control and reduce the feral popu-lation of stray animals found in the streets of Muscat, says a member of Tiger by the Tail, a voluntary homeless animal welfare group that works to sterilise stray ani-mals, rescues those that are sick, injured or abandoned, as well as find new homes for those it saves.

Tiger by the Tail was founded by Jaison Mathai, an Indian expat, to rescue stray animals in Mus-cat and create awareness among the public about the welfare of animals.

“Our group, in association with the Capital Veterinary Clinic owned by Zakia Al Zakwani and headed by DR Peter Nolosco, con-ducts Trap, Neuter and Release campaigns on stray animals on a regular basis,” Mathai told Times of Oman.

Found homesAccording to Mathai, his group has neutered more than 10 cats and found homes for seven cats and two dogs in just 4 months of oper-ating. Recently, they organised an event to educate the public about the problem of stray animals and the care to be taken when dealing with these animals.

They also launched a campaign to reduce the population of stray animals in Muscat.

Dr Ioana Pantazi, Nasra Ali, Nivya Cresto, Siami, Sarojani and Julie are the core members of the group.

Speaking about finding homes for stay animals, Jaison said, “Finding a perfect home for these animals is a major issue.”

“Many people enjoy pets, but do not know about the responsibili-ties that come with owning pets,” he said.

“Many of them don’t know what certain breeds need, so they end up unhappy with their pets and give them away,” he added.

T I G E R B Y T H E T A I L

CONCERNED: Tiger by the Tail was founded by Jaison Mathai, an Indian expat, to rescue stray animals

in Muscat and create awareness among the public about the welfare of animals.

The information about bioactive compounds from marine organisms inhabiting

the Arabian Sea and the Sea of Oman is limited. Only a few studies have been

done and a limited number of bioactive compounds have been isolated

Dr Sergey Dobretsov, Head of study

A5

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Trade in NOCs ‘illegal’: Ministry

REJIMON K reji@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Anyone trading in No-Objection Certificates (NOC) is breaking the law, a senior official at the Ministry of Manpower said, after it emerged that some Oman-based workers were told to pay their own air fares in lieu of ob-taining the document.

“Trading NOC is illegal. Com-panies cannot do it. If companies are demanding leaving employees to pay their own air fares in lieu of NOC rather than asking for cash, then the employees should approach the ministry complaint department. It is against law,” Said Salem Al Saadi, advisor to Min-ister of Manpower, told Times of Oman.

Tickets obligatory“Companies are indebted to pro-

vide ticket for a leaving employee to his home country according to the job contract. 100 per cent it’s responsibility of the employer… If an employee is not provided the same, he should approach us and we will take up the case legally,” the advisor added.

In 2014, Omani authorities im-plemented a two-year visa change ban for expatriates which means they require an NOC from current employers should they wish to join another company in Oman or leave the country.

According to government of-ficials, the rule was implemented to stop expatriates switching jobs and joining competitors.

Recently, an expatriate profes-sor in Oman was told by the insti-tution to pay her air fare in lieu of the NOC.

“I was told by the institution that if I purchase my ticket, then they

will provide me the NOC. Annual to-and-fro ticket is mentioned in my job contract. Then again, they are telling me to purchase my tick-et,” the professor said.

NOC trouble“I approached the labour depart-ment, they said that they can talk to officials to get me the ticket but they can’t talk and sort out the NOC issue,” the professor, who has completed three years in the same institution, added.

According to the professor, her colleague has also been told the same by the institution officials.

A legal advisor in Muscat said that to-and-fro ticket will be men-tioned in every employee’s contract and employers can’t violate it.

“Employers are bound to pro-vide annual to-and-fro ticket. If the employers are violating it, then the employee can approach the labour dispute department,” the legal advisor added.

Tonia Gray, general manager

at Competence HR, said that she hasn’t heard about employees be-ing told to pay their own air fares in lieu of NOC rather than asking for cash.

“The law states that the employ-er is responsible for the flight and also that there should be no charge imposed upon the employee for an NOC. In my view it is unfortunate that the law doesn’t state that an NOC must be issued if the em-ployee completes their contract,” the general manager at Compe-

tence HR, said. Mohammed Khal-di, a board member of the General Federation of Oman Trade Union (GFOTU), said that asking money or any kind of benefits in return of issuing an NOC is wrong.

“Employees should expose such companies who are violating the law. Workers should come for-ward,” the trade union leader said.

‘Blatant violation’“Denying a return ticket for an em-ployee or telling him to purchase it is a blatant violation of law.

“These kind of issues remind us that there is a need for a stand-ard job contract approved by the government,” the trade union leader said.

According to a report issued by the National Centre for Statis-tics and Information (NCSI), the total number of expatriate work-ers in the Sultanate witnessed an increase by the end of April 2016 totalling 1,763,710 workers, an increase of 1 per cent when com-pared with 1,747,097 workers by the end of March 2016.

The report revealed that expa-triate workers in the Sultanate are distributed across three sectors: government, private and family sectors including 1,564,532 males and 199,178 females.

The number of workers in the private sector by April 2016 end reached 1,430,965 includ-ing (32,412 females and 1,398,553 males), reflecting an rise of 1 per cent, compared with March 2016.

‘Trading NOC is illegal. Companies cannot

do it. If companies are demanding leaving

employees to pay their own air fares in lieu

of NOC rather than asking for cash, then the

employees should approach the ministry

complaint department. It is against the law’

I was told by the

institution that if I

purchase my ticket,

then they will provide

me the NOC. Annual

to-and-fro ticket is

mentioned in my job

contract. Then again,

they are telling me to

purchase my ticket

Rare honour for Muscat-based artistTimes News Service

MUSCAT: In a rare honour, Mus-cat based Iraqi-British artist Esta-brak Al Ansari had her underwater photos of Oman displayed at the ‘Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition 2016’ in London.

Her winning photograph, ‘Sayed’, meaning master in Arabic, is part of her collection ‘Omanis Under Water’ (OUW) which is the first of a much larger, global project imagining environment through the world’s connecting waterways.

Estabrak’s work is part of her 2015 collection, entitled ‘Con-sciousness’, which premiered last September at ‘Gallery Sa-rah’, part of Bait Al Zubair gallery in Muscat.

World famousThe Royal Academy of Arts is among the most prestigious and recognised art venues in the world, hosting some of the most famous artistic names, both past and present.

Now in its 248th year, the Sum-mer Exhibition continues its tra-dition of showcasing a variety of

work in all media, including paint-ing, sculpture, photography, prints, architecture and film.

Estabrak’s works, from the Oman based series, have toured Dubai, Sharjah, Saudi Arabia, Lon-

don and Muscat over the last year. She has won an award from Art Jameel, and exhibited her pho-tos at SIKKA arts fair as part of ARTDUBAI, and has been spon-sored by the Alserkal Cultural Foundation.

The photo to be displayed at the Royal Academy in London can be seen in Muscat at Al Medina Art Gallery throughout the summer, along with smaller works which are for sale.

In addition, Estabrak is on the lookout for Omani faces to paint for a series of watercolour and photographic portraits, commis-sioned in collaboration with Rich-ard Woodhead at Al Madina Art Gallery in Medinat Sutan Qaboos in Muscat.

U N D E R W A T E R P H O T O S

Firms violating Ramadan hours to face legal actionFAHAD AL GHADANIfahad@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Companies violating the work hours restrictions dur-ing the Holy Month of Ramadan as clarified in the ministerial de-cision will face legal action, an official of the Ministry of Man-power has said.

Many employees are not aware that they should work for only six hours and small companies take advantage.

“Companies should state clear-ly their working timing during Ramadan for their staffs,” said Talib Al Dhabbari, head of me-dia department at the Ministry of Manpower. He added that the ministry carries out inspection visits and can find out who vio-lates the order.

“The ministry doesn’t depend on inspection visits only, but also receives reports from private sec-tors workers,” said Al Dhabbari.

The Ministry of Manpower an-nounced last Sunday a six-work-ing-hour day or thirty-hour week for Muslim employees of private companies during the Ramadan, which begins next week.

The Omani Labour Law stipu-lates that companies face a fine and may even be sent to court for repeated violation.

Some private sector employ-ees had voiced their frustration over companies not following the rules imposed by the minis-try and being made to work for more than six hours during the Holy Month.

Article 68 in Part Four of Chap-ter 3 in the Omani Labour Law states that the maximum work-ing hours during Ramadan shall be six hours a day or thirty hours a week for Muslim employees

and the Ministry of Manpower may determine the timing of the work hours.

Penalty for such a violation is in keeping with the Omani La-bour Law, Part Ten, Article 117: “Whoever violates the provisions of Chapter Three of Part Four shall be punished with a fine not exceeding OMR100 and the fine

shall be multiplied by the number of workers who are the subject of such violation and the penalty shall be doubled in case of repeti-tion of such violation.”

Employees can file a complaint at the Directorate General of La-bour Welfare at the Ministry of Manpower when being unjustly made to work longer than the time set by the ministry.

Talib Al Dhabbari, a Ministry of Manpower official, said:

“Most of the companies fol-low the instructions however we monitor the situation. The in-spection teams carry out visits and those who violate will face legal actions. We also depend on reports made by workers.

“Every company has regula-tions to clarify such decisions to its staff.

“Of course they will face penal-ties if violate the decision.”

Regarding cases last year, Salim Al Badi, director general of labour welfare at the Ministry, said no cases were registered last year.

M I N I S T R Y O F M A N P O W E R

Some private sector

employees had voiced their

frustration over companies

not following the rules

imposed by the ministry

and being made to work

for more than six hours

during the Holy Month

Salalah Free Zone gets new investmentsSALALAH: The opening of a Fashion Apparels Factory and the laying of foundation stones for new investments in the zone, were celebrated by Salalah Free Zone (SFZ) yesterday.

The ceremony was held under the auspices of Sayyid Moham-med bin Sultan Al Busaidi, Min-ister of State and Governor of Dhofar in the presence of Ahmed bin Nasser Al Meherzi, Min-ister of Tourism, Chairman of SFZ Company, officials and businessmen.

The ceremony included the opening of Fashion Apparels Fac-tory for Ready to Wear, laying the

foundation stone of Tara Gulf Jewellery and Precious Metals and Dervish Logistic Investment Company, which will be built on an area of 50,000 square meter.

Sayyid Al Busaidi stressed the importance of implementing factories that contribute to the growth of national economy and providing job opportunities.

At the beginning of the cer-emony, a memorandum of un-derstanding (MoU) was signed between the FSZ and the Gulf Omani Logistic Company to implement logistics and stores station on an area of 100,000 square meter. -ONA

N E W F A C T O R Y O P E N S

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OMANT U E S DAY, M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 6

Our first show will start at 8:30pm and our last show will commence at 1:00am during RamadanOfficial, VOX Cinemas

Fahd leaves today for summit in Jeddah

MUSCAT: On behalf of His Maj-esty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, His Highness Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Minis-ters will leave on Tuesday for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)to take part in the 16th Consul-tative Summit of the GCC lead-ers, scheduled in Jeddah on 24th Sa’aban 1437 AH corresponding to May 31, 2016.

The Sultanate, under the leader-ship of His Majesty the Sultan, is keen to continue its support for the GCC march so that the GCC coun-tries achieve further progress and growth for their people.

Sayyid Fahd will be accompa-nied by an official delegation com-prising Yousuf bin Alawi bin Ab-dullah, Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Ali bin Mas’oud Al Sunaidi, Minister of Commerce and Industry and Dr. Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Sa’eedi, Minister of Legal Affairs, as well as some gov-ernment officials. -ONA

G C C M E E T I N G US, Sultanate relations have prospered, says ambassador

DEEBA HASAN deeba@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: A celebration to com-memorate the 240th independ-ence day of the United States of America, which falls on July 4, was hosted by the US Em-bassy in Muscat yesterday at the

city’s Grand Hyatt Hotel. The celebrations are being held

early because July 4 this year falls during the Holy Month of Rama-dan, according to an official at the Embassy.

July 4“We are holding the celebrations earlier because July 4 is happen-ing in Ramadan this year,” the of-ficial said.

US Ambassador to the Sultan-ate of Oman Marc J. Sievers wel-comed the guests to the festivi-ties—including Omani dignitaries from government and private sec-tors. He also offered his best wish-es for the health and prosper-ity of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, as well as the people of Oman.

Ambassador Sievers also spoke about the strong relations between Oman and the United States, noting, “With the Sultan-ate, the United States has estab-lished a close and productive re-lationship—a relationship that is now over 183 years old.”

“Like the Omani people, we Americans are very proud of our history and our culture. We are proud of our country’s diversity, our strong morals, and our deter-mination to help others in times of need. These are traits I can easily attribute to our Omani friends, as well,” Sievers said.

National holidayHe went on to explain the mean-ing of the US national holiday—Memorial Day—which happens

to fall on May 30 this year, saying, “It is our day of remembrance of those who died while serving in the US armed forces.”

Guests at the National Day cel-ebration were entertained by the

SHAPE International Band, a US military band from NATO head-quarters in Belgium.

The evening also included view-ing a multimedia presentation en-titled, ‘Fifty American Cities.’

US Ambassador to

Oman Marc J. Sievers

welcomed the guests

to the festivities

Restrictions on screening of movies during RamadanTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Cinemas will remain shut throughout the day during the Holy Month of Ramadan, the Ministry of Information said on Monday.

Speaking to Times of Oman, a senior official of the Ministry of Information said that cinema houses will open in the evening during Ramadan.

“It is only after Tarawih prayers that people will be able to watch movies,” he said.

He also said cinemas will be monitored, and every movie be-ing screened will be checked to assure it adheres to the princi-pals of Ramadan.

“Our first show will start at 8:30pm and our last show will commence at 1:00am during Ramadan,” said an official from VOX Cinemas. Other theatre of-ficials have also confirmed the Ramadan schedule. “We will

start screening the movies af-ter 9 pm and, depending on the length of the movies, we will de-cide whether we will show one or two movies,” said a spokesperson of Stars Cinema in Muscat. This

late opening of cinemas during Ramadan has been followed for years, he said.

City Cinema Oman will also follow revised schedules during the holy month of Ramadan.

A F T E R 8 : 3 0 P M

CURBS: Cinemas will be monitored, and every movie being screened will be checked to assure it adheres to the principals of Ramadan. – Supplied picture

Thanks from Sisi

In his cable, President el-Sisi ex-pressed his utmost thanks and appreciation for His Majesty’s sin-cere sentiments, praying to Allah the Almighty to protect His Maj-esty and the Omani people against all harms. -ONA

C A B L E

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‘Directive aims to protect health of school students’

“You are therefore requested to ensure that outdoor activi-ties are restricted in schools and children are not unduly ex-posed to the sun,” the note which was addressed last week to all the principals from the Indian Board, stated.

Speaking to Times of Oman, Wilson George, Chairman, Board

of Directors, Indian schools in the Sultanate of Oman, said this directive has been issued as a precautionary measure.

Summer vacation“This will ensure no students fall sick before the school closes for summer vacation,” he said.

While some schools are clos-

ing in the first week of June, the remainder are closing in the sec-ond week of June for summer holidays.

Earlier, the Ministry of Educa-tion in Oman had declared early summer vacations for students from grades one to four due to heat wave conditions prevailing in the country.

I N D I A N B O A R D

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Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah offers mouth-watering delicacies

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort welcomes the Holy Month of Ramadan with commu-nity-focused programmes, family activities and traditional dining to share a meaningful Ramadan.

Gather your family and friends for Iftar at Al Tanoor where a wealth of traditional Middle East-ern specialities and international dishes await you. The extensive buffet spread showcases hot and cold mezzeh, salads, mixed grills, Omani specialities and classic desserts, in addition to offering Ramadan’s famous beverages. If-tar buffet will be priced at OMR18 net per person.

To continue the evening, Suhour will be featured at the air condi-tioned Al Mazaar Souk courtyard, serving a wide selection of Rama-dan delicacies and traditional beverages, set within an Arabian-styled decorated ambience for a unique Suhour experience.

During Ramadan, guests din-ing in Al Tanoor or the Al Mazaar Souk are invited to enter our Ram-adan raffle to win fabulous prizes, such as weekend stays in Shangri-La hotels in the Maldives, Istanbul, Mauritius, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai and Abu Dhabi; as well as dinner vouchers in the various restau-rants at the resort or spa treat-ments. Guests will receive a raffle ticket for every OMR15 spent dur-ing Iftar in Al Tanoor and Suhour in the Al Mazaar Souk.

With a number of private ban-queting rooms within the resort, a variety of options are offered for groups wanting to experience Ramadan with their friends, fami-lies and colleagues. Discounted buffet packages are available for groups of 20 guests or more.

Ramadan is a month of great blessings and selfless sharing, bringing a renewed spirit through-out the Holy Month, and we take this spiritual opportunity to con-tinue, for the fourth year running, our Hand-in-Hand programme of weekly activities as part of Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Re-sort & Spa’s CSR initiatives and commitment towards serving the community. This year, Shangri-La will, once again, partner with Dar Al Atta’a to introduce a series of weekly charitable events taking place at the Al Mazaar Souk.

The first event will be held in partnership with Injaz Oman on 16-17 June.

T H I S R A M A D A N

Graduation programmeMUSCAT: Sponsored by Sayy-id Khalid bin Hilal bin Saud Al Busaidi, Minister of the Diwan of Royal Court, the National CEO Programme celebrated in Muscat the graduation of the first batch, which included thirty participants from various private sector institutions .

Dr. Khamis bin Saud bin Said Al Toobi, Director General of Administrative Development and Acting Director General of Competencies Development In-

stitute said in a statement: “We are celebrating today the gradu-ation of the first batch of thirty participants after an enriching educational journey extended to 12 months, and they are now at the forefront of the graduates of the National CEO Programme.

The programme announced a list of new participants in the second batch, consisting of 35 participants representing dif-ferent sectors and governorates in the Sultanate.

F I R S T B A T C H

CELEBRATION: A function to commemorate the 240th independence day of the United States of America, which falls on July 4, was hosted by the US Embassy in Muscat yesterday. – O K Mohammed Ali

MUSCAT: Omani policy is wise by virtue of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, said Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Minister Re-sponsible for Foreign Affairs. He stated that the leaders of the in-ternational community sincerely appreciate the rightness of Omani policy, and its way of dealing with the various international and re-gional events.

In an interview with Shur-fat Al Majlis magazine, which is published by the State Council, he added that the international community often takes side with the objective Omani positions. At the same time, he praised the gradual development of the Omani Shura march.

When asked about the secret behind the Omani quietness, at a time it is surrounded by wars and fires from the four directions, he said: “Wisdom is behind this qui-etness. Allah Almighty says “Don’t throw yourself into destruction”. When we see a fire somewhere, we have two choices: whether to help in extinguishing it, which is a good thing, or go away as if the fire will not reach us. Oman, as His Maj-esty always says, is a country of peace. Peace is the principle that is in harmony with the system of life, because Allah Almighty calls Himself Al-SalÄm (the Peace). Al-lah Almighty creates the universe and humans, and makes peace obligatory for them. Therefore, those who believe in this principle shall not ignore it and go against it. Peace is a fundamental concept in the religion and in the Omani pol-icy. The mission of the Omani di-plomacy is to represent the Omani political point of view. It strives to make more friends and minimise the enemies as much as possible. Everyone has his own opinions, concerns and justifications. These justifications may be real ones that require taking an action, but they may not mean the same thing to the other party. As stated in the Holy Quran, Allah has enabled people to defend themselves against one another. At the end of the road, this will lead to ease. There is a proverb in the Muslim culture that goes as “After hardship comes two eases”. You face an ease, then a hardship and then another ease. This ease is obtained through bringing peace and extinguishing fires. Humans tend to take time until being con-vinced by something. This is the human nature that is linked with their instinct. We find that hu-mans tend by their nature to be ambitious. This ambitiousness may lead some people to go against their instinct”.

Omani renaissanceIn reply to a question about his patronage over the Rapproche-ment Conference, the Civilization Dialogue, Tolerance and Peace Project and other activities in this direction, the Minister Responsi-ble for Foreign Affairs said these activities are part of the philo-sophical perspective of the Omani renaissance that was established by His Majesty. It is like a bouquet of flowers which would not look beautiful without the various col-ours and smells of its flowers. Life is like this bouquet of flowers. We all need a stable life but we can’t be out of the reality of differences. Al-lah Almighty stresses in the Holy Quran the importance of forgive-ness. Almighty says “If you pardon, forbear and forgive, then surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful”. He also says “If you endure patiently, verily it is better for the patient”. It is true that Allah allows humans to take their rights from others, but, at the same time, He urges them to forgive and pardon. It is not right to disagree with others only for the sake of disagreement. People may disagree with each other, but it is a good manner to tolerate oth-ers. Why do we disagree? We can disagree with others if they violate

the moral principles. However, it is better to leave disagreement if it is for materialistic interests. Disa-greement is temporal and disap-pears by time.

He added: “In fact, the Omani policy is a deep philosophy. Hu-mans, by their nature not their instinct, love what make them thrilled. However, I am certain that the vast majority of people in the world and in this region wish that these fires are extinguished. This is because the consequences of these fires (wars) are catastrophic. We hear every day that someone is killed here, others are wounded there and places are destructed.”

In a reply to a question about the ability of long experience of humanity to extinguish these fires and stop these wars, he said: “In fact, there are many wise and good people who are striving to stop these wars. Life is going on and there should be an end for every-thing. As I said before, people are defending themselves against one another. This will make them tired and bored, and regret the past. Then, they will move to the second step after they have ruined what they have. The role of the Sultan-ate here is to bring closer the in-terlocutors and disputants. This takes time especially with us in the Arab region because we are still living the tribal life despite living in this developed world. We have the technology but our culture is still tribal and Bedouin.”

Vision of His Majesty He added: “As you can see, there are many wars, discussions and disputes. Everyone wants to use his power to defend himself and to defeat others. Oman, by virtue of the wise and future vision of His Majesty, stops and eliminates all causes that may lead people to be in conflict with each other, with their neighbours and their friends.”

When asked about demarcation of borders as an example of the Sultanate’s efforts to make peace, he said: “Yes true, demarcation of land and maritime borders is the solution. It is essential that your neighbour is satisfied with you and you are satisfied with him, because if you are not satisfied with him, you can’t do anything. His Maj-esty foresaw the future and educed these fact in earlier time. This wise vision of His Majesty formulates the Omani policy.”

In reply to a question about pil-lars of the Omani foreign policy, bin Alawi said: “As we said be-fore, if you are satisfied with your neighbour, you will be safe and you can develop. We are working on making comfortable neighbour-hood. Of course, you can’t move this neighbourhood or change it because it is a human and geo-graphical neighbourhood.

“If you can’t convince your neighbour, it is better to work in the framework of understanding. It is true that governments may disagree because there are various views in life. However, the rela-tionship between humans remains even if they are separated by bor-ders. If there is a great confidence between people, then we can con-vince the decision makers to make a comfortable neighbourhood.”

Western philosophyOn the human experience role in governing parity and balance in life, he said: “There are limits for governing and regulating this mat-ter because people are defending themselves against one another. We can even find this concept in the Western philosophy. The world can’t be without wars. What can govern this is the international laws, conventions and organisa-tions established consensually by the international community. This is known as “governance”. The United Nations (UN) has no army, but it has laws that connect all the armies of the governments

to these international laws. For ex-ample, if a state has justifications and wants to invade another state, it can’t do so unless it gets a deci-sion from UN. If it doesn’t get that decision, it will be considered as an aggressor state.”

Omani ShuraWhen asked about the 25 years of Omani parliamentary experience and its vital role in establishing the political awareness among the Omani citizens, the Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs said: “I think that this experience is taking root more and more. It is in a real harmony with the re-naissance, not an artificial one. The Omani Shura experience is stemmed from the Omani envi-ronment. In many stages of the Omani history, the tribal system in Oman was based on the Shura con-cept. The Sheikh, what is so-called Tamimah Sheikh, is assigned through consultation among the tribe, as per specific characteris-tics. The best proof of this in Oman is the tribal coalition between the “Hinaoa” and “Ghaferi”. This al-liance is seen by some people as negative because they didn’t un-derstand it deeply. If specialists study this example, they will find that this was a means of stability, because it was governed by rules and balance. This helped in main-taining stability in different stages. It is true that there were some con-flicts here and there, but this alli-ance made stability and respect. There were various schools of ju-risprudence in Oman as a result of this alliance.”

In reply to a question about parliamentary experiences in the Arab region, he said: “When we

look at the democracy and the struggle of the civil administration in our region, and compare it to the developed countries in Europe and the US, we find them preceding us. They precede us in the civil organi-sation and we followed them but to a small extent.”

He explained: “This is because we followed them in the way of es-tablishing a national state which is a restoration of the tribal system. Restoration may take time because when you restore something it may collapse. With respect to the Arab Spring, it didn’t resist and achieve its goals because it was seen as revolution. Revolution means cha-os and it needs long time until the state returns to stability.”

Dichotomy of revolutionIn reply to a question about the inability of parliament to control these issues that have been domi-nating in some countries, bin Ala-wi said: “Parliament can’t resist in facing these huge waves. The dichotomy of revolution and chaos keeps interacting until the goal is achieved. This interaction needs reasons to be completed. The post-colonial states enacted their laws according to the colonial legacy, in terms of management, laws and borders. When we give a quick look at these countries, whether in Af-rica or Asia, we find that their bor-ders are determined according to the previous colonisers’ borders. For example, the borders of a na-tional state that was part of French colonisation is now determined by the previous borders of the French colonisation. It is the same with the national states that were part of the British and Spanish colo-nisation. However, when we look

at the cultural and social sides of these states, we find that they are inter-related. You will find one tribe divided between two neigh-bouring states. The aim is to build a national state in which people are living peacefully. As far as I am concerned, the social and admin-istrative systems in some coun-tries become older because of the increasing human activities. For example, the population of a state was 5 million during the post-colo-nial time but the number exceeds 15 million during the Arab Spring. Thus, the social and administra-tive systems are unable to fulfil the needs of 15 million. These systems remain unchanged instead of the increasing number of popula-tion. Consequently, the chaos and revolution broke out. This situa-tion will continue until stability and development is achieved; this needs time.”

When asked about the Omani media, the Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs said: “The im-pact of media will not appear now but later. It is like planting trees. You don’t expect that all plants will be good: you will have good and bad trees. In fact, the Omani media is stable like other sectors. However, we have to interact with what is happening around us. We also have to take the audience into consideration. What does the au-dience want to watch and listen? The specialists in the Omani me-dia take these points into account.”

Parliamentary diplomacyIn a reply to a question about the parliamentary diplomacy, he said: “The human communication is im-portant at all levels not only at the parliamentary level. Professors, students and government officials should also communicate with the world. The world becomes now as one village which implies the fast communication between people. This communication can be for education, exchange of experienc-es or other purposes. Nowadays, communication becomes easier by virtue of the advanced means of communication and transporta-tion. When we travel to Europe, we feel that we are travelling to neigh-bouring countries. When travel to another culture, we feel that we are visiting our neighbours. I think that exchanging of ideas and con-necting cultures is fruitful. We need to develop and increase these initiatives.”

Nuclear energyWhen asked about the Sultan-ate’s decision on nuclear energy, he said: “We are protecting eve-rything in Oman. Everything is protected: life, birds, reptiles and animals. Oman takes the prec-edence of protecting environment not because we want to be the first, but because we consider it essen-tial to protect the environment. Oman has established a Ministry and a council for protecting en-vironment. This issue becomes one of the essential pillars in pro-tecting the environment. It is true that we can’t protect everything in light of the accelerating develop-ment, but we shall put a minimum extent of pollution. You can’t pro-tect everything alone because you will not develop. The philosophy of protection is part of our lives. I think that others have started to use this approach. For example, at one point in time, people were talking about the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. We were among people seeking to take advantage of this energy. We know that we can benefit from that at any time, because the issue of risk control in nuclear energy has de-veloped significantly. Why didn’t we go ahead with this programme? Firstly, because this energy is available at any time we want. Sec-ondly, studies conducted by the In-ternational Atomic Energy Agency show (here I am speaking from economic point of view) that if the price of oil is below $50, you do not need to produce and use nuclear energy. This is because you will use this energy by its production cost. Thus, oil and gas are cheaper than nuclear energy. However, if the oil price is above $50, it is better to use nuclear power because it is cheap-er than $50. This is an economic equation. It is true that all nuclear power producers have designed reassuring safety procedures, but

they can’t control human error, or environmental disasters. The contamination resulted from this power is also incurable.”

Bin Alawi added: “We are still in the growth stage, and our abil-ity to reduce the risk is still very modest. For example, transferring people from one area to another is immeasurably difficult for us and for other developing countries. If something happens in one place, it is very difficult to transfer its pop-ulation of around 50-60 thousand people to another place. It is also not easy to guarantee the protec-tion from radiation. We may not expect that something will hap-pen, but precaution is mandatory. We opt for not going ahead with this project for these reasons and because we can do it in any time. Let us see first the experience of others.”

In reply to a question about the role of Omani policy in reducing the severity of complicated situa-tions suffered by Omanis in other countries, he said: “It is impos-sible to satisfy everyone. Omanis by their nature love searching for the future in different places, and travelling around the world. However, some of them don’t take the needed precautions, and they think that they are in their coun-try. If something happens, like vio-lating the laws or values, of course, they will be subject to the laws and procedures of that country. Inter-cession can solve the issue but it varies from a country to another. In our country, intercession has an influence but in other countries it is difficult because their culture and system is different. For exam-ple, a minister in a country can talk to a police officer and intercede for someone. However, sometimes he can’t do so because laws must be implemented. I think that people should ask about their destina-tion and take the consultation of others before they travel. I don’t mean those who are travelling for treatment but those who are going for investment. They must ask the concerned bodies in those coun-tries through the embassy or con-sulate. Some people may face ma-nipulative situations that we are unaware of and suffer from trou-bles. These troubles are not faced by Omanis only but by others who travel abroad. However, the em-bassies or consulates, especially in the most-visited countries by Om-anis such as India and Thailand endeavour to provide its services to the travellers. Travellers receive SMSs telling them about the con-tact numbers of the embassy or consulate in addition to the call prices in these countries. These services aim to guide the travellers but some people feel safe and don’t care about these messages.”

When asked about the effect of conspiracy theory on political dia-logue in the Arab region, he said: “It is easy to say this is a“conspiracy”. They say it is a conspiracy to find something to blame. I think that this concept doesn’t exist. No one is intending to organise conspiracy against you.”

‘No conspiracy’He added: “I think that the reason behind this conviction is the re-currence of this concept in media. There is no conspiracy, but there are interests and everyone is de-fending his interests. There is no conspiracy organised against a specific state especially in these days where everything is clear. If we could hide 50 per cent of infor-mation in the 1950s and 1970s, we can’t now hide 5 per cent of these information. Thus, there is no hid-den conspiracy. There are inter-ests that will be achieved through wrong ways if not achieved through the right ways. We have to acknowledge that others have interests. Life is about giving and receiving. No one owns the whole life alone; it is for everybody.”

He explained: “Our Prophet Mo-hamed (PBUH) was dealing with the Jewish traders in Al Madinah. He didn’t say that Muslims should not deal with Jews. They were part of the community and some of them became Muslims.

“Those who didn’t become Mus-lims were protected under the um-brella of “To you be your religion, and to me my religion”. Life is con-tinuing while everyone is seeking his own interests.” — ONA

A8

OMANT U E S DAY, M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 6

Sultanate praised for solving global conflicts peacefully, says AlawiPeace is a fundamental concept in the

religion and in the Omani policy and it

strives to make more friends and minimise

the enemies as much as possible

If the price of oil is below $50, you do not need to

use nuclear energy. This is because you will use this

energy by its production cost. Thus, oil and gas are

cheaper than nuclear energy. However, if the oil price

is above $50, it is better to use nuclear power because

it is cheaper than $50

Yousuf bin Alawi bin AbdullahMinister Responsible for Foreign Affairs

A9

REGIONT U E S DAY, M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 6

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HEAVY FIGHTING: Smoke rises from clashes near Falluja, Iraq, on Monday. – Reuters

Iraqi army storms to edge of IS-held Falluja

FALLUJA: The Iraqi army stormed to the southern edge of Falluja under US air support on Monday and captured a police station inside the city limits, launching a direct assault to re-take one of the main strongholds of IS militants.

A Reuters TV crew about a mile (about 1.5 km) from the city’s edge said explosions and gunfire were ripping through Naimiya, a large-ly rural district of Falluja on its southern outskirts.

An elite military unit, the Rapid Response Team, seized the dis-trict’s police station at midday, state TV reported.

The unit advanced another mile northward, stopping about 500 metres (yards) from the Al Shuhada district, the southeast-ern part of city’s main built-up area, army officers said.

Shaping upThe battle for Falluja is shaping up to be one of the biggest ever fought against IS, in the city where US forces waged the heaviest battles of their 2003-2011 occupation against the militant group’s pre-cursors.

Falluja is IS’ closest bastion to Baghdad, and believed to be the base from which the group has

plotted an escalating campaign of suicide bombings against ci-vilians and government targets inside the capital. As government forces pressed their onslaught, suicide bombers driving a car and a motorcycle blew themselves up in the capital. Along with another bomb planted in a car, they killed more than 20 people and injured more than 50 in three districts of Baghdad, police and medical sources said.

Separately, Kurdish secu-rity forces announced advances against IS in northern Iraq, cap-turing villages from militants out-side Mosul, the biggest city under militant control.

The Iraqi army launched its operation to recover Falluja a week ago, first by tightening a six-month-old siege around the city 50km (30 miles) west of Baghdad.

Falluja, in the heartland of tribes who resent the government in Baghdad, was the first Iraqi city to fall to IS in January 2014. Months later, the group overran wide areas of the north and west of Iraq, declaring a caliphate in-cluding parts of neighbouring Syria. On Monday, army units were “steadily advancing” to Fal-luja’s southern outskirts under air cover from a US-led coali-tion helping to fight against the militants, according to a military statement read out on state TV.

A militia coalition known as Popular Mobilisation, or Hashid Shaabi, was seeking to consoli-date the siege by dislodging mili-tants from Saqlawiya, a village just to the north of Falluja.

The militias, who took the lead in assaults against IS in other parts of Iraq last year, have pledged not to take part in the as-sault on the city itself to avoid ag-gravating sectarian strife.

Between 500 and 700 mili-tants are in Falluja, according to a US military estimate. The US-led coalition conducted three air strikes near Falluja over the past 24 hours, destroying fighting posi-tions, vehicles, tunnel entrances and denying the militants access to terrain, it said in a statement.

Falluja has been a bastion of the insurgency that fought both the US occupation of Iraq and the Baghdad government that took over after the fall of dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003.

American troops suffered some of their worst losses of the war in two battles in 2004 to wrest Fallu-ja back from Al Qaeda in Iraq, the insurgent group now known as IS.

The latest offensive is causing alarm among international aid organisations over the humani-tarian situation in the city, where more than 50,000 civilians re-main trapped with limited access to water, food and health care.

Falluja is the second-largest Iraqi city still under control of the militants, after Mosul, their de facto capital in the north that had a pre-war population of about 2 million. It would be the third ma-jor city in Iraq recaptured by the government after Saddam’s home town Tikrit and Ramadi, the capi-tal of Iraq’s vast western Anbar province.

Falluja is also in Anbar, located between Ramadi and Baghdad, and capturing it would give the government control of the major population centres of the Euphra-tes River valley west of the capital for the first time in more than two years. On the northern front, the security forces of the autonomous Kurdish region launched an at-tack on Sunday to oust militants from villages about 20km (13 miles) east of Mosul so as to in-

crease the pressure on IS and pave the way for storming that city.

The Kurdish forces, known as peshmerga, have retaken six vil-lages in total since attacking IS positions on Sunday with the sup-port of the US-led coalition, the Kurdistan Region Security Coun-cil said on Monday. That repre-sents most of the targets of their latest advance.

Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi hopes to recapture Mosul later this year to deal a decisive defeat to IS. Abadi announced the onslaught on Falluja on May 22 after a spate of bombings that killed more than 150 people in one week in Bagh-dad, the worst death toll so far this year. The worsening security in the capital has added to political pressure on Abadi, struggling to maintain the support of a coalition amid popular protests against an entrenched political class.

Monday’s bombings targeted two densely populated districts, Shaab and Sadr City, and a gov-ernment building in one suburb, Tarmiya, north of Baghdad.

A car bomb in Shaab killed 12 people and injured more than 20, while in Tarmiya eight were killed and 21 injured by a suicide bomb-er who pulled up in a car outside a government building guarded by police. In Sadr City, a suicide bomber on a motorcycle killed three people and injured nine.

The battle of Falluja is help-ing Abadi refocus the attention of Iraq’s unruly political parties on the war against IS, so as to de-fuse popular unrest prompted by delays in a planned reshuffle of the cabinet to help root out cor-ruption. In a speech to parliament on Sunday, he called on political groups to “put on hold their dif-ferences until the military opera-tions are over.” — Reuters

Army presses assault

to retake IS bastion

as more than 20

people killed in

Baghdad bombings

UAE acquits two of militancy chargesDUBAI: A security court in the United Arab Emirates on Monday acquitted two Libyan-American businessmen and a Libyan-Ca-nadian charged with supporting Libyan militants, a lawyer and a family representative said.

“The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Abu Dhabi Supreme Court State Security Chamber found American businessmen Kamal and Mohamed Eldarat not guilty, after nearly two years of arbitrary detainment and a four-month trial,” a statement from the El-darat family said. Kamal and son Mohamed were arrested at their home in the UAE in 2014, accord-ing to the family.

Paul Champ, a human rights lawyer representing Canadian co-defendant Salim Alaradi — who was arrested while visiting the UAE — said that although the three men had been acquitted, they had yet to be released from custody.

Alaradi “was apprehended back in August 2014, held in a secret

prison and the state security didn’t even acknowledge they were hold-ing them for months, so we won’t be comfortable until he’s on a plane back home”, Champ told Re-uters by phone from Canada.

ChangedThey were initially charged with terrorism-related offences, but the prosecutor in March changed the charges to providing support to Libyan militants and collecting do-nations without state permission. There was no immediate comment from the UAE on the case.

Canada’s Foreign Minister Stephane Dion said Canada wel-comed the acquittal and expected an “expedited process to promptly reunite him with his family and friends”. Alaradi’s daughter, Marwa Alaradi, told the Canadian Broad-casting Corp from Doha: “It is a relief that the courts have said that and confirmed my father is inno-cent but what we’re waiting for is him getting out of prison.” — Reuters

F O U R - M O N T H T R I A L

Bahrain more than doubles jail term of Sheikh SalmanDUBAI: A Bahraini appeals court on Monday more than doubled the prison term imposed on the opposition leader, Sheikh Ali Sal-man, to nine years from four.

Bahrain’s public prosecutor said the stiffer sentence related to “crimes of promoting change to the political system by force”, according to state news agency BNA. Sheikh Salman’s Al Wefaq Islamic Society denounced the decision as “provocative”.

“The appeals court ruling... will further strain the security and political situation in Bahrain,” a joint statement by four leading opposition groups said.

Salman, a cleric, was sentenced in June to four years in prison for inciting unrest. Defence lawyers appealed in September, saying that prosecutors had presented as evidence excerpts of his speeches that were taken out of context.

Prosecutors responded with their own appeal asking the court to reverse Salman’s earlier ac-quittal on more serious charges of seeking to overthrow the po-

litical system by force. “He was in the habit of such incitement and promoted (it) in his speeches on various occasions, including ex-tremist appeals in which he justi-fied acts of violence and sabotage, provoking regime change and calling for war as a form of reli-gious duty,” BNA said, quoting the prosecution.

The court extended his prison

term as a result. His lawyers said they have 30 days to appeal against the ruling. “The case stands on what Sheikh Ali Salman has said in his speeches, and there is nothing in his speeches that contained (substance reflecting) the charge against him,” defence lawyer Jalila Al Sayed told a news conference. Salman was arrested in December. — Reuters

O P P O S I T I O N L E A D E R

PRISON TERM EXTENDED: A Bahraini walks past a placard bearing the portrait of Sheikh Ali Salman, head of the opposition movement Al Wefaq, in the village of Zinj on the outskirts of the capital Manama. – AFP

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INDIA T U E S DAY, M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 6

I do not approve of any of these comments being made by anyone as far as the personality is concerned, because the RBI and its Governor is an important institution in Indian economyArun Jaitley, Finance minister

Indian missiles, copters, subs - Anil Ambani’s ambitious defence planNEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group has never made a military helicopter, missile system or submarine in its history but that isn’t stopping the Indian tycoon from seeking to win contracts to manufacture all of that military hardware and more.

Known for taking some ambi-tious bets over the past decade, some of which have failed to deliv-er, Ambani’s plans to turn Reliance into a major defence company may be one of his boldest yet.

It has already bid for Rs840 bil-lion ($12.5 billion) in Indian gov-ernment contracts, senior execu-tives said, though it hasn’t yet won any of those.

The success of the strategy will depend partly on whether he can persuade government officials and international partners that he can build sophisticated equipment and partly on whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi can get India’s no-toriously slow procurement pro-cess to work.

Aging equipmentModi has made defence a big part of his “Make in India” programme. As part of any defence contract, he is demanding foreign companies tie up with a local partner, transfer technology and move some manu-facturing to India.

At stake is $250 billion in de-fence contracts the government

is expected to award over the next 10 years as it looks to upgrade the military’s aging equipment.

“We hope to have a significant share of this pie,” said R. K. Dh-ingra, chief executive of Reliance Defence. He predicted the com-pany will “emerge as a key player in the defence sector over the next few years.” Reliance’s ambition is greeted with scepticism by many in the defence world.

An Indian military official in-volved in defence procurement said Reliance is overreaching in wanting to make everything from ships to planes. Some rivals and potential partners for the con-tracts said Reliance will struggle to master the manufacture of such a wide range of sophisticated mili-tary hardware.

“There is no quick money in this branch,” said Jan Widerstrom, head of Saab India Technologies, a unit of Saab AB. “It requires a lot of experience, high tech culture, investments and a long-term busi-ness plan.”

Still, Saab and Reliance are working together in developing the next generation Combat Manage-ment System for the Indian Navy and Coast Guard.

Recently, Reliance’s lack of ex-perience and questions about its ability to handle sensitive tech-nology and intellectual property counted against it in its bid to part-

ner with the Russians to build 200 Kamov helicopters, said a Russian diplomat in New Delhi, who de-clined to be identified in this story because they weren’t speaking in an official capacity.

The contract, estimated to be worth a little over $900 million went instead to Indian state-con-trolled company Hindustan Aero-nautics Ltd.

Ambani should identify core ar-eas and concentrate on them rath-er than “be an inch deep and a mile wide,” said Nitin Gokhale, founder of defence website Bharat Shakti.

The Reliance conglomerate split into two in 2005 after a bitter feud

between Anil Ambani and his old-er brother, Mukesh.

The latter got the flagship Reli-ance Industries, with interests in petrochemicals, oil and gas explo-ration, refining and textiles.

Anil got telecoms, power, enter-tainment and financial services businesses. But some of his busi-nesses struggled, especially an ill-timed foray into infrastructure, and debt piled up.

Its Reliance Infrastructure arm, which includes the defence operations, aims to be debt free in the current financial year ending March 2017, according to Lalit Ja-lan, who is acting CEO of the unit.

To get there it plans to sell assets, including road projects and a stake in a power distribution company for about Rs180 billion, according to another senior Reliance execu-tive. Ambani entered the defence sector last year, when he took a controlling stake in a company that made warships and energy ex-ploration vessels, in Modi’s home state of Gujarat, called Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering Co Ltd, for about Rs20 billion.

That became Reliance Defence and Engineering Ltd.

Since then, Reliance has bought hundreds of acres of additional land to build an aerospace facil-ity and another shipyard in other parts of the country.

It has also signed more than half a dozen joint venture agreements with foreign companies, includ-ing one with Rafael Advanced De-fence Systems of Israel, to bid for Indian government contracts as they come up.

Lack of experienceAn Israeli defence industry source said for Rafael the idea is that if it wins tenders, Reliance will pro-duce some components for mis-siles and other systems. Ambani has said that lack of experience is being held against his company.

“Despite a committed reformist mindset at the top, we are still see-ing opportunities being denied to

new players on grounds of lack of experience,” Ambani told a ‘Make in India’ summit on defence in March. Reliance Defence has been building an experienced team.

Dhingra earlier headed Lock-heed Martin’s India operations, and the company has hired a slew of senior army and navy officers who have executed large defence projects from conception to deliv-ery, the Reliance executive said.

The group’s experience in man-aging complex projects in India, including building roads and pow-er plants should help it, the execu-tive said.

For design, technology and com-plicated weaponry, Reliance would have a foreign partner, he noted.

Reliance expects to spend up to Rs20 billion over the next three years in upgrading facilities as it gets business, keeping its outlay low as it waits for contracts, the executive said. Thanks to its Pipa-vav shipyard, Reliance expects the naval part of its business to be the first to take off, he said.

It plans to bid for a $7.5 billion submarine contract that the gov-ernment is expected to give out to replace the navy’s ageing and accident-prone fleet and narrow the gap with rival China’s rapidly modernising fleet.

Ambani also has plans to bid for contracts in the future to make nu-clear-powered submarines. -Reuters

S T R A T E G Y

SEEKING TO WIN CONTRACTS: Anil Ambani, chairman of the Reli-ance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group addressing the annual share-holders meeting in Mumbai August 27, 2013. - Reuters file photo

Use black money disclosure window and sleep well: Jaitley

TOKYO/NEW DELHI: Warning black money holders of “serious trouble” if they fail to come clean, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday said people with un-disclosed assets should use the limited period income declaration window, beginning Wednesday, if they want to “sleep well”.

The four-month window under the Income Declaration Scheme 2016, which opens on June 1, al-lows domestic black money hold-ers to declare their ill-gotten wealth by paying a tax and penalty totalling 45 per cent.

“Starting from day after tomor-row, the new window opens and I will advise all those who have any undisclosed asset to declare it and pay the tax and sleep well. Other-wise, the way the disclosures are becoming more and more public, they will run into serious trouble,” Jaitley said in an interview here.

Jaitley, who is in Japan to invite investments, said the compliance window is open to not only the companies but also the people hav-ing undisclosed income.

“When the black money law with regard to foreign assets was passed, I had said please declare and sleep well. Now, those who didn’t declare and their names have become public, either in Pan-ama Papers or otherwise, I think

they are now having sleepless nights,” he said.

The government had last year come out with a three-month com-pliance window for foreign black money holders. The domestic black money compliance window

will open from June 1 to Septem-ber 30, 2016 and the taxes and penalties can be paid within two months thereafter.

Under the scheme, income declared by the eligible persons would be taxed at the rate of 30 per

cent plus a ‘Krishi Kalyan Cess’ of 25 per cent on the taxes payable and a penalty at the rate of 25 per cent of the taxes payable.

Tax and penalty will total to 45 per cent of the income declared, which has to be paid by Novem-ber 30. The scheme will apply to undisclosed income whether in the form of investment in assets or otherwise, pertaining to Financial Year 2015-16 or earlier. The decla-rations can either be made online on the official e-filing website of the Income Tax department, or be-fore the various regional Principal Commissioners of I-T.

Asked about the pending retro-spective tax cases of Vodafone plc and Cairn Energy of UK, Jaitley said, “We have already changed the law. They (now) have the op-tion to either contest (the demand through) litigation or go in for set-tlement.” In his Budget for 2016-17, the finance minister has pro-vided for waiving of interest and penalty if the companies facing retrospective tax cases paid up the principal amount.

Create awareness Meanwhile, senior CBDT officials will hold an online ‘talkathon’ on Tuesday to create awareness about the four-month window beginning June 1 for declaring do-mestic black money.

“Talkathon on Income Declara-tion Scheme on 31st May, 2016 at 7pm. CBDT Members to answer questions asked on #AskOnInco-meDisclosure,” the department said in a tweet on Monday. CBDT Members Rani S. Nair and S. K. Sahai will answer the questions in this regard and the chat session will be hosted by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry on its Twitter handle ‘MIB_India’.

The scheme will be on till Sep-tember 30 and the Central Board of Direct Taxes had earlier said declarants will enjoy immunity from scrutiny or inquiry under the now-scrapped Wealth Tax Act, IT Act and Benami Transac-tions Act (subject to certain con-ditions). - PTI

The four-month

window under the

Income Declaration

Scheme 2016, which

opens on June 1,

allows domestic

black money holders

to declare their ill-

gotten wealth by

paying a tax and

penalty totalling

45 per cent

PARLEYS: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley with Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Keiichi Ishii at a meeting in Tokyo on Monday. - PTI

TOKYO: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday de-nounced any attack on Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan and said the debate should be about the issues and policies, and not about the personalities.

Jaitley, however, declined to comment on whether Rajan’s term would be extended after his current three-year tenure ends this September.

Rajan has been facing a continuous attack by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy and by some other sections, who have demanded termination of his

service or at least denial of any extension while alleging the RBI Governor has failed to lower interest rates and boost the economy. “I do not approve of any of these comments being made by anyone as far as the personality is concerned, be-cause the RBI and its Governor is an important institution in Indian economy,” Jaitley said in an interview here.

The finance minister, who is here on a six-day investor woo-ing trip, further said, “People should be open to discussing all issues and policies, they have a right to support those policies,

they have a right to criticise those policies. But this can’t be converted into comments on personalities because that blurs the issue.”

The comments follow Swamy writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi twice within a fortnight calling for sacking of Rajan even before his term comes up for renewal in September. Jaitley said RBI is an important institution and one can agree or disagree with its judgement. “A debate on issues” is fine but it should not be “converted into debate on persons,” he added. - PTI

Finance minister denounces attacks on Rajan

‘Gangajal’ by post to be a reality soonNEW DELHI: Receiving Gan-ga water by post could be a real-ity soon as the government en-deavours to tap the e-commerce platform to bring the holy water at the doorsteps.

“I used to get several request that with vast network of post can we get Ganga water. I have directed Department of Posts to utilise e-commerce platform and make arrangement for providing pure Gangajal from Haridwar, Rishikesh to people. They have assured that they will take pro-active step to address cultural needs,” Telecom Min-ister Ravi Shankar Prasad said while sharing details of the NDA government’s achievements.

He said parcel revenue of post offices has increased by 80 per cent during his regime by deliv-ering e-commerce products.

“If postman can deliver, mo-bile phones, sarees, jewellery, apparels then why not Ganga water,” Prasad said.

He said speed post revenue of the department has increased from Rs13.72 billion in 2013-14 to Rs16 billion in 2015-16 and cash on delivery collections for e-commerce parcels has increased from Rs1 billion to Rs1.3 billion in the same period.

“Today, core banking network of post offices is more than that of State Bank of India. SBI has 1,666 core banking branches while 22,137 post offices now have core banking facility,” Prasad said.- PTI

E - C O M M E R C E P A R C E L S

Plain tobacco packaging to destroy legal domestic industry: TIINEW DELHI: Adoption of WHO-propagated plain packaging for tobacco products in India will not help reduce tobacco consumption but only boost illegal trade while destroying legal domestic indus-try, according to Tobacco Institute of India (TII).

TII, which has members like ITC, Godfrey Philips and VST that account for 98 per cent of the country’s domestic sales of duty paid cigarettes, asked the govern-ment to desist from moving fur-

ther towards plain packaging.The adoption of even more “ex-

treme regulation such as Plain Packaging propagated by WHO and anti-tobacco activists” will have adverse consequences and there is no compelling evidence to prove its effectiveness, it said.

Plain packaging proposal“The plain packaging proposal or-chestrated by foreign anti-tobacco organisations, if adopted in India, will not help reduce tobacco con-

sumption, but will only destroy the legal industry and Indian tobacco farmers by providing a further boost to illegal trade,” TII said in a statement.

It further said that the main thrust of plain packaging will only be on the domestic legal cigarettes, which account for no more than 11 per cent of the total tobacco con-sumed in India.

“Any proposal to implement plain packaging in India on the back of the extreme 85 per cent

pictorial warnings will be a further assault on the Intellectual Prop-erty Rights of legal manufacturers and promote the cause of smug-gled foreign brands,” Tobacco In-stitute of India said.

Under plain tobacco packaging currently followed only in Aus-tralia, logos, colours, imagery and promotional information are not allowed on packets but only brand names and product names are al-lowed in standard colour and font style. - PTI

B O O S T I L L E G A L T R A D E

DEMANDING ROLL BACK : Tobacco farmers demonstrate demand-ing for the rollback of 85 per cent graphic warning rule in front of Health Minister JP Nadda at the venue of an event organised by Health Ministry and WHO in New Delhi on Monday. - PTI

UPBEAT: Union Minister for Communication & IT, Ravi Shankar Prasad releases a booklet about the achieve-ments of his ministry in the two years of NDA Govern-ment, at a press conference at National Media Centre in New Delhi on Monday. - PTI

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‘Microsoft seeks to empower every Indian so they can perform better’

NEW DELHI: Microsoft’s focus on India is to empower every citi-zen and organisation so that they can perform better than their po-tential and achieve more for them-selves and the country, the US gi-ant’s chief executive Satya Nadella said here on Monday.

“It’s such an immense pleas-ure for me to be here in India and to see the energy, the creativity of this place. It’s infectious really for me, and, obviously I grew up here and I come back here often, but every time I come back, I go back energized and it’s phenomenal. It’s important to dream big and create big,” said Nadella, who is on his third visit to India since assuming

charge as Microsoft CEO.He was addressing the ‘Technol-

ogy for good, Ideas for India’ con-ference organised by Microsoft.

“In my life there have been two passions that have driven at least my dreams, and I think back and

one of the catalyst — it’s poetry and computer science,” said the India-born Nadella, who started his speech quoting Mirza Ghalib, the noted Urdu and Persian poet of the 19th century.

He met developers, as also en-

trepreneurs and students before the event.

Later in the day, Nadella met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Discussed various issues pertain-ing to the IT sector with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella,” Modi tweet-

ed. Nadella also met Communi-cations Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. “Microsoft CEO Satya Na-della met me today. Discussed in enhancing cooperation with Mi-crosoft towards Digital India,” the minister tweeted.

InnovateMinister of State for Finance Jay-ant Sinha, who was also present at the event, said “Microsoft is a platform for India’s growth”.Look-ing at Nadella, the minister added: “India can be an entrepreneurship engine. The kind of innovation you do in Seattle, New York, London and other places will not work in Jhanda Chowk in Hazaribagh (a constituency represented by Sin-ha). We need to innovate in India, for India.”

“In today’s day, the world that you live in, the world that you are going to shape, the world that you are going to change, that canvas is so rich,” Nadella said while ad-dressing the event.

Among the young developers who Nadella met was also an eight-year-old boy who created a game trying to balance economic growth with environmental sustainability.

“To me, this idea of conversa-tions-as-a-platform is a pretty transformative change in comput-

ing that I think we’re in the very early stages of. And I can’t wait to see what you all create on top of this platform in terms of changing how people experience comput-ing,” he added.

Referring to transformation, Nadella added: “When you change the way you see the world, you change the world you see. And I think that’s what all of you are go-ing to do.”

“And the reason I invoke this rich canvas is to really invoke your ambition to how you will shape the world.”

He spoke about three platforms that Microsoft is creating. “The in-telligent cloud platform that gives every application cognition and computational resources so that you can do anything; this idea of reinventing productivity and busi-ness process, how you interface with every institution and every process becomes much more nat-ural to a conversation because of the bots you build, because the ap-plications that you build have lan-guage understanding; and lastly, the apps that you build, the experi-ences you build for mixed reality.”

However, analysts are yet to figure out a clear roadmap from Microsoft regarding empowering Indian citizens. - IANS

Analysts are yet to

figure out a clear

roadmap from

Microsoft regarding

empowering

Indian citizens

ENHANCING COOPERATION: Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in a meeting in New Delhi on Monday. - PTI

Actress Salma Agha to get Overseas Citizen of India cardNEW DELHI: Pakistan-born Bollywood singer and actress Salma Agha will get an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card that will offer her multiple entry, mul-ti-purpose life long visa to visit India and exemption from report-ing to police.

“We have decided to grant Sal-ma Agha the OCI card after fol-lowing the due procedure,” a sen-ior Home Ministry official said on Monday. As the Home Min-istry took the decision to grant her OCI card, Agha met Home Minister Rajnath Singh, appar-ently to express her gratitude for the gesture.

Agha had applied for the OCI card a few days ago and her appli-cation was approved after taking into consideration various as-pects, officials said. The 59-year-old artiste is a citizen of UK. She had given her voice to few Bolly-wood films and acted in some of them including Nikaah.

Agha had won Filmfare best fe-male playback award in 1982 for her rendition Dil Ke armaan aan-suon me beh gaye in Nikaah.

Agha has applied for the card that gives multiple entry, multi-purpose life long visa to visit India and exemption from reporting to police authorities for any length of stay in the country.

The OCI card gives parity to an individual with NRIs in financial,

economic and educational fields except in the acquisition of agri-cultural or plantation properties. As per rules, a foreign national who is a child, grandchild or a great grandchild of Indian citizen is eligible for registration as OCI card holder. There are few other conditions to get OCI card.

However, no person, who or either of whose parents, grand-parents or great grandparents is or had been a citizen of Pakistan and Bangladesh shall be eligible for registration as an OCI card holder. In her application, Agha is said to have referred to her Indian roots in her maternal grandfather Jugal Kishore Mehra.

Mehra was a noted actor and his wife and Salma’s grandmoth-er, Anwari Begum, was a star singer in the 1930s and 1940s. Agha’s mother Nasreen was cast opposite K L Saigal in Shahjehan (1946). Agha, in her request, had also claimed that though she was born in Pakistan, she is a British citizen and hence, her request should be looked into.

Pakistani singer Adnan Sami was in January given Indian citi-zenship. Among others who have been staying in India and working on employment visa are Katrina Kaif (UK citizen), Deepti Naval (US citizen) and Yana Gupta (Czech citizen). - PTI

L I F E L O N G V I S A

BOOSTING TIES: Veteran actress and singer Salma Agha sings a song at a programme on ‘India-Pakistan Relations’ organised by Delhi Study Group, in New Delhi on Monday. - PTI

5 killed in clash over temple constructionALLAHABAD: Five persons, including a sub- inspector, were killed in a clash between two families over the construction of a temple in Ekauni village here, police said on Monday.

The families of Ram Kailash Pandey and his neighbour Shiv-sevak on Sunday clashed over the construction of a new tem-ple by the latter, Inspector Gen-eral of Police, Allahabad, R. K.

Chaturvedi said. The temple was being constructed alongside an older one which the Pandey fam-ily looked after, he said.

Heated argumentOn Sunday, Pandey’s son Suresh, a Kanpur-based sub-inspector on vacation in his hometown, took out a rifle following a heated ar-gument and opened fire in which Shivsevak, his brother Krishnase-

vak and nephew Vimal were killed on the spot, the IG said. Enraged with the killings, family of the deceased along with the villagers attacked Pandey and Suresh and beat the father-son duo to death, he said. Seven persons have been detained in this connection so far and statements of both families have been recorded, he said, add-ing further investigations are un-derway. - PTI

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A post-referendum agenda for BritainChris Patten

The end of the wretched campaign to take the United Kingdom out of the European Un-ion against the advice of our friends around

the world is less than a month away.The Brexiteers, as they have come to be called,

deny all evidence of the economic damage that the UK would do to itself by leaving. Their disre-gard for reason and facts resembles that of Donald Trump, the reality-TV star and Republican presi-dential candidate, whose political style seems to have crossed the Atlantic on a cheap ticket.

If voters choose to leave the EU, all bets are off; the UK will be taking a leap in the dark. For-tunately, the bookies are increasingly predicting that voters will decide to remain. But even if sanity prevails, the effects of Brexitosis – a toxic combi-nation of manic ambition (on the part of former London Mayor Boris Johnson, in particular), self-delusion, and mendacity – will linger long after the result is announced.

Prime Minister David Cameron will face the unenviable task of trying to pull his Conservative Party together again. He will need to balance mag-nanimity with forceful assertion of leadership. One thing that never works is to pay Danegeld to disloyal members of parliament; give them one bun, and they will come back almost immediately for another. What will matter most for Cameron’s future is whether he can convince the losers to ac-cept the voters’ verdict, instead of slinking away to plot another insurrection.

It would be understandable if Cameron were to conclude that Europe was the last thing he wants to spend time on this summer. But, for the sake of his country, and of Europe, Cameron should take the lead in trying to put in place a credible policy for dealing with mass migration. This is not just a short-term issue, driven by the conflicts in Syria and Afghanistan; it is a challenge that Europe will confront for decades.

During the nineteenth century, as Europe’s pop-ulation grew from one-fifth to one-quarter of the world’s total population, millions left their native countries for other continents.

Between 1815 and 1932, some 60 million Euro-peans emigrated. At the beginning of World War I, almost two out of every five people worldwide had European ancestry.

Today, the balance has been completely re-

versed. Europe’s population has fallen to well be-low 10 per cent of the global total, and it will fall much further as populations skyrocket elsewhere.

Over the last 40 years, for example, Egypt’s population has increased from 39 million to 93 million. During a comparable period, Ethiopia’s population more than tripled, to 101 million. Nige-ria, now home to more than 186 million people, has followed a similar trajectory; its population is pre-dicted to rise to a half-billion by 2050. During the first half of the twenty-first century, the population of Africa as a whole is expected to grow from about one billion to 2.5 billion.

Failing states, as we have learned, export their problems – and their people. The world’s poorest countries are experiencing the fastest population growth. They have the youngest populations, and, all too often, are among the most likely to see a breakdown in governance.

The resulting flows of people will put developed countries under extreme pressure – nowhere more so than in Europe. Erecting more razor wire will not come close to being an adequate response. The Mediterranean has become, tragically, a cemetery for some – but a barrier only for a few. Not even is-land countries like the UK can meet the migration challenge acting on their own.

What we require is a long-term program dis-cussed and agreed upon by our neighbours and the United States. We need to coordinate our for-eign, security, and development policies in order to prevent uncontrollable, unmanageable mass migration – a phenomenon that will lead to many migrant deaths and stoke xenophobia in the coun-tries they try to reach. We need to agree on how we deal with failed states and help to put them back on their feet. We have to use our development as-sistance strategically, to help poor countries grow and provide their citizens a reason for staying at home. We also need more aggressive policies to tackle people smuggling, supported by United Na-tions Security Council resolutions where neces-sary. And we have to deploy more naval resources in the Mediterranean and spend more on Europe’s border security. Such an effort would be in the in-terest of everyone, not least the poor in Africa and West Asia. As Cameron surveys the broken politi-cal crockery at the end of June, taking responsibil-ity for such an effort – at the helm of a country that is an integral part of the EU – would be very much in his interest as well. - Project Syndicate Ramadan is a month of blessings and good practices

which must be applied throughout the year This refers to news story, Take care of your health during Ramadan fasts, say experts (May 30). Ramadan is a month of blessings and

good practices which must be applied throughout the year. Safety measure for good health leads to a happy; loving life and no doubt that the Holy Month of Ramadan needs special attention to maintain good health. Food is very important for our phy-sical health, so taking care of eating habits during Ramadan is essential. Life is full of challenges, especially, hot days in summer may stop one to do the needful; brave face the challenges and perform it successfully. Along with the physical health, the mental health is also vital while you fast, so a glass of care, a plate of love, a spoon of peace, a fork of truth and a bowl of prayer is essen-tial in Ramadan and at the time of Iftar, the gift is joy and thanks to Allah, as He has given this month of blessings and love. With all these pleasures you will agree that Ramadan always ends with good memories

everywhere in the world and especially in Oman and your heart will say ‘I love Ramadan, I love Oman’. -Munawar Hameed, Oman

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Majlis okays draft law on protection of environmentMUSCAT: The Majlis Al Shura yesterday concluded its third ordinary session of the year under the chairmanship of Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Qatabi, president of the Majlis. The Majlis discussed a report of the legal committee and public awareness and environment committee on a draft law for the protection of environment. The committee presented proposals relevant to further enhancing the enforcement of the environmental draft law when endorsed.

1900: US troops arrive in Peking to help put down the Boxer Rebellion.

1915: A German zeppelin makes an air raid on London.

1979: Zimbabwe proclaims its independence.

1988: President Ronald Reagan arrives in Moscow, the first American president to do so in 14 years.

M O S T R E A DTIMESOFOMAN.COM

M O S T P O P U L A R V I D E O

M O S T S H A R E DFACEBOOK.COM/TIMESOFOMAN

Paris agreement, reached last December and signed last month,

not only established a consensus on importance of addressing climate

change, but also explicitly affirmed that ecosystems play a role in

capturing greenhouse gases and helping communities adapt to the

effects of climate change

MARIA DAMANAKI

A troubling aspect of structural impediments to growth is that the longer they remain unaddressed,

the deeper they become embedded in the system. Today’s growth

shortfalls become harder to reclaim even as tomorrow’s growth potential is undermined. That, in turn, erodes

the potency of any given policy response

MOHAMED A. EL ERIAN

Republicans rationalise Donald Trump’s proposals on immigration

and trade as just political show. Similarly, some Democrats suggest that Hillary Clinton’s protectionist

stance is merely rhetoric.They are deluded. Research and recent history show that newly

elected presidents try to hew closely to their campaign commitments

ALBERT R. HUNT

F R O M O U R A R C H I V E S

T O D A Y I N H I S T O R Y

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A13

PAKISTANT U E S DAY, M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 6

Chinese worker wounded in Karachi bomb attack

KARACHI: A Chinese worker and his driver were wounded in Pakistan on Monday in a bomb attack claimed by ethnic national-ists opposed to plans for extensive Chinese investment, police said.

The attack is likely to raise con-cern about a planned China Paki-stan economic corridor (CPEC), involving $46 billion in Chinese investment in roads, power plants, railway lines and a new port in Pakistan.

Separatist guerrillasPakistan, battling militants as well as separatist guerrillas in parts of the country, has promised to ensure security for the project.

The Chinese man and his Pakistani driver were slightly wounded in the attack in the

southern province of Sindh, pro-vincial police chief Allah Dino Khawaja said.

“Apparently, the attack was aimed at the Chinese national,” Khawaja said, adding that the man was travelling with his driver and a security guard.

A low-intensity bomb went off by the road in a suburb of Karachi,

Pakistan’s largest city, shattering the windows of the van the men were travelling in.

Television footage showed con-struction helmets in a rear seat.

A pamphlet signed by a group called the Sindhudesh Revolu-tionary Army, an ethnic Sindhi separatist group, was found at the site, police said.

“The world’s most plunderous nation has set its eye on Sindh,” the pamphlet said, according to a photograph of it seen by Reuters.

“They want to attack Sindh and enslave its people.”

The group was apparently re-ferring to the China-Pakistan corridor, which was announced last year, though it was unclear

whether the unidentified Chi-nese national was working on a CPEC project.

CPEC is part of China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative, aimed at easing the passage of Chinese exports to foreign markets by connecting southwestern China to the Arabian Sea, through Paki-stan. — Reuters

The attack is likely to

raise concern about

a planned China

Pakistan economic

corridor, involving

$46 billion in

Chinese investment

in roads, power

plants, railway

lines and a new

port in Pakistan

SETBACK: Pakistani security officials examine a damaged vehicle in which a Chinese National was travelling, following a roadside

bomb attack in Karachi on Monday. — AFP

NEC approves Rs1.67t budget for 2016-17 fiscal year

ISLAMABAD: The National Eco-nomic Council (NEC) approved on Monday a development budget of Rs1,675 billion for the period of the next fiscal year 2016-17, Express News reported.

The meeting approved Rs800 billion for the federation and Rs875 billion for the provinces.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif presided over the meeting via a video-link from the Pakistani High Commission in London, while chief ministers of all four prov-inces and Gilgit-Baltistan were also present.

He said Pakistan’s future was bright and rapid economic pro-gress will help lay foundations stone for further stability.

Nawaz is set to undergo an open heart surgery in London on Tues-day and is likely to remain hospi-talised for a week after the proce-dure. The prime minister left for London on May 22 for a medical check-up but postponed his return back home following advice by doctors to undergo the surgery.

Reports suggested that during the PM’s absence, Finance Min-ister Ishaq Dar and Interior Min-ister Chaudhry Nisar will run the affairs of the country.

Apart from the budget, the country is facing heightened po-litical situation in the aftermath of Panama Papers leaks, with de-mands from the opposition par-ties to probe the premier’s offshore wealth. — Express Tribune

P M O N V I D E O L I N K

HAVE YOUR SAY Send us your comments at facebook.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com haveyoursay@timesofoman.com

Local comedians mock USpresidential candidate TrumpKARACHI: From the time Trump expressed his desire to run for the United States of America’s presidential elections, the busi-ness magnate has become the punch line of every comedian’s jokes. With his Republican can-didacy now set in stone, it seemed only appropriate that a group of funnymen halfway across the world, in Karachi, decided to roast the controversial figure.

Titled Muslim Comics Roast Donald Trump, the event was a no holds barred affair of comedy at T2F.

The panel comprising a mix of both emerging and established comics such as Ali Gul Pir, Akbar Chaudry, Jaffer Shah and Syed Osama, not only targeted the American politician but traded blows with each other.

Audio-visual compilationServing as the roast master for the night’s proceedings, Shehzad Ghias warmed up the full house with a brief audio-visual compi-lation of Trump’s past indiscre-tions. A PR nightmare for any po-tential presidential candidate, the video had enough content to force even the ardent Trump supporter to hold their head in disbelief.

From mocking a disabled re-porter to making inappropriate comments about minorities, the video package was a pleasant pre-cursor to what was to follow.

As all good stand-up routines go, the comics did well by adding a desi style and flair. Ridiculing Trump’s well-documented asso-ciation with the white suprema-cist group Ku Klux Klan (KKK), Ghias remarked that contrary to popular belief, the extrem-ist organisation was founded by Zubeda Apa.

“I remember the initial tag-line for KKK [when founded by Zubeda Apa] was ‘Ab gora hoga America’.”

Notorious for making over-the-top statements throughout his election campaign the com-ics were never short of material when it came to the former Tel-evision personality. They poked at his desire to erect a wall be-tween Mexico and USA among other things.

Going against the trend of speaking out against Trump, Pir chose to defend the controversial figure by providing clarity on his ludicrous statements.

Mocking the low budget hous-ing scheme advertisements shown on private cable channels, Pir shared the only reason the ho-telier wants to make a $25 billion wall on the US-Mexico border is because he wants to start a hous-ing scheme named Farzana Royal City over there.

Qandeel BalochAkbar Chaudry on the other hand said that Trump was very similar to a Pakistani online sensation — Qandeel Baloch. “Both of them rose to fame by making bold con-troversial claims in videos. Every time you see a video link featuring them you are tempted to click on it,” Chaudry said, listing the simi-larities. “And for some odd reason both appear orange onscreen.”

Appearing as a lightweight amongst renowned comics such as Chaudry, Pir and Ghias, Osa-ma’s set was one of the highlights

of the evening. While his jokes re-lated to Trump were impressive, the shots he fired towards his fel-low comedians were what incited the loudest cheers of the night.

Taking aim at Pir, Osama said anyone can become a rapper nowadays by blurting out a few nonsensical rhyming words. “Ali Gul [Pir] needs to get over his first song. He is like Shahid Afridi of comedy. Pehli innings achi kheli phir baqi 20-20 run wali hain. (He played the first innings like a pro, but the rest like a 20-20 player)” he joked.

Not even sparing the roast mas-ter, Osama quipped, “Shehzad actually received threats from terrorists.

“Not for doing comedy but bad comedy. Even they were like, ‘Hum maar toh denge lekin kuch worthwhile toh karo’ (We will kill you but you need to do something noteworthy.” — Express Tribune

S A T I R E

TARGET: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump

speaks during an event at the annual Rolling Thunder ‘Ride for

Freedom’ parade ahead of Memorial Day in Washington, DC, on

Sunday. — AFP

Titled Muslim Comics Roast Donald Trump, the

event was a no holds barred affair of comedy at

T2F. The panel comprising a mix of both emerging

and established comics such as Ali Gul Pir,

Akbar Chaudry, Jaffer Shah and Syed Osama,

not only targeted the American politician

but traded blows with each other

Bank CEOs earn 367 times more than average PakistaniKARACHI: Bank CEOs earn on average 367 times more than what a typical Pakistani makes in a year.Based on data compiled by KPMG Taseer Hadi & Company and cal-culations by The Express Tribune, the combined remuneration of the CEOs of 27 commercial banks op-erating in Pakistan amounted to Rs1.6 billion last year.

This means each of the 27 bank CEOs earned on average Rs59.6 million in 2015. The per-capita income in Pakistan averaged just Rs162,568 in 2015-16.

This shows the ratio of the aver-age bank CEO remuneration and the per-capita income in Pakistan hovers around 367-to-1.

Similarly, bank CEOs earned on average 56 times more than what their average colleagues took home in 2015, official data shows.

Total staff costs that the 27 banks incurred on their combined workforce comprising 153,886 staff members in 2015 amounted

to Rs163.5 billion. It translates into a CEO-to-staff remuneration ratio of 56-to-1 in 2015 as opposed to 58-to-1 recorded in 2014.

Data reveals huge variance in the CEO-to-staff remuneration ratio among 27 commercial banks. The widest gap between the remu-neration of the bank CEO and that of an average staff member existed in Silkbank (106.5) and United Bank (104.8). Bank Alfalah (96), Soneri Bank (94.1) and MCB Bank (92.9) also had high CEO-to-staff remuneration ratios.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (6.9), Deutsche Bank (9.8) and the Bank of Tokyo (9.9), which are some of the small-est banks operating in Pakistan, had the lowest CEO-to-staff remu-neration ratios last year.

Habib Bank was ahead of its ri-vals within large and medium-size banks in terms of the cost per staff.

It clocked up at Rs1.6 million per staff member in 2015 for HBL

as opposed to Rs1.5 million for Standard Chartered and Rs1.2 mil-lion for United Bank.

Top-earning bank CEOs last year were of United Bank (Rs127.3 million), Bank Alfalah (Rs97.1 million), Silkbank (Rs86.1 mil-lion), MCB Bank (Rs84.7 million) and Habib Bank (Rs75.1 million). Banks whose CEOs received a relatively lower remuneration in 2015 include Bank of Tokyo (Rs16.1 million), Bank of Khyber (Rs21.5 million), JS Bank (Rs24.9 million), First Women Bank (Rs28 million) and Summit Bank (Rs32.4 million).The annual remuneration of the CEO of Bank of Khyber was the second-lowest last year in spite of a 194.7 per cent annual raise.Other banks whose CEOs received a fat year-on-year raise in 2015 include Askari Bank (68.4 per cent), National Bank of Pakistan (50.8 per cent), Habib Bank (41.3 per cent) and Standard Chartered (35.8 per cent). — Express Tribune

I N E Q U A L I T Y

A14

GLOBAL EYET U E S DAY, M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 6

UNITED STATES: The sun shines over the Empire State Building on a cloudy evening as seen from the Queens borough of New York City, US on Sunday. — Reuters

UNITED STATES: A view of the front stretch before the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race at Indianapolis Motorspeedway

on Sunday in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. — Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images/AFP

RUSSIA: Vehicles drive along the M54 federal highway during sunset in the Taiga district south of Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, Russia, on

Saturday. — Reuters

CHINA: Soldiers of China’s People’s Liberation Army take part

in a training exercise in Heihe, Heilongjiang Province, on

Sunday. — Reuters/Stringer

THAILAND: A sedated tiger is stretchered as officials start mov-

ing tigers from Thailand’s Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi prov-

ince, west of Bangkok, Thailand, on Monday. — Reuters

UNITED STATES: Motorcyclists ride their bikes during the annual

Rolling Thunder “Ride for Freedom” parade ahead of Memorial Day

in Washington, DC, on Sunday. — AFP

GERMANY: A snail crawls through a rain shower over a garden

bench in Cologne, western Germany, on Monday. — AFP/dpa/Henning Kaiser

A15

WORLDT U E S DAY, M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 6

Erdogan accuses Russia of arming Kurdish militants

ANKARA: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has accused Russia of providing anti-aircraft weaponry and rockets to militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Work-ers Party (PKK), government offi-cials said on Monday, confirming reports in local media.

Speaking to reporters on board his airplane after a visit to the southeastern province of Diyar-bakir over the weekend, Erdogan accused Moscow of transferring weaponry to the PKK via Iraq and Syria, the pro-government Star newspaper said.

“At this moment, terrorists are using anti-aircraft guns and missiles supplied by Russia. The separatist terrorist organisation is equipped with these weap-ons. They have been transferred to them via Syria and Iraq,” the newspaper reported Erdogan as saying. Two Turkish government officials confirmed Erdogan’s comments. The “separatist ter-rorist organisation” is a Turkish government term for the PKK, which has waged a three-decade

insurgency against the state that has left more than 40,000 people dead, mostly PKK militants in the largely Kurdish southeast.

While Erdogan has previously castigated Russia for its support of Kurdish fighters in Syria, the latest comments appear to be the first time he has accused Moscow of supplying arms to the PKK, seen as a terrorist group by Tur-key, the United States and Europe.

However, Deputy Prime Minis-ter Numan Kurtulmus was rela-tively upbeat on Monday about the outlook for relations with Russia, a rare departure from months of tough rhetoric after Turkey shot down a Russian war-plane last year. “Neither Russia nor Turkey can afford to sacrifice their relationship with each oth-er,” Kurtulmus, the government’s official spokesman, told a news

conference. “I wish such tensions had never emerged, but I believe that Turkish-Russian ties can be fixed in a short while. These two countries have no problems that cannot be overcome. I hope that these issues will be solved through dialogue.”

He did not directly address Er-dogan’s comments about Russian military support for the PKK.

Ankara also considers the Syr-ian Kurdish YPG fighters to be terrorists and has been enraged by both Russian and US backing for the militia in its battle with IS in Syria.

NATO member Turkey is part of the US-led coalition against IS in Syria and is also a vocal oppo-nent of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad. Relations between An-kara and Moscow hit their worst point in recent memory after Tur-key shot down the Russian plane over Syria last year, prompting a raft of sanctions from Russia.

Five killedMeanwhile, PKK militants killed five members of Turkey’s secu-rity forces in separate attacks in the last 24 hours, security sources said on Monday, and the military conducted air strikes in northern Iraq where rebels are based.

Security sources also said a man suspected of smuggling goods across the border between Iraq and Turkey in the Uludere area had been killed and five oth-ers injured.

Clashes between Turkish secu-rity forces and the PKK have esca-lated to their most intense level in two decades since the breakdown of a two-year ceasefire last July.

Near the eastern city of Van, PKK fighters detonated by re-mote control a roadside bomb that tore through an armoured vehicle on Monday morning, kill-ing two police officers and wound-ing another, the security sources said. — Reuters

At this moment,

terrorists are using

anti-aircraft guns and

missiles supplied by

Russia, said Turkish

president

Zurich Insurance former chief executive officer commits suicide

ZURICH: Former Zurich Insur-ance boss Martin Senn has com-mitted suicide six months after leaving the company under a cloud, a tragedy that comes less than three years after Zurich’s fi-nance chief took his own life.

Senn, 59, shot himself at his family’s Alpine resort home in Klosters, Swiss newspaper Blick reported. He had quit as chief ex-ecutive of Zurich in December fol-lowing a series of profit warnings and a botched takeover of British rival RSA. “Martin Senn’s family has informed us that Martin com-mitted suicide last Friday,” the company said in a statement on Monday, adding it was “stunned and deeply shaken”.

His death follows the suicide of Zurich’s finance chief Pierre Wauthier in August 2013, which brought into sharp focus the pres-

sures facing senior corporate ex-ecutives in Switzerland and else-where. Wauthier, 53, killed himself after writing a suicide note ad-dressed “To whom it may concern” in which he described becoming demoralised by what he called a new, more aggressive tone at Zu-rich under then-Chairman Josef Ackermann.

Ackermann, a former head of Deutsche Bank, denied any wrong-doing but quit soon after Wauthi-er’s death.

Weeks before Wauthier’s death, Swisscom Chief Executive Carsten Schloter had taken his own life.

Senn had been CEO since 2010 at Zurich, which he joined after stints with Swiss banks in Asia. He was married to a Korean musician and had two grown children.

Acquaintances, who asked not

to be named given the sensitivity of the situation, described him as withdrawn and reclusive following his departure from the company, which Zurich said at the time was by mutual agreement.

“He wasn’t doing so well,” a for-mer colleague said, but added that Senn had not given the impression of being suicidal.

One person close to Senn said he had taken Wauthier’s death hard.

The rate of suicide has been falling in most countries in Eu-rope since 2000, according to Ulrich Hegerl of the German De-pression Foundation, a charity to prevent suicide.

He said a suicide sometimes encourages other people to do the same. “If someone you know and respect commits suicide, then there is a risk in depression of a copycat suicide,” he added. — Reuters

S H O O T I N G S E L F T O D E A T H

Mexican soccer player rescued after kidnappingMEXICO CITY: Mexican soccer player Alan Pulido was rescued within a day of his kidnapping in the restive northeastern state of Tamaulipas after he was able to make a phone call and alert au-thorities of his location, a state of-ficial said on Monday.

The 25-year-old Mexico nation-al team player and striker for the Greek soccer team Olympiakos disappeared in his hometown of Ciudad Victoria on Saturday night, when he was intercepted by gun-men after leaving a party.

“The most important thing is that is he is here with us,” Tamauli-pas Governor Egidio Torre Cantu told reporters in footage broadcast on local television, standing next to Pulido. The player was wearing a multicolored tank top and shorts and had a bandage around his right hand. “He was able to make a call and ask for help and provide his lo-cation,” Tamaulipas state prosecu-tor Ismael Quintanilla told report-ers. It was not immediately clear how he was able to make a call to authorities.

Federal and state security forces were able to rescue the football player quickly from a safe house, where one of his kidnappers was arrested, he said.

Pulido was in a “good state of health” and was with his family after he received medical and psy-chological attention following his rescue, Quintanilla said.

State officials have identified his kidnappers only as members of a local crime gang, without speci-fying if they are connected to the feared Zetas drug cartel, which controls much of the state. — Reuters

F R E E D

Air France pilots plan strike over pay conditionsPARIS: Pilots at Air France have voted in favour of strike action over pay conditions, the head of the SNPL union said on Monday.

SNPL chief Philippe Evain said more than two thirds of the union’s pilots with Air France approved the principle of a lengthy strike but said that no date had been set for the walkout.

The strike was in protest against the airline’s “obsessive reduction of costs,” Evain said. It comes after the pilots union rejected propos-als from Air France in talks over productivity in April. It was not im-mediately clear whether the timing of the walkout by pilots would coin-cide with the current wave of pub-lic transport protests and oil sector strikes against government plans for labour law reforms. But the threat of France’s flagship airline grounding flights will be a further headache for President Francois Hollande’s Socialist government ahead of the June 10 start of the Euro 2016 soccer tournament.

Meanwhile, workers at the CIM oil terminal that handles about 40 per cent of French crude imports have voted to extend their strike at the Le Havre oil port hub until 1000 GMT on Wednesday, a CGT union official said. — Reuters

P R O T E S T

Alan Pulido, 25-year-old Mexico national team player and

striker for the Greek soccer team Olympiakos disappeared

in his hometown of Ciudad Victoria on Saturday night,

when he was intercepted by gunmen after leaving a party.

FLOODING, STORMS KILL FOUR IN GERMANYA damaged car is pictured on Monday in Braunsbach following a heavy storm. At least four people died and several more were injured in the south of Germany

after torrential storms caused severe flooding, with a third person also feared dead, authorities said on Monday. — AFP

CONDOLENCES: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left,

hugging an elderly man during Erdogan’s condolence visit to

relatives of the PKK’s terrorist attack victims in Tanisik village in

Diyarbakir Province. – AFP/Turkish Presidential Press Office/Kayhan Ozer

TRAGIC END: Martin Senn is seen on a huge TV screen as he addresses the annual shareholder meet-

ing of Swiss Zurich Insurance in Zurich, Switzerland on April 2, 2014. – Reuters file

A16

WORLDT U E S DAY, M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 6

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CASTING A SHADOW: Dying coral colonised by seaweed at Lizard Island during the current bleach-ing event on the Great Barrier Reef is shown in this undated handout photo received on Monday. – AFP/

James Cook Univeristy/Chris Cornwall

Duterte declared winner of Philippines presidential poll

MANILA: Rodrigo Duterte be-came the 16th president of the Philippines on Monday when a joint session of Congress declared him winner of a May 9 election, succeeding Benigno Aquino who steps down next month after six years in office.

The tough-talking Duterte, mayor of Davao City in the south, campaigned on the single issue of crushing crime and now faces a daunting task of fixing infra-structure, creating jobs and lift-ing more than a quarter of the 100 million population out of poverty.

“I hereby proclaim Rodrigo Roa Duterte and Maria Leonor Gerona Robredo as the duly elected presi-dent and vice president of the Re-public of the Philippines,” Senator Franklin Drilon and Congress-man Feliciano Belmonte said in a joint session of Congress.

AllyRobredo is an ally of Aquino’s. She beat the son and namesake of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos to be-come vice president. Duterte, 71, was in Davao on Monday and was declared winner in absentia.

He won the ballots of nearly 40 per cent of 44 million voters, lured by his success against crime in Davao, despite the questions his policies raised among hu-man rights campaigners. Duterte has been criticised for allowing

a spree of vigilante killings, and critics fear he could let them hap-pen on a larger scale as president. He has denied ordering killings, but has not condemned them.

The former prosecutor has said he will continue his predecessor’s economic policies, which focused

on infrastructure and fiscal effi-ciency, to help push growth up to 7-8 per cent.

Growth has been on average 6 per cent a year under Aquino, but it has not translated into jobs and improvement in the lives of ordi-nary Filipinos.

Among several appointments Duterte has announced is Ernesto Pernia, an economics professor from the University of the Philip-pines, as economic planning sec-retary, and a former agriculture secretary, Carlos Dominguez, as finance minister.

Duterte is due to announce his cabinet on Tuesday.

The president also inherits a territorial dispute with China but he has indicated his willingness to repair strained ties by inviting Chinese investment and offering to set aside sovereignty issues in exploring resources in the South China Sea.

He has said he will not abandon Philippine claims.

Duterte has also said he would pursue peace with Marxist guer-rillas and has even offered their leaders government roles.

He has said he wanted a more even distribution of power and wealth and has called on Congress to revise a 1987 constitution to allow for a more federal system of government to accommodate rebels in the south. But confron-tation looks to be looming with the influential Roman Catholic church. Duterte has said he will defy the church and seek to im-pose a three-child policy. — Reuters

Rodrigo Duterte

became the 16th

president of the

Philippines, to

announce his

cabinet today

Coral bleaching is destroying Great Barrier Reef: ScientistsSYDNEY: Mass coral bleaching has destroyed at least 35 per cent of the northern and central Great Barrier Reef, Australian scien-tists said on Monday, a major blow to the World Heritage Site that attracts about $3.59 billion (A$5 billion) in tourism each year.

Australian scientists said the coral mortality figure will likely rise as some of the remaining 65 per cent of coral in the northern and central reefs fails to recover from bleaching.

The report casts a shadow over the long-term prospects of the Great Barrier Reef against a backdrop of climate change and scientists said UNESCO may re-consider its decision not to put the World Heritage Site on its en-dangered list.

“Australia argued that the world heritage values were in tact because of the northern region and now of course it has taken a huge hit,” said Professor Terry Hughes, director of the ARC Cen-tre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University in Queensland state.

UNESCO’s World Heritage

Committee last May stopped short of placing the Great Barrier Reef on an “in danger” list, but the ruling raised concern about its future.

Australian scientists said in March that just seven percent of the Great Barrier Reef had avoided any damage as a result of bleaching, and they held grave fears particularly for coral on the northern reef.

DamageAfter further aerial surveys and dives to access the damage across 84 reefs in the region, Australian scientists said the impact of the bleaching is more severe than expected. “This year is the third time in 18 years that the Great Barrier Reef has experienced mass bleaching due to global warming, and the current event is much more extreme than we’ve measured before,” said Hughes.

The findings would have been worse had Cyclone Winston, which hit the reef in January, not bought cooler conditions across the central and southern reefs, the scientists said.

Bleaching occurs when the wa-ter is too warm, forcing coral to expel living algae and causing it to calcify and turn white. Mildly bleached coral can recover if the temperature drops, otherwise it may die.

Although the impact has been exacerbated by one of the strong-est El Nino weather systems in nearly 20 years, which raised sea temperatures in the western Pa-cific, scientists believe climate change is the underlying cause.

The bleaching survey findings come just days after Australia’s Department of Environment con-firmed it omitted its contribution to a UN report examining the im-pact of climate change on world heritage sites over concerns it could create “confusion” and have a negative impact on tourism.

Australia is one of the larg-est carbon emitters per capita because of its reliance on coal-fired power plants for electric-ity. Climate scientists argue that increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere traps heat radiat-ing from Earth, creating global warming. — Reuters

M A J O R B L O W

Habre found guilty of crimes against humanityDAKAR: Former Chad president Hissene Habre was found guilty on Monday of crimes against hu-manity for ordering the killing and torture of thousands of political opponents during his eight-year, cold war-era rule.

Habre was sentenced to life in prison by the Special African Chamber, a tribunal created in 2013 by Senegal and the African Union. He was also convicted of rape. The verdict caps a 16-year battle by victims and rights campaigners to bring the former strongman to jus-tice in Senegal, where he fled after being toppled in a 1990 coup in the central African nation. “Habre’s conviction for these horrific crimes after 25 years is a huge victory for his Chadian victims,” said Reed Brody, a researcher with Human Rights Watch, who helped investi-gate Habre’s crimes.

“The verdict sends a powerful message that the days when ty-rants could brutalise their people, pillage their treasury and escape abroad to a life of luxury are com-ing to an end,” he said.

Habre has two weeks to launch an appeal.

The case centered on whether Habre, feted at the White House in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan after expelling Libyan forces from Chad, ordered the large-scale as-sassination and torture of political opponents and ethnic rivals.

A 1992 Chadian Truth Commis-sion accused Habre’s government of up to 40,000 political murders as well as systematic torture, mostly by his feared intelligence police, the Documentation and Se-curity Directorate (DDS).

An investigation by Human Rights Watch in 2001 unearthed thousands of documents in the abandoned DDS headquarters updating Habre on the status of detainees. During the trial, a court handwriting expert confirmed margin notes on one document to be Habre’s. — Reuters

E X - C H A D P R E S I D E N T

CONFIRMATION: Philippine Vice-President elect Leni Robredo, centre, joined by her daughters during her proclamation, raise her hands with Senate President Franklin Drillon (second left) and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr third right) at the House of the Represent-atives in Quezon city, metro Manila, Philippines on Monday. – Reuters

MARKEWWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COMT U E S DAY, M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 6B

Muscat

5,838.56 - 51.89

- 0.88%

Dubai

3,326.03- 34.44

- 1.02%

Abu Dhabi

4,261.22- 35.97

- 0.84%

Saudi Arabia

6,359.91- 68.48

- 1.07%

Kuwait

5,378.88- 13.93

- 0.26%

Bahrain

1,092.02 - 6.73

- 0.61%

Qatar

9,675.66- 40.82

- 0.42%

CURRENCY RATES* DRAFT RATES (OMR1)* GOLD PRICES*Forex rates vs OMR1*

US Dollar .................................2.58

Euro .............................................2.31

Pound ............................................1.76

Indian Rs ............................. 174.22

Pak Rs .....................................267.31

Bangla Taka.......................201.25* Rates are as of May 30

Source: Bank Muscat

Indian Rs ...................................174.40

Pakistan Rs ..............................272.10

Sri Lanka Rs ..................................N/A

Bangla Taka........................... 203.50

Phil Peso .................................... 121.20

* Rates as of May 30 Source: Oman UAE Exchange

Muscat 24ct per gm (OMR) .......15.40

Muscat 22ct per gm (OMR) .......14.80

Dubai 24ct per gm (Dh) ............ 147.00

Dubai 22ct per gm (Dh) ............ 138.00

* Rates as of May 30

Source: Malabar Gold & Diamonds

Type ............................Delivery...........Price

Oman Crude ............. (Spot) ........$45.86

Dubai Crude ............. (Spot) ........$45.66

Murban Crude ........ (Spot) ........$48.66

Arabian Light ......... (Spot) .........$44.91

N.Sea Brent ............... (Spot) ........$49.32

West Texas Int ....... (Spot) ........$49.34

CRUDE OIL PRICE

DIGEST VIDEO

S CA N T H I S Q R CO D E TO I N STA N T LY L AU N C H T H E V I D EO

Top stories in one minute with our new daily Digest

OMAN CRUDE FALLSOman Crude (July delivery) fell by three cents to $45.66 per barrel on Monday, said Dubai Mercantile Exchange. The average price of Oman Crude (June delivery) was $39.40 per barrel, $3.06 a barrel higher than May delivery. - ONA

Sukuk market in Oman to witness enhanced activity

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Several Omani pri-vate firms are keen to raise funds by way of sukuk or Islamic bond issues, after Mohammed Al Bar-wani Holding LLC receiving ap-

proval from the market watchdog Capital Market Authority (CMA) for a OMR58 million-issue.

The companies interested in is-suing sukuk can avail tax conces-sion if the special purpose vehicle for sukuk issue is registered in

Oman and the issue is floated in the local market, a highly-placed source in CMA said.

Mohammed Al Barwani Hold-ing’s sukuk issue, which is a private placement, has opened subscription on Monday and the

investors have an option to either subscribe it in Omani rial or dol-lar denomination since it is a dual currency issue, a source added. The group has already formed a special purpose vehicle (SPV) — Mohammed Al Barwani Sukuk Issue SAOC — for raising funds from the market.

The Sultanate has issued new regulation on Sharia-compliant bond instrument last month and thereafter, several Omani firms, including financial institutions, property developers and oil firms, have evinced interest in raising funds by way of sukuk issue, ac-cording to CMA sources.

So far, Oman market witnessed only two sukuk issues that raised a total of OMR300 million — OMR50 million from real estate development firm Tilal Devel-opment Company and the other one a OMR250 million sovereign sukuk issue.

Under the new regulation, the market regulator allows com-panies to determine the timing, amount and pricing of the sukuk to be issued, based on the com-pany’s funding and operational needs, and not required to issue the whole sukuk amount all at once and this, not incurring the whole cost upfront.

The issuance of the country’s first sovereign sukuk and devel-opment bonds by the government helped to createan yield curve for the country in order to create a pricing benchmark for issuers and to enhance secondary market activities. Sukuk forms an impor-tant element to further enhance Oman’s Islamic financial market and enable the capital market to play its vital role as a fundraising platform for companies, while di-versifying the financing base and risk away from the traditional banking sector.

In fact, GCC states along with Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, Sin-gapore and Pakistan, have issued $11.1 billion worth of sukuk in the first three months of 2016.

These states are choosing to issue more of their debt as sukuk rather than conventional bonds. These countries issued 39.3 per cent of their debt as sukuk — the highest ratio of sukuk to conven-tional debt in eight years, based on data from Fitch Ratings.

MB Holding’s sukuk

issue, which is a

private placement,

opened subscription

on Monday and

the investors have

an option to either

subscribe it in

Omani rial or dollar

denomination

since it is a dual

currency issue

SPECIAL PURPOSE VEHICLE: The companies interested in issuing

sukuk can avail tax concession if the special purpose vehicle for

sukuk issue is registered in Oman and the issue is floated in the

local market. - Times file picture

HAVE YOUR SAY Send us your comments at facebook.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com haveyoursay@timesofoman.com

Egyptian petrochemical firm receives $25m fundingDUBAI: As much as $25 million will be invested by International Finance Corp. (IFC) in Egypt’s Carbon Holdings, a petrochemi-cal producer, as part of plans to commit $2 billion in the country.

The IFC will look for more ways to provide financing for Carbon Holdings, Mouayed Makhlouf, IFC director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in an inter-view in Dubai. The Washington-based lender plans to put about $500 million a year in Egypt over the next four years with most of the money going to power and re-newable energy projects, he said.

“There are risks in Egypt, but there are a lot of potential oppor-tunities in the medium to long term,” Makhlouf said. The IFC, which promotes private business-es, has invested about $1.4 billion in Egypt since 2011 and has about $1 billion in assets there, he said.

The most populous Arab coun-try relies on imports of energy and manufactured goods to meet consumer demand. It’s suffer-ing from a drop in income from tourism and a shortage of dollars that’s hurt business activity and investment. Egypt’s credit out-look was cut to negative from stable at S&P Global Ratings this month. — Bloomberg News

I F C A S S I S T A N C E

UAE joins other forecasters looking at crude oil price touching $60

ABU DHABI: The United Arab Emirates’s economy minister joined forecasters looking for $60 per barrel for crude this year with demand and production moving more in line.

“It’s possible for oil prices to reach $60 or more during this sum-mer” as demand increases in the US, UAE Economy Minister Sul-tan bin Saeed Al Mansoori said at a conference in Abu Dhabi on Mon-day. Crude will end the year higher than $60 a barrel, Mario Mara-theftis, global chief economist at Standard Chartered, said. SEB Bank forecast last week that Brent would touch $60 at times in 2016.

Oil futures jumped 31 per cent this year, climbing above $50 a barrel last week, as US crude stockpiles declined, trimming a glut. Robust demand in India and other emerging nations led the In-ternational Energy Agency in May to reduce its estimate of the global oil surplus for the first half. Brent last traded above $60 in July.

“We’ve always been incred-ibly bullish on oil,” Maratheftis said. “We expected supply to collapse. Demand is still very strong. I would expect oil prices to keep rising.”

Brent for July settlement fell 0.3 per cent to $49.15 a barrel by 2:25pm in Dubai, after trading at $50.51 last Thursday.

Meanwhile, Opec members gathering in Vienna June 2 are expected to go along with a Sau-di Arabia-led policy focused on squeezing out rivals amid signs the strategy is working. That means the meeting may be less fraught than the previous summit in December, which ended with public criticism of the Saudi posi-tion from Venezuela and Iran.

By allowing prices to fall, high-cost producers are being forced out, easing the supply glut and spurring a rally of 80 per cent since January to about $50 a barrel. All but one of 27 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg said the Organisation of Petroleum Ex-porting Countries (Opec) will

stick with the strategy. An al-ternative proposal — to freeze output — was finally rejected in Doha last month. The group may also choose a secretary-general to replace Abdalla El Badri, whose term has been extended after members failed to agree on a suc-cessor. In recent months, three new hopefuls have emerged to try and break the impasse: Nigeria’s Mohammed Barkindo, Indone-sia’s Mahendra Siregar and Ven-ezuela’s Ali Rodriguez.

Following are the latest com-ments from Opec members and analysts. The respective shares of supply are based on April lev-els. The estimates for the price each member needs to balance its budget are from the International

Monetary Fund unless stated oth-erwise. The price needed is $87.6 for Algeria which has 3.3 per cent share of Opec production.

The price needed is $93.14 (RBC Capital Markets) for An-gola which has 5.4 per cent share of Opec production. The price needed is $75.16 (RBC Capital Markets) for Ecuador which has 1.7 per cent share of Opec produc-tion. Icaza became Ecuador’s new oil minister in early May follow-ing the resignation of Carlos Pare-ja. Unlike other Opec members, Indonesia is still a net oil importer so the fiscal break-even concept is not applicable. Its share of Opec production is 2.2 per cent.

The price needed is $61.50 for Iran which has 11 per cent share

of Opec production. Iran is re-building its energy industry and restoring crude sales after the lift-ing of international restrictions in January. Exports are already at 2 million barrels a day, just short of pre-sanctions levels, the IEA said in a recent oil market report.

The price needed is $59.70 for Iraq which has 13 per cent share of Opec production. Iran’s pro-duction has jumped more than 40 per cent since mid-2014 and exports are at near-record levels. But plunging government revenue is hampering the state’s ability to invest, and Opec’s second-biggest crude producer is reaching the limits of its capacity to export oil, according to analysts at Energy Aspects and FGE. — Bloomberg News

O P E C M E M B E R S

AirAsia gets $1b offer to acquire leasing companyKUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia, the region’s biggest discount carrier, received an offer valued at about $1 billion to buy its aircraft-leas-ing company amid a surge in the business in the continent. The shares gained to the highest level in more than a year.

The airline intends to divest the business at some point, Group Chief Executive Officer Tony Fernandes said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Monday. The offer for Asia Avia-tion Capital, the leasing company that’s fully owned by AirAsia, needs to be discussed further with the board, Fernandes said, declining to offer further details.

“We actually had an offer to buy it and I think this is a very powerful cash generator,” Fer-nandes said.

“At some point, we will divest in this asset. There’s tremendous value and cash equation there,” he further added.

Cheaper to lease jetsAs airlines serving Asia Pacific move to triple their fleet, they’re finding it can be cheaper to lease jets instead of buying them from Boeing or Airbus Group. The leasing business can be more lucrative than operating an air-line, which has prompted con-glomerates led by Hong Kong billionaires Li Ka-shing and Cheng Yu-tung to enter the in-dustry. Fernandes’s comments

comes as Asia’s biggest lessor is slated to start trading in Hong Kong on Wednesday after a HK$8.7 billion ($1.1 billion) ini-tial public offering.

‘Valuable assets’“It was interesting that we haven’t even gone to the market and someone approached us on it, because obviously we have some very valuable assets in our A320s and a very strong order book,” Fernandes said.

AirAsia, one of the biggest cus-tomers of Airbus’s single-aisle A320 jets, started the leasing company in 2014. It made its first deal outside the group by leasing out aircraft to Pakistan Interna-tional Airlines, Fernandes said, adding that more airlines are seeking to rent its planes. The unit had 43 A320s in its fleet as of the end of March.

“AirAsia doesn’t need to sell the leasing arm now because its balance sheet is alright and it will get cash infusion from founding shareholders,” said Mohshin Aziz, an analyst at Ma-layan Banking in Kuala Lumpur. “As a business you want to have as many avenues and the leasing arm opens an avenue for AirAsia should it need to raise cash.”

Airlines in Asia will fly more than 16,000 planes within 20 years, almost tripling the current number, according to estimates by Boeing. — Bloomberg News

D I V E S T M E N T

READY TO TAKE OFF: The offer for Asia Aviation Capital, the

leasing company that’s fully owned by AirAsia, needs to be

discussed further with the board. — Bloomberg News

LONDON: Oil prices slid a third day as Canadian produc-ers moved to resume output after wildfires and as Opec delegates prepare to meet in Vienna to discuss production policy.

Futures lost as much as 0.5 per cent in New York after dropping 0.5 per cent over the previous two sessions. Suncor Energy restarted oil-sands operations in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo as fires eased amid cooler weather. The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) will discuss issues including a possible output freeze when the group gathers June 2, said Iraq’s Deputy Oil Minister Fayyad Al Nima, who will head his nation’s delegation.

Oil has surged more than 85 per cent since slumping to a 12-year low in February on

signs the worldwide surplus is easing amid declining produc-tion from the US to Nigeria. Opec is unlikely to reach any agreement to limit output when it meets on Thursday as the group sticks with Saudi Arabia’s strategy of squeezing out rivals, according to ana-lysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

“Opec will continue produc-ing what they’ve already been pumping,” said Tushar Tarun Bansal, an oil analyst with FGE in Singapore.

“Pricing reflects a scenario in which outages in Canada and elsewhere continue. If production comes back and there are no efforts from Opec to support prices by limiting output, that could lead to an easing in prices.”

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for July delivery fell as much as 26 cents to $49.07 a barrel on the New York

Mercantile Exchange and was at $49.25 at 12:10pm London time. The contract lost 15 cents to close at $49.33 on Friday. Total volume traded was about 62 per cent below the 100-day average.

Brent for July settlement, which expires on Tuesday, slid as much as 40 cents, or 0.8 per cent, to $48.92 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Prices lost 27 cents to $49.32 on Friday. The global benchmark was at a discount of 9 cents to WTI. The more-active August con-tract fell 20 cents to $49.75.

Rigs targeting crude in the US dropped by two to 316 through May 27 after no change the previous week, according to data from Baker Hughes Inc. on Friday. Com-panies have idled more than 1,000 machines since the start of last year. — Bloomberg News

Oil slips on third day as Canada’s output returns

B2

MARKETT U E S DAY, M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 6

China’s independentrefineries plan to trade Oman Crude on DMETimes News Service

MUSCAT: DME, the premier international energy futures and commodities exchange in the Middle East, recently conducted a roundtable in Shandong, China that was attended by the key Chi-nese independent oil refineries.

The Chinese government is providing approvals to grow-ing number of independents to directly import crude oil for the first time. The DME event or-ganised to support these refiner-ies in registering and setting up of DME accounts to trade Oman Crude Oil Futures for hedging and deliveries.

The event was attended by more than 70 participants repre-senting the majority of the inde-pendent oil refineries in China. Till date, four independent re-fineries have registered and are ready to trade, of which one is al-

ready using the DME Oman con-tract for hedging and deliveries.

“We were glad to witness such strong interest in DME and DME Oman among from the Chinese independent oil refineries, who appreciate the benefits of the ex-change’s futures mechanism for their hedging requirements as well as for their crude deliver-ies,” said Owain Johnson, man-aging director, DME. “There is clearly a strong demand in Asia for a transparent and regulated mechanism that provides a level playing field.”

Eleven independent refineries from China have already been granted permission to import crude oil from overseas with more expected to receive approv-als in the coming months.

DME will reach out to all these refineries and host further in-formation seminars in China to raise awareness.

R O U N D T A B L E

For Chinese job-hunting migrants, lure of the city is fadingWENZHOU/HONG KONG: After two decades trying to make a life in China’s entrepreneurial city of Wenzhou, Ji Shouquan and his brother Shoufang are ready to head home. They say they have no hope of stepping onto the city’s housing ladder and it is getting more diffi-cult to earn a decent wage.

China is relying on millions of internal migrants taking up jobs in cities to boost the urban population and consumption. It hopes this will fuel more sustain-able long-term economic growth and reduce the country’s reliance on big industry and exports that powered the country’s rise in the

last three decades. But migration is slowing down and workers are more reluctant to travel across the country to find jobs, trends that could undermine these efforts.

“It’s really tough to make mon-ey,” said Shouquan, who earns about 5,000 yuan ($767) a month as a sound technician in a karaoke lounge. “Of the six or seven friends who used to work at the KTV, only two of us are still holding on. Most have gone home.” His taxi-driver brother, Shoufang, said that’s what they’ll probably end up doing too.

Both have scrimped enough to buy property in their home town of Fuyang in the largely agricultural

province of Anhui in eastern Chi-na, where home prices are about a fifth of the cost of Wenzhou, which is in the neighbouring province of Zhejiang. “It’s unrealistic for migrant workers like us to buy in Wenzhou, unless you’ve got your own business,” Shoufang said.

Global financial crisisGovernment data shows that the number of migrant workers in 2015 reached close to 169 million. But that was up just 0.4 per cent from 2014 — the weakest rise since the global financial crisis in 2009. The number of migrants search-ing for jobs outside of their home

province dropped 1.5 per cent — the first decline in six years.

The government wants 60 per cent of its population of almost 1.4 billion to be urban residents by 2020, up from 56.1 per cent in 2015.

Analysts say China’s massive stock of unsold homes is evidence that urbanisation drive is falter-ing as migrants struggle to build a future away from their villages or towns. Despite some signs that house prices are recovering from a downturn, data shows that the in-ventory of unsold homes in China rose in the year to April by 4.5 per cent to 450 million square metres.

The National Development and

Reform Commission, the state plan-ning agency, did not immediately re-spond to a request for comment.

Housing built in many third-and fourth-tier cities was initially de-signed to absorb demand from the government’s urbanisation drive. But a lack of job prospects and ac-cess to social services has meant migrants continue to take their chances in China’s biggest and most expensive urban centres — or head back home.

“Urbanisation should be based around human beings, and not just driven by man-made cities,” said Wang Jun, a senior economist at China Centre for International

Economic Exchanges, a Beijing-based think-tank.

However, some industry watch-ers said the main impediment to migrants buying homes and set-tling in other cities is a lack of ac-cess to local services, such as free schooling for their children and healthcare.

Under China’s system of inter-nal passports, or hukou, migrants in search of better jobs in urban areas leave behind the public ser-vices they are entitled to as resi-dents of their home towns and villages. Losing such privileges discourages many from leaving in the first place. - Reuters

I N T E R N A L M I G R A T I O N

India to drive global growth, says Singapore’s ex-premier

TOKYO: Amid concerns of a slowing global growth, India is a beacon of hope and has the poten-tial to drive the world economy for the next 10 years, former Sin-gapore prime minister Goh Chok Tong said on Monday.

“India is a hope for us. India is at a stage China was 10 years ago to amend slack in the economy,” he said speaking at the Future of Asia Conference organised by Nikkei in Tokyo.

Jaitley to speak todayFinance Minister Arun Jaitley, who arrived here on Sunday on a six-day tour to help mobilise investment, attended the confer-ence, but did not make any state-ment. He is scheduled to speak at the conference on Tuesday.

The former Singapore prime

minister felt that India should take advantage as China slows. “One should pass the message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi (that) India is growing... now and it is engine of the world for the next 10 years as China is slowing,” he said.

He said the world economy

can now depend on India for the growth push and it is not just Chi-na the world needs to depend on. “(The world) not just depends on China for pushing growth, India can be a very big partner.”

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) last month cut its 2016 global growth forecast for

the fourth time in the past year to 3.2 per cent, citing China slow-down, persistently low oil prices and chronic weakness in ad-vanced economies.

This was down from 3.4 per cent projected in January. In con-trast, for India, it retained its 7.5 per cent GDP expansion forecast

for 2016 and 2017, up from 7.3 per cent in 2015. “With the revival of sentiment and pick-up in indus-trial activity, a recovery of private investment is expected to further strengthen growth,” it had said.

India’s growth projection“In India, growth is projected to notch up to 7.5 per cent in 2016-17, as forecast in October. Growth will continue to be driven by pri-vate consumption, which has ben-efited from lower energy prices and higher real incomes.”

It, however, wanted the govern-ment to cut down subsidies, initi-ate labour reforms and dismantle infrastructure bottlenecks to sus-tain strong growth. The IMF had said a prolonged period of slow growth has left the global econ-omy more exposed to negative shocks and raised the risk that the world will slide into stagnation.

It, however, upgraded its China growth forecast by 0.2 percent-age point for this year and the next to 6.5 per cent and 6.2 per cent, respectively. China clocked 6.9 per cent growth in 2015 when India had recorded 7.3 per cent expansion. — PTI

Goh Chok Tong felt

that India should take

advantage as China

slows and that India

is at a stage China

was 10 years ago

Japanese PM set to defer sales tax hikeTOKYO: Japanese Prime Minis-ter Shinzo Abe wants to put off a planned sales tax increase for two-and-a-half years, two ruling Liber-al Democratic Party officials said on Monday, as Abe prepares to end the speculation that has swirled for months.

Speaking after a meeting with Abe in Tokyo, LDP vice-president Masahiko Komura told report-ers the prime minister ‘seems de-termined’, when asked whether the sales tax increase would be delayed a second time. Toshihiro Nikai, chairman of the LDP’s gen-eral council, said after a separate meeting with Abe that he under-stood the prime minister wouldn’t call a general election to coincide with an upper-house vote in July, as many had speculated.

Consumption taxAbe had repeatedly said he would go ahead with the plan to boost the unpopular consumption tax to 10 per cent in April 2017 from the current 8 per cent unless there was a crisis on the scale of the Lehman collapse or a major earthquake.

Last week, in a presentation to the Group of Seven leaders Abe made the case that the global econ-omy was on the brink of just such a disaster and that urgent measures needed to be taken.

He told reporters he would make a final decision on the tax before the upper-house election.

- Bloomberg News

E C O N O M Y

HAVE YOUR SAY Send us your comments at facebook.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com haveyoursay@timesofoman.com

MAKING A POINT: Former Singapore prime minister Goh Chok Tong on Monday said the world

economy can now depend on India for the growth push and it is not just China the world needs to

depend on. – Bloomberg News

B3T U E S DAY, M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 6

MARKET

Qurum Business Group winsfour new contracts in OmanTimes News Service

MUSCAT: QBG Facilities Man-agement (QBG FM), a Qurum Business Group company, se-cured four new strategic contracts with some of Oman’s biggest brands, adding four retail, enter-tainment and hospitality destina-tions to its burgeoning portfolio.

The long-term agreements highlight the value, reliability, and service excellence the com-pany’s world-class integrated services are bringing customers throughout the region.

The first three successive con-tracts were awarded to QBG FM by some of the Sultanate’s favour-ite shopping centres including the Oman Avenues Mall, Muscat Grand Mall, and the refurbished Oasis Mall.

QBG FM has already started providing them with the full suite of hard and soft facilities manage-ment solutions, teams of mechan-ics and technicians, as well as an array of consultancy services to complement their work. Addi-tionally, a fourth agreement was signed by QGB FM with the Inter-Continental Hotel Muscat to pro-vide parking assistance solutions.

Tony Martin, general manager of QBG Facilities Management, said, “This is a major step for-ward for QBG FM, demonstrating the value our integrated services bring customers in Oman, no matter the environment or sector they operate in.

“QBG FM’s services are relia-ble and effective and have always placed the needs of our customers first and foremost, enabling us to

go beyond the call of duty to de-liver greater satisfaction, reduced operational costs, and increased efficiencies,” he added.

“The expansion of our client base is a testament to the success and demand our approach is gen-erating, the distinct operational effectiveness of our teams, and the flexibility of our services,” he said.

Presence in the UAEQBG FM is an Omani-owned company with a significant pres-ence in the UAE and the Sultan-ate of Oman. Since beginning op-erations in 1987, the company has emerged as a major player in the regional facilities management industry with more than 500 cli-ents in the GCC alone.

QBG FM offers a full range of hard and soft facilities manage-ment services, complemented by industry-leading consultancy.

From core engineering services such as complex maintenance of heating, ventilation and air-con-ditioning, to soft services such as cleaning, security, landscaping and pest control.

The company has been helping client’s in the region achieve their facilities’ full potential. The com-pany’s high profile list of custom-ers includes Oman Arab Bank, Bar Al Jissah, Omran, Seven Seas Petroleum as well as various high-end residential properties and retail outlets among others.

Qurum Business Group is one of the region’s leading interna-tional diversified business solu-tions’ providers.

The group has delivered its management expertise, local knowledge, and solutions to a growing array of business sectors in the Sultanate of Oman, the re-gion, and the world.

F A C I L I T I E S M A N A G E M E N T

CBO highlights importance of restructuring bank loansTimes News Service

MUSCAT: A series of precau-tionary measures for restructur-ing bank loans were taken by the Central Bank of Oman (CBO), said Ali bin Hamdan Al Raisi, execu-tive vice president of the bank, at a banking workshop.

The two-day workshop titled ‘Restructuring bank loans’ was organised on Monday in collabora-tion with the Union of Arab Banks at City Seasons Hotel in Muscat.

In his keynote speech on the opening day of the event, the Cen-tral Bank of Oman executive vice president highlighted the impor-tance of loan restructuring.

Minimising risksHe said that addressing this issue in accordance with the new ap-proaches allows creditor banks to minimise their risks and build

additional appropriations and reserves to cover existing debit accounts as well as provide pro-tection to banks to face the worst possible scenarios which some borrowers face when opting for long-term restructuring opera-tions. It also allows debtors to carry on with their activities, he added.

Speakers from the CBO, the

Central Bank of Lebanon and the International Finance Corpora-tion – member of the World Bank Group – shared experiences in re-structuring bank loans.

Participants in the workshop in-clude about 60 high- and middle-ranking employees from 16 local banks and finance companies and from Egypt.

W O R K S H O P

US firms keen to invest in India: CouncilWASHINGTON: With ease of do-ing business in India ‘improving’, the United States companies are keen to invest in the country which is emerging as a ‘good market’, the head of a top American industry advocacy group has said.

“There is a sense of hope among US companies that Indian market is going to be a good market. That’s why they are investing into it and we see the momentum picking up from the US companies,” Mukesh Aghi, president of US India Busi-ness Council (USIBC), said.

According to an estimate, Amer-ican companies have invested $27 billion in India after the BJP-led federal government came to power in May 2016, Aghi said. “But the actual figure could be much higher as a significantly large amount of such investment has been routed through third countries like Sin-gapore and Mauritius, because of treaties, or through countries like Ireland, Norway or Belgium where they have excess money,” he noted.

ImprovementThe USIBC represents the interest of a top American companies doing businesses in India. Aghi said that in the last two years under the Nar-endra Modi government ease of do-ing business has improved in India, which is reflective in increase in foreign direct investment.

“The ease of doing business defi-nitely has improved. Is it there up to the global standards? No,” he said. “I think, what this prime minister has done, is trying to do to go in one at a time the issues and challenges which creates difficulty less. He has basically eliminated obscure laws, to make things easier.

He has gone to state-level and created that federal competitive-ness,” he said. - PTI

F O R E I G N I N V E S T M E N T Saudi is the best emerging market for deals: Citigroup

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s planned privatisations, including a share sale in the world’s biggest oil com-pany, represent the biggest in-vestment banking opportunity in emerging markets, says Citigroup.

Implementation of the King-dom’s plans to restructure the economy — known as Vision 2030 — “could translate into a fantastic wallet for the investment banks,” Omar Iqtidar, Citigroup’s head of investment banking in the Middle East, said in an interview.

“We are seeing momentum picking up, with skeptics increas-ingly converted into believers of the restructuring,” he added.

Saudi’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is over-seeing an unprecedented shakeup of the biggest Arab economy as the country seeks to reduce its reli-ance on oil after a plunge in prices that started in 2014.

The country plans an initial public offering of Saudi Arabian Oil Company, which the prince

said may value the company at more than $2 trillion.

The Aramco share sale is part of the prince’s strategy to create a sovereign wealth fund that will eventually control more than $2 trillion and boost income from in-vestments. The country is also seek-ing to potentially breakup its state-owned utility Saudi Electricity

into four independent power gene-rating companies.

Saudi roleGlobal investment banks are jos-tling for roles advising the govern-ment on everything from sovereign loans to initial public offerings (IPOs). JPMorgan Chase and Mi-chael Klein, the former Citigroup

investment banker who runs his own boutique, have been selected to advise on state-owned Saudi Aramco’s IPO, people familiar with the matter said in April. Saudi Ara-bia’s stock exchange, the biggest in the Middle East and Africa, has hired HSBC Saudi Arabia as a fi-nancial adviser for its initial public offering, scheduled for 2018.

Citigroup last year won approv-al to trade Saudi Arabian equities, its first banking license since ex-iting the country in 2004, people with knowledge of the matter said in September. The bank is directly investing in companies listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange after the stock market opened to direct foreign investment last June.

AcquisitionThe New York-based bank sold its 20 per cent stake in the Saudi American Bank, now known as Samba Financial Group, to the state Public Investment Fund for $760 million in 2004, ending a business that it helped form in 1955. It has still won a role advis-ing on some of the largest deals from the country, including Saudi Basic Industries Corporation’s acquisition of General Electric’s plastics unit for $11.6 billion in 2007. It was also part of Saudi Aramco’s $10 billion loan in 2015.

Crude’s more than 50 per cent plunge since the middle of 2014 is pushing governments across the region to dip into past savings, boost borrowings and cut spend-ing, which is slowing economic growth. That has helped make re-gional assets cheaper, with Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index down 33 per cent from a year ago and Dubai’s by 15 per cent.

Mergers and acquisitions in the Middle East and Africa have declined 43 per cent this year to $17.8 billion. - Bloomberg News

Implementation of

the Vision 2030, the

Kingdom’s plans

to restructure the

economy, include

share sale in the

world’s biggest oil

company

NEW MEASURES: Central Bank of Oman said that it has taken a series of precautionary measures for restructuring loans. - Supplied picture

MEN AT WORK: QBG Facilities Management has already started providing them with the full suite of hard and soft facilities man-agement solutions, teams of mechanics and technicians, as well as an array of consultancy services. - Supplied picture

HAVE YOUR SAY Send us your comments at facebook.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com haveyoursay@timesofoman.com

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s net foreign assets fell for the 15th month in a row in April, as the Kingdom announced its ‘vi-sion’ for a post-oil future.

The Saudi Arabian Mon-etary Agency said on Sunday net foreign assets declined 1.1 per cent to $572 billion, the lowest level in four years. The slump in crude prices has forced the government to sell bonds and draw on its cur-rency reserves, still among the world’s largest.

Net foreign assets fell by $115 billion last year, when the kingdom ran a budget deficit of nearly $100 billion.

The fiscal crunch has pushed Saudi Arabia’s rulers to look beyond oil, consider new taxes, and plan an initial public offering of state giant Saudi Arabian Oil Company Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sketched out the planned changes dubbed Saudi Vision 2030 on April 25.

Brent crude declined for a third day, falling 0.5 per cent to $49.07 a barrel in Dubai, bring-ing the drop for the past year to 24 per cent. It traded above $100 a barrel two years ago.

Strain on reservesThe strain on reserves has also fuelled speculation that the Kingdom will adjust its decades-old riyal peg to the dollar. New central bank Governor Ahmed Alkholifey

told Al Arabiya on Thursday that Saudi Arabia doesn’t plan to change its exchange rate policy. Cash withdrawals from automated teller machines in the kingdom fell 3 per cent in March compared to the same month last year, a sign that the economic slowdown brought on by lower oil prices and government spending cuts is reaching consumers. Money supply shrank 1.5 per cent in April on the year. – Bloomberg News

Net foreign assets slip to four-year low

B4

MARKETT U E S DAY, M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 6

MUSCATSECURITIES MARKET

SHARE PRICE BULLETIN FOR MONDAY, MAY 30

REGULAR MARKET .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................OM0000001160 ............NATIONAL GAS ........................................................... 127,631 ............ 65,869..................... 35 ............0.510 ........... 0.518 ...........0.510 ............0.516 ............. 0.516 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.518 .............. 0.516...................0.518 ...................28,380,000.........0.100

OM0000001418 ............RAYSUT CEMENT ....................................................... 50,000 ............64,000........................7 ............1.280 ........... 1.280 ...........1.280 ........... 1.280 .............1.280 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................1.280 ..............1.250...................1.280 ................. 256,000,000 .......0.100

OM0000001525 ............OMAN INVESTMENT AND FINANCE .............. 200,000...........40,000........................4 ........... 0.200 ...........0.200 ...........0.200 .......... 0.200 .............0.200 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.200 .............0.194...................0.200 ................. 40,000,000 ........0.100

OM0000001707 ............OMAN CABLES INDUSTRY ..................................... 25,000 ............44,500........................ 1 ............1.780 ........... 1.780............1.780 ............1.780 ............. 1.780 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................1.780 .............. 1.750................... 1.780 ..................159,666,000 ........0.100

OM0000002028 ...........GULF INTERNATIONAL CHEMICALS ..............52,100 .............13,025........................6 ........... 0.250 ...........0.250 ...........0.250........... 0.250 .............0.250 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.250..............0.247...................0.250 ...................5,250,000 ..........0.100

OM0000002648 ...........NATIONAL FINANCE ...................................................4,000 .................. 532........................4 ............0.133 ........... 0.133 ...........0.133 ............0.138 ............. 0.138............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.133 ...............0.131...................0.137 ................... 37,415,301 .........0.100

OM0000003661 ............VOLTAMP ENERGY ........................................................3,321 ............... 1,396........................5 ........... 0.420 ...........0.422 ...........0.420........... 0.420 .............0.420 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.420..............0.420...................0.430 ..................25,410,000 .........0.100

OM0000003968 ...........OOREDOO.........................................................................54,929 .............41,251......................13 ............0.752 ........... 0.760 ...........0.748 ........... 0.752 ............. 0.752............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.748 ..............0.740...................0.752 ..................489,510,061 ........0.100

OM0000004768 ...........AL MADINA TAKAFUL ............................................. 135,000 ..............9,970........................6 ........... 0.073 ........... 0.074 ...........0.073 ........... 0.074 .............0.074 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.073 ..............0.073...................0.075 ...................12,950,000 .........0.100

OM0000004933 ...........AL SUWADI POWER ....................................................83,327 ............. 17,999........................4 ............0.216 ........... 0.216 ...........0.216 ........... 0.216 ............. 0.216............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.216 .............. 0.216...................0.220 ................. 154,311,769 ........0.100

OM0000002549 ...........BANK DHOFAR ..............................................................64,702 .............15,937........................3 ........... 0.247 ........... 0.247 ...........0.244 .......... 0.246 .............0.247 ...........-0.001 ........... -0.405 ...............0.244 ............ 0.244...................0.247 .................418,003,544 .......0.100

OM0000001772 ............AL ANWAR HOLDING............................................... 2,280,321 ......524,338..................... 92 ........... 0.230 ........... 0.231 ...........0.229........... 0.230 ............. 0.231............-0.001 ........... -0.433 ...............0.229..............0.229...................0.230 .................. 34,517,250 .........0.100

OM0000003398 ...........BANK SOHAR................................................................ 1,468,413 ......259,058......................31 ............0.177 ........... 0.177 ...........0.175 ............0.176 ............. 0.177 ............-0.001 ........... -0.565 ...............0.175 .............. 0.175...................0.177 ..................282,391,884........0.100

OM0000002440 ...........AL SHARQIA INVESTMENT HOLDING ........... 736,987 .........100,048..................... 66 ............0.135 ........... 0.138 ...........0.135 ............0.136 ............. 0.137 ............-0.001 ........... -0.730 ...............0.136 .............. 0.135...................0.136 ...................12,240,000.........0.100

OM0000002168 ............AL ANWAR CERAMIC TILES ............................... 198,902 ............52,729........................7 ........... 0.267 ........... 0.267 ...........0.265........... 0.265 .............0.267 ...........-0.002 ........... -0.749 ...............0.265 ..............0.265...................0.267...................78,496,626 .........0.100

OM0000003026 ...........OMAN TELECOMMUNICATION ........................ 182,513 ..........293,824......................41 ............1.600 ........... 1.610............1.600 ............1.610 ............. 1.625 ............-0.015 ........... -0.923 ...............1.600 ..............1.600................... 1.610 ................1,207,500,000 ......0.100

OM0000003521 ............GALFAR ENGINEERING AND CON. .................. 1,238,438 ...... 129,948..................... 50 ............0.104 ........... 0.106 ...........0.104 ........... 0.105 ............. 0.106 ...........-0.001 ........... -0.943 ...............0.105 .............. 0.105...................0.106 ...................30,447,967 .........0.100

OM0000004925 ...........AL BATINAH POWER ..................................................18,000 ............... 3,780........................ 1 ............0.210 ........... 0.210 ...........0.210 ........... 0.210 ............. 0.212 ...........-0.002 ........... -0.943 ...............0.210 ............. 0.200...................0.210 ..................141,726,360 ........0.100

OM0000001517 ............HSBC BANK OMAN .................................................... 3,476,884 ...... 361,596..................... 20 ............0.104 ........... 0.105 ...........0.104 ........... 0.104 ............. 0.105............-0.001 ........... -0.952 ...............0.104 ..............0.103...................0.104................. 208,032,530 .......0.100

OM0000002176 ............AL JAZEERA STEEL PRODUCTS ........................ 313,500 ........... 64,784..................... 35 ........... 0.207 ...........0.207 ...........0.206 .......... 0.207 .............0.209 ...........-0.002 ........... -0.957 ...............0.206............. 0.206...................0.207 ..................25,853,878 .........0.100

OM0000002796 ...........BANK MUSCAT ............................................................ 1,263,075 ......500,938................... 152 ........... 0.396 ........... 0.398 ...........0.396 ........... 0.396 .............0.400 ...........-0.004 ........... -1.000 ...............0.396 ..............0.394...................0.396..................988,515,102 ........0.100

OM0000001483 ............NATIONAL BANK OF OMAN ................................. 767,363 ...........193,613..................... 29 ........... 0.250 ........... 0.255 ...........0.250........... 0.252 .............0.255 ...........-0.003 ............-1.176 ................0.252..............0.250...................0.252 .................371,644,881 ........0.100

OM0000001749 ............OMAN CEMENT .......................................................... 118,650 ............ 55,940........................9 ............0.476 ........... 0.476 ...........0.470 ........... 0.472 .............0.480 ...........-0.008 ............-1.667................0.470 ..............0.458...................0.470.................. 156,171,919 ........0.100

OM0000002200 ...........AHLI BANK ......................................................................12,820 .............. 2,244........................3 ............0.175 ........... 0.175............0.175 ............0.175 ............. 0.178 ............-0.003 ............-1.685 ................0.175 .............. 0.175................... 0.176 ..................249,381,325 ........0.100

OM0000003224 ...........RENAISSANCE SERVICES ..................................... 376,179 .......... 104,102..................... 39 ........... 0.276 ...........0.280 ...........0.275 ........... 0.277 .............0.283 ...........-0.006 ........... -2.120 ...............0.275 ..............0.274...................0.275...................80,510,333 .........0.100

OM0000001533 ............OMINVEST .................................................................... 1,357,959....... 747,877......................13 ........... 0.560 ........... 0.560 ...........0.550 ........... 0.550 .............0.566 ...........-0.016 ........... -2.827 ...............0.550 ..............0.524...................0.566..................349,684,988 .......0.100

OM0000001962 ............AL MADINA INVESTMENT ................................... 257,738 .............15,980......................13 ........... 0.062 ........... 0.062 ...........0.062........... 0.062 .............0.064 ...........-0.002 ............-3.125................0.062.............. 0.061...................0.064 ..................12,843,386 .........0.100

OM0000003000 ...........ALMAHA PETROLEUM PRODUCTS MAR. .......55,068 ............ 80,555........................9 ............1.385 ........... 1.535............1.385 ............1.465 ............. 1.535 ............-0.070 ........... -4.560 ...............1.535 ..............1.440...................1.530 ..................101,085,000 ........0.100

OM0000001509 ............DHOFAR INT.DEV.AND INV. HOLD. ..................... 10,576 .............. 4,230........................3 ........... 0.400 ...........0.400 ...........0.400 .......... 0.400 .............0.420 ...........-0.020 ........... -4.762 ...............0.400..............0.378...................0.400 ..................98,560,000.........0.100

OM0000001681 ............OMAN AND EMIRATES INV. HOLDING .............12,850 ................1,735........................2 ............0.135 ........... 0.135 ...........0.135 ............0.135 ............. 0.142 ...........-0.007 ........... -4.930 ...............0.135 .............. 0.135...................0.140 ................... 16,453,125 .........0.100

.............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 14,946,246 .......3,811,799 .............703 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ......30........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

PARALLEL MARKET ................................................................................................................................................................................. OM0000001152 ............OMAN NATIONAL ENGINE. INVT. ........................ 4,445 .................. 853........................ 1 ............0.192 ........... 0.192 ...........0.192 ............0.195 ............. 0.195............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.192 ............. 0.000...................0.200 ..................19,500,000 .........0.100

OM0000001368 ............CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS IND. .................. 404,200 ...........12,530......................12 ............0.031 ........... 0.032 ...........0.031 ............0.031 ............. 0.031............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.031 ..............0.030...................0.031 ....................2,635,000 ..........0.100

OM0000001723 ............OMAN ORIX LEASING ............................................. 6,424,970 ..... 677,482........................6 ............0.115 ........... 0.115 ............0.105 ............0.115 ............. 0.115 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................ 0.115 ...............0.113................... 0.115 ................... 28,869,531 .........0.100

OM0000002564 ...........AL HASSAN ENGINEERING.................................. 298,000 ........... 25,926........................3 ........... 0.087 ........... 0.087 ...........0.087 ........... 0.087 .............0.087 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.087 ..............0.086...................0.088.................... 6,543,096 ..........0.100

OM0000004420 ...........BANK NIZWA ................................................................ 564,256 ........... 42,319......................17 ............0.075 ........... 0.075 ...........0.075 ........... 0.075 .............0.075 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.075 ..............0.075...................0.076..................112,500,000 ........0.100

OM0000004511 ............ALIZZ ISLAMIC BANK.............................................. 154,100...............8,784..................... 10 ........... 0.057 ........... 0.058 ...........0.057 ........... 0.057 .............0.057 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.057 ..............0.057...................0.058...................57,000,000 .........0.100

OM0000005963 ...........PHOENIX POWER ...................................................... 520,573 ............80,168..................... 28 ............0.154 ........... 0.154 ...........0.154 ........... 0.154 ............. 0.154............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.154 .............. 0.154................... 0.155 ................. 225,240,625 .......0.100

OM0000001400 ...........OMAN FLOUR MILLS ................................................. 59,513 ............ 34,366........................7 ............0.578 ........... 0.578 ...........0.570 ........... 0.578 .............0.584 ...........-0.006 ........... -1.027................0.570 ..............0.566...................0.570...................91,035,000 .........0.100

OM0000001566 ............OMAN FISHERIES ..................................................... 107,658 ...............6,347........................6 ........... 0.059 ........... 0.059 ...........0.058 ........... 0.059 .............0.060 ...........-0.001 ............-1.667................0.059 ..............0.059...................0.060 ................... 7,375,000 ..........0.100

.............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 8,537,715 ....... 888,776..................... 90 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ........ 9........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

BONDS AND SUKUK MARKET ...................................................................................................................................................................... OM0000006045 ...........SOVEREIGN SUKUK ISSUE 1 .................................... 5,000 ...............5,000........................ 1 ........... 1.000 ........... 1.000 ...........1.000 ........... 1.000 .............0.988 ............0.012 ..............1.215.................1.000 ............. 0.000...................0.000 ................ 250,000,000 .......1.000

OM0000004628 ...........BANK SOHAR BONDS 4.5 ................................................936 .....................94........................ 1 ........... 0.100 ........... 0.100 ...........0.100 ........... 0.100 .............0.100 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.100 ..............0.100................... 0.110 .................... 4,766,667 ..........0.100

.............................................SUM: ...................................................................................... 5,936 ...............5,094........................2 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ........ 2........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

ISIN ......................................SECURITY NAME .................................................................. VOLUME ..... TURNOVER ............TRADES ......OPEN PRICE ......HIGH ............. LOW ........ CLOSE PR. ...PREV. CLOSE...DIFF (RO).........DIFF % ............. LAST PR .....LAST BID .............LAST OFFER ........MARKET CAP .PAR VALUE

O M A N S T O C K S

INDICESIndex .................................................High .................Low ..................... Value ............... Prev . Value.......... Diff ...............Diff %MSM30 Index ....................................... 5,890.45 ...............5,836.93 ................... 5,838.56 ...................5,890.45 ................ -51.89 .................. -0.88Financial Index ..................................... 7,519.70 ............... 7,446.74 ....................7,446.74 ....................7,525.41 ................-78.67 .................. -1.05Industrial Index .....................................7,261.71 .............. 7,244.39 ................... 7,244.39 ................... 7,273.63 ................-29.24 .................. -0.40Services Index .......................................3,265.72 .............. 3,228.84 ...................3,240.93 ................... 3,265.72 ................-24.79 .................. -0.76MSM SHARIAH INDEX.......................884.19 .................. 881.03 .......................881.03 ...................... 884.19 ...................-3.16 .................. -0.36

Trading SummaryVolume ................ Turnover ..........Trades .............. Market Cap............. Up ............Down ............. Equal .........Sec. Traded23,489,897 ................. 4,705,668 .....................795 ............... 17,059,708,802 ...................1 ..................... 22 .................... 18 .........................41

MSM index ends lower

MUSCAT: Shares on the Mus-cat bourse continued its decline amid lack of buying support. The MSM30 Index continued its slide for the fifth consecu-tive session to close at 5,838.56 points, down by 0.88 per cent. The MSM Sharia Index fell by 0.36 per cent to end at 881.03 points. Oman Orix Leasing was most active in terms of volume while Ominvest was the most ac-tive in terms of turnover.

As many as 795 trades were executed on Monday, generat-ing turnover of OMR4.7 million with 23.4 million shares chang-ing hands. Out of 41 traded secu-rities, one advanced, 22 declined and 18 remained unchanged.

GCC and Arab investors were net buyers for OMR594,000 followed by Omani investors for OMR39,000 while foreign investors were net sellers for

OMR633,000 worth of shares. Financial Index closed at

7446.74 points, down by 1.05 per cent. Oman & Emirates, DIDIC, Al Madina Investment and Om-invest declined by 4.93 per cent, 4.76 per cent, 3.13 per cent and 2.83 per cent, respectively.

Industrial Index was down by 0.40 per cent to close at 7,244.39 points. Oman Cement, Oman Fisheries, Oman Flour Mills and Jazeera Steel Product declined by 1.67 per cent, 1.67 per cent, 1.03 per cent and 0.96 per cent, respectively.

Services Index closed at 3,240.93 points, down by 0.76 per cent. Al Maha Petroleum, Re-naissance Services, Al Batinah Power and Oman Telecommu-nications Company declined by 4.56 per cent, 2.12 per cent, 0.94 per cent and 0.92 per cent, re-spectively. – United Securities

Oman Orix Leasing was most active in terms

of volume, while Ominvest was the most

active in terms of turnover.

Muscat Securities Market. — Times file picture

Air passenger demand slows in AprilBERLIN: Air passenger demand in April rose at its slowest rate since January 2015, weighed by the March attacks on Brussels airport and highlighting safety as one of the main challenges facing top airline executives meeting this week.

While airlines are enjoying a boost from lower oil prices, weak-ening economies and falling ticket prices are also posing problems for a sector which operates on thin profit margins.

The International Air Trans-port Association’s (IATA) latest air passenger figures, released on Monday, showed demand rose by 4.6 per cent in April, following the suicide bomb attacks in Brus-sels that killed 16 people at the end of March.

How to improve security fol-lowing other attacks on popular travel destinations is likely to fea-ture high on the agenda at the an-nual IATA meeting from June 1 to June 3 in Dublin.

Airlines are also under pres-sure to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and CEOs will discuss proposals by UN agency ICAO for a global market-based measure to offset emissions.

The industry favours a global scheme, rather than a patchwork across the world, IATA Director General Tony Tyler told journal-ists ahead of the meeting.

A possible British exit from the European Union and the US elec-tions are also areas of concern, with European carriers already warning a “Brexit” could dampen travel demand.

While airlines’ cost bases bene-

fited from the lower price of fuel, oil has been creeping back up to under $50 per barrel and the low oil price is hurting economies in Latin America, the Middle East and Russia, and oil firms cutting back on corporate travel has led to lower demand for seats in pre-mium cabins.

“It’s still set reasonably fair for the airlines’ financial perfor-mance, but the bigger worry is

the fragility of the global econo-my,” IATA chief economist Brian Pearce said on Monday.

Air fares fell around 4 per cent in early 2016 and are expected to decline further, says IATA, which represents around 260 airlines accounting for 83 per cent of global air traffic.

“There’s quite a lot of capacity growth despite the weaker pric-ing environment, especially from the European legacy carriers, and I would have expected to see more discipline on that,” aviation con-sultant John Strickland said.

Delta Air Lines, British Air-ways-owner IAG and Lufthansa are among major carriers to have trimmed growth plans to pro- tect prices.

Tyler, attending his last meet-ing as director general before handing over to Alexandre de Juniac, the outgoing CEO of Air France-KLM, will give an indus-try profit outlook on Thursday.

IATA has previously forecast net profits will reach record lev-els of $36.3 billion in 2016, for a net profit margin of 5.1 per cent, with North American carriers ac-counting for over half of the total.— Reuters

I A T A R E P O R T

India’s rupee snaps three-day increaseMUMBAI: India’s rupee fell on concern investor appetite for emerging-market assets will wane as the US Federal Reserve consid-ers raising interest rates as soon as June.

Federal Chair Janet Yellen threw her support behind a grow-ing consensus at the US central bank in favour of tightening policy soon, while steering clear of speci-fying the timing of such a move in remarks on Friday at Harvard University. Futures show odds for a rise in June stand at 30 per cent, while those for July are at 53.8 per cent. Foreign holdings of rupee-denominated debt dropped by Rs52.3 billion ($779 million) in May, after climbing for two straight months.

“It is Yellen’s commentary that’s driving the market,” said Samir Lodha, managing director at QuantArt Market Solutions in Mumbai. “Though India is likely to be impacted less than other emerging markets given its bet-ter macroeconomic fundamen-tals, a Fed hike will cause a flight of capital.”

The rupee, snapped gains of the

last three sessions to weaken 0.2 per cent to 67.17 a dollar in Mum-bai, according to prices from local banks compiled by Bloomberg. The currency has retreated 1.2 per cent this month and is Asia’s sec-ond-worst performer in 2016 with a 1.5 per cent loss after the South Korean won.

QuantArt expects the rupee to move in a 67-69 a dollar range till the Fed’s meeting mid-June, Lodha said. A gauge of develop-ing-nation currencies was head-ed for its biggest monthly decline since August.

Sovereign bonds rose, with the yield on notes due January 2026 dropping one basis point to 7.46 per cent, prices from the central bank’s trading system show. That pared the increase this month to three basis points.

Indonesia and India, which of-fer the highest yields among ma-jor Asian countries, are a favorite with global funds, according to interviews conducted by Bloomb-erg. Fund managers may buy more debt in Asia, taking advantage of volatility with an expected Fed rate increase. — Bloomberg News

C U R R E N C Y

IATA Director General Tony Tyler. — Bloomberg News

India’s Sensex rises to seven-month high on earnings outlookMUMBAI: Indian stocks climbed for a fifth day, led by utilities and automakers, amid optimism about the outlook for company earnings and increases in regional equities.

Coal India, the world’s top pro-ducer, gained the most in three months after raising prices. Hin-dalco Industries, an aluminium maker, jumped the most in seven years after its profit more than

doubled. NTPC, the largest power generator, posted the steepest climb in two months after posting earnings that beat estimates. Tata Motors was the best performer on the S&P BSE Sensex before its earnings due on Monday.

The Sensex added 0.3 per cent at the close in Mumbai, extending last week’s 5.3 per cent rally, the steepest since March. A recovery

in corporate profits after a drop in four of the last five quarters and forecast for above-average rainfall following back-to-back droughts has boosted confidence in Asia’s fourth-biggest stock market. Over-seas funds bought $98 million of domestic stocks on May 27, taking the month’s inflow to $324 million.

“We’re seeing the green shoots of recovery in corporate earnings,”

D. K. Aggarwal, chairman of SMC Investments in New Delhi, said by phone. “Plus, there’s stability on the global front. We have all the positive factors going for us.” He is advising clients to buy shares of lenders and companies linked to building infrastructure.

Fifteen out of 28, or 54 per cent, of the 30 Sensex companies that have reported March-quarter

earnings have beaten or matched estimates. That compares with 53 per cent in the three months ended December. Sales have increased 5 percent year-on-year after five straight quarters of declines, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Showers in the June-Septem-ber season starting June 1 are seen at 109 per cent of the mean of about 89 centimeters (35 inches),

Skymet Weather Services, a New Delhi-based private forecaster, said last week.

Coal India surged 4 per cent. Investors ignored the company’s earnings, which missed analysts’ estimates amid oversupply of the fuel, as the miner raised prices for the first time in three years. Hin-dalco jumped the most since May 2009. — Bloomberg News

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Renault Duster comes with Ramadan benefits

MUSCAT: If you are looking to buy a contemporary SUV with genuine off-road ability, your search ends now. Renault Oman, from the house of Su-hail Bahwan Automobiles, has announced a special Ramadan offer on Renault Duster for the benefit of customers. The Renault Ramadan promo-tion, which began on May 22, will go on till July 21. Every customer purchasing a new Renault Duster will benefit from a variety of great deals on offer.

To guarantee the very best in customer satisfaction, Renault Oman has put in a lot of effort while creating unlimited offers for the customers of Renault Duster. Renault Oman not only ensures the best buying experience for Renault Duster customers but also promise to give a lot more. Customers stand to win free reg-istration, free unlimited warranty

period of up to 6 years/ unlimited mileage, AAA roadside assistance card and assured cash gift by pur-chasing a Renault Duster, says a press release.

A senior official for SBA said, “Renault Duster is known for its superior engineering, styling, safety and comfort features. The SUV has always received an over-whelming response in Oman. By offering the customers great deals, we are confident that we will help our customers enjoy a greater ownership experience through the Ramadan scheme.”

Assured cash giftThose looking to purchase Re-nault Duster 2.0l PE and SE model (2 wheel drive and 4 wheel drive)

during the scheme period are as-sured of a cash gift of OMR750.

Scratch & Win giftAll customers purchasing Renault Duster are entitled to a scratch and win card through which they can win any one of the products com-prising iPhone 6s, Dell Laptop-In-tel Core i5 or LG 32-inch LED TV.

Customers of Renault Duster are entitled to a scratch and win card through which they can win an assured service package.

Customers will be eligible to win an assured service package gift up to 100,000km periodic mainte-nance service with minimum as-sured service package of 30,000km periodic maintenance service.

The other service package they

are eligible to are 80,000km PMS, 60,000km PMS, 50,000km PMS or 40,000km PMS.

Free registrationRenault Duster customers will be eligible to receive free registration for first year for Oman only and free extended warranty period of up to 6 years / unlimited mileage.

AAA/Roadside assistanceCustomers of Renault Duster will also get a AAA Roadside Assis-tance card for the first year and as supported by AAA Oman.

Raffle drawCustomers purchasing any of the Renault models during the scheme period will be eligible to partici-pate in a raffle draw and stand a chance to win five Renault Symbols throughout the offer period.

Suhail Bahwan Automobiles has designed the Ramadan scheme in such a way that buyers can avail easy financing option with attrac-tive interest rates which in turn offers hassle free way to own a Renault Duster. Suhail Bahwan Automobiles is largely commit-ted to supporting Renault Oman’s growth in the Sultanate through major emphasis on customer sat-isfaction and by providing world-class after-sales services in Oman.

The Renault

Ramadan promotion,

will go on till July 21

IS Rustaq appoints

new student council for

academic year 2016-17

MUSCAT: The investiture cer-emony of the Students Council of Indian School Rustaq for the academic year 2016-17 was held recently on the school premises. The occasion was attended by the chief guest Tomy T. John, presi-dent of the School Management Committee of Indian School Rustaq, says a press release.

Abdulla P., Convener of the SMC, Suja Jacob, principal, teachers and students were also present on the occasion. The function began with a sweet and melodious solo song by Anu-pama Ashok. Suja welcomed the gathering. The beginning of the solemn and impressive investi-ture ceremony was marked by the marching in of the captains, vice captains, monitor captains and house captains and class monitors. The chief guest in-

vested Sayyed Ahmed Quadri and Anuprabha Mosses as the school captains for the academic year 2016-‘17. Later the students with various posts of responsi-bility were honoured with their badges of office by Tomy and Abdulla. Suja administered the Oath of Office.

The chief guest addressed the newly elected council after the ceremony and congratulated all the office bearers. In his speech, Tomy exhorted the students to understand the basic values of democracy and to discharge their duties efficiently and effectively. He advised them to cultivate the habits of reading to enlighten their minds. Abdullah stressed on developing the leadership quali-ties in students. The programme concluded with the vote of thanks by Maria Virginia.

I N V E S T I T U R E C E R E M O N Y

alizz Ramadan campaign gives back to communityMUSCAT: In line with the spirit of giving during Ramadan, alizz Is-lamic bank (AIB) has launched the ‘alizz Iftar Sa’yim’ initiative for the third year running.

Implementing the Islamic prin-ciples and values of charity and volunteer work during the blessed month, alizz Islamic bank distrib-uted 300 food packages for low income families throughout ma-jor cities in the Sultanate, says a press release.

The primary goal of the Rama-dan initiative is to support the low income families to prepare for the month of Ramadan with essen-tial foods including rice, wheat, lentils, sugar, milk, oil, etc. The secondary goal is to encourage employee volunteerism. Compa-nies, employees, and the commu-nity gain the benefits of employee volunteerism. Employee volun-teerism offers a tangible way for businesses to become more per-sonally invested in undertaking social issues, to strengthen em-ployee skills and morale, and to

cultivate a more positive and pro-ductive business environment.

A large number of alizz staff vol-unteered in distributing packages for the low income families across the country. Throughout last week employees travelled from the head office in CBD area, Wattayah, to as-sist other employee volunteers in key locations including Muttrah, A’Seeb, Nizwa, Sohar, and Salalah.

Aisha Al Kharusi, chief market-ing officer of alizz Islamic bank said, “Our Iftar Say’im initiative aims at promoting the spirit of

solidarity and cooperation within the bank, employees and the larger community by providing necessity to low income families during the holy month of Ramadan. This ini-tiative also plays a significant role to further encourage the concept of volunteerism within the bank’s work environment.”

alizz Islamic bank organises special campaigns during Rama-dan to give back to the community and encourage volunteerism and philanthropy in keeping with the charitable spirit of the holy month.

I F T A R S A ’ Y I M ’ I N I T I A T I V E

Bank Sohar recognised at Oman

Banking and Finance Awards

MUSCAT: Standing as a testa-ment to its focus on quality and banking excellence, Bank So-har recently received the ‘Best Mid-Size Bank in Asset Quality’ award at the Oman Banking and Finance Awards.

The award ceremony was held recently as part of the GCC New Age Banking Summit, organ-ised by United Media Services at the Crowne Plaza Muscat. This award marks the seventh award for the bank received this year, says a press release.

The event was held under the patronage of His Highness Sayy-id Taimur bin Tarik Al Said and with Hamood Sangour Al Zadjali, executive president of the Central Bank of Oman, as the chief guest and keynote speaker. Receiving the award at the event on behalf of Bank Sohar was Rashad Ali Al Musafir, acting CEO; accompa-nied by Khalfan Rashid Al Taley, DGM and head of Central Opera-tions, Mustafa Ali Mukhtar, DGM and head of Corporate Banking, and Mazin Mahmood Al Raisi, Sr.

AGM of Marketing and Customer Experience along with other sen-ior management members.

Commenting on receiving the award, Rashad Al Musafir said, “This award is a significant achievement for Bank Sohar and reflects our focus on innovation and excellence, while also high-lighting our capabilities in deliv-ering effective financial solutions in Oman. More importantly, this award is a testament to our capa-bility of maintaining best in class asset quality despite challenging economic conditions. This supe-rior asset quality is primarily due to our proactive risk management frameworks and in-depth knowl-

edge of our clients and the sectors that they operate in.”

The Oman Banking and Fi-nance Awards, were held as part of the GCC New Age Banking Sum-mit. It was conceived an initiative to acknowledge the achievements of the best performers in the banking and non-banking finance sectors in the Sultanate.

“We are honoured to win this prestigious award; our continued success in the banking sector is a testament to sustained focus on banking excellence and our com-mitment to maintaining the high-est industry quality standards in everything we do,” added Rashad Al Musafir.

‘ B E S T M I D - S I Z E B A N K I N A S S E T Q U A L I T Y ’

Jotun's new colour palette represents Arab heritage

MUSCAT: Taking décor to unprec-edented heights and showcasing an Arabian inspired palette with a contemporary twist, Jotun the re-gion’s leading paint manufacturer, recently launched a brand new trio palette specially for the region, ti-tled Oriental Collection.

This festive new colour palette is a distinctive unveil in Jotun’s signature range of Lady Design Prestige, a selection that beauti-fully combines art, craft and style. The new Oriental shades celebrate rich traditions reflecting the ori-ental warmth and timeless herit-age, says a press release.

The shades of this special Ori-ental Collection family are head-lined by three exquisite colours; ‘Thahabi’ showcasing royal walls that reminisce the golden grains of sand from the Arabian desert while highlighting the contemporary use of luminous tones at home; ‘Asmar’ an antique and enduring metal-lic brown that adds richness and timeless luxury to walls and ‘Babil’ that reiterates the ancient era with a rich green metallic coating.

The Oriental range is beauti-fully complemented with shades that blend seamlessly to intensify the contemporary and deep rooted hues thus making it a complete décor experience for the end user. This festive palette when inter-woven with selected tones from Jotun’s Fenomastic My Home Rich Matt, perfectly define the in-spiring story of design. Combining ‘Thahabi’ with a warm white (Egg

White 1001) to brighten the lustri-ous gold finish, ‘Asmar with a deep jet black (Carbon Black 9920) featuring bold and beautiful paint effects for an enhanced antique eye and ‘Babil’ with a smooth pale brown (Space 10678)– a contem-porary selection ideal for those looking to make a statement in the adorned space.

Announcing the launch of the Lady Design Oriental Collection, Philip Esnault, regional category manager - Interior Decorative Paints, Jotun Middle East, India and Africa said, “Colours have great power. Our Lady Design col-lection is unique and offers a mix of classical and modern textures keeping in mind the colours and patterns that radiate finesse and charm. The Oriental Collection 2016 is born with exactly this in-spiration to give birth to a palette that perfectly suits the Middle Eastern culture and style.

“For centuries, the extraordi-nary tones of gold, metallic brown, and green have had immense in-fluence on décorin the region’s culture. This elegant and timeless look from our latest collection stands as a testament to the rich culture of the region while accen-tuating each shade.”

Inspired by the collection and stylist for Jotun’s Oriental Collec-tion, Alamira Noor Bani Hashim, co-founder and creative head of No. 57 Boutique Café and the Din-ner Club by No. 57, commented: “Jotun’s Lady Design Prestige is a much-loved signature range ideal to create the luxurious, metallic look for any interior space. I love to inject personality into my styling while blending unique elements to bring out the true style.

The Lady Design range by Jotun helps me do this – add character, depth and style to any given design space. With Lady Design as the

key attribute in my décor styling, I have used traditional designs like the ceramic minarets and mother of pearl to complete the Middle Eastern look.”

Lady DesignJotun Lady Design is an exclu-sive range of beautiful decorative paints designed to make walls in homes look like pieces of art. With Jotun Lady Design, walls can be-come doors to any world people wish to experience.

Jotun Lady Design Paints give walls colour, texture, and depth to help people achieve their desired design with every new inspiration they come across.

Featuring beautiful collections, Jotun Lady Design is available across all Jotun paint stores and leading retail outlets.

Lady Design PrestigeLady Design Prestige is a high quality waterborne product which is ideal to create a luxurious, me-tallic look. It comes in the colours gold, silver, copper and bronze.

Fenomastic My Home Rich Matt is Jotun's most beautiful paint ever. A superior quality emulsion with a beautiful matt finish mak-ing colours appear richer, provid-ing the best colour experience. Gives the most accurate colours; what you see in the colour card is what you will get on the wall. Ideal for all indoor spaces, specifically living rooms and bedrooms or oth-er areas with high visibility.

O R I E N T A L C O L L E C T I O N

IS Muladha organises

annual tour to NasaMUSCAT: Indian School Mulad-ha organised its first internation-al study tour to Nasa recently for the students of Classes VI-XII.

A group of 50 students along with the accompanying teachers including S. I. Shareef, principal, Niyas Ahamed, tour coordinator, Anitha Jerson, academic super-visor and Nisha Suresh, senior chemistry teacher set off to the USA recently, says a press release.

The great cultural heritage of the USA, which rested under the chilly cold weather, mesmerised the visitors. The views of the great country were so inspiring and promising that the school team became a part and parcel of its richness for the following days. The first trip was to New York. The grand Empire State Building, Ground Zero area and

the Statue of Liberty made the viewers awestruck by their en-chanting sculptures and the mag-ical engineering works.

The visit to Niagara Waterfalls moved the students by its serene beauty. The University of Sunny Buffalo was another wonderful world for the students. The team paid a visit to Central Building, The White House and various museums in Washington DC. The visit to Florida District was the most amazing experience for the team. The team was enthralled to see the remarkable team of astro-nauts and the extent of advanced technology in the Nasa-Kennedy Space Center. They were lucky to have an interaction session with Robert Bob Springer, a veteran astronaut of both Nasa and the United States Marine Corps.

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Lulu Group expands its presence in Saudi

JEDDAH: Lulu Group, Abu Dhabi based retail major further expand-ed its operations in the hugely potential KSA market with the opening of 125th hypermarket in Jeddah. This is the 7th Lulu hyper-market in Saudi Arabia while 12 more are slated to be open by 2018.

The latest hypermarket located conveniently in Amir Fawaz dis-trict of Jeddah was inaugurated

by HRH Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and Mazen Moham-med Batterjee, vice chairman of Jeddah Chamber of Commerce in the presence of many top officials and dignitaries including Arif Ali Al Taboor Al Nuaimi, UAE consul general, says a press release.

Speaking to media after the launch, Yusuffali M. A., chairman of Lulu Group, said: “We plan to

launch four more hypermarkets this year, including one more in Jed-dah and one each in Hail and Hofuf. By 2018, we will launch eight more hypermarkets in Saudi Arabia in-cluding the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.”

Revealing his investment plans, Yusuffali said, “We have already invested SAR 1 billion and intend to further invest SAR 800 million in the next two years, taking our total investment to more than SAR 1.8 billion in the Kingdom. We are very confident that this great coun-try will further prosper under the visionary leadership of HRH King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince HRH Muhamed bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and

Deputy Crown Prince HRH Mo-hamed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. I am really excited by the new 2030 vision declared recently by the Deputy Crown Prince Mo-hammed bin Salman and will ex-plore all avenues to further boost our group’s investment here.”

With three stores in Riyadh, one each in Al Khobar, Jubail, Dam-mam and eight commissaries in its entity, Lulu has firmly established itself as one of the most preferred retail destinations for both locals and expatriates residing in the Kingdom. The newest hypermar-ket is spread across an area of over 200,000 sq. ft and has the widest range of world class products at most competitive prices.

This is 7th Lulu hypermarket in Saudi Arabia

and 12 more are scheduled to open by 2018

Barka 1 project sets new benchmark in operational safety

MUSCAT: Barka 1, one of the first IWPP (Independent Wa-ter and Power Project), owned by ACWA Power and operated by Nomac Oman, has set a new benchmark in its operational safety by completing 14 years without any lost time accidents.

To mark this special milestone, ACWA and Nomac Oman organ-ised a special event on the prem-ises of the plant recently, says a press release.

Addressing the staff and all stakeholders at the commemora-tive event, Ahmed Al Subhi, CEO of ACWA Power, said: “This is truly a moment of pride for the owners, operators, contractors and staff of ACWA Power and Nomac Oman. Fourteen years without any case of lost time ac-cident, starting even before the COD of the plant, is truly com-mendable. I fully appreciate the efforts taken by the management, staff and all stakeholders for up-holding safety at all times; espe-cially when it comes to operating a facility of this scale. I feel ‘Oper-ations Safety’ is now a part of the culture of the plant and I wish the team all the success in creating new benchmarks for the future.”

“ACWA Power has adopted stringent internationally recog-nised processes for prevention and mitigation of safety hazards. We continuously invest in the ed-ucation and training of our safety managers who in turn train and implement those disciplined pro-cesses with all stakeholders at the plant facility. It is a challenging task considering the complexity

of the plant and the technology that we use, but it is now truly im-bibed in all of us,” he added.

“One of the qualities of our pro-cesses that has helped achieve this milestone is our strong belief in preventing and protecting life, and following the discipline with our hearts and our minds. We need to observe safety not just as a process, but as a way of life that extends far beyond the plant premises.”

Commenting on the unique achievement, Hamoud Sulei-man Al Amri, general manager of Nomac Oman said, “We are extremely pleased on reaching this milestone as the plant is of national significance, being the Oman’s first dual purpose power generation and desalina-tion plant. Running it safely and smoothly is something all of us here take great pride in. This milestone is a reflection of every single employee’s commitment to safety. All our people are truly empowered to take action on safety situations at the plant, and our processes such as the Toolbox Talk ensures that every task is analysed however trivial it may be. Aside of this, we also take great pride in the way we have simplified complex techni-cal narratives on safety, thereby helping all our stakeholders un-derstand the importance and the techniques to remain safe.

“Our latest programme of 5S has brought in a huge amount of awareness of safety at the work-place, including at our desks, and workstations. I commend the team for all their efforts.”

1 4 Y E A R S W I T H O U T A N Y L O S T T I M E A C C I D E N T S

Bank Nizwa wins ‘Best Online Islamic Services’ awardMUSCAT: With its proven track record in offering a multitude of Sharia-compliant digital solu-tions, Bank Nizwa won the Best Online Islamic Services Award at the Arab Banks Awards of Excel-lence 2016.

Ikhlas Al Lawati, senior man-ager - Alternate Channels received the award on behalf of the bank.

Established by the World Un-ion of Arab Bankers in 2015, the prestigious regional event was or-ganised by the Banking Executive Magazine in Beirut, Lebanon in

cooperation with Executive maga-zine, bringing together more than 500 senior bankers and business representatives from regional and

international financial institutions. Dr Ashraf Al Nabhani, general

manager - Corporate Support, Bank Nizwa said, “This win is an-

other achievement that demon-strates our determined efforts to innovate and offer a competitive range of digital products and ser-vices that meet the evolving re-quirements of our expanding cus-tomer base.”

She added, “Our 2020 strategy focuses on delivering an excellent customer experience through technological breakthrough. With this strategy in place, we want to continue pushing boundaries in order to offer fast, accurate and convenient financial services.”

A R A B B A N K S A W A R D S O F E X C E L L E N C E 2 0 1 6

Lucky customer to be chief celebrity at Sky Jewellery anniversary celebrationsMUSCAT: Sky Jewellery is all set to surprise its customers again for the 11th anniversary celebrations.

The celebrations lasting till June 11 will kickstart at 6pm on June 2 at its showroom in Ruwi High Street. Customers who turn up on June 2 from 5pm onwards will have all probability to be se-lected as the chief celebrity to the anniversary celebrations, says a press release.

The chief celebrity, who will be welcomed with a bouquet by Babu John, managing director, will of-ficially cut the cake marking the celebrations inaugurated in front of the media, invited guests and other dignitaries.

The celebrity in the limelight can also bag two gold coins as an instant lucky golden gift for be-ing the chief guest of the occasion. Further, to commemorate the 11th anniversary, 11 other lucky cus-tomers will also be selected from the gathering to join the celebrity during the ceremonies with an award of half a sovereign each to all of them.

“It has been a magical journey over the last 11 years. Sky Jewel-lery in Oman has always stood in the forefront to extend the best value for common public. We in-stead wanted to give back the cred-it and merit of this success to our

customers. This shall be in terms of best pricing, good designs you always cherished to own, exclusive campaigns, quality service and easy gold purchase plans, etc. Se-lecting the celebrity would be the icing on the cake of all the offers and celebrations of the anniver-sary,” stated Babu.

Unnikrishnan Sivas, a re-nowned planetary gemologist, will be available from June 1 to assist

customers to choose the lucky stones for them.

“Special anniversary collections in gold, diamonds and polki have been launched. As it is the time of big buying in preparation for the upcoming holiday season, attrac-tive promotional factors has also been added to the anniversary cel-ebrations to benefit the customers to meet the occasion.

“10% pre-booking has started to extend the unmatching merit of the lowest gold rate for delivery between June 2 and 11. All the pur-chases will be rewarded with spar-kling free gifts.

“Every day 25 early bird cus-tomers will get free gold coins and special surprises every day during happy hours between 2pm and 5pm,” added Cyriac Varghese, gen-eral manager of the group. Above all these freebies there are also chances for winning 51 gold coins during the anniversary celebra-tions exclusively at the anniver-sary outlet in Ruwi. Diamonds and polki collections have instant cash back with all purchases.

“Highlighted are only some of the offers and we invite all our customers and well wishers to be part of the family get together on Thursday and share the joy of win-ning and succeeding together,” concluded Babu.

1 1 T H A N N I V E R S A R Y

Popular pre-owned cars launches new websiteMUSCAT: Popular pre-owned cars, a division of Suhail Bahwan Automotive Group, announced the launch of its new look web-site under the url www.popular-carsoman.com.

This new responsive site boasts latest software for best viewing in any kind of devices be it a desktop or a tablet or a handheld mobile phone. It con-tains almost everything relevant to pre-owned vehicles in a nice graphical manner and host of other useful features for the visi-tors, says a press release.

A person planning to buy a used car should log into the website and can see a huge array of used vehicle stocks available for sale in high resolution from different angles coupled with every possi-ble details of that car and a very “easy-to-use” search parameters that helps one find out the desired car. Similarly, a person wanting to sell a car can easily upload the photograph of the car with ex-pected price just sitting at a com-fort of his/her home at any point of time.

The website will also give infor-mation about what are the impor-tant things one should do while

buying a pre-owned car. One can also see the latest offers available on various pre-owned cars listed in the website.

“Nowadays when time is a very important factor to each and every individual, this website is definitely going to save a lot of time and effort giving better facts about the pre-owned cars you are looking for within a few clicks,” said a senior official at Popular pre-owned cars. Not only that, it will also give you detailed infor-

mation about queries related to financing your used cars along with the document you may re-quire while applying for a loan,” he added.

In order to make it more inter-active links of social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Googleplus and YouTube has also been added to this new website. Popular pre-owned car has truly gone all digital and “click” is the only thing you should do to find your dream used car.

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Virsa showcases charm of Sufi poets in its fifth event

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Promoting Pakistan’s rich literary heritage in Oman, Virsa series presented its fifth event on ‘Sufiana Kalam’ (poetry by Sufis) at newly opened Tabaq Restaurant in Ruwi.

The event turned out to be a tru-ly memorable evening of top class poetry, prose and soulful rendition of Sufi songs.

Participated by leading local poets, writers and singers of Sufi songs, the event turned out to be an enchanting window to the won-derful world of great Sufi poets, whose work over the centuries has inspired millions of people on the Indian sub-continent.

Chaudhry Shaukat Ali, Counsel-lor, Embassy of Pakistan, was the chief guest of the event organised by Alpha Events and sponsored by Gulf Neon Signs (GNS).

Mohammed Mujtaba Arif Barakat, director, GNS, was the guest of honour.

Senior journalist Shahzad Raza, who was the keynote speaker, spoke at length about Sufism and some of the leading Sufi poets like Baba Farid Gunj Shakar, Shah Hus-sain and Bulleh Shah.

“History of Pakistan’s liter-ary heritage has seen many poets whose poetry was greatly influ-enced by Sufism while some of the Sufis used their poetry to spread their message and philosophy of life. Those who left a deep impres-sion on people’s minds included Khwaja Mir Dard, Baba Farid Gunj Shakar, Sultan Bahoo, Shah Hus-sain, Bulleh Shah, Mian Moham-med Bakhsh, Rehman Baba, Ameer Hamza Shinwari, Shah Abdul Latif Bhitaee, Sachal Sarmast and many others,” he said.

“Baba Farid, who was known as Gunj Shakar (treasure of sweet-ness), wrote his poetry eight hun-dred years ago which became im-mensely popular among Muslims and non-Muslims of his time. That is the reason his poetry has mostly reached us through ‘Guru Granth Sahib’, the holy book of Sikh com-munity,” Raza added.

Noted poet Qamar Riaz conduct-ed the evening in style.

Earlier, the event started with Ghulam Murtaza Qadri reciting a few verses from the Holy Quran followed by a beautiful Naat by Chaudhary Mohammad Afzal.

Local Sufi singers mesmerised the audience with a wonderful dis-play of soulful singing.

The singers invited from various parts of Oman included Muham-mad Shakeel, Muhammad Imran, Muhammad Adnan, Asif Raza,

Naeem Shahzad and Ghulam Mur-taza Qadri. Prominent singer Rana Shaukat Ali sang Sufi songs while Muhammad Imran played the Sufi tunes on his instrument.

The other participants who shared their views on the subject included Qamar Riaz, A.H. Raja,

Mohammad Nadeem Azeemi, Prof. Irshad Ahmad, Ameer Hamza and Mohammad Ali Fazal.

Mohammed Haroon Abu Pervaiz and Akhtar Zaib attended the event as special guests. In the end all the participants prayed for the health and long life of His Majesty Sultan

Qaboos bin Said.A sumptuous Tabaq dinner

showcasing popular Pakistani cui-sine was served as a treat to the guests who seemed to enjoy every bite of Chicken Badami Qorma, Mutton Kunna, Reshmi Seekh Ka-bab and delicious Lahori Kheer.

Participated by

leading local poets,

writers and singers of

Sufi songs, the event

turned out to be an

enchanting window

to the wonderful

world of great Sufi

poets

Ooredoo launches new offer for Mousbak International customersMUSCAT: Ooredoo has an-nounced an exciting new offer for subscribers to Mousbak Interna-tional, the prepaid plan that offers amazing value on overseas calls.

Starting from yesterday and for the next three months, Ooredoo Mousbak customers will be able to call India, Pakistan and Bang-ladesh at the incredible low rate of 22 baisas per minute with a weekly subscription fee of only 149 baisas. Ooredoo have also reduced the rate to other Mousbak International customers for local on-net calls during this period. Calls for the next 3 months will be charged at 22Bz per minute rather than 25Bz per minute, says a press release.

“The Mousbak International package sets the standard for af-fordable international calling in the market. Developed as part of our ongoing commitment to bring-ing the best value to our custom-ers, this new deal offers the lowest available rates for calls to India,

Pakistan and Bangladesh, mak-ing it easier than ever to stay con-nected with the people that matter most,” said Feras Al Shaikh, Oore-doo director of Consumer Sales.

Mousbak subscribers can take

advantage of the offer by sim-ply dialling 141# and following the instructions. Alternatively they can dial *141*0091# for In-dia, *141*0092# for Pakistan, or *141*0880# for Bangladesh.

P R E P A I D P L A N

Ooredoo Mousbak customers will be able to call India, Pakistan and Bangladesh at the incredible low rate of 22 baisas per minute with a weekly subscription fee of only 149 baisas

Consultant general surgeon available at Kims today

MUSCAT: Kims Oman Hospi-tal is hosting Dr Stephen Anga-muthu, visiting consultant gen-eral surgeon, to be part of Kims Oman Hospital’s medical team today and will be available to provide his services at Kims on a monthly basis.

Coming from Royal Bahrain Hospital, Dr Stephan is an ex-pert general surgery consult-ant, who has more than 10 years of professional experience in general surgery, and has con-ducted skilfully and safely more than 1500 laparoscopic and advanced laparoscopic colec-tomies surgeries. Moreover, Dr Stephan has special interest in performing bariatric surgeries, says a press release.

Dr Hussam Akoum, chief operating officer of KOH, com-mented on Dr Stephen’s visit by saying, “Kims Oman Hospi-tal has invited Dr Stephen An-gamuthu for his distinguished expertise in various general surgery specialities. This invi-tation comes as part of the hos-pital’s commitment in provid-ing our patients with the best practitioners.”

S P E C I A L I S T

Bank Sohar opens

new ATM in Saham

MUSCAT: Bank Sohar, as part of its initiatives to bring added banking convenience to its cus-tomers, has recently opened a new off-site ATM in Saham.

The new ATM, now opera-tional in Husn Al Shaikh vicinity at the prominent Hassan Sheikh Commercial Building located along the Saham main road, brings the total Bank Sohar coun-trywide ATM count to 50, says a press release.

Highlighting the growing ATM network across the Sultanate, Khamis Masoud Al Rahbi, Sen-ior AGM of Branches and Retail Sales at Bank Sohar said, “This new off-site ATM in Saham is the most recent of several new ATMs that we have planned to put into operation this year. Our decision to significantly bolster our ATM network is a direct result of cus-tomer feedback together with the Bank’s focus on increasing cus-tomer touch points and customer

convenience across the Sultanate. Furthermore, as with the ATMs we recently put into operation in Ibri and Buraimi Lulu Hypermar-kets, this latest ATM has also been opened for service in a convenient location in Saham. The site was selected for optimal accessibility, maximising the benefits of these machines to the majority of our customers in the area.”

In addition to the robust ATM network, Bank Sohar will also continue to bolster its customer touch points through various other channels; enabling custom-ers to undertake their banking transactions with ease and con-venience. Such initiatives have not only been witnessed through the introduction of this new ATM, but also through the relatively re-cent launch of two additional new ATMs in Ibri and Buraimi as well as the Bank Sohar Avenues Mall Branch opening, which provides services during evening hours.

B A N K I N G C O N V E N I E N C E

NHI inks pact with Swiss Hotel SchoolMUSCAT: National Hospital-ity Institute (NHI), a well-known training institute in Oman, has signed a partnership agreement with HTMI Hotel School of Swit-zerland which will allow NHI’s Diploma graduates to move onto a degree level programme in Switzerland. HTMI is one of the leading hotel & tourism man-agement schools in Switzerland offering bachelor’s and master’s courses in hotel & tourism man-agement, says a press release.

“Collaboration between HTMI and NHI can bring great advantages to students in Mus-cat and allow them to expand their perspectives globally,” said Rohit Bhatia, director HTMI.

Robert MacLean, principal NHI said, “This agreement provides a route to success for those students who feel that they have the abilities to join the industry in a leadership role.”

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Bank Muscat honoured for support to youth activities

MUSCAT: Bank Muscat, the flag-ship financial services provider in the Sultanate, was honoured for support to youth initiatives aimed at sustaining the country’s pro-gress and development.

Yahya bin Said Al Jabri, chair-man of the Special Economic Zone Authority at Duqm, presented the commendation for the bank to Abdulnasir Al Raisi, DGM – Pre-mier Banking, at the concluding ceremony of the financial analysis competition organised by Muscat Securities Market in collaboration with Sultan Qaboos University, says a press release.

Committed to always lead by example, Bank Muscat extended support for the competition in which students from different uni-

versities and colleges participated.Bank Muscat has adopted a se-

ries of measures in line with the Royal directive of His Majesty Sul-tan Qaboos bin Said to develop the potential of Omani youth in align-ment with the future of the nation. The bank accords priority for de-velopmental and social responsi-bilities within the framework of cooperation with all segments of society, especially youth, who rep-resent the country’s future.

Bank Muscat has launched many initiatives, including ‘Jesr al Mustaqbal’, to provide relevant educational and training oppor-tunities for Omani youth to de-velop employable skills. Oman is witnessing a qualitative shift in national workforce and relevant educational qualifications hold the key to achieving employment objectives. The bank reckons that corporates and businesses can help provide a sense of direction

and generate confidence among youth by paying attention to the educational requirements of de-serving high achievers.

Bank Muscat seizes every oppor-tunity to contribute to Oman’s future by investing in youth who represent the real wealth of the nation. An-other major initiative by the bank is Green Sports, which supports sports teams to green and develop foot-ball fields across Oman and thereby achieve sporting excellence.

Bank Muscat seizes

every opportunity to

contribute to Oman’s

future by investing in

youth who represent

the real wealth of

the nation

Rabeeulla receives ‘Pravasi Ratna’ awardLONDON: Dr K. T. Rabeeulla, leading businessman, noted phi-lanthropist and chairman of the prominent healthcare network in GCC, Shifa Al Jazeera, was awarded the ‘Pravasi Ratna’, an award instituted by ‘Anand TV’ the first independent Malayalam channel in Manchester, UK.

Mammootty, popular Indian film actor, presented the award to Dr K. T. Rabeeulla in recog-nition of his philanthropic ac-tivities and social service spread over India and the Gulf regions by the European Malayalam As-sociation and Anand TV, says a press release.

Speaking on the occasion Dr K. T. Rabeeulla expressed his happiness at being selected by Anand TV. An individual and an organisation attains relevance only when its growth contributes to the development of the nation and society. Dr Rabeeulla recol-

lected the growth of his organisa-tion and resources achieved from his ‘pravasi’ life. While receiving the award at a function in Man-chester on May 28, Dr Rabeeulla remarked that the gathering re-sembled the occasions at home.

Rabeeulla hails from east Ko-dur in the Malappuram district of Kerala. His hardwork, great vi-sion and astute leadership helped to scale heights of success in the healthcare field but it’s his will-ingness to support fellow human beings that has earned Dr Ra-beeulla the social recognition and many accolades. He announced his philanthropic activities on a big scale by adopting his native village of Kodoor by institut-ing many welfare programmes. Autorickshaws for unemployed youth, educational scholarships, medical aid and self employment support are among the few of his welfare activities.

P H I L A N T H R O P I C A C T I V I T I E S

Omani Travel and Tourism Bureau to represent Thai Air Asia in OmanMUSCAT: Omani Travel and Tour-ism Bureau (OTTB), one of the flag-ship companies of Suhail Bahwan Group, will be exclusively repre-senting Thai Air Asia X (TAAX), a fast growing airline in Oman.

A Memorandum of Understand-ing (MoU) to this effect was signed recently between Amal Suhail Bahwan, vice chairperson of Su-hail Bahwan Group and Nadda Buranasiri, CEO of Thai AirAsia X, says a press release.

OTTB will be promoting TAAX’s Muscat-Bangkok-Muscat route that will start operating from June 28, with three weekly direct, non-stop flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. OTTB has opened

an exclusive sales centre for TAAX at the CBD area in Muscat.

Amal said, “Thailand is one of the favourite countries for Oman residents as a tourist destination, for medical treatment or for busi-ness. Similarly, we are witnessing an increasing number of travel-lers from Thailand visiting Oman. Now with direct non-stop flights between Muscat-Bangkok at af-fordable fare, more people from Thailand can visit and enjoy the natural beauty of Oman.”

She added, “The new route also fits in with our government’s ef-forts to promote Oman as a loved tourism destination. With over 40 years of experience in the travel

business in Oman, OTTB is well placed to provide a comprehensive service to tourists to enjoy the leg-endary Omani hospitality and the natural beauty of Oman.”

The direct flight from Muscat to Bangkok also offers excellent on-ward connections for people travel-ling beyond Bangkok to places such as Phuket, Krabi, Hat Yai, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Khon Kaen and Surat Thani as well as to other inter-national destinations such as Sin-gapore, Yangon, Siem Reap, Ho Chi Minh City, Chongqing, Macau and Tokyo. The airline will use an Airbus A330-300s on both routes, offering 12 premium flat-bed business class seats and 365 economy class seats.

P A R T N E R S H I P

Omantel launches Hayyak mobile internet gifting serviceMUSCAT: Omantel, the Sultan-ate’s first integrated telecoms provider, recently unveiled the Hayyak mobile internet gifting service, an exciting new inno-vation that allows Hayyak pre-paid subscribers to gift mobile internet packages to family and friends free of charge by sim-ply dialing an easy code and the friends mobile number.

The first-of-its-kind service in Oman is aligned with Omantel’s aim to consistently deliver even more value and enrich the cus-tomer experience.

Commenting on the innova-tive new gifting service, Saleh Mahmood Al Maimani, Omantel’s Senior Manager of Consumer Product Development, noted: “At Omantel, enriching the lives of our customers is our top priority. As such, the convenience and practi-cality of our products is essential in order to give our customers the best possible experiences.

“Access to mobile internet has become a key component of our lives in today’s modern world. We gift many things to our family and friends; from money to sweets to clothing and jewellery. With Hayyak, we now offer the option of gifting mobile internet, a gift that opens the doors to a world of con-nectivity and information.”

“At Omantel, we are innovators and pioneer new technology and offerings in the Sultanate. The secret to this success has been the strong relationship we have with our customers, a relation-ship we are constantly looking to strengthen with new services such as Hayyak mobile internet gifting, a solutionthat ensures subscribers get the most value and conveni-ence from their Hayyak prepaid plan,” continued Saleh.

Omantel’s Hayyak plans offer the complete mobile internet so-lution, supported by the wide cov-erage of Omantel’s 4G and 3.5G networks. Hayyak plans are truly unique in terms of value, convince, coverage and boast numerous ben-efits, meaning customers can se-lect the plan that bests suits their personal needs and lifestyle.

Hayyak prepaid give subscribers total control over spending, mak-ing it the perfect plan for the budg-et conscious or those customers who just want the freedom to not have to worry about overspend-ing. Pay in advance with recharge vouchers, online, E-payment ma-chines, or through the new mobile application and take control today.

F I R S T - O F - I T S - K I N D

OAB ‘Elite’ customers to receive bouquet of additional benefits

MUSCAT: Oman Arab Bank (OAB) has announced the addi-tion of a free entertainer app and complementary airport chauffeur service to the wealth of benefits al-ready enjoyed by customers of its Elite Priority Banking, the leading premium banking proposition for high-net-worth individuals.

The exclusive app gives access to a range of first-class interna-tional dining, hotel, leisure, beau-ty and fitness privileges while the luxury limousine service is avail-able up to six times a year to and from Muscat International Air-port, says a press release.

“Oman Arab Bank is delighted to be able to extend the range of Elite Priority Banking advantages with these select options, an expression of the superior quality service we strive to deliver in all aspects of our relationship with our valued Elite customers. We believe that

lifestyle benefits are an essential component of our Elite proposi-tion. By adding these services, the Elite experience now goes beyond the financial services and prod-ucts suite,” said Fahd Amjad, GM Retail Banking at OAB.

Launched in December 2015, OAB’s Elite Priority Banking Service provides high net worth individuals with a unique and ex-traordinary banking experience.

Hanaa Al Hinai, AGM Head of Wealth Management, Liabilities and Bancassurance, said: “Elite is built on the three pillars of Elite Services, Elite Benefits and Elite Wealth Management. The exclusive offering delivers excep-tional advantages to customers including dedicated relationship managers, financial planning and investment services as well as personal concierge facilities.”

Elite customers can also enjoy

unlimited complimentary lounge access to over 500 international airports, preferential service in all branches, and access to the world-class dedicated Elite Centre as well as 24 hour call centre support.

In addition, Elite customers have the possibility to win lu-crative cash prizes as part of the bank’s Hassad Savings Scheme, which includes OMR100,000 in both June and December, ear-marked only for Elite customers.

Since its inception, OAB has consistently expanded its reach to meet customers’ various require-ments in the best way possible. Today, the bank has a comprehen-sive nation-wide footprint that in-cludes over 65 strategically locat-ed branches and over 123 ATMs and CDMs that are supported by top-notch digital banking solu-tions including Internet Banking, Phone Banking and SMS Banking.

S U P E R I O R Q U A L I T Y S E R V I C E

Elite is built on the three pillars of Elite Services,

Elite Benefits and Elite Wealth Management. The

exclusive offering delivers exceptional advantages

to customers including dedicated relationship

managers, financial planning and investment

services as well as personal concierge facilities

Hanaa Al HinaiAGM Head of Wealth Management, Liabilities and Bancassurance

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

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I NATURALLY think of a Champions League final as being something more

than a battle for bragging rights by football fans in Madrid. But Real and Atlético — the latter who unfortu-nately prevailed over Bayern Munich in the semifinals — really did deserve this year’s matchup. And so it came to a repeat of the final in Lisbon in 2014, where the match also went into extra time. Then, however, Real wrapped things up in overtime.

This time around the match was equally dramatic, and reminded me of the legendary final of 1974 in Brussels, when we at Bayern Munich faced Atlético.

It stood 0-0 after regula-tion time, and in extra time we were almost down and out after Atlético scored. But then came a powerful, desperation shot by Bay-ern’s mighty fullback Georg “Katsche” Schwarzenbeck to tie the score in literally the very last minute. Back then there was no penalty shoot-out. Instead, the same two teams faced each other two days later, on the same field. Bayern clearly won that one, 4-0.

What with FC Barcelona having won the Champions League last year, and FC Sevilla just now winning the second main international title, the Europea League, I think one can clearly con-clude that Spain currently rules European club football. The only clubs that can be seen as keeping pace are Bundesliga champs Bayern and runner-up Borussia Dortmund. Possibly also Juventus Turin. In any event one can conclude that the huge amount of money pouring down on the English clubs has not produced any turnaround.

I felt a bit sorry for the players in the Real-Atlético final. Toward the end, more than just of few of them were running “on fumes” - nothing left in the tank. In Spain, with its league of 20 teams, a lot is demanded of the players anyway. Then there are the national cup matches and the international competitions. And on Saturday night, on top of it all, the match went into 30-minute extra time - and then a penalty shootout.

Under such circumstances a player must find that something extra in himself - a player like Gareth Bale. It almost hurt to watch him as, plagued by cramps, he hobbled to the spot. But then he converted his penalty with authority.

In my view, Real Madrid deserved this victory that for a long time appeared to be hanging by a thread. In the past, Cristiano Ronaldo would never have thought about going back to help out the defence.

But now this is part of his duties at Real, just as it is for other forwards, be they Bale, Karim Benzema or some other offensive player.

All the same, I hope that next year we won’t see another all-city affair for the Champions League final.

Maybe Bayern’s new coach, Carlo Ancelotti, will succeed in leading Munich there. He last succeeded in 2014 with Real Madrid. Altogether, as trainer he has already won the Champions League three times - not a bad omen, I feel.

Most of the players who stood on the pitch in Milan won’t be getting any rest. In two weeks’ time the Europe-an Championships start, and Spain, as the title-holders, will be having a say in how that turns out.

For me there are three favourites: reigning World Cup champions Germany, tournament host France, and Spain as defending European title-holder.

Spain no longer has Xavi - Xavier Hernandez - and trainer Vicente del Bosque is also dispensing with the services of such old “war horses” as Fernando Torres and Diego Costa. The coach is trying to rejuvenate his side while maintaining a high quality level. In Saúl Niguez of Atletico he has a dangerous striker, just 21 years of age. He really damaged Bayern in Madrid with his a superb solo-run and goal.

And the 24-year-old Lucas Vasquez also, coming in as a substitute for Real in the Champions League final, presented his credentials.

He was the first up at the penalty spot and coolly converted his shot, as if noth-ing was more at stake than a friendly match.

The French should be able to feed off of their home-field advantage during the cham-pionships. And, they can avail themselves of Antoine Griezman, who has developed into a world-class player at Atlético.

The 25-year-old French-man scored the 1-1 equaliser against Bayern in the return match in Munich, virtually knocking the Bavarians out. Many strikers are afraid of going in one-on-one against goalie Manual Neuer - but not Griezman.

This leaves the Germans. Trainer Joachim Loew also is bringing in new players. In the Bundesliga, many young players are maturing and showing that they have the potential for greatness in them. Rarely can a trainer draw on such a huge reservoir of talent.

But besides these three top favourites there are a few other countries that may be good for a surprise. Belgium, for example. It consists not only of Kevin de Bruyne, but also can call on the terrifically impressive Yannick Carrasco, who scored Atlético’s equal-iser against Real.

And then, of course, there are the Italians. They may no longer have the great playmaker Andrea Pirlo or the unpredictable striker Mario Balotelli, but at tourna-ment time you always have to reckon with Italy. - dpa

Spain currently the legitimate ruler of European club football

C O M M E N T A R Y

Rain forces washout at French OpenPARIS: Persistent rain showers accompanied by a flood warning washed out the entire day’s play at the French Open on Monday for the first time since 2000.

Belgian David Goffin and Lat-vian Ernests Gulbis had been ex-pected to open proceedings on Court Philippe Chatrier but, after they spent almost three hours in the locker room, organisers told soggy and disappointed fans to ap-ply for a refund from the tourna-ment’s official website.

“Unfortunately the weather conditions do not allow us to start matches today. No matches will be played today and we apologise for this situation,” an announcer told fans over the PA system on Monday. “All matches are postponed till to-morrow (Tuesday).”

The French national weather centre issued its orange warning — the second highest alert level — for parts of northern France including Paris and surrounding areas, and

said heavy rains could continue until Tuesday afternoon. The can-cellation of 10 fourth round singles matches, including those featuring Novak Djokovic and Serena Wil-

liams, has created a major backlog for tournament organisers.

The washout in 2000 was on May 30, the second day of play, when over 50 first-round matches

were held over. That tournament finished on time. Rain forced the postponement of the 2012 men’s final, which was held over two days and finished on the Monday. - Reuters

T E N N I S

RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY: Spectators wait patiently protecting themselves from rain under umbrellas until the announcement of postponement came at Roland Garros. – Reuters

A. SESHAGIRI RAOraoas@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: Left with no immedi-ate international engagements, fol-lowing the Sultanate squad’s fail-ure to advance to the third round of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, Oman national team coach Juan Ramon Lopez Caro has chalked out a comprehensive training pro-gramme for the national team with an eye on the future.

With the 23rd Gulf Cup, origi-nally scheduled for end of 2016, too pushed back by a year, Oman’s next international matches will be the third round of the Asian Cup quali-fiers which are tentatively sched-uled to start in March next year.

Keeping in mind the need to spot the best talent and build the team for the future, Lopez Caro has planned a series of training camps starting with a brief six-day camp in Muscat.

For the first camp, which runs from June 1 to 6, the Spaniard has called up 26 players, most of whom, with the exception of three, have already represented Oman at various levels.

Briefing the media at the Oman Football Association (OFA) Head-quarters on Monday, Lopez Caro said the idea of calling up the group of 26 players for the first camp is to understand the players and their level of skills.

Speaking about the reason for including some players who are already played for the national team, the former Real Madrid coach said: “All of these players are not new. But they have not been part of the team since I took over. I wanted to look at these players and know their qualities before decid-ing on whether they fit the criteria to join the national squad.”

Among the notable players who previously played for national teams and have now been called up for the camp are, Saad Suhail Al Mukhaini, Ali Salim Al Nahar, Ali Al Busaidi, Azan Al Balushi, Mo-hammed Al Siyabi, Fahad Al Jalbu-bi and Abdulrahman Al Ghassani.

Lopez Caro has also called up three new players who have never played for Oman at any level, in-cluding two midfielders — Muscat Club’s Abdulaziz Al Hosni and Al Arouba’s Hisham Al Shuaibi, and a forward in Khalil Al Darmaki of Ahli Dubai.

Asked whether he intends to pick any specific number of play-ers from this camp for the national team, he said: “This is camp is aimed at understanding the level of these players.

“If they are good they will be in the picture.

“But they will be competing with those who are already there in the team and those who will impress in the remaining camps for the na-tional team places.”

Camp in EuropeGiving the details of the pro-gramme for the rest of the year, Lopez Caro said: “We have planned two domestic camps and another one we hope to have in Europe.”

The first of those two domestic camps will be organised in Sala-lah from July 16 to 26 and the sec-ond one in Muscat from July 31 to August 9.

“During the second camp in Muscat, we are also hoping to play two friendly matches but we are yet to finalise the plans,” he said.

Then the team will travel to Europe to camp either in England and Ireland from August 17 to Sep-tember 6.

“During our camp in Europe we will be playing a friendly match against Northern Ireland on Au-gust 31,” Lopez Caro said.

The OFA is also working to ar-range two friendly matches during that trip, one before and one after the match against Northern Ireland.

The coach, however, said one friendly against Japan during November has already been con-firmed. Before that the team are also likely to play two friendlies against yet to be confirmed oppo-nents in October.

Doors are openAsked whether captain Ali Al Habsi will be available for the in-ternational friendly matches and whether there are any plans to call

back star striker Imad Al Hosni and defender Mohammed Shee’ba Al Balushi sometime in the future, he said: “We will be playing those matches during FIFA Days. So Ali (Al Habsi) will be available for the matches.

“And regarding Imad (Al Hosni) and Mohammed Shee’ba, in the first place, they are out because of injuries. Definitely the doors are open for them and any other player. But they have to prove their fitness and show they are good enough to play for the national side.”

Players picked for camp: Goalkeepers: Anwar Al Alawi (Su-

waiq), Ahmed Al Rawahi (Al Nasr), Suleiman Al Bureiki (Saham).

Defenders: Saad Suhail Al Mukhaini (Al Arouba), Mohammed Faraj (Al Nahda), Ali Salem Al Nahar (Dhofar), Mahmoud Mabruk Al Mushaifri (Al Musannah), Nadir Al Maskari (Fanja), Fahmi Rajab Dorbeen (Al Nasr), Nadir Awad (Dhofar), Ali Al Busaidi (Al Nah-da), Azan Al Balushi (Al Nasr).

Midfielders: Abdulaziz Al Hosni (Muscat), Omar Al Malki (Seeb), Hish-am Al Shuaibi (Al Arouba), Abdulmajid Bait Shammas (Salalah), Mohammed Al Habsi (Muscat), Hamed Al Habsi (Muscat), Omar Al Fazari (Suwaiq), Mazin Al Saadi (Al Nasr), Moham-med Al Siyabi (Al Nahda), Fahad Al Jalbubi (Suwaiq), Mohammed Al Maashari (Fanja).

Forwards: Said Obaid(Al Kha-bourah), Abdulrahman Al Ghassani (Su-waiq), Khalil Al Darmiki (Ahli Dubai).

For the first of a

series of training

camps, which is

scheduled to be

organised from June

1 to 6, coach Lopez

Caro has called up

26 players, including

three new faces COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAMME: Oman national team coach Juan Ramon Lopez Caro, second right, speaks during a press conference at the OFA Headquarters on Monday. – JUN ESTRADA/Times of Oman

Lopez Caro plans series of camps for Oman team

ONE

INGREDIENT

FIVE WAYS

INGREDIENT

WARY ABOUT COMPARISONS: New prospect Adam Zampa.

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Don’t call me Warney, says Adam ZampaMELBOURNE: Australia’s search for a successor to Shane Warne is yet to bear fruit nearly a decade after he retired, so Adam Zampa is naturally wary about comparisons with the leg-spin-ning great.

The 24-year-old has been picked in Australia’s squad for the triangular one-day interna-tional tournament in the Carib-bean and will battle off-spinner Nathan Lyon and slow-bowling all-rounder Glenn Maxwell for a place against West Indies and South Africa.

Unheralded only a few months ago, Zampa first made his mark in the most unusual of circum-stances when he ‘ran out’ a bats-man with his nose when playing for Melbourne Stars in Austral-ia’s ‘Big Bash’ league.

A good performance in the that tournament led to a spot in Aus-tralia’s World Twenty20 squad and after making his ODI debut against New Zealand in February, Zampa impressed in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at new fran-chise Rising Pune Supergiants.

His bowling action and run-up have been compared to Warne’s, which has further fuelled the hype, but the New South Welsh-man says that is where the simi-larities end.

“There’s only ever going to be one Shane Warne,” Zampa told Australian media.

“The attributes he had, how strong he was, his leg-spinner was unbelievable and to be able to bowl that leg-spinner for as long as he did for five days for his whole career was something un-believable.

“People do look at me and think

I look a lot like him but I think the only thing that would be simi-lar is the smoother run-up. It’s a nice comparison but I don’t really think about it that way.”

Failed experimentsSince Warne’s retirement after the final Ashes test against Eng-land in 2007, Australian selectors have barely flirted with leg-spin.

Victorian Bryce McGain lasted one test in 2009, promptly dis-carded after going wicketless for 149 runs against South Africa in Cape Town.

Early in his career, incumbent captain Steve Smith was picked as a leg-spinning all-rounder against England in the 2010-11 series but later shelved his bowl-ing to concentrate on becoming an elite batsman.

Left-arm wrist-spinner Beau Casson briefly stepped into the spotlight when he was selected for a match against West Indies on the 2008 tour but duly fell into a form rut and was never looked at again.

Lyon has since cemented him-self as Australia’s premier slow bowler and Zampa missed out on a place in the test squad to tour Sri Lanka in July and August.

Zampa, however, hopes to im-press ahead of next year’s tour of India, where he has shown his comfort with South Asian pitches.

“The white ball at the moment is probably something I’m con-centrating on but if I keep im-proving, I feel like it doesn’t mat-ter what format you’re playing,” he said.

Australia play the first ODI against West Indies in Provi-dence, Guyana on June 5. - Reuters

C R I C K E T Bhuvi is a world-class bowler, says Warner

BENGALURU: Sunrisers Hy-derabad captain David Warner says just-concluded IPL’s highest wicket taker Bhuvneshwar Kumar is a world-class bowler and he just can’t wait to take on the seamer as a opposition batsman.

“Obviously Bhuvi (Bhu-vneshwar) is in and out of the In-dian team, but he is a world-class bowler. With the new ball as an opening batsman I would like to come up against him on a wicket like this because he sets the tone from ball one,” said Warner at the post-match press conference after leading Sunrisers to their maiden IPL title at the Chinnaswamy sta-dium here last night..

Warner said as a captain he has utmost faith in Bhuvneshwar’s abilities and passion for the game.

“I have got utmost faith in him (Bhuvneshwar) and the way he plays his cricket. He is passionate. He loves the game and, I always rely on him towards the end,” the Australian said.

Warner led from the front with a sparkling 69 off 38 balls before Bhuvneshwar and Mustafizur Rahman bowled brilliantly in the death over to register eight-run win over Royal Challengers Banga-lore in the IPL final last night.

Defending 208 to claim their maiden IPL title, Hyderabad re-stricted Virat Kohli’s RCB to 200 for seven.

Warner was also effusive in praise for young left-arm pacer Mustafizur, who formed a lethal combination along side Bhu-vneshwar (23 wickets) for Sunris-ers this season.

“Obviously, Mustafizur Rahman is a promising player for Bangla-desh. It is a credit to him that he has played outstanding cricket

along with Bhuvi. Hope he keeps fit and strong for future games,” Warner said.

Chasing the 208 for seven set by Sunrsiers, RCB at one stage were cruising at 114 for one with Chris Gayle at his lethal best.

Asked Warner as a captain what he was thinking at that stage, he said: “Our quest was to maintain composure while Chris Gayle was going after our bowling.

“I spoke to the bowlers to bowl wide and slower balls but despite that he (Gayle) was striking the ball with power. But we knew if we could get quick wickets, it would be hard on the next batsmen to play shots.

Warner attributes their success to team effort.

“It’s not about me, it’s about the team. It takes team effort to win a tournament. It is a family effort and that’s why we have laid our claim on the title,” he said.

Warner also praised Ben Cut-ting for his all-round performance. Cutting first made a quickfire un-beaten 39 off just 155 balls and then returned with figures of 2/35 with the ball to help his side.

“At one stage we did not expect

to even score 180 runs but an ex-ceptional knock from Cutting made us race past 200-run mark. I am a firm believer of putting runs on board which puts pressure on

opponents, and 208 is equal to 215 of 220 in such situations. They were scoring at 10 per over but my bowlers did not panic. They ex-ecuted what they wanted to bowl,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sunrisers coach Tom Moody lauded Warner for his “incredible” captaincy throughout the tournament.

“David (Warner) is an incredible captain and has led the team very well even after losing two key play-ers like Yuvraj Singh and Ashish Nehra for half of the tournament,” Moody said.

“He (Warner) is a world-class player not only in this (T20) for-mat, but in all formats of the game. He is a dominant player. He is right up there among the best in the world. I enjoyed working with Dave because the most important thing I draw from him is his relent-less passion to win,” he said.

Moody said Warner has incred-ible work ethics and discipline.

“He is a born winner and that rubs off on others. He has incred-ible work ethics and incredible discipline, and all those things are so important from the leadership point of view,” he added. - PTI

Warner said as

a captain he has

utmost faith in

Bhuvneshwar’s

abilities and passion

for the game

GREAT JOB, MATE: Bhuvneshwar Kumar of Sunrisers Hyderabad is congratulated by Sunrisers Hyderabad captain David Warner. – BCCI

It’s not about me, it’s about the team. It takes team effort to win a tournament. It is a family effort and that’s why we have laid our claim on the title

David WarnerCaptain, Sunrisers Hyderabad

Surabhi wins girls U-13 crownMUSCAT: Surabhi Salian cap-tured the girls under-13 singles crown at the Annual Table Ten-nis Tournament organised by the Indian Social Club and sponsored by Muscat Insurance Services LLC and Oman United Insurance Company.

In the best-of-five-games final, Surabhi prevailed over Alina De-sai in straight games 11-8, 11-8, 13-11, 11-6. It was a shaky start by both finalists who committed fare too many unforced errors. Surabhi won the first two games and rallied to win the third before closing out the fourth game to win the girls’ title.

Top seed MV Saiprem ad-vanced to the final of the boys under-15 singles after coasting to a straight-games 11-5, 11-6, 11-5, 11-8 victory over fourth seed Al-lan Thiyagaseelan.

In the final, Saiprem will take on second seed Shounak Kelkar who struggled in the first game before downing third seed San-skar Dubey in five games 16-18,11-5, 11-7, 11-1, 11-7.

Top seed in the Mens-A Sin-gles, Subash Pillai will take on

fourth seed Yash Tanna in the semifinals. Subash advanced to the last four after defeating Shou-nak Kelkar 11-5, 11-6, 9-11, 11-9 in the quarterfinals while Yash en-tered the semis with a 11-7, 12-10, 11-5 win over Karan Negi.

Second seed Armaan Sattikar qualified for the final of the event after overcoming third seed Si-mon Joseph in a six-game thriller which he won 12-10, 9-11, 3-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-8.

In round robin matches of the junior doubles, the team of Shou-nak Kelkar and Prakhar Pateria beat Vedant Bahirat and Shivam 11-9, 11-4, 11-2, Surabhi and Anir-udh downed Shwetha and Dimple 11-6, 7-11, 11-8, 11-2, the duo of Siddhartha and Madhav Vinod defeated Paran and Rubesh 11-6, 8-11, 11-8, 11-9 but went down to the team of Sanskar Dubey and Allan Thiyagaseelan who won 6-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-8.

T A B L E T E N N I S

THE FINALISTS: Girls U-13 winner Surabhi Salian, right, and runner-up Alina Desai pose before the final. – Supplied photo

C3

SPORTST U E S DAY, M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 6

Virat is ready to captain in all formats: ShastriNEW DELHI: Former Team Di-rector of the Indian cricket team Ravi Shastri today made it clear that had he been the chairman of selectors, he would have thought about making “Virat Kohli the captain in all three formats” and let Mahendra Singh Dhoni “enjoy his game”.

Asked if he feels that Kohli is ready for leading across all for-mats, Shastri told India Today channel: “If I am the chairman of selectors, I would be thinking in that fashion, absolutely. It is it time to start thinking. You have to see India has no major event in three years till 2019 World Cup. This is your best chance to think and build.”

Shastri also made it clear that Dhoni can still contribute as a player. “By no stretch of imagi-nation, you are taking anything away from MS. He can still con-tribute massively as a player. Time has come to allow him to

enjoy himself, enjoy the game. It also depends on how much hun-gry MS is, how passionate he is, whether the juices are still flow-ing. It’s a Catch-22 situation but you have to take hard decisions.”

Shastri reminded that one needs to think that they have groomed Kohli as a leader over a period of time.

“A time has come where you have a guy you have groomed over a period of time, who is ready. In the next 18 months, India hardly play any ODIs, the gaps between Tests and ODIs are massive. So its time to look ahead.”

Shastri said that one can take a cue from Australian template.

“Mark Taylor was a great cap-tain but they started to groom Steve Waugh. Just when you thought that Waugh was firmly there, in came Ricky Ponting and then Michael Clarke, the best captain after Mark Taylor. And now you have Steve Smith. - PTI

C R I C K E T

Don’t expect Shehzad,

Akmal to be like Kohli,

AB de Villiers: Afridi

KARACHI: Flamboyant all-rounder and former captain, Sha-hid Afridi believes that Pakistan cricket think-tank has erred by having too many expectations from out of favor batsmen, Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal.

“I don’t know but it was wrong to expect them to be like Virat Kohli or AB de Villiers and per-form like them,” Afridi said on Geo News channel. Shehzad and Umar considered to be two of the country’s best young batting tal-ent have been axed for the tour to England on disciplinary grounds and were not called for the train-ing and skills camps set up by the cricket board.

PCB Chairman, Shaharyar Khan made it clear yesterday that it was the decision of the new se-lection committee to sideline the two youngsters. Afridi said there was no doubt that Shehzad and Umar needed to work hard on their cricket and approach.

“I also agree there should be no compromise on discipline. But I think it is best if we stop expect-ing too much from them and just let them be and let them play the way they do. With more experi-ence I am sure they will be much better,” he added.

“But don’t expect them to per-form like Kohli or de Villiers. Don’t make such comparisons.”

Afridi, who had stopped short

of officially announcing his re-tirement from T20 cricket, said he has given himself another two years. “I have given myself anoth-er two years of cricket as I am still enjoying the sport. Whether I play in foreign or domestic leagues or for Pakistan it does not matter. I have given myself two more years. Whenever the selectors need me for Pakistan I am always available for the country,” he said.

Afridi said he was impressed by the way Inzamam had called him up and spoken to him about his future plans. “It was a good and positive thing and showed re-spect for a player. I told Inzamam if he wants to try out youngsters he should do that but whenever he feels he needs me I am there to play for Pakistan.”

Afridi stepped down as the na-tional T20 captain in April after poor performances from the na-tional team in the Asia Cup and World T20 events which also led to the resignation of head coach, Waqar Younis.

Asked about why he had backed tainted left arm pacer, Mohammed Amir’s return to the team, but not Salman Butt and Muhammad Asif although the trio committed the same crime, Afridi said the crime was the same but in the post spot fixing scandal the attitude of the three was different. — PTI

L O N G W A Y T O G O

Cook’s milestone as England clinch series

LONDON: Alastair Cook became the first Englishman to reach 10,000 Test runs before leading his team to an emphatic nine-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second Test on Monday to wrap up the series.

Cook scored 47 not out as Eng-land eased to their target of 79 after Dinesh Chandimal made a fine century to lift Sri Lanka to 475 in their second innings on the fourth day.

Having been bowled out for 101 first time round, however, the tour-ists only delayed the inevitable and England took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series with a day to spare.

“It’s a very special moment for me, but the game is not about per-sonal milestones, it’s about win-ning games and scoring runs to do that,” Cook said.

“But it’s a real special day and it’s great that my family are here to see me do it.”

Sri Lanka had resumed on 309 for five and England’s only success in the morning session was the dismissal of Milinda Siriwardana for 35, well caught by Alex Hales at third slip off James An-derson to end a sixth-wicket part-nership of 92.

Anderson found the inside edge of Chandimal’s bat when the right-hander was on 69 but wicketkeep-er Jonny Bairstow spilled a simple chance and the 26-year-old took full advantage, reaching his sixth test hundred with a thick outside edge for four off Chris Woakes.

He received excellent sup-port from Rangana Herath in a seventh-wicket stand of 116, Her-ath making a breezy 61 before he was trapped lbw by Anderson, the England fast bowler’s 450th test victim.

Anderson bowled Shaminda Eranga for one to complete an-other five-wicket haul and Stuart

Broad ended Chandimal’s defiant knock on 126 with a clever slower ball that clipped the top of his off stump. Suranga Lakmal was the last man out, skying a catch to Broad off Woakes.

Cook, needing five runs to get to 10,000, clipped Nuwan Pradeep to the mid-wicket boundary to reach the milestone before raising his bat to all corners of a sparsely-populated ground.

Hales was bowled by spinner Siriwardana for 11 but Cook calm-ly completed the job with Nick

Compton, who finished unbeaten on 22 as he battles to retain his place at number three in the order.

“Broad and Anderson are world-class bowlers and you’ve got to show a lot of skill to handle them,” Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said.

“It’s just the Sri Lankan fight that we’ve lost in the past couple of weeks and we’re looking to bring back. There were lots of positives in the last couple of days, Chan-dimal and Herath showed a lot of character.” - Reuters

Cook scored 47

not out as England

eased to their target

of 79 after Dinesh

Chandimal made a

fine century to lift Sri

Lanka to 475 in their

second innings

on the fourth day

GREAT DAY FOR CAPTAIN COOK: Alastair Cook, left, leaves the field after leading England to series-

clinching victory in their 2nd Test match against Sri Lanka at the Riverside in Chester-le-Street. - AFP

England 1st innings: 498 for 9 declaredSri Lanka 1st innings :101 Sri Lanka 2nd innings: D. Karunaratne c Root b Woakes 26 K. Silva c Bairstow b Finn 60 K. Mendis c Bairstow b Anderson 26 L. Thirimanne b Ali 13 A. Mathews c Bairstow b Anderson 80D. Chandimal b Broad 126M. Siriwardana c Hales b Anderson 35R. Herath lbw Anderson 61S. Eranga b Anderson 1S. Lakmal c Broad b Woakes 11N. Pradeep not out 13Extras (b-5, lb-11, nb-6, w-1) 23Total (all out, 128.2 overs) 475Fall of wickets: 1-38, 2-79, 3-100, 4-182,

5-222, 6-314, 7-430, 8-442, 9-453. Bowling: J. Anderson 27-9-58-5; S. Broad 24-6-71-1 (nb-2); C. Woakes 27.2-8-103-2 (w-1); S. Finn 19-0-78-1 (nb-1); M. Ali 28-5-136-1 (nb-3); J. Vince 1-1-0-0; J. Root 2-0-13-0.

England 2nd innings A. cook not out 47 A. Hales b Siriwardana 11 N. Compton not out 22 Total (1 wkts, 23.2 overs) 80 Fall of wickets: 1-35. Did not bat: J. Root, J. Vince, J. Bairstow, M. Ali, C. Woakes, S. Broad, S. Finn, J. Anderson Bowling: R. Herath 10-3-18-0; N. Pradeep 2-0-12-0; M. Siriwardana 7.2- 0-37-1; S. Lakmal 3-0-9-0; S. Eranga 1-0-4-0.

S C O R E B O A R D

List of players who have scored 10,000 runs in Test matches after England’s Alastair cook achieved the feat on Monday:Sachin Tendulkar (India) 15,921Ricky Ponting (Australia) 13,378Jacques Kallis (South Africa) 13,289Rahul Dravid (India) 13,288Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) 12,400Brian Lara (West Indies) 11,953Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies) 11,867Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) 11,814Allan Border (Australia) 11,174Steve Waugh (Australia) 10,927Sunil Gavaskar (India) 10,122Alastair cook (England) 10,042

F A C T B O X

Alastair Cook

C4

SPORTST U E S DAY, M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 6

CHEERS XI DEFEAT TELLY BOYS TO EMERGE CHAMPIONSCheers XI defeated Telly boys to emerged champions of the Sachin XI Cricket Tournament in Salalah. In the final, Cheers XI

won the toss and decided to bowl first. Telly boys made 120 runs in 12 overs, Noushad bowled beautifully and picked three

wickets. Chasing Cheers XI chase the target in 11.4 overs and won by three wickets, thanks to brilliant batting performance

by Irfan, Numan , Shailesh, and Sohan. Cheers XI captain Hameed received the winners trophy and prize money, while

Telly Boys also earned a trophy and prize money. — Supplied photo

Johnson-Thompson clinches Olympic place

GOETZIS: Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson is relieved after booking her place at the Rio Games in August and says she is setting her sights on a first Olym-pic heptathlon gold medal.

The 23-year-old accumulated

the 6,200 points needed for Olym-pic qualification at the Hypo-Meeting in Goetzis on Sunday to join compatriot Jessica Ennis-Hill in the Rio lineup.

The Austrian event, won by Canada’s Brianne Theisen-Eaton,

was Johnson-Thompson’s first major outing since a knee opera-tion in October. “The feeling is one of relief more than anything else,” she told British media. “I’ve got a lot to work on between now and then but this is my first time back

after surgery and I know exactly what I need to work on. “My goal is definitely a gold medal in Rio. I’m always a glass half-full person.”

Johnson-Thompson, who finished sixth at Goetzis with 6,304 points, re-corded three personal bests. - Reuters

A T H L E T I C S

Rashford signs long-term contract with Man United

LONDON: Striker Marcus Rash-ford has signed a new contract at Manchester United which will keep him at Old Trafford until 2020 with an option to extend for a further year, the club said on their website (www.manutd.com) on Monday. The 18-year-old United academy graduate scored eight goals in 18 appearances this season, including two on his debut against Midtjyl-land in the Europa League.

He followed up with two goals against Arsenal and scored the winner in the Manchester derby against City in March.

“I am delighted to have signed a new contract. I have always been a Manchester United fan, so to be

playing in the first team really is a dream come true,” Rashford said.

“I am grateful for having the chance to prove myself. To be able to play football at the biggest club in the world means everything to me and my family.”

The emergence of Rashford under former manager Louis van Gaal was one of few positives for United in a disappointing cam-paign in which they finished fifth in the Premier League.

“Marcus is a naturally talented footballer with great potential. He has taken his chances well and has

integrated into the first team very quickly,” United’s Executive vice chairman Ed Woodward said.

“I am delighted that Marcus has signed a new contract, he is at the right club to continue his development.”

Rashford’s performances caught the eye of England manager Roy Hodgson, who named the young-ster as a surprise pick in his 26-man provisional squad for the European Championship.

Rashford became the youngest player to score on his England de-but, when he netted 138 seconds into his first senior start in the 2-1

win over Australia on Friday.Left back Cameron Borthwick-

Jackson also signed a new con-tract, keeping him at the club until 2020, with an option of extending for a further year. “I have grown up at United and have enjoyed every minute of being here. Last season was an incredible experience to make my first team debut and a dream come true for myself and my family,” the 19-year-old said.

“I will continue to work hard and take advice from the manager and his coaching team to improve with every training session.” - Reuters

The 18-year-old

United academy

graduate scored

eight goals in 18

appearances this

season, including two

on his debut against

Midtjylland in the

Europa League

NEW CONTRACT: England’s striker Marcus Rashford takes part in a team training session in Watford,

north of London. – AFP

I will retire if no interesting job offers, says Pellegrini

LONDON: Former Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini would consider retiring from manage-ment if he does not get any exciting offers. The 62-year-old, who guid-ed City to their first Champions League semifinal this season, has been linked with the vacant mana-

gerial position at Everton.“If I don’t have a really interest-

ing option I will stop until I find one,” Pellegrini told the Guardian.

“If I have to stop (completely), I will stop. It can be now, (until) December, one year or for ever. Of course, I would miss it. The chal-

lenge keeps me alive.”The Chilean confirmed his de-

parture from the Etihad in a news conference in February and the club immediately announced the appointment of former Barcelona manager Guardiola as his successor.

Pellegrini said it was his choice

to make the decision public. “Yes, it was my decision,” he added.

“After Guardiola said he was coming to England it was my de-cision because all the media was talking about Guardiola here, Guardiola in Arsenal, Guardiola in Manchester United. “It was not

fair for all managers — when eve-ryone knew he was coming here.

The aftermath of the announce-ment had serious repercussions for City’s title hopes as they lost home games to Leicester City and Totten-ham Hotspur and exited the FA Cup in a 5-1 defeat at Chelsea. — Reuters

J O B L E S S

Spain’s Carvajal doubtful for Euro 2016MADRID: Spain defender Dani Carvajal is in danger of miss-ing the European Champion-ship after tests revealed a leg muscle injury.

Carvajal started for Real Ma-drid in Saturday’s Champions League final victory over Atleti-co Madrid but left the pitch in tears six minutes into the sec-ond half.

“After the tests carried out today at the Sanitas La Moraleja University Hospital, the player Daniel Carvajal has been diag-nosed with a grade 2 injury to the right iliopsoas. His recovery will continue to be assessed,” Real Madrid said in a statement on Monday.

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque included the 24-year-old right back in his provisional Euro 2016 squad but Carvajal is facing at least two weeks on the sidelines, local media reported.

First capCarvajal earned his first cap for Spain in August 2014 and has made four further appearances for the two-time defending Eu-ropean Champions.

Del Bosque faces a dilemma ahead of announcing his final 23-man squad on Tuesday. If Carvajal is left out, Arsenal de-fender Hector Bellerin will be his likely replacement.

A regular in Spain’s Under-21 squad, Bellerin made his senior debut in Sunday’s 3-1 win over Bosnia and has remained with the squad.

Bellerin had a strong season with Arsenal, starting 45 games in all competitions, including 36 in the Premier League.

The 20-year-old was named in the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) team of the year. Spain begin their Euro-pean title defence against the Czech Republic on June 13 in Toulouse. - Reuters

D O U B T F U L

Oman Indo-Pak Friends to host two tourneys

MUSCAT: Oman Indo-Pak Friends will organise two crick-et tournaments during the holy month of Ramadan — the 7th National Metal Cans (NMC) Cup MRI ball knockout floodlit Ramadan tournament and 7th NMC Independence Cup knock competition.

The NMC Cup will be played at Al Rifa Ground near Al Azaiba beach. The last date for register-ing entries with a fee of OMR 75 is June 9. The draw for the 16-team competition will take place on June 13. The participating teams are allowed to field two players each from Oman Cricket Premier Division League.

The tournament winners will receive $800 and individual prizes while the runners-up will get $400 and individual prizes.

The organisers have also de-cided to give away a host of oth-er attractive prizes, including cash prizes for best batsman, best bowler and player of the tournament besides the man of the match awards.

In the eight-team NMC In-dependence Cup, teams are al-lowed to field one player from Premier Division and the entry fee for the tournament is OMR 60. The tournament draw will take place on June 9. For further details contact organising com-mittee members, Naveen Kotian (99384129), Tariq Hussain (9976 7598), Azhar Ali (95713366) and Asif (92508609).

R A M A D A N

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

DiningSECTIONC L I F E S T Y L E T U E S DAY, M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 6

When It’s Hot, Serve It ColdThis summer make a freshly brewed iced tea at home or visit one of the many cafes

in town to taste some of their exotic tea blends. Either way it’s time to chill.

then preferably use 10-15 good quality tea bags depending on how strong you like the flavours. For a stronger flavour go for 15 tea bags.

Boil water in a pan with a pinch of baking soda and put the tea bags in a pitcher. Once the water starts boiling, remove the vessel from the flame and pour hot water in the pitcher with the tea bags. Keep the tea bags only for 5-6 minutes and do not over-steep. It can make the tea bitter. Sweeten by adding sugar or syrup. Add a little lemon juice to enhance the taste. If you are ma-king lemon mint tea then add mint leaves before boiling the water.

For a different flavour you can add fruit juice to your iced tea. Allow the tea to reach at room temperature and then keep it in the refrigerator for an hour to chill. Pour into long glasses and add the ice cubes. Don’t refrigerate the iced tea when it is hot as it will get cloudy.

Best Iced Tea in Muscat

Chatime Oman, Shatti Al Qu-rum, Near City CinemaGo for: Hawaiian fruit tea that is blend of black tea combined with tropical fruit flavours; lychee black tea, blend of black tea and lychee flavour; and mango green tea that is a blend of green tea combined with flavourful mango pulp.Contact: +968 2494 9456

La Cigalo, Mina Al Fahal, MuscatGo for: Fresh peach ice tea. Contact: +968 2457 1860

Eat Street, Al Noor Plaza, MQGo for: Turkish saffron iced tea. Contact: +968 8007 4992

Copper, Sayh Al Malih Street, QurumGo for: Handmade iced tea with red berry and rose tea with a splash of lemon juice and hibiscus syrup.Contact: +968 2456 4292

Shake Shack, Muscat City Cen-tre, Al MawalehGo for: Fifty Fifty, a combination of iced tea and lemonade or the freshly brewed ones.Contact: +968 2230 0182

Crafty Kitchen, Al Noor Plaza, Madinat QaboosGo for: Summery iced tea brews available in different flavours.

Contact: +968 2469 6660

Passion Café, Al Khoudh Go for: Passion and

lemon flavoursContact:

+968 9460 0633

For a real connoisseur of tea, re-locating to any desert country is nothing less than a pu-nishment. For them it

is not about the difficulties of the sweltering heat, but the unhappi-ness of not being able to enjoy their hot cuppa any time of the day.

Years back it was the same for me when I first landed in Muscat duri-ng the peak summer months. The first thought that came to my mind then as an ardent tea lover was ‘how would I enjoy my tea in this heat?’

I was certainly in no mood to wean off my habit of waking up to a hot cuppa. Flooded with disap-pointments, one day when I went to a friend’s house she asked, “Would you like to have a cool glass of tea?” I nodded but kept wondering why was she offering a ‘cool glass of tea’ rather than a hot cup of tea?

My inhibitions were silenced as a tall glass of tea with a generous helping of ice cubes was placed in front of me. Must say it was ‘love at first sip’.

As you try to beat the Muscat heat, one of the best things to have during the long summer months is to have a glass of cold and refres-hing iced tea. This is a perfect be-verage which can act as an instant energiser and is available in vario-us flavours and tastes, each distinct -ly different from the other.

While my personal favourite are the ones that have lemony tastes, the other favourites include mango, strawberry, lychee, orange, and more.

Replete with many health be-nefits a cool glass of iced tea is any day better than aerated drinks to quench your thirst on a sultry day.

Usually served in a glass with ice, it may or may not be sweetened and can be mixed with flavoured syrup, including lemon, raspberry, lime, passion fruit, peach, oran-ge, strawberry, and cherry. While most iced teas get their flavour from tea leaves, herbal teas are also sometimes served cold which are made by prolong steeping of tea leaves at low temperature.

To make the perfect iced tea the first thing one should get right is

the measurement. If you are planning to make

eight cups of iced tea,

Story Swati Dasgupta

-swati@timesofoman.com

FIND-IT-ALLC6 T U E S DAY, M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 6

Dhuhr 12.10pmAsr 3.29pmMaghrib 6.54pmIsha 8.15pm Fajr (Tomorrow) 3.54am

PRAYER TIMINGS

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Al Hashar Pharmacy, Ruwi 24783334

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Hamriya 24782666

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Muscat Region

Apollo, Al Hamriya 24787766

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Muscat, Al Nahdha Road,

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Centre, Al Khuwair 24477666

Al Hayat International Hospital, Al Ghubra

22004000, 94267068/97049520

Al Hayat Clinic, Al Hail 22009455

AIRLINE OFFICES

Muscat Airport Flight information

(24 hours) 24519456/24519223

Aeroflot 24704455

Air Arabia 24700828

Air France 24562153

Air India 24799801

Air New Zealand 24700732

Biman Bangladesh Airlines 24701128

British Airways 24568777

Cathay Pacific 24789818

Egypt Air 24794113

Emirates Air 24404400

Ethiopian Airlines 24660313

Gulf Air 80072424

Indian 24791914

Iran Air 24787423

Japan Airlines 24704455

Jazeera Airways 23294848

Jet Airways 24787248

Kenya Airways 24660300

KML Royal Dutch Airlines 24566737

Kuwait Airways 24701262

LOT Polish Airlines 24796387

Lufthansa 24796692

Malaysian Airlines 24560796

Middle East Airlines 24796680

Oman Air 24531111

Pakistan International

Airlines 24792471

Qatar Airways 24771900

Qantas 24559941

Royal Jordanian 24796693

Saudi Arabian Airlines 24789485

Singapore Airlines 24791233

Shaheen Air 24816565

SriLankan Airlines 24784545

Swiss International

Airlines 24796692

Thai Airways 24705934

LISTINGS

LONG DISTANCE BUS TIMINGS (OMAN NATIONAL TRANSPORT COMPANY SAOC) *SUBJECT TO CHANGE

FROM MUSCAT (RUWI)

Dept Destination Arrival Operatingtime time days

QURIYAT - SUR - JAALAN (ROUTE 36)

15:00 Quriyat 16:30 Daily

15:00 Sur 18:00 Daily

15:00 Jaalan 19:30 Daily

TO AL BURAIMI (ROUTE 41)

06:30 Sohar 08:50 Daily

06:30 Buraimi 11:00 Daily

08:00 Buraimi 14:30 Daily via Ibri

13:00 Sohar 15:45 Daily

13:00 Buraimi 17:40 Daily

16.00 Sohar 18.35 Daily

16.00 Buraimi 20:20 Daily

TO SINAW (ROUTE 52)

17:30 Sinaw 20:50 Daily

TO YANQUL (ROUTE 54)

14:30 Nizwa 16:50 Daily

14:30 Yanqul 19:30 Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (ROUTE 54)

08:00 Nizwa 10:20 Daily

08:00 Al Araqi 12:30 Daily

TO SUR (ROUTE 55)

07:30 Sur 12:00 Daily

14:30 Sur 18:45 Daily

TO FAHUD - YIBAL (ROUTE 62)

06:30 Fahud 10:30 Daily

06:30 Yibal 11:15 Daily

TO MARMUL-SALALAH (ROUTE 100)

07:00 Salalah 20:00 Daily

10:00 Marmul 20:30 Daily

10:00 Salalah 23:30 Daily

19:00 Salalah 07:40 Daily

TO MARMUL (ROUTE 101)

06:00 Marmul 16:50 Daily

SALALAH TO DUBAI (ROUTE 102)

15:00 Dubai 07:00 Daily

TO DUBAI (ROUTE 201)

06:00 Sohar 08:30 Daily

06:00 Dubai 11:30 Daily

13:00 Sohar 15:30 Wed,Thur

13:00 Dubai 18:30 Wed,Thur

15:00 Sohar 17:35 Daily

15:00 Dubai 20:55 Daily

TO DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (ROUTE 204)

07:00 Fujairah 11.45 Daily

07:00 Sharjah 13.30 Daily

07:00 Dubai 14.00 Daily

TO MUSCAT (RUWI)

Dept Destination Arrival Operatingtime time days

FROM JAALAN-SUR-QURIYAT (ROUTE 36)

05:30 Sur 06:45 Daily

05:30 Quriyat 08:30 Daily

05:30 Ruwi 10:00 Daily

TO AL BURAIMI (ROUTE 41)

07:00 Sohar 08:55 Daily

07:00 Ruwi 11:40 Daily

13:30 Ruwi 20:20 Daily via Ibri

13:00 Sohar 14:55 Daily

13:00 Ruwi 17:40 Daily

13:00 Sohar 19:20 Daily

17:00 Ruwi 22:15 Daily

TO SINAW (ROUTE 52)

07:00 Ruwi 10:25 Daily

TO YANQUL (ROUTE 54)

06:00 Nizwa 08:40 Daily

06:00 Ruwi 11:00 Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (ROUTE 54)

15:40 Nizwa 17:55 Daily

15:40 Ruwi 20:20 Daily

TO SUR (ROUTE 55)

06:00 Ruwi 10:45 Daily

14:30 Ruwi 19:00 Daily

TO YIBAL - FAHUD (ROUTE 62)

12:30 Fahud 13:15 Daily

12:30 Ruwi 17:30 Daily

TO SALALAH -MARMUL (ROUTE 100)

07:00 Ruwi 19:50 Daily

10:00 Marmul 13:15 Daily

10:00 Ruwi 22:30 Daily

19:00 Ruwi 07:30 Daily

TO MARMUL (ROUTE 101)

06:00 Marmul 16:30 Daily

DUBAI TO SALALAH (ROUTE 102)

15:00 Salalah 07:00 Daily

TO DUBAI (ROUTE 201)

07:30 Sohar 10:50 Daily

07:30 Ruwi 13:40 Daily

13:00 Sohar 16:15 Thur-Fri

13:00 Ruwi 19:10 Thur-Fri

15:30 Sohar 18:45 Daily

15:30 Ruwi 21:35 Daily

FROM DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH/SHARJAH (ROUTE 204)

16:00 Sharjah 16:30 Daily

16.00 Fujairah 18.15 Daily

16.00 Ruwi 23.00 Daily

CITY CINEMAContact (10 am to 6PM) 24567664 | 68 www.citycinemaoman.netfacebook.com/citycinemaoman

SHATTIWarcraft - (3D) (Action | Fantasy) (PG12)Cast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster3:45, 6:30, 9:00 & 11:30PMThe Nice Guys - (2D) (Action | Crime) (15+)Cast: Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling3:00, 7:15, 9:30 & 11:45PMPele: A Birth Legend - (2D) (Biography | Drama | Sport) (PG)Cast: Vincent D’Onofrio, Rodrigo Santoro3:15 & 7:15PMMoney Monster - (2D) (Crime | Drama) (12+)Cast: George Clooney, Julia Roberts5:15 & 11:55PMX-Men: Apocalypse(3D) (Action) (PG12)Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender9:15PMThe Angry Birds Movie - (3D) (Animation (U)Cast: Peter Dinklage, Tituss Burgess5:15PM

MUSCAT GRAND MALLWarcraft – 3D (PG12) Action| Adventure Cast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster12:30, 9:15, 11:45 PMGold Class : 3:45, 6:30, 9:00, 11:30 PMMoney Monster – 2D (12+) Crime | Drama Cast: George Clooney, Julia Roberts4:45, 11:30 PMPele: A Birth Legend – 2D (PG) Biography Cast: Vincent D’Onofrio, Rodrigo Santoro, Diego Boneta6:40 PMX-Men: Apocalypse – 3D (PG12) Action | Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender2:15, 8:45 PMJungle Book – 3D (PG) Adventure | DramaCast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley5:00 PMThe Angry Birds Movie – 3D (U) AnimationCast: Peter Dinklage, Tituss Burgess12:15, 2:45, 7:15 PM

PANORAMA MALLWarcraft - (3D) (Action| Adventure | Fantasy) (PG12) VIP LOUNGECast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster3:45, 6:45 & 11:30PMWarcraft - (4D) (Action| Adventure | Fantasy) (PG12) MX4DCast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster3:30, 6:30, 9:00 & 11:30PMWarcraft - (3D) (Action | Fantasy) (PG12)Cast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster9:00 & 11:30PMThe Nice Guys - (2D) (Action | Comedy | Crime) (15+) VIP LOUNGECast: Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling9:15PMThe Nice Guys - (2D) (Action | Crime) (15+)Cast: Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling3:00, 7:15, 9:30 & 11:45PMPele: A Birth Legend - (2D) (Biography) (PG)Cast: Vincent D’Onofrio, Rodrigo Santoro5:15PMX-Men: Apocalypse (3D) (Actiony) (PG12)Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender3:30, 9:00 & 11:45PMThe Angry Birds Movie - (3D) (Animation | Action |Comedy) (U)Cast: Peter Dinklage, Tituss Burgess

3:00 & 7:00PMCaptain America: Civil War - (PG) (Action | Adventure| Sci-Fi) (3D)Cast: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr6:15PMThe Jungle Book - (3D) Drama| Family) (PG)Cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley5:00PM

AZAIBA X-Men: Apocalypse (3D) (Action) (PG12) Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender3:15, 6:00, 11:45 PMWarcraft (3D) (Action) (PG12) Cast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster3:45, 6:30, 9:15, 11:30 PMThe Angry Bird Movie (3D) (Animation | Action | Comedy) (U) Cast: Peter Dinklage, Tituss Burgess3:45 PMThe Jungle Book (3D) (Family) (PG) Cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley5:45 PMKing Liar (Mal) (2D) (Comedy) (PG12) Cast: Dileep, Madonna Sebastian, Lal8:45 PMSarabjit (Hindi) (2D) (Drama) (PG12) Cast: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Shiwani Saini

3:30, 8:45, 11:15 PMAzhar (Hindi) (2D) (Sports | Drama) (PG) Cast: Nargis Fakhri, Emraan Hashmi10:30 PMBrahmot Savam (Telugu) (2D) (PG) Cast: Mahesh Babu, Kajal Aggarwal6:30 PMIdhu Namma Aalu (Tamil) (2D) (Romance) Cast: Mahesh Babu, Kajal Aggarwal, Tanikella Bharani6:30 PM (PG)

RUWIScreen 1Warcraft (2D) (Action / Adventure) –PG12Cast : Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton3.30, 9.30 PMSarbjit (2D) (Drama ) –PG12Cast : Aishwarya Rai and Randeep Hooda6.30 PMScreen 2Sarbjit(2D) (Drama ) –PG12Cast : Aishwarya Rai and Randeep Hooda3.45, 9.45 PMBaaghi (2D) (Action) –PGCast :Tiger Shroff, Shraddha Kapoor, Sudheer Babu6.45 PM

Screen 3X-Men: Apocalypse (2D) (Sci Fic) –PG12Cast : Sophie Turner, Olivia Munn3.45, 6.45 PMBaaghi (2D) (Action) –PGCast : Tiger Shroff, Shraddha Kapoor9.45 PM

SURX-Men : Apocalypse 3D (Crime | Drama) ( PG12 ) Cast : James Mc Avoy, Michael Fassbender9:00 PMWarcraft 3D ( Action | Fantasy ) ( PG12 ) Cast : Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster5:00, 7:15, 11:45 PMThe Nice Guys (15+) Cast : Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling9:30, 11:35 PMThe Angry Birds Movie - (3D) ( Animation | Action | Comedy ) ( U ) Cast : Peter Dinklage, Tituss Burgess4:45 PMIdhu Namma Aalu (Tamil | Action) (PG) Cast : T.R. Silambarasan, Nayanthara, Andrea Jeremiah6:30 PM

SOHARX-Men: Apocalypse PG12 (3D) (Action)Cast: James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence8:45, 11:45PMThe Angry Birds Movie U (3D)( Animation)Cast: Peter Dinklage, Tituss Burgess3:15PMKing Liar PG12 (Malayalam) (Comedy)Cast: Dileep, Madonna Sebastian, Lal 9:00PMBrahmot Savam PG (Telugu/Comedy)Cast: Kajal Aggarwal, Mahesh Babu6:15PMMoney Monster 12+ (Crime | Drama)Cast: George Clooney, Julia Roberts3:00, 11:55PMThe Shamer’s Daughter PG12(Adventure)Cast: Allan Hyde, Jakob Oftebro, Roland Møller5:00PMWarcraft PG12 (Action| Adventure | Fantasy)Cast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster3:30, 6:30, 9:30, 11:30PMThe Nice Guys 15+ (Action | Comedy)Cast : Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling3:45, 7:15, 9:30, 11:45PMPele: A Birth Legend PG (Biography)

Cast : Vincent D’Onofrio, Rodrigo Santoro, 5:15PMIdhu Namma Aalu (Tamil | Romantic) Cast : T.R. Silambarasan, Nayanthara6.45PM

BURAIMIIdhu Namma Aalu (PG) (Tamil) (Romantic )Cast: T.R. Silambarasan, Nayanthara6:45 PMX-Men: Apocalypse PG12 (3D) (Action)Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender9:00 PMWarcraft PG 12 (3D) (Action| Adventure)Cast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster.4:30, 6:45, 9:15 & 11:45 PMWild for the Night 15+ (Crime| Musi)Cast: Tommy Flanagan, Michael Roark5:15 & 11:30 PMThe Nice Guys 15+ (Action | Comedy)Cast: Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling4:45, 7:15, 9:30 & 11:45 PM

SALALAHX-Men: Apocalypse (3D) (PG12) (Action) Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender8:45PMX-Men: Apocalypse (2D) (PG12) (Action) Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender1:30PMWarcraft (3D)(PG12) (3D) (PG12) (Action) Cast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster12:30, 4:15, 6:30, 9:00, 11:30PMThe Nice Guys (2D) (15+) (Action | Comedy) Cast: Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling2:00, 9:30, 11:55PMThe Angry Birds Movie (3D) (U) (Animation) Cast: Peter Dinklage, Tituss Burgess4:45PMMoney Monster (2D)(12+) (Crime | Drama) Cast: George Clooney, Julia Roberts2:45, 11:45PMPele: A Birth Legend (2D)(PG) (Biography | Drama | Sport) Cast: Vincent D’Onofrio, Rodrigo Santoro6:45PM Wild for the Night (2D)(15+) (Crime| Music) Cast: Tommy Flanagan, Michael Roark, Bianca A. Santos4:30PMIdhu Namma Aalu (2D)(PG) (Tamil) (Romantic)Cast: T.R. Silambarasan, Nayanthara, Andrea9:00PM

CINEMA SCHEDULE CHILDREN BELOW THE AGE OF 3 YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED IN THE CINEMA | BOX-OFFICE COUNTER OPENS 30-MINUTES PRIOR TO THE SCREENING OF THE FIRST SHOW

@SHATTI @ BURAIMI

Money Monster - (2D) (Crime | Drama) (12+)Cast: George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Jack O’Connell5:15 & 11:55PM

Wild for the Night (15+) (Crime| Musi)Cast: Tommy Flanagan, Michael Roark, Bianca A. Santos5:15 & 11:30 PM

BAHJA CINEMAFilm information 24540856 / Advance Booking

24540855

Website: www.albahjacinemaoman.com

Warcraft (Action / Adventure / Fantasy)Cast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster2.00, 4.30, 7.00, 9.30 & 11.55 p.m.CP No : 1129 (PG12)The Shamer’s Daughter (Adventure)Cast: Allan Hyde, Jakob Oftebro, Roland Moller6.00 & 11.55 p.m.CP No : 1130 (PG12)Wild for the Night (Crime / Thriller)Cast: Tommy Flanagan, Michael Roark, Bianca A. Santos2.00, 8.00 & 10.00 p.m.CP No :1131 (15+)The Trust (Crime / Thriller)Cast: Nicolas Cage, Elijah Wood, Sky Ferreira4.00 p.m.CP No : 1119 (15+)

STAR CINEMAFilm information 24791641 / 24786776

Website: www.isurf.co.om

King Liar (Mal) (Comedy) Cast: Dileep, Siddique and Madonna Sebastian 6-30 PM Cinema-2; 3-30 & 9-30 pm Cinema MainBrahmotsavam (Telugu) (Drama) Cast: Mahesh Babu, Samantha and Kajal Agarwal 3-45 pm Cinema -4 Marudhu (Tamil) (Act) Cast: Vishal and Sri Divya 6-45 & 9-45 pm Cinema -4 Jacobinte Swargarajyam ( Mal) (Comedy) Cast: Nivin Pauly Renji Panicker & Lakshmi Ramakrishna 3-45, 6-45 & 9-45 pm Cinema-3 Idhu Namma Aalu (Tamil) (Drama) Cast: Silambarasan and Nayantara 6-30 pm Cinema Main; 3-30 & 9-30 pm Cinema-2

Next Change: Iraivi ( Tamil) Aa..Aaa (Telugu)

Programmes are subject to change

@MGM

Warcraft – 3D (PG12) Action| Adventure Cast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster12:30, 9:15, 11:45 PMGold Class : 3:45, 6:30, 9:00, 11:30 PM

WEATHER

470

Maximum

310

Minimum

TEMPERATURE

75-35%RELATIVE HUMIDITY

Send us a colour photograph of the child (below 17 years) whose birthday you are celebrating, along with his/her full name, date of birth, address, telephone number and parents’/your name to Times of Oman, With Love, PO Box 770, PC 112, Ruwi or through e-mail to extra@timesofoman.com

AVANTIKA KUMAR May 31, 2003

J. S. SHREENISHAMay 31, 2010

NOEL SEBI P.May 31, 2002

WITH LOVE

LIFESTYLEC7T U E S DAY, M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 6

M arinating chick-en the right way can only mean one thing — a juicy, succulent

and delicious treat. Marinade or the flavourful liquid is one that adds flavour and taste into the layers of the chicken. A combina-tion of ingredients, a marinade must be carefully prepared. Gen-erally the marinade is a combi-nation of spices and herbs along with the acidic ingredient which could be vinegar, lime juice, or yoghurt. Each of these have a dis-tinct flavour and taste and adds to the taste of the chicken in its own specific way.

Tips on how to marinate the chicken the best way:

The time for marination would

depend on whether the chicken is cut into large pieces or small boneless pieces. Definitely it is the larger pieces that would need to be marinated for a longer time.

Make small cuts on the chicken pieces (large slices) to ensure that the marinade leaves its mark deep within the meat.

If the recipe requires that the chicken be marinated for a few hours, let it soak in the marinate. You must then refrigerate it or else you are sure to have a bad case of food poisoning.

Leaving the chicken in the mari-nade for too long can actually lead to breaking of the fibres of the meat. Do not over do it, strike the right balance for the best results.

Take out the chicken from the marinade and cook. You could grill it or cook it in a pan. The remaining marinade can be used for basting.

Herbs and fresh ingredients in the marinade can make it flavour-ful. Fresh herbs are the best choice however, in case that is not a viable possibility then crush the herbs and add to the marinade so that it would give out its full flavour.

Some of the marinades are so flavourful that you can even serve them as dips (boiling to thicken them to the right consistency) or even pour over the cooked chicken as a sauce.

The liquid with all the flavours add to the taste. Try it and you would know. However, if you add an egg in your marinade then do not use the sauces raw. —Courtesy of Artipot

A marinade must be carefully prepared. Generally the marinade is a combination of spices and herbs along with the acidic ingredient which could be vinegar, lime juice, or yoghurt. Each of these have a distinct flavour and taste

A Juicy Delicious Treat Awaits You

Indian Regional Cuisines Becoming Popular in America: Chef Vikas Khanna

BE IT DELICACIES from Kashmir or the northeast, Michelin-starred chef Vikas Khanna says regional Indian cuisine is being increasingly lapped up in the US. The Indian chef, based in New York, believes that the main reason is that most lovers of Indian cuisine are looking for something beyond the globally-renowned Punjabi dishes.

Khanna, who was raised in Am-ritsar, says regional cuisine is taking centre-stage in the US.

“Today in New York, I can distin-guish between food from Andhra Pradesh and the northeastern states. I think we can do a lot of more research to bring in fresh cul-tural and new flavour combinations to our diners. Regional cuisine is becoming more popular in America.

“I think that the primary reason is that most of the Indian food lov-ers are looking for much more than

Punjabi fare. This gives us the awe-some opportunity to bring the world of regional cuisine forward... from Kashmir to the northeast,” Khanna, who considers Indian cuisine to be “beautiful in its simplicity”, said.

In fact, he opines that India has come a long way. “From great leg-ends to the human spirit, Indians are becoming world heroes. But, yes, food and diversification are our soft powers,” he explained.

And this holds true in his case. Af-ter presenting his book titled Utsav - A culinary epic of Indian festivals at the Cannes Film Festival in 2015, the star chef unveiled his documen-tary Kitchens of Gratitude at the gala’s 69th edition this year.

The documentary takes forward the chef’s ideology that food has always been the thread which brings people together and that it transcends all barriers of caste, creed and faith — thus, encour-aging people to share.

The documentary features per-sonalities like the Dalai Lama, mo-tivational speaker Deepak Chopra, spiritual leader Mata Amritanan-damayi and Pastor Craig Mayes of the New York City Rescue Mission, among others.

“Food is a major thread of cultures, and food is much more than physical sustenance. Food is the true power of sharing and breaking boundaries and walls,” he added.—IANS

F O O D N O T E

PH

OT

O V

KH

AN

NA

.CO

M

LIFESTYLEC8 T U E S DAY, M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 6

Tabbouleh with Orange Peel

Cook 1 cup broken wheat in 1 1/2 cups of water for 10 minutes. Drain and pour

cold water and keep aside. Combine 1 tablespoon of grated orange peel, 2

spring onions chopped, 1 finely chopped tomato, 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, 2 teaspoons of olive oil, and salt. Mix well. Refrigerate

for at least an hour before serving.

Orange Peel Cake

Mix 11/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup oil, and 2 eggs. Add 3/4 cup milk,

1/4 cup hot water, and 1 teaspoon soda and dissolve. Add chopped orange peel

of one orange, 1 cup raisins, and 1/2 cup nuts. Stir in 1/2 cup flour. Place the

mixture in a baking dish and bake for about 45 minutes at 180 degrees C. Serve

once cooled.

Chicken With Orange Peel

Take orange peel of three oranges and cut into 1 1/2 inch long thin strips. Dry them in a pre-heated oven for 30 minutes. Cut

7-8 chicken breast pieces. Separately mix 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 4 chopped green

onions, 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger. In an-

other bowl mix 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 cup orange juice and refrigerate it. Stir fry chicken until tender with the soya sauce mixture for 5 minutes. Also stir

fry the orange peels until crisp. Drain on paper towel. Add orange juice mixture to the chicken and sprinkle the fried peels.

Orange Peel Bread

Stir together 2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon

salt, and 1/2 teaspoon soda. Combine 1 beaten egg, 1 teaspoon orange peel, 3/4 cup orange juice and 2 tablespoon oil.

Add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Fold in 11/3 cup cranberries

and 1/2 cup walnuts. Bake in greased loaf pan at 180 degrees C for 60 minutes or until done. Remove from pan and cool.

Orange Peel Fruit Dip

In a medium-sized serving bowl, stir together 2 cups of light sour cream,

2 tablespoon sugar, and 1 tablespoon orange juice. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Garnish this dip with

thin strips of orange peel and serve with skewered fresh fruits like strawberries,

kiwis, and apples.

Orange peel or any other citrus fruit peel

enhances the flavours of a dish. Keep them

for few weeks in airtight containers and

add to cakes, curries, and other treats.

ONE INGREDIENT

FIVE WAYS

NGREDIENT

W W W.T I M E S O F O M A N . C O MSECTION

CONNECT H E D A I LY G U I D E

D

D4 VACANCY CARGO D7

T U E S D AY, M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 6

RENT D2

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.comTel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

FOR RENT

D2 T U E S D AY, M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 6

DAILY GUIDE

*Tourist visa arranged

Office for rent in Al Ansab near

bank Muscat. Contact: 99466173

3 Rooms, 2 Toilets Flat for Rent.

18 November Street. Near Mars

Hypermarket and The Chedi.

Ghobrah -Good for Commercial or

Residential use. OMR 295/- month.

Call 94477222

3 BHK, 1BHK with A.C new build-

ing behind Muscat Bakery Wadi

Al Kabir. Contact: 99338133 /

92103604

For rent flat in Darsait & Ruwi,

Office CBD. Contact: 95345909 /

92820734

Deluxe 1 & 2 bedroom flats, ideal

for office or residence at Qurum

near PDO. Contact: 97721313 /

95070421

Two flats, each flat consist 3

bedrooms, 3 toilets and kitchen

in South Al Mabella near Indian

School. Contact: 99757672

Flat for rent in Ruwi Al Mumtaz

area 300/-R.O 2BHK, sitting room,

hall, 2 bathrooms, kitchen with A/C

Contact: 99722838 / 93294878 /

93294877

Flat for rent in Al Wadi Kabir near

to the Kuwaiti Mosque 225 R.O,

1BHK, sitting room, bathrooms,

kitchen with A.C.

Contact : 93294878 / 93294877

Flat for rent in Al Wadi Kabir near

to the Kuwaiti Mosque 300 R.O,

2 BHK, sitting room, 2 bathrooms,

kitchen with A.C.

Contact: 93294878 / 93294877

Flat for rent in Al Wadi Kabir near

to the Kuwaiti Mosque 390/- R.O, 3

BHK , sitting room, three bath-

rooms, kitchen with A.C.

Contact: 93294878 / 93294877

Flat for rent in Ruwi Al Walja near

to the Honda road RO 200/-, 1 BHK,

sitting room, bathrooms, kitchen

with A.C. Contact: 93294878 /

93294877

1000 sqmtrs industrial land for

rent in Ghala suitable for

warehouse workshop etc.

Contact 24700120 / 92584715

2 BHK available Mumtaz area

Ruwi & Ghubra near Al Maha Hotel.

Contact: 99269751

1 & 2 BHK Flat in Al Khuwair.

Contact 99792181

3 BHK Flat in Azaiba. Contact 99792181

60 + 100 + 180 + 600 Sqr Mtrs

Office Space for Rent in

Al Khuwair. Contact 99792181

Flat for rent in Darsait 1BHK.

Contact: 99357586 / 97500025 /

97500021

Shop for rent in Ghubra prime

location. Contact: 94281797

Al Khuwair 17, villa 3 B. Rooms, 3

toilets, kitchen, hall owner.

Contact: 99385553

Ware house open type in Saham,

shared basis at OMR 150.00 P.M.

Contact +968 99450811 &

9921 3487,

EMAIL: Shiju@spec-link.com

Villa in Seeb near Dreams Resort

and close to the sea. Contact:

24182000 / 95250300/ 99110600

House in North Al Hail with 3

rooms, living room, hall, 4 toilets

300 RO. Contact 99738881 /

99439568

2 bed rooms flat with hall, 2

bathrooms in Darsait near Muscat

Municipality. Contact: 92584715 /

24700120

Flat for rent in Al Qurum, 3 rooms &

hall. Contact: 91763660

Plot at Barka next to Germany Col-

lege & next to Aramex Company,

next to Bahwan Warehouse, next to

Omasco warehouse 37,074 SQM2

required 0.250 Baiza per SQM.

Contact: 99888390

Shop for rent at Wadi Kabir Indus-

trial area. Contact: 99888390

Flats in Al Khuwair, Al Ghubra,

Azaiba, Wadi Kabeer, Darsait,

Hamriya, Al Hail & Seeb.

Contact: 24182000 / 95250300 /

99110600

Shop in Seeb market. Contact:

24182000 / 95250300/ 99110600

Flats for rent near Indian School

in Wadi Kabir. Contact 99777122

Double bedroom flats available in

Honda road, Ruwi and Mabellah.

Contact: 24833972/ 24833974

Mobile 99367448

1BHK at Hamriya near Muscat

Pharmacy & 2 BHK at Mawaleh

near Mosque Sadiq Al Amin.

Contact: 99224748 / 99332297

3 Bedroom well maintained flat

(villa Type only 2 flats in villa)

in Al Khuwair, behind Al Akhtam

Restaurant villa No 1841,

Way No 3922--- block no 239.

Contact: 99462980

Flat for rent in Wadi Al Kabeer

including 3 rooms with ACs.

Contact: 99333639

Staff Complex villa (Al Khuwair

17) 10 rooms, 10 toilets, 7 kitchens.

Owner Contact: 99385553

Villa for rent in Al Ghubrah,

5 rooms, hall. Contact: 91763665

Flat for rent in Al Khoud, 2 rooms

& hall. Contact: 917633665

1BHK Flats for rent, behind Shera-

ton hotel in Ruwi, rent R.O 250/-

per month. Contact: 96051941

Al Khuwair 17 a new room, toilet,

kitchen, deluxe owner.

Contact: 99385553

2 BHK at Azaiba behind Bahwan

half KM. Contact: 99224748 /

99332297

For rent New flats at Darsait

Al Sahail. Contact: 99777351

House in Darsait 3 rooms, kitchen,

1 bathroom with A/C.

Contact: 95522405

New flats Wadi Al Kabir.

Contact: 92130703

Flats in Wadi Kabir. Contact 94051789 / 97201688

Flat for rent in Al Khuwair 33.

Contact: 92277419

1 bedroom family / bachelors in

Al Khuwair R.O 100/-.

Contact: 95154331

Fully Furnished apartments in

Boucher (35). Contact 94051789 /

97201688

Villa for rent in Al Khoud, 6 rooms,

hall. Contact: 91763665

3000 Sqr mtrs compound land in

Misfah. Contact 99792181

1 B/R Fully Furnished Luxury

Apartment @ Al Khuwair 33. 2 B/R

Fully Furnished Luxury Apartment

@ Al Khuwair 33. 4 B/R Unfur-

nished Apartment with attached

Split A/C @ Azaiba. Contact:

Atlas Real Estate & Rent A Car LLC :

99249069 / 94617563/ 99436312,

Email: info@alshahiintl.com

5 BHK Villa in Al Khuwair, for Staff

Accommodation. Contact 99792181

2 & 3 BHK Flat in Al Khuwair &

Ghubra. Contact 99792181

Flat for rent Al Hail North to the

Wave Muscat ground floor with

furniture the price RO 250/-.

Contact: 99353433

Flat for rent 2 bedrooms in Ruwi

Mumtaz area. Contact: 91409667 /

24291500

Flats, shops & store for rent in

MBD area Ruwi, Mumtaz area.

Contact: 97293708 / 92433127

Offices and Flats in Ghala.

Contact 94051789 / 97201688

Four bedroom two floors luxurious

and spacious residential villa in

Al Hail North, near to the sea and

Oman oil. Each room has its own

bathroom. It has splits A/C’s and

shaded car park. OMR 750 month-

ly. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 or

97509955

Villa in Al Khoud consists of

6 bedrooms, 1 sitting & living room.

Contact: 91153933

4 BHK Villa in Bowsher Heights.

Contact 99792181

1700 sqr mtrs open Land + small

store + garage for Rent in Ruwi.

Contact 99792181

2BHK split A/C 200/- Monthly

& 1BHK spilt A/C 150/- monthly

new building good location Barka

Market. contact 99342661

Shop for rent good location main

road behind wholesale hyper mar-

ket Amerat space 11 MT long, 4 MT

Width. Contact: 92877449

Two bedrooms flat in Al Ghobrah

near Oman Oil of 18 November

Street. OMR 330 Monthly.

Contact 99333479 or 95215360 or

97509955.

Flat for Rent 2 bed room Near ISM

muscat Indian Scoole Dar sate

Tel : 00 968 95158570

Flats in Darsait. Contact

94051789 / 97201688

Brand new villas in Al Ansab. Con-

tact 94051789 / 97201688

Flats in Ghobrah. Contact

94051789 / 97201688

Flats in Muttrah. Contact

94051789 / 97201688

Warehouse at Wadikabir - total

area 3500 sqm - covered ware-

house (500sqm), office, ac-

commodation (1000sqm), open

area (2000sqm) please contact:

99273774 - 99202278

Flat for rent 2 BHK 2 split A/C,

2 toilets, Wadi Kabir near Kuwaiti

Masjid. Contact: 97007934 /

92629232

Furnished office (61M2) for sale

/ rent Al Khuwair near Zawawi

Mosque. Contact: 95611569

1 Bed room, sharing K& T, R.O 100,

2 bedrooms , sharing K& T R.O 200/-

in AL Khuwair. Contact: 95154331

Flat in Al Khuwair opp grand mall

4 room 3 toilet + hall kitchen in 3

floor 400. Contact 99420346

Azaiba Service Road (Previously Onear Al Turky and Mazda showroom.

95215289, 99229263, 93221054

FURNISHED OFFICES FOR RENT

95215289, 99229263, 93221054

azaiba service road

Just 2 OMR / Sqm, Showroom /

store for rent Ground floor & base-

ment, area - 1100 Sqm, location

Seh Al Ahmer, 20 km to Rusayl.

Contact: 97714433 / 93437982

Flats for rent at Just RO 160/- 2 Bed

room, hall, kitchen , 2 toilets, loca-

tion Seh Al Ahmer, 20 KM to Rusayl,

including AC & roof Garden.

Contact: 97714433 / 93437982

2 Bedroom Flat for rent located in

Prime location of Ruwi.

Contact: 92197959 / 92502497

2 Bedroom Townhouse with

Swimming pool, free Wi-Fi for Rent

near British School in Madinat

Sultan Qaboos. Contact: 92197959 /

92502497

Office for rent located in Prime

location of Azaiba Main Highway.

Contact: 92197959 / 92502497

1 BHK and 2BHK Flats available

near Lulu Darsait (Main road, Opp. to

Min. of Defense). Contact : 93202733

2 Bedrooms Flat for rent located in

Prime location of Al Khuwair. Con-

tact: 92197959 / 92502497.

Villa for rent in South Mabellah,

3 bedrooms, sitting room, family

Lounge, kitchen, three Toilets Contact

92212212 between 10 AM to 5 PM.

Office 55SQ.Mtrs & 2B/R at Baush-

er directly from owner.

Contact: 92158031

Ruwi office space for rent,

Saravana Bhava Building.

Contact: 91120552

Warehouse available

FOR RENTIN BALADIA SANAYAH

AMIRAT(Floor area 600sqmtrs and

mezzanine of 500sqmtrs)

1100sqmts fully cover warehouse

& staff accommodations

Please contact: G.S.M

99417229/92621039

DAILY GUIDET U E S D AY, M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 6 D3

FOR SALE

FOR SALE

FOR RENT

Flat for rent in South AlGhubrah

3 rooms, hall and 3 toilets, kitchen

rent 450/-. Contact: 99335580

2 BHK flat at Ruwi Mumtaz area

RO 320/-. Contact: 99358589 /

97079146 / 95570288

Offices & Showrooms in Al Khood.

Contact 94051789 / 97201688

02 BHK residential flat opposite

to Al Nahdha hospital.

Contact: 99342733 /99795241

Villa in Bousher consists of 5

rooms, 1 hall & living room.

Contact: 91153933

Villa in Al Ghubra consists of

5 bedrooms, 1 hall and living room.

Contact: 91153933

Room with 9 bathrooms in Boush-

er for rent. Contact: 91153933

Apartment in Al Khoudh consists

of 2 room & hall.

Contact: 91153933

2 bed rooms flat with hall,

2 bathrooms in Darsait near

Muscat Municipality.

Contact: 92584715/ 24700120

Fully furnished offices in Ghala

main Street. Contact: 94300909

Flats In Qurum. Contact 94051789 / 97201688

2BHK Big Size Flat Behind Bank

Muscat, Wadi Kabir. Near ISWK.

97826454, 24815012.

2BHK split A/C for rent Muttrah

near Oman House.

Contact: 97007934 / 92629232

1BHK Studio flat near Star Cinema

RO 180/-. Contact: 99358589 /

97079146 / 95570288

BUYING

Bobcat available for rent.

Contact 97623299

Used office house furniture

& electronic items.

Contact: 99834373 / 96642500

Buying cars for cash.

Contact: 90202090

Accommodation for Ladies or cou-

ple in Ruwi. Contact: 91450718

Spacious 4BHK with split A/C’S, 4

bathrooms & storeroom, near Church

roundabout, Mumtaz area.

Rent:R.O 575, Contact:99349672

Sharing accommodation availa-

ble large size room with bath, pas-

sage, and kitchen at Darsait (near

ISD School). Contact: 99419390

Executive lady room & Bathroom

in Wadi Kabir. Contact: 99336206

Room, bathroom for Executives in

Wadi Kabir. Contact: 99336206

Big single room with separate en-

try & attached toilet near Al Nadha

Hospital. Contact: 99228295

ACC. AVAILABLE

ACC. AVAILABLE

Working beauty parlor for sale

Al Ghubra. Contact: 98178135

Running pharmacy for sale on

main road in Barka with Pharma-

cist. Contact: 99452755

603 sq mtrs residential land in

Al Hail North Block 45 NE near

Radio station. OMR 95 Thousand.

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 or

97509955

Ladies fashion boutique for sale

in Al Khuwair. Contact: 24702870

Villa for sale in Mabela 6 rooms,

living room & hall.

Contact: 91763665

Dental chairs for sale sparingly

used dental units for sale.

Contact Mr. Ansari 92616343.

Kumar 99570284

Dental clinic for immediate sale

doctor going abroad. Contact:

92882209 / 96373097

2 Shops for sale at prime location in

Ghobra. Contact: 96381294 Bozlur

6 Villas of six bedrooms each un-

der construction in one compound

in Bausher near Muscat Private

hospital. Prices range from 165

thousand to 179 thousand for each

villa. Each villa has three floors

and 369 sq mtrs build up area.

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 or

97509955

Apartment for sale location

Bowshar apartment 105m has one

sitting room, kitchen, balcony, two

rooms with cupboards & curtains

& 3 toilets. Contact: 99822260 /

94400777

Luxury Apartments in Boucher

(35). Contact 95056808 /

97201688

Double Shutter 80 sq mtrs corner

textile shop in Seeb Souq for sale.

Contact 99326339

1No brand new containerized

package type STP 100 m3/ day

with blower equipments (suitable

for camps). Serious Buyers may.

Contact: 99445367

2 Nos brand new sea water reverse

osmosis plants 500m3/ day, con-

tainerized in knock down condition

with American PD pumps & process

pumps for immediate sale. Serious

buyers may Contact: 99445367

400 sq mtrs Commercial/Resi-

dential land in Mabela Phase 5

Block 2. OMR 165 Thousand.

Contact 99333479 or 95215360

or 97509955

Steel Scrap materials for im-

mediate sale. Contact 99273774/

99202278

Shop for sale near Oman House,

Muttrah. Contact 99024362.

Space for printing press available

at wadikabir with or without

machinery. Contact 99328430

HD Scaffoldings, Shuttering

Jacks, Wooden Planks, Shuttering

wood assorted, Tower hoist (lift),

Concrete Mixer, Bending Machine,

Steel Fabrication Machinery

(Searing/Cutting, lathe & Welding)

including tools for immediate sale:

Contact 99273774/ 99202278

Single colorful Bed and Sofa

for Sale at Al Khuwair. Con-

tact 92881849 /What`s up No

97290565

Urgent sale of steel scrap only

serious buyers kindly contact

+968 96725423 for viewing the

items.

Almost new beach/ garden

lounge chairs /bar stools/ counter.

Photos can be sent 95865457

Sharing Accomodation avaiable

for a working lady near indian

school wadikabir. #99652740

Fully furnished room with access to

kitchen is ideal for a bachelor or cou-

ple situated in Al Bustan village, and

is close to the beach and the hotel.Plz

contact 99378964 / 96607448

Room available for family / bach-

elor opposite to o.K. Center, Ruwi.

Gsm 942-888-63

Room available with attached

bath & balcony for an Executive

bachelor near MBD area.

Contact: 95779616

Sharing accommodation for Ex-

ecutive bachelor / family near Badr

Sama Ruwi. Contact: 99008436

Furnish bedroom with attach

bathroom for executive bachelor.

Contact: 97704794

1 big room with attached bath-

room with sharing kitchen avail-

able for small Muslim Family, Near

Spar, Mumtaz area, Ruwi, Muscat.

Contact 99662698.

Room with attached bathroom for

a family in Wadi Kabir. #97167857

1 BHK appartment for rent in Al

Khoud Shabiya near mazoon mosque

for rent (next to alkhoud medical

center and squ) MOB: 93913224

Small old house for rent in

Ghobra. Contact: 97165972

Room with attached bathroom

and sharing kitchen available for

Executive bachelor or small family

at wadikabir Contact 93049849

Furnished apartment for rent,

two rooms, majlis, hall, kitchen.

Near Carrefour al-mawalah.

Contact 99336776

Sharing accommodation

near ISD. Contact: 99657340

1 BHK for rent, Ideal for small fam-

ily or two bachelors, easy access to

main road with AC near Sheraton

hotel, CBD. Contact: 96444400

Sharing Accommodation avail-

able for working ladies opposite

Al Nadhah Hospital. Preferably

Indians. Room with seperate toilet

and sharing kitchen.RO.90.

Contact 96524717

Furnished room attached bath

for Indian bachelor, Al-Falaj

Ruwi & lady Wadi Kabir near

Mars hypermarket. CONTACT

96202458/96761960

Room available in Mumtaz area

1 room, 1 Bathroom, Kitchen & 1

room, common bathroom. Interested

pleasecontact 92680041 Mr. Altaf

Room available for Executive bach-

elor at Al Hail. Contact 96234708

MV SALE

Mitsubishi Pajero model 2006, full

option, 6 cylinders, 3800 CC in a

very good condition. # 99376567

SITUATION WANTEDBUSINESS

WEB, ERP and Business Intel-

ligence (BI) creation and manage-

ment at rock bottom price.

Contact: http//webviewoman

Coffee shop for sale 7 visa available

at Al Khuwair. Contact: 98826793 INVESTOR PARTNER REQUIRED

Please contact – 95213273Email:

muscatcoff eeshop@gmail.com

For a successfully Catering Restaurant

Investor cum Partner is required.

Investor with fi xed returns also welcome.

ONE STOP SHOP BUSINESS

SERVICES

Public Relation Service (PRO)

Document Clearance,

Business setup,

Formation new Companies,

LLC Companies,

Investor Visa, Legal Services.

Contact Saleh:

96723485

WANTED

Urgently required looking to

immediately buy used Grit blast-

ing & airless spray equipment 1

No each. Contact: 968 24810930 /

93203772 / 93203773 / 93203778

IELTS Coaching (academic)

required nearby wadi Kabir area.

Please call on mobile or msg on

Whats up. Mobile no: 92927880/

99012165

NRI

910 sq ft furnished flat at Qupem -

Goa. Contact: 97094797

Two properties at Bangalore for

sale (1) 3 BHK Senior living apart-

ment with full fledged facilities &

services in Ozone Urbana Serene

project for the cost price of Irene

project. Handover by August 2016.

(2) 4 B/R villa (BUA 3600sq.ft,

4 floors, 3 Livings, 5 bathrooms,

maid’s room & car park) for sale at

JP Nagar. Contact Mrs. Mangala

Ph: 97903127, Email:

ravichandran.mangala@gmail.com

MATRIMONIAL

Muscat based Ezhava girl, MCA

seeking alliance for Ezhava girl,

25 years working in MNC Muscat,

staying with family from parents of

professionals in Muscat / UAE.

(Preferably from Kannur Distt).

Contact: 99665200

Ezhava male, 31 yrs, height 5.6,

B-Tech Aeronautical, administra-

tive professional, parents in Oman.

Contact 99550870

Sunni Muslim (Urdu) girl B.E,

MBA, 25 years HT 5.1” fair invites

alliance from Tamil Nadu Bangluru

/ Mysore. Contact: 99502581

Indian male Roman Catholic 40yrs divorcee working in Muscat.

Seeks suitable alliance from

widow/ divorcee/ single.

Contact 96059801.

Parent of Thrissur based Hindu

Ezhava girl aged 20, Slim,Atham

star, Studying for B. Pharm seek-

ing alliance from well employed

Graduates, preferably in Engineer-

ing Contact :96425102

Malankara Catholic Male Nurse (28) from Thiruvalla working in

Nizwa Private Co. Alliance invites

parents/nurses working in Oman.

Contact 968 98267338,

0091 9287215726

DAILY GUIDED4 T U E S D AY, M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 6

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION VACANT SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

SITUATION WANTEDSIT. WANTED

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.comTel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624

DRIVER

MISCELLANEOUS

ENGINEER/MECHANIC.

ARCHITECT

BEAUTICIAN

CATERING

SALES / MARKETING SKILLED / UNSKILLED

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

DRIVER

DESIGNER/DRAUGHTSMAN

DESIGNER/DRAUGHTSMAN

ENGG. / TECH./MECH.

Civil Engineer, B.Tech, 6 yrs expe-

rience with Omani driving license,

local release available.

Contact: 91693008

B.E Mechanical Engineer, age 24

with almost 1 year experience as

Production Shift Engineer, has

achieved training on HVAC En-

gineering design and has good

hands on software like AutoCAD

and HAP.Currently in Oman on a

visit visa, looking for a suitable

placement.Contact: 95065955

email: mjs.jazeb@gmail.com

Project Manager Electrical with 6

years experience with EHV & MV

substation projects. NOC available.

Contact 91398559

B Tech Electronics and communi-

cation,1.5 years experience in India

as site engineer in automation

system of Reliance, Looking for

a suitable job. Currently in India,

Contact:-95657292

B.Tech Mechanical Engineer steel

fabrication & erection 6 years

experience with Oman D/L seeks

placement. Contact 97917250

B.Tech Civil Indian, 4 years expe-

rience in Oman with D/L.

Contact: 90902809,

Email: ackn1234@yahoo.com

Indian B.E Civil Engineer 1 year

Indian 5 months Oman experience

seeking Site Engineer position,

local release available.

Contact: 96411591

Indian Diploma Civil Engg 3 years

Indian exp 6 months Oman exp

seeking Site Engineer position, local

release available. # 96411950

Indian female on family visa

having M. Ttech degree in Biotech

seeking suitable placement in any

field. Contact: 91287047

Computer Hardware Technician,

experienced Indian Male on visit

visa seeking for suitable place-

ment as hardware technician and

Store Incharge. Contact: 95711667

Civil Engineer, young Indian

having almost 2 years experience

looking for a challenging position

seeks suitable position in Oman/

GCC. Please contact 92718490,

Email ID: uvais.pk82@gmail.com

Electrical Engineer Indian male

30 years having 5 years of experi-

ence in industrial automation &

utility maintenance in India,

holding valid Oman D/L.

Contact: 92789995 mail:

akhilabrahamlktr@gmail.com

DOMESTIC HELPER

MEDICAL

IT

DESIGNER

Urgently required Offset Printer (5 years experience in the same

and well versed in any related

jobs. Contact: 93218176 /

Email: joboman88@gmail.com

Required Indian Mason – 5 nos., eligibility (minimum 5 yrs experi-

ence in road construction field).

Contact: 99882127

Email: georgymv@yahoo.com

Chief Accountant well experi-

enced with reputed group.

Contact : 98803439 / 97413784.

SENIOR ACCOUNTANT/Ast.

Finance Manager-M. Com Finance-

Indian with 7 years experience in

Finance & Accounts up to Finaliza-

tion. Experienced in facilitations &

banking. Having D/L & NOC.

Mob: 94122464,

Email: cammk13@gmail.com

Accountant 2.5 years exp in Oman,

NOC available with valid D/L.

Contact: 98870112

Email: rashadmeethal@gmail.com

B.Com Graduate 10 years experi-

ence in Oman accounts & auditing.

NOC available. Contact: 95716128

mail: jaigomesh.ganesh@gmail.com

MBA female looking for job in

accounting or in marketing or

Administration department having

1 year experience have knowledge

of Tally ERP9, MS Word.

Contact: 95910427 Email:

ritashivprasad111@gmail.com

Senior Accounts Executive, B.Com, 05 years experience in

India, seeking urgent job in Oman.

Contact 919900077458,

+968-98444359,

Email:syedtou23@gmail.com.

American Certified Manager (6 sigma, CPPM) with MBA, PMP

trained having 10 years, UAE cross

functional experience in procure-

ment, projects management, sup-

ply chain, facilities & Administra-

tion with UAE D/L seeking suitable

placement. Contact: 90772927

Email: callshebin@gmail.com

Indian male 34 yrs, M.Com –

Finance with 5 yrs experience in

Accounts in India, presently in

visiting visa looking for a suitable

placement. Contact: 93671785

Email: jeyan903@gmail.com

Part Time Accountant, up to fina-

lization of accounts, looking for job

after 5 PM (location prefer MSQ to

Al Hail). Contact: 90935099

Fresher 24, ACCA Affiliate, Ad-

vanced diploma in Accounting and

Business seeking suitable place-

ment in Accounts, Finance or Audit

with Oman driving license.

Contact - 92430152

Email - raju.rd619@gmail.com

Required Shop Sales man + Hard-ware Technician for IT Company

with minimum 2 years experience.

Contact: 98825806 / 98825806,

Email: info@rns-group.com

DRIVER

ADMIN

Required Office Boy. Contact : 91120552

Required fulltime Housemaid to

look after kids (7months old) & also

for housework. Ghubrah

Contact 92951265

House maid for small Omani family.

Contact: 92158031

Required house maid part time in

Azaiba for Keralite family.

Contact : 96758982

A full time living Housemaid required for an Indian family in

Ghobrah. Contact: 97335255

Require experienced Beautician for parlor, visa available.

Contact: 92285241

Part Time Accounting, Audit

Preparation, Internal Audit, Monthly

Reports, Accounting set up for new

companies, Project Report for Bank

Loan purposes. GSM : 96975454,

email: ibfc.gcc@gmail.com

Indian (Male) having 17+years

Experience in Trading & Healthcare

seeking senior Position in Accounts

(11 years GCC Experience )

currently on Resident Visa (NOC

Available ) and has a valid Omani

Driving Licence. Contact: 91335026;

skumartp@gmail.com

Indian male 26 years MBA experience

in Accountant & Administration in a

MNC company currently on visit visa

ready to join. Contact: +968 92194987

email: achal1989@hotmail.com

Indian male age 26, Accountant one

year experience in accounts

looking for suitable job. Contact -

Email: Anishkhan991867@gmail.Com

Mobile: +968 9565 9415

Wanted Steward / Deckhand for

Yacht in Muscat, Housekeeping

& Guest service duties. Contact:

Whatsapp 95887572

Email: alibadawy@gmail.com

Required candidates for following

posts: Accountant, Storekeeper, Foreman Building Maintenance, Van-salesman (water), Helpers. Candidates with Omani driving

license preferred.

Contact 99273774/99202278 Filipino Cabin steward / Linen

vallet is looking for suitable job in

Oman. Contact: +968 91065438 or

email: blonglive@gmail.com

CATERING

Required Store keeper with valid

Omani light driving license, min.

experience 2-3 years.

Contact : 92341826

Driver required for a leading Cou-rier company. Send CV to

info@atsglobex.com

Contact: 00968-97461515

Salary: Negotiable.

Required Omani Driver for a restau-

rant. Contact 95929911

Wanted a experience Driver for Capital and Interior work.

Gsm : 942-888-63

Wanted driver. Contact: 97165972

Urgently required Printing & Stationary Salesman (minimum

3 years experience in field.

Contact: 93218176 /

Email: joboman88@gmail.com

Well reputed Kitchen fabrication company required the staff for

showrooms as follow.

(1) Sales Manager with valid driv-

ing license. (2) Sales Executive (Male) with valid driving license.

(3) Sales Executive (Female)

Philippine Secretary (Female)

Send the CV’s at

“hrik711@gmail.com

Required smart, young, dynamic Sales & Marketing Executive having 2-3 years sales experi-

ence for a reputed manufacturing

company in Oman, having its

Head Office in Ruwi. Experience

in building materials is an added

advantage. Omani Driving License

and NOC is a must. Attractive

remuneration package.

Apply with photograph to

E-mail: salesjobds@gmail.com

Required female person to work at the retail shop/

Marketing. Please send your CV

on e mail:

Zeyanaalharmaly@yahoo.com

Wanted Indian Engineer & Mar-keting person for steel workshop

in Saham. Contact 91339401

Urgently Required: MEP Man-ager Engineer- minimum 10years

experience with NOC in Oman

for immediately join. Interested

candidates may call us to our of-

fice telephone: 00968- 24696584/

24696585 or fax: 00968-

24605955 or email us to

sbc@steelbuildingsllc.com,

sbeoman@yahoo.com

Wanted Marine Engineer for

yacht in Muscat.

Contact: Whatsapp 95887572

Email: alibadawy@gmail.com

Civil Engineer, Masons, Helpers, Shuttering, Carpenters, Steel fixers with 5 yrs experience in Oman.

Contact: 97491117

Sudanese accountant holding

BSC, CIB 8 Post Graduate Diploma

in financial management with

Banking experience in projects

finance. Contact: 99061339

Accounts part time services,

available to handle all accounts up

to finalization on monthly basis.

Finalization and audit works.

Contact: 96247295

Young Indian male ACCA finalist

with B.Sc (Hons) in applied Ac-

counting with 3 years experience

& holding valid Omani driving

license seeks immediate

placement, NOC available.

Contact: 92851056

Accountant available with NOC,

7 years experience in Oman.

Ready to join immediately.

Contact 98263394

ACCA member with 6 yrs of

experience in Oman looking for a

suitable job in finance.

Contact: 99284193

28/male/MBA - finance/B.Com -

Accountant with 4 years of Dubai/

India experience looking for a

suitable placement.

Contact 90187483

shobinkarikkan1987@gmail.com

Indian male 34 Yrs, Dual MBA

Finance and marketing with IT

skills, 7+ yrs of experience,

Looking for suitable placement.

contact 94879615,Email-

sajan_chacko1981@yahoo.com

Sudanese Accountant, Alexandria

University Graduate bachelor of

commerce Diploma of

Marketing professional photog-

rapher worked in PR and social

media for 2 years looking for a job

in public relations media,

social media or marketing.

Contact: 96976240

Indian, Kerala Male B.COM &

B.PE, Currently on Visit Visa. Look-

ing for a suitable job in Accounts,

Store Keeper, Sales etc. Ready to

join as early as possible.

Contact: 96988923

email:- sajith3969@gmail.com

Looking for driving job light

2 years exp. Contact: 91625977

Looking for driving job with G.C.C

experience 6 years with car,

without car. Contact: 94085449

For light vehicles. Contact: 92789805

Architect Engineer seeking for

suitable job, 8 years experience.

GSM : 96075000, Email :

haytham_201046@yahoo.com

Indian female diploma architect

6 years exp in Oman Engineering

consultancy, valid Oman driving

license. Contact: 96683293 /

97750870

Indian Female, 3yrs exp. In Au-

toCAD draftsman with 3ds max &

rivet,. Looking for suitable place-

ment in Muscat now in visit visa

.Contact:95601266

Architectural Draftsmen diploma

in construction technology with 6

years experience in drafting and

detailing as per British standard

in Oman with valid Omani license

looking for suitable opportunity

Noc available. Call 94375897.

Filipino Senior Revit/AutoCAD

Draftsman with 20 years profes-

sional experience is looking for

suitable job in Oman. Please Con-

tact: 96489798, (+974) 66653780.

Urgently required Physiothera-pist & Pharmacist for a reputed

polyclinic. Send CV to

carecare003@gmail.com

or call 97706453

Urgently required Pharmacist & MOH licensed female Dentist

for a reputed polyclinic. Send CV :

manageribnalhaitham@yahoo.com

or call 96721709.

Care Medical Centre Al Seeb

requires Gynecologist and General Practitioner. Mail CV to:sarita_h23@yahoo.com

Wanted Staff Nurse for

a dermatology clinic in Muscat .

Must have MOH license and NOC.

Attractive salary offered. Email:

clinicvacancy2015@gmail.com

GP doctor needed for reputed clin-

ic. Preferably with MOH license or

with Dataflow & Paramatics pass

Contact: 95388934

Require a qualified Nurse to take

care of an elderly female.

Contact: 99425200

License light heavy duty, PDO

license experience 8 years mechani-

cal experience vehicle.

Contact 92091528

Looking for driving job.

Contact: 98219182

Looking for driving job 6 months

experience. Contact: 93782260

Looking for driving job with

Toyota Camry car, driver available

with car or without car.

Contact: 97224035

Looking for driving job.

Contact: 99518533

Bangladeshi male looking for

driving job. Contact: 98140379

Light driver looking for job Gulf exp.

Contact: 91929556

Driver Pakistani exp 4 years, look-

ing for job. Contact: 94356465

Driver looking for job, 3 years

experience. Contact: 97468646

Bangladeshi driver looking for job.

Contact: 97418036

HOTEL MANAGERA new modern 3 star hotel located in a prime location

at Bawshar – Muscat is looking for a Hotel Manager. Th e

Candidate should be a holder of degree or an equivalent

qualifi cation in Hotel Management and should have at

least 5 years’ experience at the Hotel industry with 2

years at least as Hotel manager.

Interested Candidates can e-mail CV’s to

Qaisbahwan@yahoo.com

Urgently required Designer minimum 5 years experience with

different design concept and any

related jobs. Contact: 93218176 /

Email: joboman88@gmail.com

Revit, Autocad D/man,

expected salary 200 OMR

PH :92279784

Required gynecologist GEN: practitioner lady lab Technician and pharmacologist immediately

for a clinic in Suwaiq.

Contact: 95081010

Email: umchealthcare@gmail.com

MAINTENANCE

MANAGER

For a reputed company

Well experienced in

building & villas -

all type of maintenance.

Please send your C V to

hralsom@gmail.com

SALES / MARKETING

Urgently required looking to im-

mediately buy used Grit blasting

& airless spray equipment 1 No

each. Contact: 968 24810930

/ 93203772 / 93203773 /

93203778

Required marketing / PR manag-

er for a modern restaurant group

in Oman , proficient in illustrator &

Photoshop charismatic , proac-

tive , creative & flexible excellent

writing / Editing skills degree in

relevant area fluent in English.

Send CV to

marketingpr2016@gmail.com

Qualified and experienced MBA

post graduate with proven work

exposure in Middle East & India,

having more than 5.5 years of rich

experience in accounts , project

coordination and administration in

(3.5 years UAE experience) oil and

gas projects is currently looking for

suitable job. Contact 93953613,

Email-allen.mathew83@gmail.com

Indian male 25 yrs, Graduate in

commerce, overall 5 yrs exp in ac-

counts/ finance field. On visit visa.

Immediately available.

Contact 92836216 /

muhammad.tausif623@gmail.com

Indian Female, MBA-HR having 8+

experience in Administration/HR,

Customer Support, Office Coordina-

tor with good Computer skill, Now

on Visit Visa,looking for suitable

position. Contact: 90196235

Indian, 20 years experience in

Oman as Personal Assistant / Of-

fice Manager / Executive Secretary

/ Senior Administrator / Busi-

ness Development Asst. seeks job

change. Release available.

Contact 99168054.

Tamil Nadu female BE, (ECE) MBA

(HR) 25 years, 6 months experience

business consult (HR) currently un-

der family visa looking for suitable

position. Contact: 99502581

Filipino HRD especialist / material

controller supervisor with

18 yrs experience looking for

suitable job in Oman. Contact: (+968)

98037142 / (+968) 92659817

Young Omani male have experi-

ence 12 years as P.R.O, CLERK

Helper Supervisor Admin Supervi-

sor, H.R Manager have diploma in

H.S.E, IT and P.D.O license, looking

for H.R position or P.R.O part time

or full time. Contact: 95933288

Indian female 27 yrs MBA HR

with 3.6 yrs exp in HR / Marketing

/ Customer relation currently in

Muscat on visit visa.

Contact: 97205038

Email: chandpriya89@gmail.com

R E Q U I R E DSales mechanical

executive For industrial trading

company With minimum

5 years’ experience.

Omani Driving licenseKindly forward your CV to

omancareers2016@gmail.com

Wanted Cooks urgently

for a Coffee shop, visa ready.

Email : souman7@yahoo.com,

GSM : 97158376

Accountant 8Years Experience

with D/L and NOC.

Contact 97712084

Accountant Assistant BBA, exp,

Tally have 2 yr valid VISA

PH : 98269281

Bangladeshi want job with own

car. Contact : 93822195

Experience driver looking for job.

Contact: 95113612

Light driver available.

Contact: 95501608

Light driver available. Contact: 91362475

Light vehicle driver. Contact:

95891087

Light driver with 6 years expe-

rience looking for job. Contact

92617293

Light duty driver 2 yrs exp.

Contact: 96393805

DAILY GUIDET U E S D AY, M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 6 D5

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

EDUCATION/TRAINING

EDUCATION/TRAININGENGG. / TECH./MECH.

ENGG. / TECH./MECH.

IT

Diploma Civil 5 years experience

in Oman with D/L & NOC.

Contact: 93772030

B.Tech Mechanical Engineer having 8 years exp having Oman

driving license seeking suitable

placement. Contact: 97841963

Civil Engineer fresh Graduate

with Omani driving license look-

ing job in any company.

Contact: 91745797 / 99190898

Email: alio_abdo@hotmail.com

Electrical Engineer with 8 Years

Experience, looking for Job, hav-

ing driving License and NOC.

Ph#91293519

Email:nomee987@gmail.com

Diploma in Civil Engineer 3 years

experience (Surveyor) 1 year ex-

perience building work looking for

job. Contact: 94857668

Email: mudassarsh93@gmail.com

Mechanical Engineer, B.Tech &

M.Sc, 3 yrs experience in Oman

having Driving License.

Contact: 91162085

Mechanical Engineer with 2

years experience in Quality Con-

trol / Mechanical Engineer has

achieved certification in NDT level

2, currently in Oman looking for

suitable placement.

Contact: 95632276, Email:

jassin.sudhakaran@gmail.com

Electrical Engineer with 16 years

experience in switchgear / trans-

former / over head lines & trading,

looking for sales / procurement &

project planning & Execution with

NOC & D/L. Contact: 95994727

Email: qurm340@gmail.com

Pakistani male Diploma Civil

Engineer 4yrs exp in Oman bull-

ing & mega projects, valid license

Oman.Contact:98921022

Civil Engineer (Indian male)

5 years experience in Oman with

valid Omani driving license & NOC

looking for suitable opportunity.

Contact: 93101283

Sudanese Civil Engineer 6 years

experience in Oman. # 95212902

Telecommunication Engineer res-

ident in the Sultanate, Sudanese

Nationality. Contact : 95000024

Worked as Electrical & Instrumen-

tation Maintenance Engineer with

Global Gypsum Board Co. LLC, Sala-

lah (3 years) having valid Oman

driving license looking for a new

job urgently. Contact: 93363104

B.E Mechanical Engineer, age

33 with 6+ years experience in

GCC in MEP building construc-

tion field (execution and design

of HVAC,firefighting,plumbing),

with D/L, NOC available

96978380;prajithks@gmail.com

Electrical & Electronics Engr,

knows autocad & revit.

PH: 93837973

Civil Engineer diploma, 4 yrsexp

seeks suitable position ina reputed

company. NOC available.

Contact 96789711

Civil Engineer 8 years experience

Structural buildings marine.

Available NOC release.

Contact: 92451323.

Email: zubairali134@yahoo.com

Indian male Electrical Engineer, having 6 years gulf experience in

designing, assembling, commission-

ing execution etc having valid GCC

license too looking for a suitable.

Contact: 00968-98052942 Email:

azamjeelani78@gmail.com

HSE Engineer (B.E Mech+Diploma

Safety+NEBOSH+OSHA) over

10yrs. Exp, (Visa Release Letter

(NOC) available), seeking suit-

able placement, Mob:97061817,

Email:jayanammu1977@gmail.com

Civil Engineer (B.Tech), Indian

male 24 years with 1+years Indian

experience,(Certified in Staad

Pro/ Quantity Survey/ Auto Cad).

Looking for a Suitable position.

Available In Sultanate of Oman

(Muscat) on Visit Visa.

Contact 92835952. E-mail:

mohammedamair.bin@gmail.com

An Iraqi civil with more than

30 years experience in (Iraq and

G.C.C) looking for a job, (N.O.C)

available. Contact: 96561306

Email: iq.bgd.mnsr@gmail.com

Indian male, Mechanical

Engineer having 1year experi-

ence, on visit visa looking for

suitable job. Contact:97416564,

Email:jovinmathias@gmail.com

Civil Engineer 8 years experience

in Oman as a project engineer for

governmental & private projects.

Contact – 90164912

Young Indian, Engineering in

Bio-technology, Bio-chemical and

Chemical, looking for a challenging

placement in Oman.

Contact 97607000. Email:

sivasankarjayakumar@gmail.com

With over 25 years in varied

industries, presently working with a reputed group in Muscat,

looking out for a suitable change.

, CIPD HR With 13 years experience in GCC and Oman. Competent in Sales,

Interested employer please call 97728418

Sr. Sales & Marketing SpecialistIndian male, Diploma Engineer with BBA

& 16 yrs experience in Oman, worked with

MNC in retail (Telecom/ Lubricant sales)

and with construction industry handling

various products & subcontract projects.

Holding valid Oman D/L, NOC available.

Contact 96960991,

Email : sunap1968@gmail.com

Sr. Electrical Engineer with17+

yrs of exceptional exp in spear

heading strategic planning and

project management initiatives &

executing various high rise resi-

dential & commercial building as

well as roads and highway project

with proficiency in installation,

seeking a challenging position in

a dynamic organization.

Contact 96570891

Construction Machinery repairs

Engineer, 5 years, driving license,

Contact - 94001961

B.Sc Civil Engineer, MBA experi-

ence 5 years (15 months in Oman)

English & Arabic, driving license

looking for a suitable job.

Contact: 94162443

Indian 24 yrs exp SR civil Engg

with NOC, searching suitable job,

in any project Supervision.

Contact: 96602718

mishteyaqh@yahoo.co.in

Site Supervisor, Diploma in

Civil Engg (cert attested) knows

autocad revit, salary exp: 250

Ph : 92279784

Diploma Civil Engineer (8 years

Exp.) with driving license.

Contact 92429006,

francisprem123@gmail.com

Indian male, Structural Engineer

looking for job in structural design

field. Having 6 years of experience

in design field. Residing in Muscat.

Contact: 91176187

syam036@gmail.com

Automobile Mechanic ITI 3 years

experience marine mechanical

fitter 2 yrs experience.

Contact: 93674847

Indian 14 yrs exp SR MEP – Elect

Engg with NOC, searching suitable

job, in field PMC, Fire consultants ,

Testing & com, project supervision.

Contact: 92437865

Email: maimran.mtech@live.com

Indian male B-tech 8 years expe-

rience as senior electrical project

engineer / QC engineer on visit

visa seeks suitable placement.

Contact 94094543

Email: anwar425@gmail.com

IT Solution Architect,Indian fe-

male post graduate with 12 years of

IT experience. Looking for position

of IT Solution Architect/Consult-

ant/Project Manager, Valid driving

license. Contact 96563962

Indian male 4 years experience in

IT as Programmer / Web Support /

CCNA/ Network on visit visa seek-

ing placement. Contact: 93069694

Email: mrabrar14@gmail.com

Software Developer having two

years of experience in PHP Web

development & Microsoft CRM &

adx Portal experience looking for

a developer position in reputed

Software house or IT Dept bilal.

Contact: 95596711 / 92762313

IT Support Engineer, Exp 3 years

in Oman 2 years in India.

Contact: 94672759

System IT Engineer with Linux &

UNIX System Administration skills

transferable visa. Contact: 99109332

Omani 26(m) seeks placement

6 yrs experience IT specialist.

Contact: 99025044

Indian female M.Sc Computer

Science seeking suitable place-

ment in Muscat area.

Contact: 98660672

Indian Male, MCA Graduate, 15 yrs

exp in ERP, CSM Certified, seeking

suitable role.NOC Available.

Contact : GSM : 90189284

Email: meetlibran@gmail.com

MANAGER

Indian male Graduate 10 years

experience in Oman seeks mid

management position with trading

/ automobile organization.

Contact: 92133277

Email: bijuma73@yahoo.com

Operations Manager – Interior

designing, Indian male, 20 years

experience in Interior Decora-

tion, Joinery, Gypsum Works, MEP

Works, BOQ preparation, costing,

looking for suitable placement.

Contact: 97608867

Purchase Head Indian 20 years

experience in MNC Civil, MEP,

FIRE, Oil& Gas, PDO Omani driving

license NOC available.

Contact: 93737496

Staff Nurse seeking job for nurse

with 2 years experience in India

with visit visa, passed with 51%

Oman prometric. Contact: 91451935

D- Pharm Pharmacist 17 years

experience Ayurvedic Panchakar-

ma Masseur’s 3 years experience.

Contact: 93672452

Indian female Dentist specialized

Endodontist looking for suitable

placement, prometric completed.

Contact: 96410448

MEDICAL

MISCELLANEOUS

MISCELLANEOUS

Indian male 34 yrs having 8 yrs

Client / Customer Service Man-

agement exp. in Oman looking for

suitable in Hospitality or Admin /

Sales Service. Contact: 96786325

Nithin Issac (Indian male)

bachelor degree & MSW Medical

& Psychiatry Hospital experience

for 4 years in public relations and

one year experience as Psychiatric

Social Worker.

Contact 98937662 / 90188131

Email: nithsknur@gmail.com

Indian B.Tech 37 years Project

Engineer , 12 + years experience in

construction, maintenance of STP,

Pumping stations, sewer lines,

drinking water distribution and

service reservoirs & pipe lines.

Contact: 99364007 /

+91-887422635

Email: mdzubair01@gmail.com

Indian male, 16 years experi-

ence in Telecom vas industry on

different Vas products, services &

Enterprise solutions, looking for

managerial position in relevant

field, visit visa on hand for three

months. Contact: 99744870 /

0091-9959171939,

Email: tsbabu@airhub.com

BS in Electrical Engineering, Experience: 5 years(Power Plants).

Contact: 92475206 Email:

zahaibzafar007@gmail.com

Procurement Coordinator Indian

male 30 yrs B.Com (Computers) 4

years experience in Saudi Arabia

Construction Company looking for

any suitable position on visit visa

till 18 June 2016.

Contact: 0968 98590811 Email:

ibrahimhashmi220@gmail.com

Indian male, 28, post graduate,

6+ yrs exp in Oman in sales (back

office) & credit control with valid

Oman D/L looking for suitable

lacements. NOC available.

Contact: 92066 523

SECRETARIAL & OFFICE

Lady Secretary / Sales Co-co-

ordinator 12 years experience in

Oman in reputed companies,

seek immediate Employment.

Call: 95244761

Looking for part time job Secre-tarial / Data Entry / Documenta-

tion available every day after 5:00

pm Friday / Saturday full day area

preferred Ruwi/ CBD/ MBD /

Al Khuwair. Contact: 90414827

Indian male MBA Finance & Marketing 25 yrs

having 1.9 years of experience

Finance & Marketing

Contact: 95206140/ 96992013 Email:

bonnythomas007@gmail.com

With 2 years exp in Telecom sector, currently on visit visa, looking for suitable placement.

with 11 yrs. Experience in Gov/Private.

services management.

Teacher available in Seeb,

Al-Mwalah, Al-Hail and Al-Khod

Areas. Contact: 93848364

Indian male in English, M.Phill,

B.Ed with 5 years experience in

College teaching & good admin-

istrative skill is looking for a

suitable placement in Education

Institutions or offices. Contact:

98260529 / 97297939 Email:

samsundarlit@gmail.com

Diploma Engineering Instrumenta-

tion Technician, 2 years experience

skills calibration & installation etc.

Contact: 98963344 / 96946408

Email: anfeeranfu4@gmail.com

Indian Female, 25 Years - MSc

Biotechnology, 1yr exp. in Micro-

biology, Looking for suitable job.

Mobile: 92619048,

Email: anusreeg1991@gmail.com

SALES / MARKETING

SALES / MARKETING

SKILLED LABOR

20 years experience in Oman S.T.P

Operator. Contact: 93089468

STP operator 20 yrs experience.

Contact: 93550661

Email: feroz1391@gmail.com

Indian male good experience in

Sales, Marketing, Admin & Accounts

looking for suitable job.

Contact: 96199690

Digital Marketer: MCA, 2.6 yrs. Exp:

SEM/SMM/PPC/SEO/SMO looking

for suitable positions. Contact,

Email: abeyve@gmail.com.

Contact 93594114

35 years male, Lebanese holding

British passport, 10 years of expe-

rience in procurement, Omani Gov-

ernment tenders, setup marketing

plans & strategies, importing,

Organizing events, management,

have car, NOC available.

Contact 94123939

Email: 002015r@gmail.com

Indian male more than 10 years

experience in Sales and

Administration with NOC & D/L

seeks suitable placement.

Contact: 97205114

Indian Male, MBA marketing 5

yrs exp. in sales & 4 yrs in FMCG

sector, looking for best opportu-

nity. NOC available.

Contact: 96001877

Indian male 24 years B.com

2 years of experience in Sales

& Office Admin knowledge of

Tally ERP 9 & MS Office. Contact:

98613373 / 97359814, Email:

syedismailnoor@gmail.com

Indian Male, 26 M.Com with

4 yrs of Experience in Accounting

& Administration in a Financial

Company in India, seeks suitable

job, Currently in India.

Contact: India:-+918907212253

Akhil:-93626288, Email:

Sumeshpsmkr1989@gmail.com

Indian male Graduate with 18

years of Marketing experience

presently in Oman on family visit

visa, looking for best opportunity.

Contact: 96168687

Email: dhibupaul@gmail.com

Pakistani male MBA 6 years experi-

ence, electrical & building material

in Oman seeking for placement.

Contact : 968 96789513

IT professional, B.E. in IT, CCNA,

MCSA, MCSE, 3yrs exp. in IT, valid

Omani D/L seeking suitable place-

ment in IT/Network/Server sup-

port/Retail sales. Contact 91496939

Indian Male, Post graduate with

10yrs experience in gulf & 4.6yrs in

Oil & Gas experience with SAP and

ERP exposure. Finalisation, MIS, Au-

diting, Budgeting, AP &AR, Tax, etc.,

with Oman D/L seeking suitable

placement. NOC available.

Contact: 91743376

Indian male, 25 yrs, more than 5

years experience in Dubai, Looking

for a suitable placement for jobs re-

lated to sales, marketing, coordina-

tion and support. #95140445,

syedfaraz97681@gmail.com

Indian female, B.Tech Computer

Science, 5 years experience in

teaching in India currently on visit

visa seeking for a suitable position

in teaching, IT or administration.

E mail: rincy87@gmail.com

Indian Male 47 years MBA-

Operations Management with total

25 Yrs exp inclusive of 9 yrs in Oil

& Gas sector in Oman, having valid

Omani D/L & NOC available , seeks

challenging position in SCM/ Lo-

gistics/ Procurement in any Sector.

GSM-94236414.

Mail id – jayamurli@gmail.com

Accountant male Indian, 2 years

experience, doing accounts in tally

& excel seeks suitable job.

EMAIL – regin1690@gmail.com,

Contact +91 7373387282

Filipino I.T. with 5 years experience

looking for suitable job in Oman.

Contact: +968 91183514 or email

delarama_ryan_t@yahoo.c om

B.E (Mechanical) 12 years

industrial sales, 1 year Muscat

experience, presently in India ,

immediately ready to join. Contact

:917338899372 , email id :

ganesh2008sep@gmail.com

Indian female B.Com, 1 year

experience in Oman, experience in

wings account package and knowl-

edge of tally. Looking for Account-

ing job. Presently in Family visa.

Contact: 93491124 & 92054531

Indian male, M.Com, 7 years

Oman experience in the field of

accounts and valid oman driving

license & NOC. Good knowledge in

SAP, Tally, Oracle, MS office and

Excel seeks suitable placement.

Contact 92859733

ACCA affiliate, B.Sc Degree holder,

3 years experience in audit and

finance at Big 6, Male, Looking for

suitable placement. NOC release

available. Contact:95140445,

a.saran891@gmail.com

Indian Male, 23, BBA graduate

with approx. 2 years experience in

India and UAE is looking for job in

sales / marketing.

Contact: 94032041; Mail:

azzamsiddique1@gmail.com

Indian male electrician(EEE ).

Two years good working experi-

ence searching for suitable job.

Gmail ; antonyajin15@gmail.

com. Antony Ajin.G, Contact: 91

8148336160 / 91 8300136160

Indian Male, 23, BBA graduate,

fresher, looking for a job in sales

(indoor). No driving license.

Contact: 94032041 Mail:

azzamsiddique1@gmail.com

Male Indian, 8 years of experience

doing desktop engineer, software

implementation, system admin,

searching for suitable job. Email:

thiruvazhimarban.ciet@gmail.

com, mobile: +919171447997 /

+919894357260

MISCELLANEOUS

MISCELLANEOUS

Indian Male, 23, BBA graduate,

fresher on visit visa, looking for

a job in sales. Contact: 94032041

Mail: azzamsiddique1@gmail.com

Female B. Ed English teacher, 7 yrs exp seeking suitable

placement. Contact : 99739415 /

92091528

Indian female Mathematics

Lecturer. M Sc Mathematics from

a Prestigious University. B.Ed

qualified, distinction holder.

7 Yrs experience with last 5 years

as Assistant Professor Math-

ematics in Engineering College.

Contact: 91360147.

Indian male 37 years MBA gradu-

ate in marketing with 9yrs of

experience in UAE in field of brand

promotions & marketing with UAE

D/L on a visit seeking suitable

position. Conatct 95792820

IT professional, B.E. in IT, CCNA,

MCSA, MCSE, 3yrs exp. in IT, valid

Omani D/L seeking suitable place-

ment in IT/Network/Server sup-

port/Retail sales. # 91496939.

Assistant Accountant - B.Com

Graduate with excellent overall

skills. 2 Years of experience. Ready

for immediate joining.

Contact: sharonravi00@gmail.com,

968-92049215

Software Engineer with 5 + plus

years of experience in Infosys

ltd on visit visa seeking suit-

able vacancy in oman. Email :

steffyraphel@gmail.com mob:

96896246205 / 96897032284

Indian male 26 years, Graduate in

BBM & having Diploma in Logis-

tics with 3 years of experience in

Banking and Accounts looking for

suitable placement. Contact :

+ 968 97166820/ +91 9895102356

Email :afsalrahman1989@gmail.com

Indian Female looking for a part

time opportunity (Graphic Design/

Teaching/Research Assistant/

Business Development/Admin-

istration) Contact: 95811820 or

sankarikm06@gmail.com

SENIOR ACCOUNTANT-M. Com

Finance-Indian with 7 years expe-

rience in Finance & Accounts up

to finalization. Having D/L & NOC.

Mob:94122464,

caammk13@gmail.com

Tea boy looking for job Name:

Man Bahadar Contact: 97859837

Indian Female, M.Sc Computer

Science, Seeking suitable place-

ment in Muscat Area. #98660672

Indian Female, 29 Yrs Age, M.Sc

Microbiology, looking for Job any

reputed organization / Hospitals,

seeks suitable position.

Contact : 95218424 / 9610 6604.

On Family Residence Visa.

Indian female 10 years exp as cook

in Oman. South Indian & Gujarati

special looking for job,company or

restaurant. Contact 90559292

Indian Male B-Com Graduate

1 year, experience in market sur-

vey, Valid Driving License,

looking for any suitable post.

Contact: 92567020 / 96930392

Indian Male 30 year GCC driving

license and past experience as

project coordinator looking for a

suitable position. Project Coordina-

tion, Sales Executive, Marketing

Executive or any other suitable

post. Contact number -97070427

IT professional, B.E. in IT, CCNA,

MCSA, MCSE, 3yrs exp. in IT, valid

Omani D/L seeking suitable place-

ment in IT/Network/Server sup-

port/Retail sales. #91496939.

Indian B-Com Graduate 1 year

Experience in market survey,

Valid Driving License,

looking for any suitable post.

Contact :92567020 / 96930392,

shwayanad@gmail.com

Indian female 27 yrs, Diploma in

Aviation & Hospitality manage-

ment, seeking suitable placement.

Curnetly in Oman, NOC Available.

Contact 94880684

Female Dentist with MOH license

and NOC, 7 years experience 2 yrs

out of them in Oman looking for a

job. Contact 97401243

Indian Female on a visit visa hav-

ing master degree seeking suitable

placement in any field, 1 ,5 year ex-

perience in HR .Contact 91467576.

Indian male network cabling tech-

nician (19-years Gulf experience)

seeking for suitable placement.

Contact 0091-8089909265 (India),

Email: mohithavp@gmail.com

DAILY GUIDED6 T U E S D AY, M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 6

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.comTel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

SIT.WANTED

MISCELLANEOUS

Indian male 33 years, B.Com, hav-

ing 6 years experience in Oman.

Tally & ERP looking for suitable

placement. Mobile no :98492921

Looking for a part time accounting

job, additional experience in admin

& store - purchase. #99196621

Indian male with 5 year Oman

Sales Experience with valid

Oman D/L, looking for suit-

able position. Mobile:97221624,

Email:saileshpkhanna@gmail.com

B.E. (Mechanical) 12years indus-

trial sales one year Muscat experi-

ence, Presently in India,

Immediately ready to join.

Contact :917338899372 , email id :

ganesh2008sep@gmail.com

Male, Indian, 25, 5 years experi-

ence in Dubai; looking for perma-

nent placement in Oman for jobs

related to sales, coordination and

marketing. Contact: +971563664701

syed97681@gmail.com

Male, 23, with experience in UAE

& India, looking for job in sales /

marketing. Contact: 94032041

Sr. Accountant, WITH Oman D/L

& 8.5 yrs exp, 7.5 yrs Oman & 1 yr

India in manufacturing, trading

& contracting Cos, independently

handling all accounting, finance,

banking, L/C, import, export & fina-

lization seeks placement,

srjob12@gmail.com

Procurement/Tender & Contract

Procurement /logistics & freight

Specialist /Oil Field / petrochemi-

cal/Engineer /MBA /SAP certify

/ 15yrs Rich Experience/ Import

&export Specialist / Oil Field expe-

rience/ coordinator / World Wide

supplier network /Noc available

Looking for challenging Position

Contact: 97813849,

Email Id:vved76@gmail.com

Male, 23, with experience in UAE

& India, looking for job in sales /

marketing. Contact: 94032041

Indian Male Accountant. Com-

pleted MBA with 1 year experience,

good working knowledge in Tally

& Excel. Searching for suitable

job. Email : jovin8910@gmail.

com, Contact : 919715874548 ,

918015907437

Indian male electrician(EEE ).

Two years good working experi-

ence searching for suitable job.

Gmail antonyajin15@gmail.

com, : Contact; 918148336160 /

918300136160

Electrical & Electronics diploma

Engineer Indian male 23 years,

2 years experience in Electrical

field/good experience in Electron-

ics MCU projects currently in

visit visa please do not hesitate to

Contact; 93047707

Email: adilm89@gmail.com

Indian male 30 yrs, holding valid

driving license, having 5 years of

experience in sales, looking for

suitable position.

Contact # 90552942/94355626

Indian male Diploma in Electron-

ics, having 3 years of experience

in the hardware and networking

field, also worked in construction

company Mabela for 6 months

as supervisor, trying to get driving

license. Contact: - +96897017866.

Business Management Gradu-

ate with 12 years of experience

in Oman, Worked with catering,

medical, IT groups seeks suitable

placement in Finance/purchase/

insurance sector, NOC Available.

Email, saima.gangawali@gmail.

com, Mob 94258301

Mechanical Engineer, Indian,

Male,5 years experience in GCC &

India, looking for permanent place-

ment in Oman. NOC Release Avail-

able. Contact: 00968-95140445;

noorullahanas@gmail.com

Indian female (27 yrs) MBA(IT),

BCA,CCNA.2year experience in IT

operations in Oman. Graduated from

Oman with good analytical, com-

municating & programming skills,

presented in international confer-

ence, seeking suitable positions.

contact:93672143.e-mail id:fathima.

shoukath@gmail.com

Part- Time Accountant, well experi-

enced senior accountant ,capable of

doing all type of accounting works

up to finalization, Budgeting, Bank

financing requirements, taxation

work etc available.

Contact : : 98803439

BS in Electrical engineering,

experience : 6 years in electrical

installation and maintenance

Contact : 99817032,

Email : engmmg24@yahoo.com

Indian male, M. Com with 3 yr

Oman Exp in Accounts with valid

NOC & D/L on Visit Visa, available to

join immediately . GSM :94744575

Indian Female seeking a job in

Back Office and Accountancy,

8+ years proven experience as a

dynamic candidate with excellent

Excel & Communication skills.

Quick learner and Team player.

Currently on Family Visa.

Contact 94093154, 91746890,

Email: joyjohn_hhh@yahoo.com

Sri Lankan Male, 31 years. 6 years

experience as an Accounts Execu-

tive, (Languages can speak Urdu/

Arabic, English written & spoken) .

Contacts: 99782930/

lalindra1st@yahoo.com

HSE Engineer, Indian male, 5.5

Plus years experience in Oil & Gas.

Working in Shclumberger.NEBOSH,

IOSH, & NDT Certified, M Tech in

HSE. CONTACT-krish.569@gmail.

com Mobile- +91 9867016808

Sri Lankan Male, 31 years. 6 years

experience as an Accounts Execu-

tive, (Languages can speak Urdu/

Arabic, English written & spoken).

Contact 99782930/

lalindra1st@yahoo.com

Indian male with 10+ years of

working experience (security solu-

tions, event management) on visit

visa seeks suitable placement.

Contact 97945269,

hkkrishna@gmail.com

Indian male Network Cabling Tech-

nician (19-years gulf experience)

seeking for suitable placement. mo-

bile no: 0091-8089909265 (India),

email: mohithavp@gmail.com

Senior accountant ,NOC avail-

able, more than 5 years exp., born

& bought up in Oman, Account-

ing upto finalization, computer

skills tally9, Sage ERP accpac

500(6.0A), Vcams , Audit ,valid

Oman D/L, languages known

English ,Arabic, Hindi. can join im-

mediately. Tel: 96339599, mail-

ahmedmohdkhan@gmail.com

Petrochemicals Specialist, Chemical, MBA 18 YEARS EXPE-

RIENC IN OIL FIELDS COM, RAW

MATERIAL , polymer, SPACIAL-

ISED IN Procurement /COMME-

CIAL/ PURCHASE / LOGISTICS /

SCM/Planning & sound knowledge

of technical requirement for any

manufacture plant Forecasting,

Distribution, Vendors Develop-

ment, LC opening/ establishment

coordination with NOC available.

Contact:97813849

SITUATION WANT-SIT. WANTED

Indian Male, 24 yrs, looking for

any type of job, qualification is

Diploma in Electronics with 3 years

of experience in the hardware an

networking field an also worked

in construction company Mabelah

for 6 months as supervisor, having

valid D/L. Contact : - +96897017866.

33 year old Filipina with experi-

ence in Tele performance, Manila

call centre, now working as Wait-

ress in Qatar seeking suitable post.

Local contact 99022484

Indian Male 28 years, Mechani-

cal Engineer (Diploma) with 2

years’ exp., Automobile ITI NCVT,

CSWIP-BGAS Painting QC Grade-2,

NDT Level-2, ISO Lead Auditor

QA (IRCA), Piping QC & Isometric

Drawings, WPS & WPQR, available

on Visit Visa, seeks suitable job.

Contact: 90653733,

libinthomaslt@gmail.com

SCM / LOGISTICS/ PROCURE-

MENT - 25 Yrs exp - Indian Male

- Oil & Gas, Manufacturing Sector

- Having valid Oman D/L & NOC

available. Seeks Challenging sen-

ior position. GSM-94236414,

Email ID - jayamurli@gmail.com

Light Duty Driver, Fluent in

English, Arabic. Well knowledge of

Oman Areas looking for suitable

placement. Contact 97950869

IT Administrator with 6 yrs of GCC

experience, now in Dubai (visit

visa).seeking suitable placement in

UAE. Contact :00971-565598176,

email:aneeshngr@gmail.com

Indian Male: 23yrs, MBA in Market-

ing from UK (United Kingdom), look-

ing for a job, currently in Muscat in

visit. No: 97210361 / 95357513,

Email: sharanshetty3@gmail.com

Highly experienced mechanical/

steel structural fabrication engi-

neer looking for suitable place-

ment. NOC available.

Contact 99860714,

hussain20173@gmail.com.

Architect Engineer seeking for

suitable job, 8 years experience.

GSM : 96075000, Email :

haytham_201046@yahoo.com

B.E(Mechanical) 12years in-

dustrial sales one year Muscat

experience ,Presently in India

,Immediately ready to join ,Mobile

no :917338899372 , email id :

ganesh2008sep@gmail.com

Electrical & Electronics diploma

engineer Indian male 22 years,

2 years experience currently in

visit visa. Contact 93047707

adilm89@gmail.com

Planning Engineer, BE Mech Engg.

Indian Female having total 11 yrs

exp in oil & gas projects (8+ yrs in

Gulf) with valid Oman D/L, Seeks a

Suitable job. Contact: 92456003

Indian Male 48 Yrs with over 25

Years Oman experience in Sales &

Marketing with NOC & valid Oman

D/L Also Fluency in Arabic, seeks

suitable placement. Contact no.:

92210661/99224057

B.S.C in Electrical Engineering,

Experience: 5 Years (Power Plant).

Contact: 92475206

Email: zahaibzafar007@gmail.com

Fresh B.Com Graduate in visit

visa looking for a job. Contact:

93518923 / 99075027.

email: sheikcok@yahoo.com

Indian male,B.Com + Dip. Logistic

2year experience looking for a job

in Accounts/Logistics Field. Pres-

ently on Visit Visa # 93884951,

Email:mehreenraiz@gmail.com

Admin Assistant. Having 5 years

experience in admin department in

reputed companies, presently work-

ing in Muscat (NOC Available).

GSM. 00968-98404122, mail -

panduru.jeevankumar@gmail.com

Looking for a part time accounting

& admin job. Contact 99196621.

Indian male, 24 yrs, B. Com Graduate

more than 1 year experienced in ac-

counts planning to come for a family

visit in oman seeking for a suitable

placement .#99339544 / 99743709

Indian male, 40 Years, B. Com,

having 10 years experience in

Oman, Tally & ERP- looking for

suitable placement ( NOC and

Oman driving license available)

Tel- +91 89 43 109897

Rajeev. 252002@gmail.com

Import & Export professional,

Experienced as Asst. Commercial

Manager for 15 years, Proficient in

MS office, Male Indian, Seeks suit-

able placement, on Visit,

Contact 95484684

Indian male, 33 yrs, MBA-HR

generalist with 10 yrs including

training of Omani nationals.NOC

possible .Seeking a suitable job.

Contact :saiprasad_18@yahoo.com,

94179499

Indian male, 40 Years, B. Com,

having 10 years experience in

Oman, Tally & ERP- looking for

suitable placement ( NOC and

Oman driving license available.

Contact +91 89 43 109897

Rajeev. 252002@gmail.com

Safety officer, 3 years of experi-

ence in safety certifications: BE

(electrical and electronics engi-

neering), NEBOSH, IOSH, DHSE,

first aid. Contact +97474018995,

mail:midhunmich@gmail.com,

skype:midhunmike

Indian male, network cabling

technician (19 years Gulf experi-

ence) seeking for suitable place-

ment. NOC available. Contact :

0091-8089909265 (India),

E mail: mohithavp@gmail.com

Electronics Technician , 4 Years

experience as Electronics service

engineer. Knowledge in all type of

Electronics items. Looking for suit-

able placement. GSM- 99105043

Indian male, M. Com, 11 years

experience in the field of account-

ancy and Stores. Good knowledge

in SAP, Tally, oracle, MS office and

Excel seeks suitable placement.

Contact 92859733

Indian male, M.Com, 7 years Oman

experience in the field of accounts

and valid oman driving license &

NOC . Good knowledge in SAP, Tally,

oracle, MS office and Excel seeks

suitable placement. # 92859733

DAILY GUIDET U E S D AY, M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 6 D7

TOURS

TOURS

RENT A CAR

25 - 50 seater bus with PDO &

BP specification for monthly rent

& small car with driver. Contact

99839898

Al Ibtisama rent & leasing. Contact: 91374879 / 96627562/

99382001/ 24751177/ 24751188

SITUATION WANTEDCARGO

Dolphin Watch, Dhow Cruise with

Buffet, & Land Tours Al- Ainain

Marine Tours contact 98029602,

92808636

We arrange tours & accommoda-

tion at all the beautiful places in

Oman. Contact 99839898

RENT A CARBest Rates for Saloon

Contact: 97869042 / 95730550

sales@modernreem.com

DRIVING

TRANSPORTATION

AVAILABLE

Party & Wedding equipment rentals. Full line, from Tables, Linen & Skirt-

ing, Chairs & Chair covers, Cutlery, Crockery, Glassware, Chafing Dishes,

Ice Sculptures, to Large Sound Systems and spectacular lighting.

Call Andrea 9606 2222 for Catering and Croyden 9623 5555 for Sound &

Light. ww.tunesoman.com, E-mail: info@tunesoman.com

GOOD NEWS

GOOD NEWS

SIT.WANTED

SIT.WANTED

Ayurvedic treatment for joint

pain, backache, paralysis, mas-

sage, steambath, obesity, Spondy-

litis, Ideal Care Ayurvedic Clinic,

18 November Street, Azaiba.

Contact: 99639695 / 97397320

FREE INFORMATION ABOUT ISLAM. If you would like to

know more about Islam, please

call: 99425598, 99250777,

99353988, 99253818, 99341395,

and 99379133. For ladies:

99415818, 99321360, 99730723

Orvisit:www.islamfact.com

Transportation available Ruwi to

Al Khuwair, Ghubra & Azaiba.

Contact: 91103909

Transportation. Contact:96538078

Transportation. Contact:94510847

Transportation. Contact 9508282

Transportation. Contact 92015894

Transportation required from Qu-

rum to WadiKabir at afternoon only

1 PM. Contact - 99012165

Ayurvedic treatment for back-

ache, paralysis, arthritis etc

& massage, All Season (Vaid-

yaratnam). Contact:24475280 /

95371664 / 92504980

www.siddhayur.com

Indian male 42, BE-Civil 13 years

experience in Road construction.

looking for suitable placement.

having valid Oman driving license.

Contact: 95225214, Email:

Sudheerrokkala73@gmail.com

Indian with 3 years for experience

in sales and marketing fluency in

English, Arabic, Hindi, Tamil and

Malayalam looking for suitable job.

Also hold valid Driving License,

currently in oman Mob : 93451439

Bachelor in Hotel Management

Having 13 years experience in

Catering Industry in all aspects of

Operations with D/L looking out for

a suitable placement. # 90654826

Email: mailingsaikiran@gmail.com

Safety Officer 3 years of expe-

rience in safety certifications:

BE (Electrical and Electronics

Engineering),NEBOSH, OSH, DHSE,

first aid. Contact +97474018995,

email:midhunmich@gmail.com

skype:midhunmike

27 years old Indian male looking

hospitality jobs in Hotel. Experi-

ence in customer service, front

desk, housekeeping supervisor,

captain, cashier,guest relation

manager. Contact. +968-90351742

Email. samubaid6@gmail.com

Indian female, MBA, Diploma in

Aviation & Hospitality mgt (IATA),

having 4 yrs of exp, on family visa

seeks job in Oman.

Contact-9910 4529, 95679557,

e-mail-jkramya91@gmail.com

NOC available, Indian Male - MBA

(HR) and B.E (E.I.E) with total 9

years of experience in HR & Admin

and Business Development (3 yrs

of Gulf exp.) can join immediately -

Contact 91240251 /

kvaradhan@hotmail.com

Senior Accountant, NOC avail-

able, more than 5 years exp., born

& bought up in Oman, Account-

ing upto finalization, computer

skills tally9, Sage ERP ACCPAC

500(6.0A), Vcams, Audit ,valid

Oman driving license, lan-

guages known English, Arabic,

Hindi. Can join immediately.

Tel: (+968) 96339599, E-mail-

(ahmedmohdkhan@gmail.com)

Indian Male 42 year’s, MBA, Sr.

Material controller having 12 years

experience in Oman with reputed

companies. Having Oman driving

License, Seeks suitable replace-

ment immediately. Available NOC.

Cont. 00968-92944026,

Email – charanjeet35@yahoo.co.in

Indian male, 26 years old BA

Graduate having 1 year experience

in accounts finance field. Looking for

suitable Job On visit visa immedi-

ately available. Contact. 9565 9415

anishkhan991867@gmail. com

ELECTRONICS ENGINEER Indian/

male/24Yrs,Bsc.Electronics &

Communications,ITI,1.7 Years

experience as Service Technician

in India, on visit Visa, looking For a

Suitable Placement. #:92794176 ,

E-mail: prathyushkp9@gmail.com

LAND SURVEYOR: Male, more than

12 years’ experience in land/pipe

line surveying in Oman and UAE.

Looking for suitable placement. NOC

available. Contact 91215843

D8 T U E S D AY, M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 6

DAILY GUIDE Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classifieds@timesofoman.comTel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624

MANPOWER

SITUATION WANTEDSERVICES

SITUATION WANTEDSERVICES

SERVICES

A/C Maintenance & Servicing,

Fridge, Washing machine & Dish

washer repairing, Painting & Clean-

ing services, Electrical & plumbing.

Contact 99447257 / 97014234 /

24504281

Regular container transportation

from Sohar sport to anywhere in

Muscat area OMR 100 per con-

tainer. Contact: 93731363

Marble crystallization & grinding, Ocean center LLC

Contact: 99344723

Y 0

MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of

your marble. Contact 24793614/

99314807

Pest control treatments, Ocean center LLC

Contact 99344723

House shifting. Contact 99708138

Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles

polishing, carpet shampooing,

maintenance. Contact ABU QABAS-

99320217 /24788722

GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet & sofa shampooing,

Contact 99314807/24792998

House shifting & transporting.

Contact 92490422

Split & window A/C servicing, re-

pairing, installation ducted, package

etc. Contact Abbas : 98667326

A/C servicing maintenance.

Contact: 92279370

Window & split unit A.C servicing

& repairing. Contact: 99557080

Split unit A/C & window unit A.C

servicing & maintenance. Contact:

96236476

Split unit & window unit A.C

servicing & maintenance. Contact:

93769089 / 95323517

CAD drawings Archi/ MEP CAD –

comply BIM. Contact: 91233975

Carpet Shampoo, marble & tile

polishing, pest control &

anti-termite treatment, general

cleaning painting,Plumbing,

Electrical, shifting. Contact Mun-

dhir Al-Rizaiqi trading. L.L.C.

Contact: 24810137, 99450130

Marble crystallization & grinding, cleaning & carpet shampooing.

Ocean center LLC. # 99344723

Cleaning services, Sofa, carpet,

shampoo old house or new house.

Contact: 92179395

Water proofing ABUQABAS-

Contact 99320217/24788722

Al farzdaq Al Fedi Trad and Cont

Maintenance services electric,

plumbing and A/C. Contact:

96524904 /94285064

House Shifting Packing. Contact: 99657644 / 98518013

SITUATION WANTEDCOMPUTER/WEB./ EDUCATION/CLASSES

Spoken Arabic class for Non Arabic Speakers & English

class for Malayalam Speakers in Azaiba and Ruwi

earn in two monthstion guaranteed

Tel: 95244310

Karate and self defense classes at Azaiba 18 Nov Street. RO 10 per month

twice a week Monday and Tuesday 6. 30 TO 7. 30. PM. Contact: 98294551