times of oman - november 26, 2015
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Times of Oman - November 26, 2015TRANSCRIPT
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THURSDAY, November 26, 2015 / 14 Safar 1437 AH timesofoman.com wtimesofoman.com facebook.com/timesofoman twitter.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com ISO 9001:2008 Certifi ed Company
On the occasionof the 27th National Day
FROM THE WORDS OF HIS MAJESTYTHE SULTAN
The road before us is long and diffi cult. No one can travel it except those who work hard and patiently, those who can face up to the challenges with a strong spirit of determination and right thinking.
‘His Majesty’s Wisdom’
MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a ca-ble of condolences to Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasmi, Member of the UAE Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, on the death of Sheikh Hamad bin Majid Al Qasmi. In his cable, His Majesty the Sul-tan has expressed his sincere condolences and sympathy, praying to Allah the Almighty to rest the deceased’s soul in peace and grant Sheikh Dr. Al Qasmi and his family patience. -ONA
More cables >A4
MUSCAT: Oman condemned on Wednesday the series of ter-rorist attacks in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya yesterday. These heinous attacks, targeted a bus carrying personnel of Tunisian presidential security, a hotel in Areesh in North Sinai, and a su-icide attack at a security check-point in Libya resulting in the death of a number of innocents and injuries to others.
A statement issued by the Foreign Ministry said the Sul-tanate reaffi rms its full solidar-ity with the governments in combating terrorism and eradi-cating its sources and roots. The Sultanate expressed its sin-cere condolences to the fami-lies of the victims and wished speedy recovery to the injured people.-ONA
C A B L E
T U N I S I A , E G Y P T , L I B Y A
C7
Saying goodbye to Antje Manser
OMANCounselling centre helps SQU students
1Student Counselling Centre at Sultan Qaboos University seeks to promote the mental
health of all the students of the university, their quality of life and aims to create a learning environment for their growth. Staff at the Student Counselling Centre help students. >A4
REGIONRussia sends latest missiles to Syria
2Russia sent an advanced missile system to Syria on Wednesday to protect
its jets operating there and pledged its air force would keep fl ying missions near Turkish air space, sounding a defi ant note after Turkey shot down a Russian fi ghter jet. >A8
SPORTSOman seal T20I series with thrilling win
3Bilal Khan’s four-wicket haul and Aamir Kaleem’s unbeaten 42 stood out in
Oman’s four-run win over Hong Kong in the second Twenty20 International in Abu Dhabi. The win gave Oman the three-match series after it had won the fi rst game by six wickets.>C1
T O P T H R E E I N S I D E S T O R I E S
Police deny reports of hunger strike by Samail jail inmatesTARIQ AL HAREMI/ REJIMON [email protected]@timesofoman.com
MUSCAT: Reports of a mass hunger strike in Samail jail have been denied by senior police of-fi cials in Oman.
Local Arabic media and a Dubai-based English daily had reported that 1,800 Omani in-mates had started a hunger strike in the jail on Sunday as their names were not included in the recent Royal Pardon given by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said.
Contradicting the report, a senior police offi cial told Times of Oman: “No such mass hunger strike is going on in Samail jail as reported by media. The reports
are baseless. Only 10 inmates refused to take food to protest against omission of their names from the pardon list. As they were not meeting the amnesty criteria, their names were not included in the Royal Pardon list.”
On November 17, His Majesty the Sultan had issued a Royal pardon to a number of prisoners convicted in diff erent cases. They included 160 prisoners of whom 67 were expatriates of diff erent nationalities.
His Majesty’s pardon coin-cided with the 45th National Day as well as in consideration of their families.
Such decrees are often issued on occasions like the National Day, Ramadan, Eid Al Fitr and Eid Al Adha every year.
C L A R I F I C A T I O N
BLOOD DONORS: The hospital needs 12,000 units of blood every year, but donations so far have been
only 8,000 units. – A R Rajkumar
Blood shortage hits surgeries at top hospital
HASAN SHABAN AL [email protected]
MUSCAT: One of Oman’s biggest hospitals is facing blood short-age, which has resulted in the postponement of appointments and surgeries. The situation has also forced authorities to urge the public to come forward and visit the blood bank to donate blood.
“The Sultan Qaboos Univer-sity Hospital (SQUH) is facing a shortage of 4,000 blood units (bags) per year. But this week the
shortage became acute due to a number of car accidents on Mon-day,” an offi cial said.
The hospital needs 12,000 units every year, but donations so far have been only 8,000 units.
“So far, the hospital has been able to manage the situation by calling in blood donors, and re-questing additional supplies from other blood banks. This situation has been communicated to the doctors and surgeons in the hos-pital, and the priority for treat-ment is being decided accord-ingly,” Dr. Arwa Al Riyami, senior consultant hematopathologist and chairperson of the Blood Do-nation Committee at SQUH, said.
Group O donors “Group O donors are particularly preferred in emergency situa-tions,” the doctor added.
Ali Al Marhoobi, chief bio-chemical scientist at SQUH, said that such shortages would aff ect patients needing regular blood transfusions as they will be re-ceiving less bags of blood result-ing in rescheduling of their next appointments, creating chaos in the appointment system.
Although Oman suff ers from
lack of donors throughout the year, Al Riyami said the summer and holiday seasons are the driest ones as many people travel out-side the country.
“During the month of Rama-dan, the shortage increases as the people who fast, avoid donating blood,” said Al Riyami, adding that the SQUH blood bank expands its working hours to 24 hours dur-ing Ramadan.
She also pointed out that the SQUH blood bank meets its own demand primarily with its own in-house collections and by hold-ing blood donation campaigns.
A proportion of the blood is also supplied from the central blood bank in Bausher.
Al Riyami said there is coop-eration among all blood banks in Oman to meet the shortage, but the demand for blood is increas-ing, with the expansion of hospi-tal services. “We need to increase voluntarily donations to serve the society,” Al Riyami noted.
Meanwhile, SQUH’s Blood Do-nation Committee organised a blood donation drive at the Sul-tan Qaboos University Student Services on Wednesday from 10am to 4pm. >A6
SQUH has requested
voluntary donors
to augment supply
as recent accidents
have caused blood
shortage and hit
regular transfusions
Elders share stories of
Oman’s renaissance
HASAN SHABAN AL [email protected]
MUSCAT: “They are family, their happiness is our goal,” is the name of a group, which highlights the issues of the elderly. This group has launched a programme to mark the 45th National Day of Oman by giving the elderly a plat-form to share their stories of the Sultanate’s renaissance.
During the event, the elderly spoke to a younger audience about how life was before 1970 and described the challenges they had to endure before His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said acceded to the throne.
Drawing 59 elderly people from Al Azaiba, Barka, Quriyat and Samail, the event was held at Al Seeb and included activities, such as poetry, traditional games and competitions.
Raising awarenessWith the objective of raising awareness among youth about taking care of the elderly, the group had also organised a work-shop in March at the Caledonian College of Engineering (CCE).
Afrah, a member of the group, pointed out that the group was created as an informative ini-tiative, which aims at developing the skills of the participants, on how to deal and communicate with older people, in addition to sharing and learning from their experiences and the diff erent
problems they face while aging.“We provide the Omani society
with a rare opportunity to know more about and how to com-municate with the elderly and appreciate their role in society,” she added.
During the Khareef season in Dhofar, the team launched a pro-gramme entitled, “Khareef with Company of an Elderly”.
“During our stay in Salalah, we implemented a set of pro-grammes to inform school stu-dents about the needs of the elderly by visiting schools, estab-lishing workshops for teachers and students in addition to dis-tributing booklets to tourists at major tourist attractions in Sala-lah,” said Afrah. >A6
4 5 T H N A T I O N A L D A Y
His Majesty sends condolences
Oman condemns
terror attacks
A2 T H U R S DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 6, 2 0 1 5
A3T H U R S DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 6, 2 0 1 5
A4 T H U R S DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 6, 2 0 1 5
OMAN
HM receives thanks cable from Mexico
MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qa-boos bin Said has received a cable of thanks from President Enrique Pena Nieto of the United Mexican States in reply to His Majesty’s congratulatory cable on the occa-sion of his country’s Independence Anniversary.
In his cable, President Nieto expressed his utmost thanks and appreciation for His Majesty’s congratulations. He affi rmed to continue enhancing ties of coop-eration binding the two countries to serve the joint interests of the two friendly peoples. -ONA
C A B L E
ORYX LOGISTICS CELEBRATES NATIONAL DAY:
With the Sultanate celebrating its 45th National Day, Oryx Logistics, part of the Muscat
Overseas Group, celebrated the glorious occasion. Through the celebration on this joyous
occasion, Oryx Logistics conveyed its heartiest congratulations and wished His Majesty
Sultan Qaboos bin Said good health, happiness and a long life. -Supplied photo
Three persons arrested for selling drugs
Times News Service
MUSCAT: Three Omanis were arrested by the Directorate of Narcotics Control for posses-sion and selling of drugs in So-har and Shinas.
A source from North Al Batinah ROP revealed that narcotics control offi cers ar-rested two nationals in Sohar for possession of one kilogram of hashish, while the third sus-pect was arrested in Shinas for peddling.
In another case, 23 persons including a GCC national and an Asian were arrested in dif-ferent areas of the Sultanate for drug use.
C R I M E
MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a cable of congratulations to President Mauricio Macri of the Republic of Argentina on being elected as a President of the Republic.
In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan has expressed his sincere congratulations along with his best wishes of success to Presi-dent Macri in leading the friendly people of Argentina towards pro-gress and prosperity and further progress to the relations between the two countries. -ONA
P R E S I D E N T M A C R I
HM sends greetings to Argentina
SQU facility helps students cope with on campus stress
MOBIN MATHEW [email protected]
MUSCAT: As part of its eff ort to promote mental health among the students, the Student Counsel-ling Centre (SCC) at Sultan Qa-boos University (SQU) is holding group counselling sessions.
The centre’s primary goal is to facilitate a student’s academic and non-academic life, said Marwa Nasser Ahmed Al Rajhi, research assistant at SCC.
Pointing out that parents and family play a very vital role in the life of children’s, she called upon parents to “help their children to positively adjust to their universi-
ty life by encouraging them, help-ing them solve their problems and by always listening to them.”
“Parents should also realise that their children have grown up and are entering the university and a new stage of their life that requires parents’ support, as well as allowing some freedom to the students,” she added.
She also advised parents to con-tact the counselling centre if they feel that their son or daughter is facing a problem in the university
and should also encourage them to meet the counsellor.
Staff at SCC help students ad-dress whatever may be of concern to the students and is aff ecting their well-being.
“The centre’s counselling ser-vices help the students adjust to their university life. When stu-dents enter SQU, they face many diffi culties with the new environ-ment that is very diff erent from their school’s environment.
“This may cause some academ-
ic, social and psychological prob-lems for them,” Al Rajhi told the Times of Oman.
“The specialised counsellors at SCC assess them to deal with their issues through diff erent kinds of services, which could be individu-al or involving group counselling, as well as some other supportive services, such as developmental counselling, outreach counselling, training workshops, and discus-sion seminars,” she added.
The centre also organises a range of programmes to promote mental health, emotional resil-ience and wellness throughout the campus community. The counsel-lors interact with students during orientation, conduct sensitisation programmes and theme-focused short-term group sessions, along with consultations with faculty and staff in every academic de-partment of the university.
According to Al Rajhi, SCC’s counselling is a regular process that continues throughout the se-mester, following a set of schedule that usually reaches all students either via e-mails, posters, or the centre’s publications.
Group counselling sessions for the current semester com-menced at the beginning of Octo-ber and will continue until the end of November. The counselling programme targets groups of stu-dents; each group not exceeding 12 individuals, who meet regular-ly for 9 sessions and each session lasts for 50 minutes. One of the
specialised counsellors at the SCC conducts these sessions.
During the current semester, seven sessions have been conduct-ed on the following topics: “Strate-gies for improving life skills in the university environment,” “Skills of the eff ective time management,” “Self-development,” “Manage-ment of emotions,” “Trust your-self and achieve what you want,” “Strategies to Success,” and “Skills of eff ective study.” All these topics contribute to the enhancement of students’ academic, social and psy-chological life.
Highly relevantAl Rajhi said the outreach-coun-selling programme off ered by the Student Counselling Centre dur-ing this semester, handled a highly relevant topic related to univer-sity students.
“Students at this age are ap-proaching a new phase of life, the married life, in which new respon-sibilities will be placed on their shoulders. Therefore, making stu-dents aware and qualifying them for their future life is one of the goals of the counselling centre,” Al Rajhi said.
“The outreach-counselling pro-gramme that covered the theme of “marriage,” continued from No-vember 5 to 21. The programme also targeted female students only and the lectures took place at on-campus accommodations for fe-male students at the university,” she added.
Parents should also
realise that their
children have grown
up and are entering
the university and a
new stage of their life
that requires parents’
support as well as
some autonomy
‘Canvas Cooler Project’ of Red Bull showcased in SultanateTimes News Service
MUSCAT: Pieces from 10 of the most exciting artists in the Sultan-ate were brought together by the fi rst ever ‘Red Bull Curates’ exhibi-tion here to showcase their crea-tivity, imagination and ingenuity under one roof at the Stal Gallery.
Curated by local talents Has-san Meer and Ibrahim Gailani, the ‘Canvas Cooler Project’ unveiled a new display that showcases Red Bull coolers reworked into pieces of art by emerging artists: Raya Al Maskary, Safi ya Al Bahlani, Mala Yagnesh, Farah Asqul, Tahira Fida, Liubov Nikitina, Rawan Al Mah-rouqi, Sarah Al Balushi, Yasser Al Danki and Taher Al Battashi.
On show were three-dimen-sional pieces that wrapped Red Bull coolers in traditional Omani art, including modern interpreta-tions of two distinct themes for the event, spiritual art and street art that uses every inch and each side of the square canvas.
Speaking after the event, Hassan Al Meer, owner of the Stal gallery, said, “The event’s atmosphere was diff erent and vibrant; the artists interacted with a concept, which was fresh and cool especially for the young artist, who I feel can push the art scene’s boundaries.”
Exhibition curator Ibrahim Gailani, said, “The audience was very keen on seeing the interpre-tation that diff erent artists have on the two concepts. When I got involved in the project, the inten-tion was to have the artists follow
the philosophy we developed for the show and make sure the piece makes a statement and is in line with the interpretation so that it is a cohesive collection.”
“The art scene in Oman needs greater exposure to diff erent genres of art, and that is slowly changing. We need art that makes you paint, makes you ask ques-tions, and here is a piece of art that makes you push the boundary and on a medium you would not use, and done for the sake of art and display of art, and this is where the
best work comes out.” The exhibition is a global ini-
tiative created to transform cubed coolers into living pieces of art. The exhibition was held in part-nership with Hi FM, Hala FM, See Muscat, the Stal Gallery and Gailani Art.
R E D B U L L C U R A T E S
EXPRESSION OF TALENT:
Curated by local talents Hassan
Meer and Ibrahim Gailani, the
‘Canvas Cooler Project’ unveiled
a new display that showcases
Red Bull coolers reworked into
pieces of art by emerging art-
ists. – Supplied photo
Weekend fashion show at City Centre MuscatTimes News Service
MUSCAT: City Centre Muscat has announced the launch of the ‘Muscat Fashion Weekend—a three-day fashion and beauty event that will take place from November 26 to 28.
The event will feature a num-ber of runway shows fi lled with the latest trends, most sought-after looks and must-have pieces, all available at the mall.
City Centre Muscat is the fi rst and largest lifestyle shopping destination in Oman, which is owned and operated by Majid Al Futtaim and the event is continu-ation of the celebrations of the mall’s expansion and the 20th anniversary.
The Fall/Winter fashion show will highlight the latest brands housed in the newly-opened re-tail extension of the mall. The exciting line-up includes a di-verse collection from participat-ing stores featuring their latest ready-to-wear collections, which include: Max, Splash, Cotton On, Forever 21, Koton, Mango, Nayo-mi, Origem, Promod, New Look, Desigual, Hanayan, Marks and Spencer, BabyShop, Okaldi, Tape a l’oeil and many more.
Throughout the event, visitors will be treated to special gifts from the fashion retailers, as well as an enticing menu of food and beverages from the mall’s
dining outlets. “With a fl urry of activity surrounding City Cen-tre Muscat’s expansion and the 20th anniversary of the City Cen-tre brand, the dedicated fashion shows are an ideal platform for introducing the retail stores that reside in the newly developed area to Oman’s fashionable and beauty-centric shoppers.
“As the leading fashion and re-tail destination in the Sultanate, we are proud to introduce a num-ber of new fashion retailers to Oman for the fi rst time, and cre-ate great moments for everyone, every day with an exciting sched-ule of memorable events,” said Husam Al Mandhari, senior mall manager for City Centre Muscat. City Centre Muscat continues to position it status as the foremost destination for style and fashion in the Sultanate.
N O V E M B E R 2 6 T O 2 8
The event will also introduce
the retail stores in the newly
developed area. – Supplied photo
The art scene in Oman needs greater exposure to diff erent genres of art, and that is slowly changing
Ibrahim Gailani, Exhibition curator, Red Bull Curates
Students honoured for acumen
MUSCAT: Young Entrepre-neurs Competition (YEC) con-cluded its 9th regional event with a prestigious awards cer-emony at Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa in Muscat on Wednseday under the pa-tronage of His Highness Sayyid Faisal bin Turki Al Said and in the presence of Khalid Moham-mad Al Zubair, Chairman of IN-JAZ Oman, and INJAZ Al Arab’s Board of Directors.
Students were recognised for their success in delivering vi-able and dynamic business con-cepts. YEC 2015 saw 14 teams go head-to-head on the grounds of business acumen, with a view to claim one of the nine prestig-ious accolades on off er in this once in a lifetime opportunity.
“Today is a lovely moment where we celebrate INJAZ Al Arab’s ambitious entrepre-neurs, who have proven that they are looking towards the fu-ture with relentless passion and determination,” said Sheikh Khalid Al Zubair, Chairman of Injaz Oman. “We are still living in the high spirits of 45th Glo-rious National Day, which ac-knowledges the nation’s broad spectrum of achievements, of which youth development is an important part. Hosting this event, acknowledging and praising the accomplishment of young people here in Oman, forms a vibrant continuation of our ongoing festivities”. -ONA
I N J A Z A L A R A B
PROMOTING WELL BEING: Staff at Student Counselling Centre of
Sultan Qaboos University help students address whatever it is
that may be of concern to them and is aff ecting their well-
being. – Supplied photo
A6
OMANT H U R S DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 6, 2 0 1 5
The achievements of Oman since the Renaissance are a direct translation of His Majesty’s view for the future of the nation
OAMC, management
She added that she and her team had paid visits to hospitals to tell patients and employees about the common diseases that can aff ect the elderly and how to prevent and treat them.“People’s sympathy with aged-care initiatives is the true test of so-ciety’s caring, and we believe that our Omani youth are coping well with the growing elderly population. However, they need to be educated on how to take care of them properly and in the right manner,” said Afrah.
# O M A N P R I D E
Donate blood for needyFakhria Al Amri, deputy chair-person of the blood donation committee stated that many people showed up after the so-cial media campaign.
Any citizen or expatriate can donate blood if they fulfi l the do-nation criteria.
The donor must be in good general health, has to eat a sup-per before giving blood and bring along an ID card or labour
card for expats while attending the blood bank.
“Volunteers will need to fi ll a form and give information about their age (must be above 18 years of age) and weight (above 50 kg),” offi cials said.
“The Sultanate follows inter-national regulations to deter-mine eligibility for blood dona-tion and fi nal determination is made by the medical team at the
blood drive or blood donation centre,” Al Riyami added.
“We need to drive more peo-ple to join our campaigns,” Al Marhoobi stressed while point-ing out that each individual can donate up to four times a year.
“The SQUH blood bank is open from 7:30 am to 9:00 pm from Saturday to Thursday for receiving any donations,” the SQUH said.
< FROM
A1 < FROM
A1
KING SALMAN MEETS AL MA’AWALIThe Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman
bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
(KSA) received Khalid bin Hilal Al Ma’awali, Chairman of
Majlis Al Shura who conveyed greetings of His Maj-
esty Sultan Qaboos bin Said along with best wishes of
continuous health to King Salman. On his turn, the KSA
King asked the Chairman of Majlis Al Shura to convey
his sincere greetings and best wishes of wellbeing and a
long life to His Majesty the Sultan. -ONA
Million signature drive for Guinness record bid
Times News Service
MUSCAT: To celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Blessed Re-naissance, the Oman Airport Management Company (OAMC) marked the national day start-ing November 18, with a series of events that will continue till the end of the month, in Muscat, Sala-lah, Sohar and the Duqm Airports.
To demonstrate gratitude for the wise leadership of Oman led by His Majesty, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who led country on the path to peace and prosperity, the fi rst celebration was held at the OAMC headquarters in the Muscat International Airport under Sheikh Saba’ bin Hamdan Al Sadi, secretary general for the Supreme Committee to Cel-ebrate the National Day and in the presence of senior OAMC man-agement and staff .
Personal recollectionsThe event also launched the “My Feelings for Oman and the Sul-tan” initiative, which gives citi-zens and residents the chance to record their personal recollec-tions of Oman and His Majesty on special greeting cards designed with the colours of the Omani
fl ag. The initiative, supervised by the Ministry of Education, aims to collect one million completed cards to enter the Guinness Book of World Records.
OAMC’s management said, “Under the wise leadership of His Majesty, the Sultan, Oman continues the development march, which started 45 years ago, through which His Majesty founded the basis of a modern state in every fi eld, which made Oman a symbol of justice, se-curity, peace and prosperity in the region.
“The achievements of Oman since the Renaissance are a direct translation of His Majesty’s view for the future of the nation. We are very happy to share the joy and participate in this great event.”
Salalah celebrationsAt the Salalah Airport, another big celebration was organised and was attended by the airport staff , who expressed their joy and hap-piness for the many achievements of the country. The new OMR365 million Salalah Airport opened recently, coinciding with 45th National Day celebrations, and is
a prime example of the progress made in Oman.
The new airport has the capac-ity to receive 2 million travellers a year during its fi rst phase, with capacity growing in subsequent development phases as the air-port plays an increasingly impor-tant role in enhancing the nation-al economy and enriching tourism in the region.
Additionally, celebrating the 45th National Day, OAMC wel-comed guests to the Sultanate by presenting traditional Omani halwa and coff ee, distributed free parking vouchers and gifts for children and also hosted tradi-tional Omani folklore bands in the airports.
OAMC also supported the production of a national song “Ayat Wala,” which includes the meaning of love for Oman and highlighted the achievements of the Sultanate since the blessed renaissance. The company also organized an internal competi-tion for the best offi ce decoration on the occasion of the 45th Na-tional Day.
The management added, “On behalf of the OAMC staff , we
would like to extend felicitations and greetings for His Majesty, Sultan Qaboos bin Said for the 45th National Day, praying to the Almighty to preserve him and be-stow him with health and longevi-ty, and we congratulate the Omani people on in this great occasion.”
Many achievementsThey also stated, “We at OAMC, are happy to participate with the people in celebrating this oc-casion, our congratulations to His Majesty, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, praying to Allah to repeat it for him for many years to come. OAMC is one of the many achieve-ments of the Blessed Renaissance and we have to celebrate this oc-casion with the people, supplicat-ing to Allah to grant Oman more progress and prosperity under the wise leadership of His Majesty, Sultan Qaboos bin Said.”
The company will also organize another celebration with its stra-tegic partners to be held on No-vember 30 at the Public Author-ity for Civil Aviation’s (PACA’s) headquarters, which will in-clude poem recitals and special presentations.
‘My Feelings for
Oman and the
Sultan’ initiative,
which gives citizens
and residents the
chance to record
their personal
recollections of Oman
and His Majesty
on special greeting
cards designed
with the colours
of the Omani fl ag NATIONAL DAY CELEBRATIONS: The fi rst celebration was held at Oman Airport Management Com-
pany headquarters at Muscat International Airport under Sheikh Saba’ bin Hamdan Al Sadi, sec-
retary general for the Supreme Committee to Celebrate the National Day and in presence of senior
OAMC management and staff . – Supplied photo
S H O R T A G E
Care for elders
State Council chief meets Qatari offi cialMUSCAT: Dr Yahya bin Mahfoudh Al Mantheri, Chairman of the State Council received in his offi ce on Wednesday Maryam bint Abdullah Al Attiyah, Secretary General of the National Human Rights Commit-tee in the State of Qatar and her ac-companying delegation, currently visiting the Sultanate.
Dr Al Mantheri pointed out that the visit of the Qatari delegation to the Sultanate refl ects the deep-rooted bonds, bilateral and histor-ic relations.
He added that this visit contrib-utes to enhancing cooperation be-tween the two brotherly countries.
He valued the role being played by the GCC civil community or-ganisations and associations in protecting and enhancing human
rights and disseminating the cul-ture of the Gulf human rights at all international, regional and na-tional levels.
The Secretary General of the Qatari NHRC expressed her de-light to visit the Sultanate.
She highlighted the distin-guished role being played by the Omani National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in cement-ing the relations between coun-tries and enhancing further future cooperation at all levels.
She stressed the importance of activating permanent cooperation and coordination among the Gulf national human rights commit-tees and opening broader avenues of cooperation to serve interests of the GCC people. -ONA
H U M A N R I G H T S
A8
REGIONT H U R S DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 6, 2 0 1 5
The key challenges are our overdependence on oil and the way we prepare and spend our budgets
Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Crown Prince, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia considering energy and water subsidy cutsRIYADH: Saudi Arabia may re-duce energy and water subsidies for wealthy citizens among other reforms to diversify its economy away from oil amid a sustained fall in prices, its Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was quot-ed as saying on Wednesday.
His interview with the New York Times also appeared to sug-gest he could foresee oil prices
dropping far below their current level of around $45 a barrel.
The newspaper paraphrased the prince’s reform plans, adding: “So even if oil falls to $30 a barrel, Ri-yadh will have enough revenues to keep building the country without exhausting its savings,” but with-out making clear if that fi gure was its own or had been mentioned by Mohammed bin Salman.
The world’s top oil exporter has previously said it was studying in-creases in domestic energy prices, the introduction of VAT and the installation of nuclear and solar power. Low oil prices and expect-ed defi cits in coming years have spurred a new focus on reforms in the kingdom with the aims of di-versifying the economy away from a dependence on crude revenue.
“The key challenges are our overdependence on oil and the way we prepare and spend our budg-ets,” he said in the interview.
Benchmark Brent oil futures eased on Wednesday to trade around $45 per barrel as the dollar strengthened and investor focus shifted back to a deep global supply glut. The glut arose on the back of the US shale oil revolution as well
as a Saudi decision last year to per-suade OPEC to keep the taps open to fi ght for market share with rival producers. Besides reducing sub-sidies, the reforms might include imposing a value added tax (VAT) and taxes on unhealthy goods like cigarettes and sugary drinks, he was quoted as saying. The news-paper reported that he also said he would privatise and tax mines and
undeveloped land, and intended to reduce domestic oil consump-tion by installing nuclear and solar electricity capacity.
Mohammed bin Salman, who is also defence minister, heads a supercommittee on the kingdom’s economy and development as well as a National Performance Centre that oversees effi ciency in all gov-ernment ministries. — Reuters
F A L L I N G O I L P R I C E
Moscow sendslatest missile system to Syria
ISTANBUL/NIZHNY TAGIL (RUSSIA): Russia sent an ad-vanced missile system to Syria on Wednesday to protect its jets op-erating there and pledged its air force would keep fl ying missions near Turkish air space, sounding a defi ant note after Turkey shot down a Russian fi ghter jet.
The downing of the jet on Tues-day was one of the most serious publicly acknowledged clashes between a NATO member and Russia for half a century, and fur-ther complicated international eff orts to battle IS militants in Syria. Russian offi cials expressed fury over Turkey’s actions, and spoke of retaliatory measures that were likely to include curb-ing travel by Russian tourists to Turkish resorts and some restric-tions on trade.
Calibrated responseBut the Russian response was also carefully calibrated. There was no sign Russia wanted a mili-tary escalation, or to jeopardise its main objective in the region: to rally international support for its view on how the confl ict in Syria should be resolved.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mev-lut Cavusoglu spoke by phone
with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday. Turkey’s foreign ministry said they would meet soon but Russia’s Interfax news agency said Lavrov had not agreed to meet. “We have no intention of fi ghting a war with Turkey,” Lavrov said. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan also said Ankara had no intention of escalating tensions with Russia.
Speaking on a trip to the Ural mountains city of Nizhny Tagil, Russian President Vladimir Pu-tin ordered the despatch of an ad-vanced weapons system to Rus-sia’s Khmeimim air base in Syria’s Latakia province.
“I hope that this, along with other measures that we are tak-ing, will be enough to ensure (the safety) of our fl ights,” Putin told reporters.
The despatch of the weapons,
which offi cials later said would be the S-400 missile system, is likely to be viewed as a stark warning to Turkey not to try to shoot down any more Russian planes.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was forced to fl y missions close to the Turkish border because that was where the militants tended to be located. “(Russia’s) operations will con-tinue without doubt,” he said.
Russian forces launched a heavy bombardment against insurgent-held areas in Syria’s Latakia province on Wednesday, near where the warplane was shot down, rebels and a monitor-ing group said.
The Russian Su-24 jet downed on Tuesday was hit by missile fi re from Turkish aircraft as it fl ew a mission over Syria near the Turk-ish border, where the Russian air force has been bombing rebel targets. Turkey said the plane had encroached on Turkish air space and was warned repeatedly to change course, but Russian offi -cials said the plane was at no time over Turkey. — Reuters
Russia considers
economic retaliation
after Turkey shot
down a Russian
fi ghter plane near
Syrian border
STRICT VIGIL: A police offi cer patrols outside the Turkish em-
bassy in Moscow on Wednesday, after an anti-Turkey picket. – AFP
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INDIA T H U R S DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 6, 2 0 1 5
Three Jaish militants, civilian killed in attack on army campSRINAGAR: Three heavily-armed militants of Jaish-e-Mo-hammad outfi t on Wednesday struck at an Army camp in Tangd-har in Indian-administered-Kashmir, near the Line of Con-trol, triggering a fi erce gunfi ght in which all the attackers and a civilian were killed and a soldier was injured.
The militants targeted the camp of 3/1 Gorkha Rifl es from the rear at around 6.15am, fi r-ing indiscriminately in which a civilian was killed and a soldier was injured.
The troops reacted swiftly, pre-venting the attackers from pen-etrating any deep into the camp even though a few vehicles caught
fi re after the initial assault by the militants.
The deceased civilian was working as a generator operator inside the camp. The militants tried to sneak into the Army camp but they were eff ectively inter-cepted by the Army’s Quick Re-action Teams which hemmed the terrorists in a cordon, thus pre-venting their escape, the defence spokesman said.
“In an alert and swift response to a terrorist strike, the Army today killed three terrorists in Tangdhar, thus foiling an attempt-ed suicide attack,” he said here. An army offi cial said the troops sur-rounded the militants by 7.30am and by 10.30am all the three were
killed. Senior Superintendent of Police (Kupwara) Ijaz Ahmad said the three militants had entered the camp. Three AK rifl es, am-munition, Under Barrel Grenade Launchers and a number of gre-nades were recovered from them. The defence spokesman said oper-ation is in progress to fully sanitise the area. Offi cials said the mili-tants were heavily armed as they used small fi re arms and UBGLs to carry out the attack.
Jaish-e-Mohammad terror outfi t reportedly claimed re-sponsibility for the attack. In a telephonic call to a local news agency, a person claiming to be Jaish spokesman said three of its cadres carried out the attack. - PTI
G U N F I G H T
PM reaches out to opposition for cooperation on GST bill
NEW DELHI/BENGALURU: Appealing to the Opposition for cooperation on the eve of the win-ter session of Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday made a strong pitch for early passage of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), saying it will be in the interest of the nation.
Modi, who made a brief ap-pearance at the all-party meeting hosted by Parliamentary Aff airs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu, as-sured the Opposition leaders that Finance Minister Arun Jait-ley will talk to them to address their concerns, if any, on the key reform measure.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the all party meeting that GST legislation is in the interest of na-tion and the Finance Minister will speak to parties concerned to address their doubts on it,” Naidu said after the meeting.
Modi also said Parliament should run meaningfully with the
cooperation of all so as to fulfi l the expectations of the people.
Signifi cantly, the JD(U) also backed the GST with party presi-dent Sharad Yadav announcing support of his party to the measure after the all-party meeting.
RegrettedCPI-M general secretary Sita-ram Yechury, however, said that the Centre should hold talks with states on the issue of GST in view of the fact that they will lose all leg-islative power on tax matters once GST comes into force.
He regretted that such talks have not been held despite re-peated pleas for the same by the Left parties.
The Prime Minister also said that Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, who has held talks with leaders of various par-ties, may talk to them further on the issue of India’s stand on the resolution on the climate change issue and any one can given sug-gestions for two more days.
Amid indications of a tough ses-sion ahead, senior ministers had on Tuesday huddled to chalk out the strategy and work out fl oor coordination plans while parties like Congress, Janata Dal(United) and CPI-M made their intent clear, deciding to give notices for debate on the issue of intolerance and at-tacking government on the key re-form measure of GST.
NDA ministers had discussed legislative proposals to be brought before consideration of both the Houses of Parliament which in-clude three Bills relating to re-placement of Ordinances, GST Bill, Real Estate Regulation Bill etc. The ministers also discussed recent incidents like Dadri killing, rationalist M. M. Kalburgi’s kill-ing and some other ones based on which a campaign alleging rising intolerance is on.
Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said Congress “strongly” believed in GST, but government should reach out to the Opposition on certain issues,
including the cap on rate.The Congress vice president
outlined the party’s stand on the contentious Goods and Service Tax(GST) Bill even as he made an all-round attack on the Modi gov-ernment calling it “much worse” than “suit-boot-ki-sarkar.”
The National Democratic Alli-ance (NDA) government is keen to push key reforms legislations like the stalled GST bill in the Winter session. Fielding questions on a wide range of issues during an in-teraction with students of a wom-en’s college here, Rahul also spoke on the “rising intolerance”, say-ing it “disturbs” him as an Indian, highlighting that “live and let live” was the country’s biggest strength.
Rahul’s criticismTargeting Narendra Modi, Rahul said he believes the country could be run from the Prime Minister’s Offi ce (PMO) and that he alone could transform the country.
The interaction was the fi rst in the series of Rahul’s outreach to
the students across the campuses in the country.
Targeting Modi’s style of func-tioning, Rahul said there were very few people with decision making powers at the Centre and “one man decides evey single decision.”
Dialogue“...one man can’t have all the an-swers...,” he said, adding dialogue was very important.
Asked about GST, which is hanging fi re for the last several years, Rahul said, “we strongly be-lieve in GST.”
He said GST and other bills were “very important” but the govern-ment’s approach has to be one of reaching out to the Opposition.
Speaking to reporters later, Ra-hul said the Congress would raise in Parliament the issues of “rising intolerance”, which was “very dis-turbing”, GST and also Prime Min-ister’s “silence” on various issues.
Questioned why the GST bill was being stalled, he said it was Congress which brought it for-ward and “...we are for GST...we support GST...” But, he noted, the BJP had opposed it and blocked it for three years with Finance Min-ister Arun Jaitley, then in the Op-position, even justifying blocking Parliament as a strategy.
Rahul said there were three dif-ferences between BJP and Con-gress on GST.
They related to cap on tax to be charged, dispute resolution and one per cent tax on inter-state sales (doing away with it). He said government had to accept the fact that Congress “sits in Parliament”, “Congress has a view” and “Con-gress has 20 per cent hope” (refer-ring to the people’s mandate).
Attacking the Modi government for not having “conversation” with the Opposition, he said the prime minister had not even once picked up phone and spoken to any Congress leader, which former prime minister Manmohan Singh used to do. - PTI
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi told
the all party meeting
that Goods and
Services Tax (GST)
legislation is in the
interest of nation and
the fi nance minister
will speak to parties
concerned to address
their doubts on
it, Naidu said
CHALKING OUT STRATEGY: Prime Minister Narendra Modi presides over meeting of alliance party
leaders during an NDA meeting on the eve of the winter session, in New Delhi on Wednesday. - PTI
Government clears project to train 5m people with WB support
NEW DELHI: The government has approved a project entailing World Bank assistance worth $1 billion to provide skill training to over 5 million people.
Skill Training for Employa-bility Leveraging Public Private Partnership (STEPPP) project was cleared by the Department of Economic Aff airs, the Min-istry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE)said in a release on Wednesday.
“The project will see a World Bank assistance of $1 billion and is expected to provide skill training to over 5 million people in addition to strengthening the skill training infrastructure in underserved geographies and sectors”, the release said.
PartnershipWelcoming the partnership with the World Bank, Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajiv Pratap Rudy highlighted the importance for an integrated approach towards Skill India.
“The target for skill develop-ment in India is huge and re-quires a partnered eff ort by the centre, states, industry, PSUs, and trainers. The association with the World Bank is of stra-tegic importance to achieve the Prime Minister’s vision to make India the skill capital of the world”, said Rudy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the Nation-al Skill Development Mission (NSDM) on July 15 this year.
The skill training project aims to implement the mandate of the NSDM through its core sub-mis-sions, among other objectives. The STEPPP project will be implemented in mission mode through World Bank support and is aligned with the overall objectives of the NSDM. - PTI
P R O J E C T
The target for skill development in India is huge and requires a partnered eff ort by the centre, states, industry, PSUs, and trainers. The association with the World Bank is of strategic importance to achieve the Prime Minister’s vision to make India the skill capital of the world
Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
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INDIAT H U R S DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 6, 2 0 1 5
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Aamir Khan: Not leaving but stand by what I’ve said
MUMBAI: Under fi erce criticism from BJP and its allies over his re-marks on intolerance, Bollywood star Aamir Khan on Wednesday asserted that he stood by what he had stated and that neither he nor his wife Kiran Rao have any in-tention to leave the country.
Aamir, who drew fl ak from BJP
and a section of fi lm fraternity for expressing his “alarm and de-spondency” over the rise in recent incidents of intolerance, came out with a statement, saying he is “proud to be an Indian”.
Hitting out at Aamir, Union minister Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday said the “extreme reaction” given by the actor has not only “dented” the image of the country but also his own.
Joining his party colleagues who have been critical of Aamir’s
comments, Javadekar said the reason why his party did not agree with the actor’s statement is because the country has a “leg-acy of tolerance”. Another Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said tolerance is in India’s DNA and the actor need not leave the country, advising him to not come under the infl uence of “fabricated political propaganda”.
“Tolerance is in India’s DNA. There is no space for intolerance in the country. People don’t need to get infl uenced by fabricated political propaganda,” he tweeted.
Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu said, “Some are propagat-ing wrong things some are coming under wrong propaganda. There is more tolerance in India. People of India are tolerant.”
The government had called Aamir’s comments alarmist, with ministers alleging a conspiracy to tarnish India’s image.
The actor had kicked up a po-litical storm with his remarks at a function in Delhi on Mon-day about his wife expressing fear for their child in the current atmosphere. - PTI
The superstar, who
drew fl ak from
BJP and a section
of fi lm fraternity
for expressing his
‘alarm’ over the rise
in intolerance, said
he is ‘proud to
be an Indian’
Hand-written
passport invalid
NEW DELHI: Hand-written passports of Indian citizens are no longer valid from Wednesday as per government’s directive.
The government had asked those having hand-written passports to get machine-read-able ones having bar codes by November 24.
The hand-written passports were issued prior to 2001. - PTI
D I R E C T I V E
PROTEST: Hindu Sena activists
carry the effi gy of Aamir Khan
during protest against him fol-
lowing his remarks over grow-
ing intolerance in the country
in Noida on Wednesday. - PTI
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The Pakistani media has been awash with heated debates over the ‘unconstitution-ality’ of the concerns on good governance
that General Raheel Sharif conveyed during the November 10 Corps Commanders’ conference. Opposition members of parliament pounced upon the army chief’s advice in order to settle scores with the government. The discourse in the media clearly stemmed from the civilian government’s displeasure over the advice coming from a “consti-tutionally subordinate institution”.
But was this really something unusual given Pakistan for decades has been guided by the mili-tary establishment and an erratic, self-serving civilian ruling elite? Certainly not. So, why all the fuss? Let us fi rst see how the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacifi c defi nes good governance. It describes it as “deci-sion-making by which decisions are implemented (or not implemented)”.
It also identifi es eight major characteristics that constitute good governance: a system that is participatory, consensus-oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, eff ective and effi cient, equitable and inclusive, and follows the rule of law. It assures that corruption is minimised, the views of minorities are taken into account and that the voices of the most vulnerable in society are heard in decision-making. Can the federal and provincial governments claim they are following all or some of these ingredients of good governance? The an-swer is largely in the negative on many counts.
Despite Finance Minister Ishaq Dar’s rosy pro-jections, Pakistan is ranked a lowly 138 out of 189 countries on the World Bank’s Doing Business 2016 ranking. Has the government elevated or jolted the confi dence of multinationals already op-erating in a fragile situation? We understand that the FBR is acting like a ‘robber baron’ to extract funds for its IMF-dictated resource mobilisation campaign. In a high-handed, unbecoming man-ner, individuals and businesses are being asked to cough up funds to meet IMF demands. This state of aff airs will certainly not encourage foreign in-vestments, nor will other countries remove travel advisories for those of their citizens intending to visit Pakistan.
The recent Midterm Report Card for Members of National Assembly (MNA), launched by Alif
Ailaan, states that only three out of a total of 272 elected MNAs managed an overall ‘A’ grade in the scorecard for progress in terms of school facili-ties, student retention, gender parity and the stu-dent-teacher ratio in public schools of their con-stituencies. So much for the democrats’ love and commitment to education! Has the Model Town case of 2014 or the Kasur child abuse case been resolved to the satisfaction of the aggrieved? What steps have been taken so far to review and amend the dated Criminal Procedure Code or the 1861 Police Act — both being at the root of low convic-tion rates, heavy pendency and unreasonably pro-tracted trials often to the disadvantage of the poor and the victims?
Has the Punjab government followed principles of transparency, fairness and the rule of law when approving funds for the Orange Line project or for the security of the Sharif family in Jati Umra? Removal of reluctant government offi cials and replacing them with yes men certainly doesn’t be-speak good governance.
Hospitals, even in provincial and federal capi-tals, are extremely short on critical, life-saving vaccines and equipment, such as ventilators. Hos-pital administrations have to wait for months to get petty amounts approved, while pregnant wom-en are forced to give birth on the stairs of hospi-tals. On the other hand, the bureaucracy and chief ministers hardly waste a minute in approving tens of millions for their own security, with some 2,751 police offi cials already in the service of the entire Sharif family. Is this good governance? Has the government transparently resolved fi ascos such as the Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park and Nandipur pro-ject? Or do ‘democrats’ believe that the poor man’s vote makes them accountable for their deeds?
The list of such questions is endless and this obligates civilian rulers to handle the poor man’s trust, ie, votes, with some sincerity.
All stakeholders — politicians, bureaucracy, the military, media and the civil society — are sup-posed to raise concerns when there are admin-istrative lapses and legal deviations, more so in a culture where abuse of power and deviation from the rule of law are norms. Votes from the public do not give our rulers the carte blanche for arbitrary and self-serving governance. Questions, like the ones raised by General Raheel, will continue to be asked as long as rulers continue to abhor the rule of law and transparency. - Express Tribune
Environment protection a social responsibiltyThis refer to the story, ‘Girl students clear debris from beach to mark National Day’, Times (November 25). I appreciate and congratulate the school students who took the initiative to clean the debris from
the beaches. It gives a message that clean-ing public places like beaches and parks are also part of celebrations. This not only inculcates the culture of environment protection among students but also makes them responsible citizens. When students are involved in such activities, it motivates others to come forward and voluntarily en-gage in such noble pursuits. Moreover, this will help spread environment awareness among the public.— P.A. Jacob, Ruwi
India to suff er badly if climate deal proposal is not signedThis refers to the news story‚ ‘India op-poses deal to phase out fossil fuels by 2100 at climate summit’, Times (November 25). It seems the current leadership of India is not sympathetic to climate issues. Global warming and climate change are a pressing
issue for the entire world. It will be sad if India doesn’t comply with the proposal of ending use of fossil fuel by the turn of the century. If New Delhi considers its global responsibility, it should act in order to save the planet. However, if this deal is not followed through and India is faced with losses by natural disasters, it should not seek help from the outside world. — Inderjeet Singh, Ghubrah
T I M E S O F O M A NT H U R S DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 6, 2 0 1 5A12
Fuss over concernson good governance
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Asa’ad to open new coastal road todayMUSCAT: His Highness Sayyid Asa’ad bin Tariq Al Said, sec-retary general of the high committee for conferences, will to-day preside over the opening ceremony of Al Mawaleh North-Ghubra North Coastal road. The ceremony, which coincides with the National Day celebrations, will be attended by mem-bers of the royal family, ministers, undersecretaries, advisers, senior state offi cials and members of the diplomatic corps. Ab-dullah bin Abbas bin Ahmed, president of the Muscat Munici-pality, will address the ceremony. A documentary fi lm on the road construction will be screened on the occasion.
1941: The Japanese fl eet departs from the Kuril Islands en route to its attack on Pearl Harbour.
1949: India becomes a sovereign Democratic republic.
1982: Yasuhiro Nakasone is elected the 71st Japanese prime minister.
1983: At London’s Heathrow Airport, almost 6,800 gold bars worth nearly £26m stolen from Brinks-MAT vault.
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Structural change and rebalancing are formidable undertakings for
any economy. China has been focused on these objectives for
fi ve years – seeking to transform a powerful yet unbalanced growth
model based largely on exports and investment.
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STEPHEN S. ROACH
The global economy is settling into a slow-growth rut, steered
there by policymakers’ inability or unwillingness to address
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anemic pace of growth is probably unsustainable.
bit.ly/softglobaleconomy
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Macri vowed that he’d press neighbours and allies to
question Venezuela’s claim to be a democracy. “It’s clear that what’s happening in Venezuela
has nothing to do with the democratic commitments that
we have pledged to keep in Argentina,” he said. bit.ly/macriargentina
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PRIVATE CLINICSIN OMAN
Muscat
Dhofar
Musandam
Al Buraimi
Ad Dakhiliyah
Al Batinah
Sharqiyah
Ad Dhahirah
Al Wusta
TOTAL
381
45
13
32
62
189
52
42
15
1,026
399
53
14
32
63
204
56
41
12
Governorate2013 2014
1,095
Location: Sohar/ Photo: Pradeep Govind
NEW INDIAASSURANCE
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PAKISTANT H U R S DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 6, 2 0 1 5
Rs 32binvestment has been
committed by the Chinese
company for the theme park
Raheel receives Brazil Order of Merit award
ISLAMABAD: Army chief Gener-al Raheel Sharif was honoured on Wednesday with Brazil’s coveted “Order of Merit” award.
“COAS was awarded Brazil’s coveted Award “Order of Merit” in a special ceremony in recogni-tion of his leadership for success-ful fi ght against multiple threats,” DG ISPR Lt-Gen Asim Bajwa said on Twitter. “Gen Raheel is the fi rst Asian to have been honoured with this coveted award,” Bajwa added.
Counter-terror operations“Order of merit has been given to General Raheel Sharif for display-ing remarkable courage to deal with the menace of terrorism, successfully leading the army in the face of multiple threats, giving
hope to his nation against dismay and despondency and above all for his great eff orts to promote peace and stability in the region,” a state-ment from the Brazilian govern-ment read.
“General Raheel Sharif through his undaunting resolve, unfl inch-ing sincerity and impeccable pro-fessional commitment has become a leading fi gure in the world. His contribution to promote exem-plary ties between Pakistan and Brazil in general and the two ar-mies in particular are enormous and unprecedented,” the state-ment added.
The army chief is currently on a three-day tour to Brazil. On Tues-day, General Raheel met with Bra-zil’s armed forces Chief of Joint Staff General Jose Carlos De Nar-di, who lauded Pakistan Army’s
professionalism and operational achievements especially in ongo-ing counter-terrorism operations.
Army chief General Raheel Sha-rif on Tuesday met with Brazil’s armed forces Chief of Joint Staff General Jose Carlos De Nardi, who lauded Pakistan Army’s pro-fessionalism and operational achievements especially in ongo-ing counter-terrorism operations.
General Raheel visited the Bra-zil Army Headquarters where he was presented a guard of honour and 19 guns’ salute. After conclu-sion of his fi ve-day visit to US, where he met with top US civil and military leaders including US Vice President Joe Biden.
According to the army’s media wing – the Inter-Services Pub-lic Relations (ISPR) – matters of mutual professional interest and
military to military relations were discussed during the meeting.
The two military leaders also discussed regional security, emerging challenges and training exchanges.
Bolstering tiesThe army chief also met with Brazil’s defence minister and dis-cussed ways and means for bol-stering cooperation in the fi eld of defence. General Raheel Sharif also invited Brazil defence minis-ter to visit Pakistan.
“We want to further strengthen our ties with Brazil. Pakistan army is continuing war against terror-ism successfully and Pakistan will soon get rid of the menace of terrorism,” the Online news agen-cy quoted General Raheel as say-ing. -Express Tribune
The Order of Merit
has been given
to General Raheel
Sharif for displaying
remarkable courage
to deal with the
menace of terrorism,
successfully leading
the army in the face
of multiple threats,
giving hope to his
nation and above all,
for his great eff orts to
promote peace and
stability in the region
Offi cials oppose Sharif’s new sales tax regimeISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ’s desire to halve the standard 17 per cent Gen-eral Sales Tax (GST) under a new sales tax regime met its fi rst seri-ous opposition when tax authori-ties objected over the offi cial plan fearing massive reduction in tax collection.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) opposed the plan to intro-duce a single-stage sales tax dur-ing the meeting Finance Minister Ishaq Dar called to devise a strat-egy, according to offi cials of the Finance Ministry.
Dar convened the meeting just days before experts from Paki-stan and the International Mon-etary Fund (IMF) are scheduled to meet in Dubai to discuss the possibility of introducing a sin-gle-stage sales tax.
Pakistan and IMF experts would meet early next month to review the possibility of imple-menting the new regime. Special Assistant to the Prime Minis-ter Haroon Akhtar Khan would lead the delegation and will be assisted by offi cials from the FBR and Tax Reforms Commis-sion (TRC).
TRC Chairman Masoud Naqvi and the author of the new sales tax regime study and Ash-faq Tola will also be part of the Pakistani delegation.
Reviewing the new systemLast month, IMF’s Resident Rep-resentative Tokhir Mirzoev said the IMF would be open to review-ing the new system before formu-lating its own position.
“The worrisome aspect is that FBR offi cials opposed the pro-posal to implement the ‘single stage sales tax’ without going through the draft study carried out by the TRC on the subject,” said an offi cial who attended the meeting.
A single-digit, single-stage
sales tax would help lower infl a-tion, plug revenue leakages and stop corrupt practices, according to the TRC interim report that it submitted to the government few months ago. The TRC termed the present system of sales tax “cum-bersome” and full of leakages and abuses.
Interim reportAfter the interim report, the fi -nance minister directed the TRC to prepare a detailed report on the new sale tax regime, which was completed last week.
PM Sharif likened the idea of introducing the single-stage, single-digit sales tax after the business community approached him to review the existing fl awed structure that is causing more revenue leakages than it is in-creasing revenue.
The TRC last year also sup-ported the idea of replacing the existing system with a new single-stage tax mechanism. Ac-cording to the proposal, the sales tax charged by the government will be fi nal liability and the gov-ernment would not issue refunds.
This would allow it to reduce the overall rate to less than half of the present 17 percent tax and revenues would not be aff ected.
The new sales tax rate could be in the range of 7 per cent to 8 per cent, said offi cials.
F E D E R A L B O A R D O F R E V E N U E
Disneyland park to be built on Lahore-Islamabad motorwayLAHORE: Lahore’s Disneyland-like theme park will be construct-ed on the Lahore-Islamabad M-2 Motorway near Kala Shah Kaku.
Parks and Horticulture Author-ity (PHA) Director General Sha-keel Ahmad confi rmed that after surveying diff erent sites, the Chi-nese company, Golden Bean, has decided to build the country’s fi rst Disneyland-style theme park on the M-2 Motorway.
“It is a huge project and will take around two years to com-plete,” he added.
Lahore Division Commission-er Abdullah Khan Sumbal said that the Punjab government is playing the role of a facilitator in the project.
Golden BeanThe Chinese company has com-mitted to invest Rs32 billion in the project. “Golden Bean will work on construction, procure-ment of land and execution of the project,” Sumbal said.The commissioner added that the
provincial government has guar-anteed uninterrupted electric-ity supply through special feeders for the project. “The government would also build an approach road for the proposed amusement park,” he added.
Further, Sumbal said the pro-posed theme park would also have a fi ve-star hotel, water aquarium, business and shopping cen-tres, state-of-the-art rides and a breathtaking roller coaster.
An offi cial in the commis-sioner’s offi ce disclosed that the Punjab government showed three sites to Chinese investors in the province, including Raiwind Road and Kala Shah Kaku, for the theme park. However, Chinese in-vestors preferred Kala Shah Kaku site as it is located on the M-2 Mo-torway near densely populated districts of Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Sialkot and adjoining areas. -The Express Tribune
S T A T E - O F - T H E - A R T P A R K
TOP HONOUR: Army chief General Raheel Sharif is currently on a three-day visit to Brazil.
HUGE PROJECT: The proposed park will be built over an area of
350 acres and will have direct access from the motorway.
A14
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Suicide bomber behind bus attack in Tunis: Officials
TUNIS: Tunisian authorities said on Wednesday a suicide bomber carried out the attack a day earlier on a presidential guard bus, killing at least 12 people and forcing the government to impose a nation-wide state of emergency.
The explosion on a main boule-vard in the capital drove home the vulnerability of Tunisia to mili-tancy, following gun assaults on a seaside tourist hotel in June and the Bardo Museum in Tunis in March, both claimed by IS mili-tant group. No group claimed re-sponsibility for Tuesday’s attack. But Tunisia has increasingly be-come a target for militants after being hailed as a beacon of demo-cratic change in the Arab world since its 2011 protests ousted for-mer leader Zine Abidine Ben Ali. “This (bus bombing) is an evolu-
tion in the behaviour of the terror-ists, this time they attacked a sym-bol of the state and in the heart of the capital,” Prime Minister Ha-bib Essid told reporters after an emergency security meeting.
It was the fi rst suicide bomb-ing in the capital. In October 2013 a bomber blew himself up on a beach in Sousse, and previously
an Al Qaeda suicide bomber at-tacked the synagogue in Djerba, killing 21 people.
An Interior Ministry state-ment said 12 guards died in the blast of 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of explosive located either in the bomber’s backpack or a belt he was wearing. Another body at the scene was probably that of
the bomber. Around Tunis on Wednesday, troops and armed police patrolled the city streets and set up checkpoints searching vehicles and pedestrians. At Tu-nis international airport security forces were allowing in only peo-ple with booked fl ights.
Security offi cials said the bomb-er blew himself up as presidential
guards were boarding a bus on Mohamed V Avenue to travel to the presidential palace for duty.
“According to the preliminary details, the attacker was wearing a bag on his back. He had on a coat and was wearing headphones. He blew himself up just getting into the door of the bus with military explosives,” Hichem Gharbi, a presidential security offi cial, told local Shems FM radio. One of the most secular Arab countries, Tu-nisia has enjoyed relative stability since its uprising compared with neighbours Libya and Egypt. It has a new constitution, held free elections and established com-promise politics between secular and hardline parties that has al-lowed some progress. But fi ght-ing militants has become a major challenge for a country heavily re-liant on tourism for its revenues.
In the early chaotic days after its revolution, ultra-conservative hardliners gained ground, recruit-ing among young Tunisians and taking over mosques. — Reuters
Tunisia imposes
state of emergency,
tightens security
around capital
UN accuses Houthis of blocking aid supply routes
DUBAI: A senior United Nations offi cial has accused Yemen’s domi-nant Houthi group of obstructing the delivery of humanitarian sup-plies to civilians in Taiz and warned that up to 200,000 people are living under “virtual siege” in the city.
The UN Under-Secretary for Humanitarian Aff airs and Emer-gency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien, said months of fi ghting has left some 200,000 civilians in a vir-tual state of siege in need of drink-ing water, medical treatments and other life-saving assistance and protection. “Al Houthi and popular committees are blocking supply routes and continue to obstruct the delivery of urgently needed human-itarian aid and supplies into Taiz City,” O’Brien said in a statement issued in New York on Tuesday.
“Despite repeated attempts by UN agencies and our humanitar-ian partners to negotiate access and reach people, our trucks have remained stuck at checkpoints and only very limited assistance has been allowed in,” he added.
The Yemeni government-run sabanew.net news agency said Hadi, who is now in the southern port city of Aden, toured the front-line on Tuesday and visited the Al Anad base. — Reuters
T A I Z C I T Y
EU chief executive says internal barriers put euro, free travel at riskB R U S S E L S / I D O M E N I (GREECE): The European Un-ion’s chief executive warned on Wednesday that the survival of Europe’s “partially comatose” open border travel zone and its single currency were both at risk if member nations continue erecting internal barriers to keep out refugees.
European Commission Presi-dent Jean-Claude Juncker drew a direct link between the two key achievements of EU integration, telling the European Parliament the euro would be jeopardised if the Schengen passport-free trav-el system unravels.
“If the spirit of Schengen leaves our lands and our hearts, we will lose more than Schengen. A single currency makes no sense if Schengen falls. It is one of the keystones of European construc-tion,” Juncker said.
While there is no legal connec-tion between the Schengen zone, which has 22 EU members and four from outside the bloc, and the 19-member euro zone, Junck-er’s warning refl ected growing concern in Brussels that intra-EU tensions over migrants could reverse the post-World War II war drive for European unity.
He sounded the alarm as some 1,500 migrants remained trapped in northern Greece unable to cross the border into Macedonia after Western Balkans countries overwhelmed by the refugee fl ow began limiting their intake to Syrians, Afghans and Iraqis.
The United Nations con-demned the new restrictions with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon saying that “profi ling asy-lum seekers on the basis of their alleged nationality infringes the human right of all people to seek asylum, irrespective of their na-tionality, and to have their indi-vidual cases heard”.
Tens of thousands more mi-grants are stranded in Mac-edonia, Serbia and Croatia after Schengen zone countries further north built fences to seal their borders. New arrivals from Tur-key to the Greek Aegean islands have slowed this week despite fair weather in a possible sign of more eff ective Turkish action to clamp down on people smugglers.
Turkish Prime Minister Ah-met Davutoglu is due in Brussels on Sunday for a summit with EU leaders meant to seal a joint ac-tion plan under which European countries will provide 3 billion euros in aid to help keep refugees in Turkey.
But days before the meeting, senior EU offi cials said a deal had not been fi nalised, with the fund-
ing, the pace at which Ankara’s long-stalled EU membership talks can advance and whether Brussels can deliver on its prom-ise of easier travel for Turks all unresolved, EU and Turkish of-fi cials said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country has borne the brunt of hundreds of thousands of migrants who have poured into Europe from the Middle East and Africa this year, said the open border system would only endure if EU mem-ber states accepted a permanent, mandatory quota system for sharing out refugees.
Merkel rebuff ed growing pres-sure from her own conservatives on Tuesday to impose a limit on the number of refugees Germany would admit. It made no sense to try to curb the migration fl ow that way if Europe was unable to control its external borders, she said. In the northern Greek town of Idomeni, a group of Iranian asylum seekers on hunger strike, many nearing collapse, sat in the rain on the train tracks with their shirts off . Nearby, about 200 to 300 Algerians and Moroccans faced Macedonian border guards, chanting “Mrs Merkel, please help us!”
Mohammed Merka, a Somali prevented from crossing the Greek-Macedonian border, told Reuters: “We are human beings and we have escaped war. If they want us to go back to war let them take us back to war.
“But there is no way we are go-ing back. We will only die. If they want us to perish here we will perish here. All our lives we have been refugees. We have never seen peace.”
Greek authorities, happy to wave migrants through on their journey towards wealthy north-ern Europe in recent months, appear to have been caught unprepared by the decision of their northern neighbours to start fi ltering them by nation-ality. — Reuters
R E F U G E E C R I S I S
THE SCENE OF ATTACK: Tunisian forensics police inspect the scene of a suicide bomb attack in Tu-
nis, Tunisia on Wednesday. – Reuters
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AT RECEIVING END: Migrants
demonstrate in front of Mac-
edonia police as they wait to
cross the Greek-Macedonian
border near Gevgelija on
Wednesday. – AFP
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WORLDT H U R S DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 6, 2 0 1 5
Kiev to stop buying Russian gas
KIEV/MOSCOW: A clash over natural gas pricing between Rus-sia and Ukraine escalated on Wednesday with Russian exporter Gazprom announcing it would halt deliveries and Kiev saying it could fi nd cheaper supply from Europe.
Moscow and Kiev have clashed over gas pricing repeatedly in recent years and Russia’s an-nexation of Crimea has worsened their relations.
“The government has decided to order (state energy fi rm) Naf-togaz to stop buying Russian gas. It is not that they are not deliv-
ering us gas, it is that we are not buying any,” Prime Minister Ar-seny Yatseniuk told a Ukranian government meeting.
“We are doing this because the
price off ers from our European partners are signifi cantly better than those from our northern neighbour,” he said. It was un-clear whether private Ukrainian
fi rms could still import Russian gas in future.
On Wednesday, Russia’s Gazprom said it was halting gas supplies to Ukraine until it
had received a new prepayment for deliveries.
A day earlier the Kremlin accused Kiev of deliberately thwarting eff orts to restore power to Crimea after unknown saboteurs blew up pylons supply-ing the peninsula with electricity over the weekend.
Kiev said it did not need any more Russian gas for now and would guarantee the transit of piped Russian gas bound for Eu-rope. The European Commission said it was not worried about the situation for now. Europe relies on Russia for about a third of its gas, almost half of which is piped via Ukraine.
“The European Commission has
no particular concern about the gas fl ows from Russia to Ukraine and no further comment to make,” Commission spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said.
DataUkraine has imported 400 mil-lion cubic metres of Russian gas so far this month, Ukrtransgaz data showed, and Energy Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn said this week that Kiev had enough gas in reserve without buying any more.
He said gas consumption this winter is down and estimated that reserves would stand at around 16 billion cubic metres in early De-cember, 2 billion higher than at the same point last year. — Reuters
Ukraine says cheaper
prices are being
off ered from Europe
as Gazprom
halts deliveries
Bangladesh detains
two for IS propaganda
DHAKA: Police have detained two members of Bangladesh’s biggest party on suspicion they were involved in IS militant group propaganda, including one who called himself “Jihadi John”, a police commissioner said on Wednesday.
The two members of the Jamaat-e-Islami Party who were paraded before reporters are be-ing investigated for links with IS which has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks in Bangla-desh including the killing of two foreigners.
Nahid Hasan was picked up from Dhaka overnight on suspi-cion that he was spreading hate and violence on behalf of IS us-ing the pseudonym “Jihadi John” on a Facebook page, police joint commissioner Monirul Islam said. “We are verifying whether he actually had contacts with the
radical group,” Islam said.The government has consist-
ently denied that IS has a pres-ence in the country and instead blamed religious groups such as the Jamaat for instigating violence in the nation of 160 million people.
Police said the second man ar-rested in the overnight raid was believed be behind text messages threatening writers and uni-versity teachers who have been targeted by unknown assailants this year.
Tensions have been rising in Bangladesh over the trials of hardliners for war crimes and some leaders of the Jamaat as well as its ally, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, have been executed.
Critics say the government is using the war trials to settle po-litical scores. — Reuters
T E R R O R L I N K S
ARRESTED: Police offi cers in Dhaka detain Nahid Hasan, a mem-
ber of Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh’s biggest party, on suspicion
that he was involved in IS propaganda. – Reuters
RISING TENSIONS: A fi le photo taken on April 22, 2015 shows a gas installation at a gas-pumping sta-
tion in the small town Boyarka on April 22, 2015 in the Kiev region. – AFP
The two members of the Jamaat-e-Islami Party who were paraded before reporters are being investigated for links with IS which has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks in Bangladesh including the killing of two foreigners.
Bushfi re kills two in South AustraliaSYDNEY: A bushfi re in southern Australia has killed two people and thousands of animals and destroyed homes and buildings along a 27-mile front, media re-ported on Wednesday, as the blaze headed for the wine-grow-ing region of the Barossa Valley.
The fi re comes after four peo-ple were killed in one of a series of wildfi res sparked by lightning in Western Australia state last week. Wildfi res are an annual summer event in Australia, but signs of rising temperatures have prompted some scientists to warn that climate change could increase the length and intensity of the fi re season.
Two people had been killed by the fi res in South Australia state where the blaze was being fanned by high winds, Australian Broad-casting Corp (ABC) said.
One resident told ABC he had no choice but to leave thousands of animals at a farm for dead.
Moving fastCountry Fire Service chief of-fi cer Greg Nettleton said the fi re was moving so fast that fi re crews could not establish positions at the front of the blaze. “This is a particularly nasty fi re. It will run right through the night and into tomorrow,” Nettleton told media. Weather conditions were expect-ed to moderate on Thursday with lower temperatures and winds dropping during the day. — Reuters
W I L D F I R E S
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WORLDT H U R S DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 6, 2 0 1 5
2015 to be hottest on record, 2016 could be hotter: WMO
GENEVA: This year will be the hottest on record and 2016 could be hotter due to the El Niño weather pattern, the World Mete-orological Organization (WMO) said on Wednesday, warning inac-tion on climate change could see temperatures rise by 6 degrees Celsius or more.
TargetBut decisions taken at a summit of world leaders in Paris starting on Monday could keep global tem-perature rises within 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) over pre-industrial times, a target set down
in 2010 to try to prevent danger-ous climate change. “Yes, it’s still possible to keep to the 2 degree target but the more we wait for ac-tion the more diffi cult it will be,” WMO director-general Michel Jarraud told a news conference.
“You have scenarios assuming very strong decisions, very quick
and sharp reduction of green-house gases, and you have other scenarios with business as usual, where you end up with predic-tions of additional warming of 5, 6 degrees, maybe even more. That will very much depend on the de-cisions (in Paris).”
Global average surface temper-
atures in 2015 were likely to reach what the agency called the “sym-bolic and signifi cant milestone” of 1C above the pre-industrial era.
“This is due to a combination of a strong El Niño and human-in-duced global warming,” the WMO said in a statement.
Jarraud said El Niño may be
responsible for 16-20 per cent of the rise and longer-term averages showed temperatures were rising regardless of El Niño or its cooling counterpart La Niña.
El Nino, a naturally occuring weather pattern marked by warm-ing sea-surface temperatures in the Pacifi c Ocean, causes ex-tremes such as scorching weather, droughts and fl ooding around the world. Meteorologists expect El Niño to peak between October and January and to be one of the strongest on record.
A preliminary estimate based on data from January to October showed the global average surface temperature for 2015 was around 0.73C above the 1961-1990 aver-age of 14C and around 1C above the pre-industrial 1880-1899 pe-riod, the WMO said. “This is all bad news for the planet,” Jarraud said.
The years 2011-2015 have been the hottest fi ve-year period on record, with temperatures about 0.57C (1.01 Fahrenheit) above the 1961-1990 reference period. Global ocean temperatures were unprecedented during the period, and several land areas -- includ-ing the continental United States, Australia, Europe, South America and Russia -- broke temperature records by large margins. — Reuters
Inaction on climate
‘could see rise of
6 degrees Celsius’
as Al Nino weather
pattern expected
to be strongest
on record
US raises military aid to Philippines
MANILA: United States has raised its military aid to the Philip-pines this year to $79 million, the US ambassador said on Wednes-day, as tension rises in the region over China’s new assertiveness in the South China Sea.
Since 2002, the United States has provided the Philippines with nearly $500 million in military as-sistance as well as various types of military equipment.
“We have upped our foreign mil-itary funding for the Philippines,” Ambassador Philip Goldberg told ANC television, without giving a percentage. “It will be somewhere in the range of $79 million this year. It’s increasing and what has been proposed is something called a maritime security initiative in the region.”
China has overlapping claims with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei in the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year.
Reclamation work and the building of three airfi elds and other facilities on some of China’s artifi cial islands in the Spratly ar-chipelago have alarmed the region and raised concern in Washington that China is extending its military reach deep into maritime South-east Asia. — Reuters
T E N S I O N I N S E A
Brussels schools, metro stations reopen under tight securityBRUSSELS: Schools and much of the Brussels metro system reopened on Wednesday as the Belgian capital started to return to normal after four days of lock-down, but troops on the street were a reminder it remains on the highest alert.
With police still hunting a lo-cal man who is a prime suspect in the November 13 attacks in Paris, along with up to 10 others authori-
ties fear could be planning further violence, the government only plans to review the alert status next week.
ProtectionThe city’s schools were protected by 300 additional offi cers, some of whom were standing guard outside school gates as parents dropped their children off .
Around half the city’s metro
stations were open, notably in the centre, with some 200 soldiers as-signed to protect them.
Commercial and public life came almost to a halt over the
weekend. Salah Abdeslam, 26, is on the run, suspected of being the eighth person IS militant group said took part in the attacks on Paris that killed 130 people. The Belgian government says he may be armed and dangerous and could be plotting further attacks.
More than two dozen people have been detained in Brussels since November 13, though all have been released except fi ve.
They have been charged with ter-rorist off ences, including three who drove Abdeslam in their cars after the attacks in Paris.
Concerts and sporting events have been cancelled but the week-end’s Davis Cup tennis fi nal be-tween Belgium and Britain is due to go ahead as planned in Ghent, west of the capital.
In nearby Bruges, however, the mayor ordered that Thursday’s
Europa League soccer match be-tween Club Bruges and the Ital-ian side Napoli should be held in an empty stadium because police were too tied up on other duties to provide crowd control.
Concerns about how long the problems may last were also evi-dent. A large New Year’s party at an exhibition centre in Brussels has been cancelled, the event’s or-ganisers said. — Reuters
R E T U R N I N G T O N O R M A L
NO RESPITE: A woman holds an umbrella to protect herself from the sun in Shanghai on July 4, 2013.
Global average surface temperatures in 2015 were likely to reach what the agency called the “sym-
bolic and signifi cant milestone” of 1C above the pre-industrial era. – AFP Files
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With police still hunting a local man who is a prime suspect in the November 13 attacks in Paris, along with up to 10 others authorities fear could be planning further violence, the Belgium government only plans to review the alert status next week
MARKEWWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COMT H U R S DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 6, 2 0 1 5B
Muscat
5,695.80 - 46.70
- 0.81%
Dubai
3,212.52+ 5.31
+ 0.17%
Abu Dhabi
4,210.57 - 7.90
- 0.19%
Saudi Arabia
7,213.12+ 11.02
+ 0.15%
Kuwait
5,772.66 + 7.62
+ 0.13%
Bahrain
1,231.36 + 0.82
+ 0.07%
Qatar
10,611.80- 63.94
- 0.60%
CURRENCY RATES* DRAFT RATES (OMR1)* GOLD PRICES*Forex rates vs OMR1*
US Dollar ................................. 2.58
Euro .............................................2.41
Pound ............................................ 1.71
Indian Rs ............................. 172.03
Pak Rs ....................................269.18
Bangla Taka.......................198.29* Rates are as of Nov. 25
Source: Bank Muscat
Indian Rs ....................................172.15
Pakistan Rs .............................273.68
Sri Lanka Rs ............................367.10
Bangla Taka...........................206.00
Phil Peso .................................... 121.65
* Rates as of Nov. 25 Source: Oman UAE Exchange
Muscat 24ct per gm (OMR) .......13.85
Muscat 22ct per gm (OMR) .......13.40
Dubai 24ct per gm (Dh) ............129.25
Dubai 22ct per gm (Dh) .............122.50
* Rates as of Nov. 25
Source: Malabar Gold & Diamonds
Type ............................Delivery...........Price
Oman Crude ............. (Spot) ........$40.82
Dubai Crude ............. (Spot) ........ $40.75
Murban Crude ........ (Spot) .........$41.50
Arabian Light ......... (Spot) ........$38.42
N.Sea Brent ............... (Spot) ........$45.56
West Texas Int ....... (Spot) ........$42.38
CRUDE OIL PRICE
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Mega paint plant to open soon in Sohar
ELHAM [email protected]
MUSCAT: Oman’s largest paint factory, set up by Berger Paints in Sohar, will be offi cially inaugu-rated in December, said P K Raj, general manager, Asian Paints (Middle East).
Speaking to the Times of Oman, Raj said the factory is the second plant of Berger Paints in Oman, which forayed into the Sultanate in 2000 as a joint venture between the Al Hassan Group and Asian Paints Limited.
“The trial runs are already on. Trial productions are there, and we are kind of complete in terms of our production,” the offi cial said after an event held recently to launch intumescent and fl ame resistant coating that provides precious time in the event of a fi re.
According to him, the modern Sohar factory is spread over an area of 50,000 square metres and has a much higher capacity than the fi rst plant in Ghala.
This factory produces a wide range of products that primar-ily include architectural coat-
ings, wood fi nishes and industrialcoatings.
Capacity Asked about the capacity of the new plant, the General Manager of Asian Paints (Middle East) said, “We were making about 10,000 kilo litres (per annum). This (fac-tory) can produce up to three times more.”
“We have grown in the last 15 years thanks to growth in Oman. We have reached a stage, where we feel that we do not have enough capacity,” Raj said, adding that the
new plant has been established to keep up with the advances in technology and the latest develop-ments in the paint industry.
New products Raj also pointed out that the com-pany will continue to off er new products to fulfi l the demands of the market.
The newly introduced intu-mescent paint and fl ame resistant coatings are suitable for structural building materials, such as stone, plaster and steel structures.
According to the company, while the coating is inert at low heat, it swells to provide a blanket of in-sulation at high temperature by in-creasing in volume and decreasing in density.
This acts as an expanded layer of low conductivity at high tem-perature so that the heat is delayed and reduced in reaching the steel structure, keeping the fi re from turning out of control.
Berger Paints, a world leader in colour mixing technology, has close to 40,000 colour mixing shops in the world.
It is known for its innovative products that are decorative, at-tractive and safe, and environ-ment-friendly at the same time.
The new Sohar
factory is spread
over an area of
50,000 square
metres and will
be Oman’s largest
paint factoryP K Raj, general manager, Asian Paints (Middle East). — Supplied picture
Nama Group signs project contracts worth OMR159mTimes News Service
MUSCAT: Nine contracts worth OMR159 million were signed by the Nama Group during the re-cently concluded Business Op-portunity Forum, which involve diff erent projects that the group will be undertaking in 2015.
Also, the group has presented its most important projects for the year 2016, valued at a total of OMR400 million in the forum’s brochure.
Signed projectsThe signed projects include a project to improve the network in Al Rustaq in South Al Batinah, a project to supply electricity to governmental entities in Wilay-at Ibri in the North Sharqiyah region and a project to build transformer stations in Ibra and Salalah.
Furthermore, the Rural Areas Electricity Company (Raeco) has signed a contract to supply fuel to power generation stations that belong to it. As part of improv-ing the capacity of the network, there are also three projects that will help build three generation
stations in Saih Al Kheirat in the govenorate of Dhofar and Wilayat Khasab in Musandam and Wilay-at Musairah in Al Sharqiyah.
Economic growth“The group is working to support the needs of economic growth through cooperation with the con-cerned authorities to implement projects. The forum will provide an appropriate platform to iden-tify the suppliers and contractors, with the most important invest-ment opportunities in develop-ment of the group for 2016,” said Omar Al Wohaibi, chief executive offi cer of the Nama Group.
The Nama Group sponsored the “Business Opportunities Fo-rum” as a gold sponsor. The fo-rum was organised by the Oman Chamber of Commerce and In-dustry’s (OCCI) on November 16 and 17 at the Oman International Exhibition Centre.
N I N E P O W E R C O N T R A C T S
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NBO’s head offi ce building to be completed by 2017Times News Service
MUSCAT: National Bank of Oman’s (NBO) new head offi ce building is expected to be com-pleted by 2017.
The 50,000 square-metre de-velopment will comprise a total of nine fl oors, including two base-ments levels, ground, mezzanine and fi ve upper fl oors, providing a high-quality offi ce space, together with a range of supporting facili-ties. The design will be inspired by the country’s world-famous landscape, while showcasing the key cultural elements which de-fi ne Oman.
“Construction of NBO’s new home in the heart of Muscat is making great progress and we are fi rmly on-track for a 2017 open-ing. Once open, the new facility will not only be a prestigious new landmark on Muscat’s skyline, but also the platform for the next phase of NBO’s growth,” said Ahmed Al Musalmi, chief execu-tive offi cer (CEO) of NBO.
“We look forward to serving our nation and our customers from our new world-class head-quarters, while creating a truly exceptional work environment for our employees as we continue to drive our vision forward: To be the bank of choice,” he added.
The NBO chairman and Al
Musalmi had recently led a group of senior managers to inspect the progress of construction at the company’s new head offi ce.
The state-of-the-art facility is being built by Al Turki Enterpris-es, a 100 per cent Omani-owned construction fi rm, in the strategic location of Al Athaibah, Muscat.
The delegation was pleased to see that the construction of the two basement levels stories was nearing completion, with work having moved to the ground level.
Founded in 1973, NBO is the Oman’s fi rst local bank. Today, it is one of the largest institutions in Oman off ering fi nancial solu-tions to fulfi l the needs of its cus-tomers.
The bank is also committed to community investment through its corporate social responsibility activities, with an emphasis on fi ve focus areas, including health and human services, arts and cul-ture, education, environment and women and youth.
S T A T E - O F - T H E - A R T F A C I L I T Y
FIRMLY ON TRACK: The state-of-the-art facility is being built by
Al Turki Enterprises, a 100 per cent Omani-owned construction
fi rm, in the strategic location of Al Athaibah, Muscat. - Supplied picture
Opec not to reduce oil supplyLONDON/DUBAI: Opec is de-termined to keep pumping oil vigorously despite the resulting fi nancial strain even on the poli-cy’s chief architect, Saudi Arabia, alarming weaker members who fear prices may slump further to-wards $20.
Any policy U-turn would be pos-sible only if large producers out-side the exporters’ group, notably Russia, were to join coordinated output cuts. While Moscow may
consult Opec oil ministers before their six-monthly meeting next week, the chances of it helping to halt the price slide remain slim.
“Unless non-Opec say they are willing to help, I think there will be no change,” said a delegate from a major Opec producer.
“Opec will not cut alone.”When the group last met in Vi-
enna in June, Saudi oil minister Ali Al Naimi and those from other Gulf countries could barely hide
their jubilation. Opec’s historic decision in November 2014 — to pump more oil and defend its market share against surging ri-val suppliers — was working, they proclaimed as crude traded near $65 per barrel. Six months later, crude oil has hit $45, down from as much as $115 in the middle of last year. Now some member states are talking about a return to twenty-dollar-oil, last seen at the turn of the millennium. — Reuters
C R U D E
B2
MARKETT H U R S DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 6, 2 0 1 5
MUSCATSECURITIES MARKET
SHARE PRICE BULLETIN FOR WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25
REGULAR MARKET .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
OM0000001681 ............OMAN AND EMIRATES INV. HOLDING .............13,000 ................1,178........................2 ........... 0.090 ........... 0.091 ...........0.090............0.091 .............0.090 ............0.001 ..............1.111 .................0.091 .............. 0.091...................0.092 .................. 11,090,625 .........0.100
OM0000003224 ...........RENAISSANCE SERVICES ..................................... 321,100.............52,915..................... 25 ............0.164 ........... 0.165 ...........0.164 ............0.165 ............. 0.164.............0.001 ............. 0.610 ................0.164 ..............0.164...................0.165 ................... 47,957,418 .........0.100
OM0000001418 ............RAYSUT CEMENT ....................................................... 25,000 ............ 27,500........................2 ............1.100 ........... 1.100 ...........1.100 ............1.100 ............. 1.100 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................1.100 ..............1.000................... 1.100 ................. 220,000,000 .......0.100
OM0000001517 ............HSBC BANK OMAN ............................................................350 .................... 40........................3 ............0.113 ........... 0.113 ............ 0.113 ............0.113 ............. 0.113 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................ 0.113 ...............0.111................... 0.113 ..................226,035,345 .......0.100
OM0000001962 ............AL MADINA INVESTMENT ................................... 121,928 ................7,175..................... 10 ........... 0.060 ...........0.060 ...........0.058 ........... 0.059 .............0.059 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.058 ..............0.057...................0.059...................12,221,932 .........0.100
OM0000002168 ............AL ANWAR CERAMIC TILES ............................... 201,500 ........... 65,259......................13 ........... 0.320 ........... 0.326 ...........0.320........... 0.324 .............0.324 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.326..............0.310...................0.326 ..................95,973,233 .........0.100
OM0000002374............UNITED FINANCE ......................................................... 2,708 ...................314........................ 1 ............0.116 ........... 0.116 ............ 0.116 ............0.116 ............. 0.116 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................ 0.116 .............. 0.116................... 0.119 ...................36,048,733 .........0.100
OM0000002440 ...........AL SHARQIA INVESTMENT HOLDING ............. 19,357 ............... 2,071........................2 ............0.107 ........... 0.107 ...........0.107 ........... 0.107 ............. 0.107............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.107 .............. 0.107...................0.109 ....................9,630,000 ..........0.100
OM0000003125 ............GLOBAL FINANCIAL INVESTMENT ........................ 156 ..................... 16........................ 1 ........... 0.100 ........... 0.100 ...........0.100 ........... 0.104 .............0.104 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.100 ..............0.100...................0.104...................20,800,000 ........0.100
OM0000003281 ............TAAGEER FINANCE .....................................................3,000 .................. 399........................ 1 ............0.133 ........... 0.133 ...........0.133 ............0.133 ............. 0.133............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.133 .............. 0.133...................0.000 .................. 33,727,470 .........0.100
OM0000003521 ............GALFAR ENGINEERING AND CON. .................. 119,000 ...............9,405........................9 ........... 0.079 ...........0.080 ...........0.079 ........... 0.079 .............0.079 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.080..............0.079...................0.080 ..................22,908,470.........0.100
OM0000005005 ...........ALMAHA CERAMICS ....................................................... 300 ...................127........................ 1 ........... 0.422 ...........0.422 ...........0.422........... 0.434 .............0.434 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.422.............. 0.414...................0.422 ..................22,785,000 .........0.100
OM0000003026 ...........OMAN TELECOMMUNICATION ........................ 166,021 ..........264,723......................31 ............1.600 ........... 1.600 ...........1.590 ............1.595 ............. 1.600 ...........-0.005 ........... -0.313................1.590 .............. 1.580...................1.590 ................ 1,196,250,000 ......0.100
OM0000001483 ............NATIONAL BANK OF OMAN ................................. 285,000 ........... 82,950........................4 ........... 0.296 ........... 0.296 ...........0.290 .......... 0.291 .............0.292 ...........-0.001 ........... -0.342 ...............0.290..............0.286...................0.290 .................390,146,683 ........0.100
OM0000001087 ............OMAN UNITED INSURANCE ............................... 187,177 ............ 44,762..................... 22 ........... 0.240 ...........0.240 ...........0.238........... 0.239 .............0.240 ...........-0.001 ............-0.417................0.238 ..............0.230...................0.237...................23,900,000 ........0.100
OM0000004933 ...........AL SUWADI POWER .................................................. 100,000 ...........20,800........................3 ........... 0.208 ...........0.208 ...........0.208 .......... 0.208 .............0.209 ...........-0.001 ........... -0.478 ...............0.208............. 0.200...................0.208 .................148,596,519 ........0.100
OM0000001525 ............OMAN INVESTMENT AND FINANCE ................ 87,183 .............14,709........................9 ............0.170 ........... 0.170 ...........0.166 ............0.169 ............. 0.170............-0.001 ........... -0.588 ...............0.167 .............. 0.166...................0.167 ...................33,800,000.........0.100
OM0000002796 ...........BANK MUSCAT ............................................................ 1,880,519 ......948,124..................... 38 ........... 0.504 ........... 0.506 ...........0.500........... 0.504 .............0.508 ...........-0.004 ........... -0.787 ...............0.502..............0.500...................0.504 ............... 1,155,078,589 ......0.100
OM0000004925 ...........AL BATINAH POWER ................................................ 100,000 ...........20,800........................4 ........... 0.208 ...........0.208 ...........0.208 .......... 0.208 .............0.210 ...........-0.002 ........... -0.952 ...............0.208..............0.205...................0.209 .................140,376,585 ........0.100
OM0000003398 ...........BANK SOHAR..................................................................10,000 ............... 1,690........................2 ............0.169 ........... 0.169 ...........0.169 ............0.169 ............. 0.171 ............-0.002 ............-1.170 ................0.169 .............. 0.165...................0.169 ................. 243,603,360 .......0.100
OM0000001772 ............AL ANWAR HOLDING............................................... 1,407,117 ....... 236,271..................... 89 ............0.170 ........... 0.170 ...........0.165 ............0.168 ............. 0.170............-0.002 ............-1.176 ................0.166 .............. 0.166...................0.168 ...................25,212,600 .........0.100
OM0000001160 ............NATIONAL GAS .............................................................10,500 ...............3,276........................4 ............0.312 ........... 0.312 ...........0.312 ........... 0.312 ............. 0.316............-0.004 ........... -1.266 ...............0.312 ............. 0.000...................0.326 ..................15,600,000 .........0.100
OM0000003968 ...........OOREDOO....................................................................... 480,701...........357,196..................... 24 ............0.756 ........... 0.756 ...........0.740 ........... 0.744 ............. 0.760 ...........-0.016 ........... -2.105 ...............0.740 ..............0.728...................0.740 ................. 484,302,507 .......0.100
OM0000002028 ...........GULF INTERNATIONAL CHEMICALS ................8,000 ...............2,120........................6 ........... 0.265 ........... 0.265 ...........0.265........... 0.265 ............. 0.271............-0.006 ........... -2.214 ...............0.265 ............. 0.260...................0.267.................... 5,565,000 ..........0.100
OM0000001533 ............OMINVEST ..................................................................... 29,200 .............13,140........................3 ........... 0.450 ........... 0.450 ...........0.450........... 0.450 .............0.462 ...........-0.012 ........... -2.597 ...............0.450 ..............0.442...................0.470..................248,787,739 ........0.100
OM0000001145 ............PORT SERVICES CORPORATION ........................... 9,900 ............... 1,247........................2 ............0.126 ........... 0.126 ...........0.126 ........... 0.126 ............. 0.130............-0.004 ........... -3.077 ...............0.126 ..............0.126...................0.135 ................... 11,975,040 .........0.100
OM0000003711 ............SOHAR POWER .............................................................. 13,620 ...............4,849........................7 ........... 0.356 ........... 0.356 ...........0.356 ........... 0.356 .............0.370 ...........-0.014 ........... -3.784 ...............0.356 ..............0.356...................0.370...................78,679,560 .........0.100
OM0000002366 ...........AL BATINAH DEV. INV. HOLDING ........................10,000 .................. 910........................ 1 ............0.091 ........... 0.091 ...........0.091 ............0.091 .............0.095 ...........-0.004 ............-4.211 ................0.091 ..............0.090...................0.091 ....................2,730,000 ..........0.100
OM0000004735 ...........SEMBCORP SALALAH ............................................... 50,000 ..........130,000........................4 ........... 2.600 ...........2.600 ...........2.600 .......... 2.600 ............. 2.715 ............ -0.115 ........... -4.236 ...............2.600..............2.550...................2.600 .................248,188,707 ........1.000
OM0000002176 ............AL JAZEERA STEEL PRODUCTS ........................ 386,493 ............53,773......................16 ............0.154 ........... 0.154 ...........0.139 ............0.139 ............. 0.154............-0.015 ........... -9.740................0.139 ............. 0.000...................0.139 ................... 17,360,816 .........0.100
.............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 6,048,830 .. 2,367,739...................339 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ......30........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
PARALLEL MARKET ................................................................................................................................................................................. OM0000001053 ............OMAN TEXTILE HOLDING ....................................... 1,050 .................. 365........................2 ........... 0.348 ........... 0.348 ...........0.346........... 0.348 .............0.346 ........... 0.002 ............. 0.578 ................0.346..............0.346...................0.360 ...................2,088,000 ..........1.000
OM0000001475 ............SWEETS OF OMAN ........................................................ 5,000 ...............6,050........................ 1 ............1.210 ........... 1.210............1.210 ........... 1.340 .............1.340 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................1.210 ............. 0.000................... 1.210 ....................9,380,000 ..........0.100
OM0000001855 ............MAJAN GLASS .................................................................2,800 .................. 554........................ 1 ............0.198 ........... 0.198 ...........0.198 ........... 0.220 .............0.220 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.198 ............. 0.000...................0.198 .................... 9,245,126 ..........0.100
OM0000002580 ...........OMAN EDU. & TRIN. INV. HOLDING...................... 5,000 .................. 825........................ 1 ............0.165 ........... 0.165 ...........0.165 ............0.178 ............. 0.178 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.165 ............. 0.000...................0.163 ...................12,460,000 .........0.100
OM0000003075 ...........DHOFAR UNIVERSITY............................................. 143,200 ......... 209,778......................13 ............1.460 ........... 1.465 ...........1.460 ............1.465 ............. 1.465 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................1.465 ............. 0.000...................1.465 ...................20,510,000 .........1.000
OM0000005963 ...........PHOENIX POWER ...................................................... 720,291 ......... 105,848..................... 34 ............0.148 ........... 0.148 ...........0.146 ............0.147 ............. 0.148............-0.001 ........... -0.676 ...............0.147 .............. 0.146...................0.147 ..................215,002,415 ........0.100
OM0000001426 ............OMAN REFRESHMENT ............................................ 15,270 .............36,168........................5 ........... 2.400 ...........2.400 ...........2.350........... 2.370 .............2.400 ...........-0.030 ........... -1.250 ...............2.350..............2.250...................2.370..................118,500,000 ........0.100
OM0000004420 ...........BANK NIZWA ................................................................ 2,752,496 ...... 213,126..................... 45 ........... 0.078 ........... 0.078 ...........0.075 ........... 0.077 .............0.078 ...........-0.001 ........... -1.282 ...............0.076 ..............0.075...................0.076..................115,500,000 ........0.100
OM0000001566 ............OMAN FISHERIES ...................................................... 22,000 ................1,181........................4 ........... 0.054 ........... 0.054 ...........0.053 ........... 0.054 .............0.055 ...........-0.001 ............-1.818 ................0.053 .............. 0.051...................0.053.................... 6,750,000 ..........0.100
OM0000004511 ............ALIZZ ISLAMIC BANK.............................................. 284,210 ............19,899......................15 ........... 0.070 ........... 0.071 ...........0.070........... 0.070 .............0.072 ...........-0.002 ........... -2.778 ...............0.070..............0.069...................0.070...................70,000,000 ........0.100
OM0000001368 ............CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS IND. ....................65,000 .............. 2,080........................4 ........... 0.032 ........... 0.032 ...........0.032........... 0.032 .............0.033 ...........-0.001 ........... -3.030 ...............0.032.............. 0.031...................0.032 ...................2,720,000 ..........0.100
.............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 4,016,317 ...... 595,874................... 125 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ...... 11........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
BONDS AND SUKUK MARKET ......................................................................................................................................................................OM0000004602 ...........BANK MUSCAT CONV. BONDS 4.5 ...................... 500,000 ........... 56,000........................ 1 ............0.112 ........... 0.112............ 0.112 ............0.112 ............. 0.110 ............ 0.002 ..............1.818.................0.112 .............. 0.112...................0.000 ..................33,907,900 .........0.100
OM0000004867 ...........BANK MUSCAT C C B 4.5 ..............................................1,596 .................. 160........................2 ........... 0.100 ........... 0.100 ...........0.100 ............0.101 ............. 0.101 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.100 ..............0.100...................0.104...................32,283,910 .........0.100
OM0000005971 ............B.MUSCAT COMPL. CONVR. B.B.3.5 ..................... 37,330 ...............3,472........................4 ........... 0.093 ........... 0.093 ...........0.093........... 0.093 .............0.095 ...........-0.002 ........... -2.105 ...............0.093 ..............0.093...................0.099................... 30,147,030 .........0.100
.............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 538,926 ............59,631........................7 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ........ 3........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
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 ........................................ 5,747.12 ...............5,695.80 ................... 5,695.80 ................... 5,742.50 ................-46.70 .................. -0.81Financial Index .................................... 6,945.57 ...............6,878.72 ................... 6,878.72 ................... 6,937.82 ................ -59.10 .................. -0.85Industrial Index ................................... 7,094.88 ................7,057.61 .................... 7,057.61 ...................7,094.88 ................ -37.27 .................. -0.53Services Index ....................................... 3,217.95 ...............3,182.98 ................... 3,182.98 ................... 3,217.90 ............... -34.92 .................. -1.09MSM SHARIAH INDEX.......................899.52 ..................895.32 .......................895.32 ...................... 899.52 ..................-4.20 .................. -0.47
Trading SummaryVolume ................ Turnover ..........Trades .............. Market Cap............. Up ............Down ............. Equal .........Sec. Traded10,604,073 .................3,023,244 .....................471 ............... 14,706,325,703 .................. 4 ..................... 25 .................... 15 .........................44
MSM index ends lower
MUSCAT: Muscat bourse con-tinued its fall amid weak senti-ment. The MSM30 Index wit-nessed strong selling across the board to close at 5,695.80 points, down by 0.81 per cent. The Sharia Index declined 0.47 per cent to close at 895.32 points. Bank Ni-zwa was the most active in terms of volume while Bank Muscat led in terms of turnover. The top gainer was Oman & Emirates Holding, up by 1.11 per cent while Al Jazeera Steel, down 9.74 per cent was the top loser.
A total number of 471 trades were executed on Wednesday, generating turnover of OMR3.0 million with 10.6 million shares changing hands. Out of 44 trad-ed securities, four advanced, 25 declined and 15 remained un-changed.
At the session close, Omani investors remained net buyers for OMR858,000 while Foreign investors were net sellers for OMR824,000 followed by GCC & Arab Investors for OMR34,000 worth of shares. Financial Index exhibited loss of 0.85 per cent to
close at 6,878.72 points. Oman & Emirates Holding gained 1.11 per cent to close at RO 0.091. Al Bati-nah Development, Al Izz Bank, Ominvest, Bank Nizwa and Al Anwar Holding declined 4.21 per cent, 2.78 per cent, 2.60 per cent, 1.28 per cent and 1.18 per cent re-spectively.
Industrial Index ended the session at 7,057.61 points, down by 0.53 per cent. Oman Textiles, up by 0.58 per cent, was the only sector gainer. Al Jazeera Steel, Construction Materials, Gulf International Chemicals, Oman Fisheries and Oman Refresh-ments fell 9.74 per cent, 3.03 per cent, 2.21 per cent, 1.82 per cent and 1.25 per cent respectively.
Services Index declined strongly by 1.09 per cent to end at 3,182.98 points. Renaissance Services gained 0.61 per cent to close at OMR0.165. Sembcorp Salalah, Sohar Power, Port Ser-vices, Ooredoo and National Gas fell by 4.24 per cent, 3.78 per cent, 3.08 per cent, 2.11 per cent and 1.27 per cent, respectively.
— United Securities
The top gainer was Oman & Emirates Holding,
up by 1.11 per cent, while Al Jazeera Steel,
down 9.74 per cent, was the top loser
‘India’s biggest growth challenge to come from within country’WASHINGTON: India’s rising growth helps in painting a brighter global economic outlook despite China’s slowdown, a well known global investment strategist has said while cautioning that India’s biggest risk may come from “inside the country”.
And with India still being pre-dominantly an agricultural country which depends on rain, the analyst
cautioned the global investor com-munity that from now on, weather may be a factors in deciding the fate of the global economy.
Brighter outlook“India’s rising growth helps to paint a brighter global economic outlook, despite a slowing China. In the near-term, interest rate cuts by the central bank combined with
government infrastructure spend-ing is helping to boost growth in In-dia,” Jeff rey Kleintop, senior vice-president, Chief Global Investment Strategist of Charles Schwab said in analysis released on Tuesday.
Observing that India’s biggest risk may come from inside the country, he said India’s economy is much more dependent on con-sumer spending than on demand
for exports, unlike that of China.
Unique strengths“Over the longer-term, inves-tors should take note that India’s unique strengths require infl a-tion to remain contained, struc-tural economic reform eff orts to take root and drought conditions to improve in order to support the strongest growth among the
world’s economies,” he said. Noting the diff erences between
China and India may be most pro-nounced in the composition of their economies, he said China’s growth has slowed down as it has evolved from an economy focused on export-driven manufacturing and infrastructure spending to a more services and consumer-driven economy. While China’s
economic transition has resulted in a near balance between sectors, with services at 48 per cent and manufacturing at 43 per cent of GDP (with the rest in agriculture), Kleintop said that in contrast, In-dia’s services sector makes up 23 per cent more of its economy than the manufacturing sector (at 53 per cent and 30 per cent respectively).
— PTI
E X P E R T ’ S O P I N I O N
China to invest $1trillion abroadBEIJING: China is likely to in-vest over $1 trillion overseas and import $10 trillion commodities over the next fi ve years, Premier Li Keqiang has said as the world’s second largest economy looks to invest its record $3.50 trillion fo-rex reserves abroad to utilise it to spur growth.
Although China’s economic growth has slowed, growth vol-ume is increasing annually, Li
spoke at an economic and trade forum of China and Central and Eastern European countries in Suzhou, Jiangsu province on Tuesday. He said that as long as China’s annual economic growth remains above 6.5 per cent in the next few years, it can get close to the target of becoming a high-income country by 2020, offi cial media here quoted him as saying.
This will provide more oppor-
tunities for the world, including Central and Eastern European countries, he said.
China is ramping up its strategy to halt the slowdown of its econ-omy which is hovering around seven per cent. Analysts say that Li’s assertion about one trillion dollars overseas investment is a strong hint to make use of the huge foreign exchange reserves to get better returns. — PTI
E C O N O M Y
Muscat Securities Market. – Times fi le picture
B3T H U R S DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 6, 2 0 1 5
MARKET
Majority of banks focus on sales over serviceTimes News Service
MUSCAT: Banks remain poorly equipped to drive customer sales and acquisition via digital chan-nels, a new global retail banking study by Misys and Efma pub-lished recently reveals.
The majority of banks (87 per cent) perform less than 10 per cent of sales via digital and for one in fi ve banks, this fi gure falls to less than one per cent of sales. In addi-tion, only 12 per cent of customer acquisition is conducted via digital channels, proving banks are failing to fully exploit online and mobile to engage customers. 40 per cent of new customer acquisition is still conducted via the branch, accord-ing to the research.
Globally, banks forecast that sales via digital channels will jump from 13 per cent on average today up to 75 per cent in three years’ time. However, banks must overcome the biggest barriers to customer driven sales to achieve this signifi cant migration to digi-tal channels. 39 per cent of banks cite culture and 26 per cent blame
technology barriers on their fail-ure to achieve greater digital sales.
Vincent Bastid, CEO, Efma, said: “Paying lip service to digital banking is no longer an option. The ambitious plans to drive the ma-jority of sales via digital channels are unachievable in the current
technology environment. Banks must develop a strategic link be-tween digital channels and their ability to support customer expe-riences that – crucially – result in sales outcomes.”
“Those banks that fl ourish will be customer-focused institu-
tions, founded on core software and systems that can deliver bet-ter customer experiences as well as increase sales, all via an omni-channel approach,” he added.
Core banking systems are the number one technology challenge, with 61 per cent stating they are a
barrier to optimising sales perfor-mance. Indeed, a third of banks view core systems as incapable of meeting the demands of the sales process, with 12 per cent refer-ring to their banks’ core system as ‘highly incapable’.
Examining the business impact
of technology issues facing sales teams, slow time to market with new products and services is caus-ing the most pain. Banks are also frustrated by an inability to create customer-driven, personal prod-ucts and services.
Mark Yamin-Ali, Retail Banking Solution Lead, Misys, said: “Banks’ neglect of customer service points to a huge missed opportunity to leverage new technologies in more sophisticated ways that not only enhance customer-relevant in-teractions but also drive bottom line impact. The real issue here is core banking – banks which focus only on digital to achieve custom-er-centricity will have a beauti-ful shop window, with outdated stock. Customer-centricity must be from channels to the core. And only with core modernisation, can banks reap the full benefi ts of digi-tal innovation.” In spite of the lack of progress achieved, 48 per cent of respondents believe ‘customer centricity’ is an overused term. Moreover, 75 per cent state that banks have not concentrated ef-forts on improving.
M I S Y S A N D E F M A S T U D Y
SERVICE: Banks are also frustrated by an inability to create customer-driven, personal products and services. - Bloomberg fi le picture
Dubai residential market prices continue to decline
Times News Service
MUSCAT: Housing price growth in Dubai appears to be slowing, with a bottoming out in the mar-ket likely to happen at the tail-end of 2016, according to inter-national real-estate consultancy fi rm Cluttons.
According to Cluttons’ Dubai 2015-2016 Winter Residential Property Market Outlook, values for both apartments (-0.8 per cent)
and villas (-0.5 per cent) dipped marginally during the third quar-ter, marking the fi fth consecutive quarter of price drops.
Housing prices declines of 3 per cent to 5 per cent are expected over the next one year, impacted by faltering global growth and supply levels creeping upwards. But at the same time, infrastruc-ture investments planned around the looming Expo 2020 will boost the rate of job creation and the rate of new households created.
“We expect 7,400 units to be completed in 2016, 10,300 in 2017 and a further 13,600 in 2018, with new schemes launched during the past quarter, helping to even out the balance between villas and
apartments. Over the next three years, 48 per cent of the units de-livered will be villas,” said Steven Morgan, chief executive offi cer (CEO) of Cluttons Middle East.
The report also highlighted that away from the top end of the mar-ket, the vast majority of residen-tial sub-markets have seen little or no change in values this year. This is partly attributed to the steady appeal of apartments to in buy-to-let investment community and refl ected in the total number of apartment transactions during the fi rst nine months of 2015 be-ing 6.6 per cent higher, compared with the same period in 2014.
“We have seen the popularity of off -plan property sales persist,
partly fuelled by the fact that off -plan residential property prices are often 20 per cent to 30 per cent lower than completed sec-ondary stock, which in essence might allow buyers to bypass some of the stringent lending cri-teria and also possibly avoid the need for a mortgage altogether,” added CEO Morgan.
Federal mortgage caps Since the introduction of federal mortgage caps almost two years ago, the issue of aff ordability and accessibility to Dubai’s housing market has dominated headlines.
“Several developers have brought schemes to the market that they present as being ‘aff ord-
able,’ but true aff ordable housing remains a vastly under-served segment of the market. The au-thorities need to formalise the defi nition of aff ordable housing, in terms of those who can qualify and the type of housing that needs to be created, otherwise there is a real danger that the term ‘aff ord-able’ will be permanently diluted,” noted Faisal Durrani, head of Re-search at Cluttons.
According to analysis carried out by Cluttons on United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Economy’s 2008 Household Income Survey, average annual expat incomes across the UAE currently stand at around Dh199,000. Average resi-dential rents in Dubai’s freehold areas at the end of third quarter stood at Dh181,000 per annum.
According to the Cluttons’ re-port, average mortgage multipli-ers in the region are around three to four times the average income.
“In the UAE, this is ap-proximately AED600,000 to AED800,000, which would typi-cally buy a studio or a one bedroom apartment in peripheral sub-mar-kets, such as International City, IMPZ, Dubailand or Dubai Silicon Oasis, leaving many people little option, but to continue renting. The rent to own a model has been successful in the past and has the added advantage of helping devel-opers build an income generating portfolio that could potentially be traded as investment grade stock. Such tenanted asset sales are common in the city’s commercial market, but we are yet to see this in the Dubai’s residential market,” added Durrani.
According to
Cluttons’ Dubai
2015-2016 Winter
Residential Property
Market Outlook,
values for both
apartments (-0.8 per
cent) and villas (-0.5
per cent) dipped
marginally during
the third quarter,
marking the fi fth
consecutive quarter
of price drops
CAUSE OF WORRY: Housing prices are expected to fall by 3 to 5 per cent over the next one year, im-
pacted by faltering global growth and supply levels creeping upwards. - Bloomberg fi le picture
Sembcorp Salalah approves interim cash dividendMUSCAT: Shareholders of Sembcorp Salalah Power and Water have approved a proposal to distribute an interim cash dividend at the rate of 9.2 per cent of the capital (92 baisas per share) to shareholders listed in the register maintained by the Muscat Clearing and Depository Company as on November 24, 2015. An ordi-nary general meeting of the shareholders of the company was held on November 24.
Managing director of Shell OmanMarketing resignsMUSCAT: Shell Oman Marketing Company , has announced the resignation of Mr. Adil bin Ismail Al Raisi as the Managing Direc-tor, a position he has held since September 2010. Adil will remain as Managing Di-rector until February 1, 2016. With immediate eff ect, the Board will start looking for a suitable replacement. Adil explained that his resigna-tion is a personal decision as he accepted an off er to take a similar position in energy sector.
Bank of England to raise rates in 2016LONDON: Bank of England will hike interest rates in the second quarter of next year but the timing may rest on whether the US Federal Re-serve tightens policy in the world’s largest economy next month, a Reuters poll found. Bank Rate has sat at a record low 0.5 per cent since March 2009. — Times News Service/Reuters
B R I E F S
OETC wins awardsTimes News Service
MUSCAT: Oman Electricity Transmission Company (OETC) has recently won the Middle East 2015 Bonds, Loans and Sukuk Awards. This award is one of the most prestigious awards in this fi eld, which aims to raise the bar of competition in Middle Eastern organisations to reach to global levels, and is the only award for Islamic Capital Markets.
OETC bonds were issued for an amount of $1 billion for a period of 10 years, maturing in 2025 at coupon of 3.958 per cent. The bonds were rated at A3 by Moody’s and BBB+ from S&P.
This is the largest internation-al bond issuance from an Omani
fi rm and the biggest international issuance in the capital markets to be issued outside Oman.
“It is a great honour for all of us at Nama Group for one of our subsidiaries, OETC, to win the Middle East Award for Bonds, Loan and Sukuk for the year 2015 and winning in two categories. The categories under which, OETC has won are “Winner: Sov-ereign/quasi-sovereign fi nancing deal of the Year”, as well as “Run-ner-up: Investment Grade Bond/ Sukuk Deal of the year”. We highly appreciate the eff orts that OETC’s employees have put into their work to get the company to achieve such great levels of excel-lence” stated Eng. Ali bin Said Al Hadabi, OETC’s CEO.
M I D D L E E A S T 2 0 1 5 A W A R D
– Supplied picture
Don’t litter a beautiful
country like OMAN.
Ensure proper disposalof garbage.
B4
FEATURET H U R S DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 6, 2 0 1 5
Foreign banks that have been frustrated trying to break into one of the world’s most-profi ta-ble countries for banking, Indo-nesia, now may have a way. Buy
two lenders, merge them — you may get management control while Indo-nesia gets to cut its weakest players and consolidate its banking sector.
After Indonesia imposed rules three years ago that limited foreign ownership of its banks to 40 per cent, the ground shifted again this year. Regulators started saying that bidders could go above the thresh-old if they bought and merged two local lenders. At least two deals, by China Construction Bank Corp. and Korea’s Shinhan Bank, have been given the go-ahead.
“It may be an odd way of being al-lowed to enter the market, but may-be it’s a relatively small price if you are taking a long-term perspective on Indonesia,” said Mark Young, the Singapore-based head of Fitch Rat-ings’ Asia-Pacifi c fi nancial institu-tions group. “This market is some-thing that any regional bank that has ambitions would look to enter.”
Most profi tableIndonesia is among the most profi t-able lending markets in the world. The country’s four largest banks, with market value exceeding $5 bil-lion, have a return on equity of 20.4 per cent, the highest among similar-sized banks in the 20 biggest econo-mies of the world, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The banking
sector’s average net interest margin of fi ve per cent is more than double that of Southeast Asian neighbours Singapore and Malaysia, the data show. Loan growth is expected to accelerate as much as 13 per cent next year, according to Indonesia’s banking regulator, Muliaman Ha-dad, chairman of the Financial Ser-vices Authority.
Yet the problems and costs of merg-ing two banks’ diff ering operational systems and family owners who may not want to fully cede manage-ment control make such acquisitions tricky, said Jim Antos, a Hong Kong-based analyst at Mizuho Securities Asia. In addition, Basel rules requir-ing more liquidity buff ers for banks mean lenders could be spending pre-cious capital for an acquisition that may not end up delivering results for years — especially in an economy that is heavily tied to commodities, which are currently in a down cycle.
“It might be double the trouble actually,” said Antos. “A 2-for-1 sale is something that you fi nd in a retail shop, not in a banking sector. It’s not a bad idea in theory, but the reality is going to be very tough.”
Valuations of Indonesia’s small-est banks have risen in the past year as indications emerged that regula-tions were shifting. Shares of the 10 smallest lenders listed in Indonesia have risen an average 38 per cent in the past 12 months. By comparison, the top 10 have fallen an average 29 per cent in value. China Construc-tion Bank (CCB) said in September
it would become the controlling shareholder of Jakarta-based Bank Windu Kentjana International, which handles trade fi nancing and foreign currency from 78 outlets primarily on the island of Java, af-ter the Indonesian bank bought
Bank Antardaerah in July, a small commercial bank with 30 offi ces in Java, Bali and Lombok.
China Construction Bank said the acquisition would help it off er infra-structure lending in Indonesia as well as fi nancing for cross-border settle-ments to facilitate trade with China.
“This is a critical step for CCB in entering the Indonesian market,” Qi Jiangong, CCB’s deputy general manager for strategic planning and investment, said at the September 18 signing ceremony in Jakarta for the purchase. “Indonesia has always been a high priority market for CCB’s overseas development.”
Shinhan BankShinhan Bank also received approv-al to buy more than 40 per cent in two Indonesian banks it purchased in stages. Shinhan said it signed a deal for 40 per cent of Jakarta-based commercial lender Bank Metro Ex-press PT in 2012, though it got In-donesia’s approval for the purchase only this year when it sought to buy Surabaya-based small-business lender Centratama Nasional Bank. The deal is also paving the way for Bank Negara Indonesia to open its fi rst branch in Seoul.
The new rules allowing majority stakes make more sense for foreign buyers than buying minority stakes, said Kevin Kwek, an analyst at San-ford C. Bernstein in Singapore.
“At 40 per cent or below, you are merely buying an exposure to growth,” he said. “Without eff ective
control, there is a limit to how much a foreign buyer can bring in exper-tise, know- how and a host of other intent to drive value out of an acqui-sition.” After failing to win regula-tory approval for a majority stake in 2013, Singapore’s DBS Group Hold-ings scrapped plans to buy PT Bank Danamon Indonesia.
Pushing consolidationIndonesia, with 118 commercial banks, is pushing for banking con-solidation. With its top 10 banks ac-counting for more than 60 per cent of total assets, the country is trying to weed out the bottom performers. The Financial Services Authority’s Hadad said last year that the regulator would push small lenders to merge or seek strategic investors, as well as increase industry oversight by tightening non-performing loan levels.
“For consolidation, it’s not enough for them to acquire just one bank,” Irwan Lubis, the regulator’s deputy commissioner of banking supervision, said on September 18. The CCB deal “should be a lesson for other investors interested in ac-quiring Indonesian banks. Hopeful-ly with this example, they will know what to do next.”
He said regulators would con-sider previously stated criteria such as reciprocity between Indonesia and the buying bank’s country, and whether the buyer would help to grow the economy, when deciding whether to approve controlling-stake acquisitions. — Bloomberg News
It may be an odd way
of being allowed to enter
the market, but maybe
it’s a relatively small
price if you are taking a
long-term perspective on
Indonesia. This market
is something that any
regional bank that has
ambitions would look
to enter
Mark YoungHead of Asia-Pacific financial institutions
Fitch Ratings
BUY TWO MAKE ONE
B A N K I N G I N I N D O N E S I A
Indonesia is among the most profi table lending markets in the world. The country’s four largest
banks, with market value exceeding $5 billion, have a return on equity of 20.4 per cent, the
highest among similar-sized banks in the 20 biggest economies of the world
B5T H U R S DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 6, 2 0 1 5
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OHI Group celebrates National Day in style
MUSCAT: OHI Group, one of the leading business conglomerates in the Sultanate, celebrated the 45th National Day at its corporate headquarters in Al Khuwair with
great fervour and enthusiasm. Staff from across the group’s vari-ous companies participated in the celebrations, says a press release.
Speaking on the occasion,
Maqbool Hameed Al Saleh, chair-man of the OHI Group, said: “The 45th National Day is indeed very special. His Majesty’s vision is a guiding light for all of us in terms of the progress and prosperity we have enjoyed as his loyal subjects. I am delighted to see the way our staff has come together to cel-ebrate this special occasion.”
Earlier, Ammar Maqbool Al Saleh, executive vice-chairman of the Group, started the celebra-tions with the cake cutting. The
entire offi ce building was also decorated in fl ag colours with a large portrait of His Majesty the Sultan placed at the front of the building as part of the celebra-tions. The OHI Group is a premier business house in Oman with sev-eral subsidiaries, associate com-panies and strategic join ventures, and a well-diversifi ed presences across key industry sectors. The group prides itself in building suc-cess through enduring partner-ships it has with all stakeholders.
The 45th National Day was celebrated at its
corporate headquarters in Al Khuwair
Haya Water seniorstaff honoured on 45th National DayMUSCAT: Coinciding with the Sultanate’s celebrations of the glorious 45th National Day, Haya Water organised a special celebra-tion on this occasion under the patronage of Engineer Mohsen bin Mohammed Al Sheikh, president of Muscat Municipality and chair-man of Haya Water Board and with the participation of the leadership team and all Haya employees.
The celebration took place on recently at the company’s head-quarters. The celebration included various activities that refl ect the joy of the staff on this happy occa-sion, says a press release.
Haya Water main building was also decorated with the fl ags of Oman and pictures of His Maj-esty the Sultan as an expression of our pride in the achievements made by the Sultanate in various fi elds throughout the last 45 years of the Renaissance. During the event also, the company honoured the employees who completed ten years at Haya Water.
Engineer Hussain bin Hassan Abdul Hussain, chief executive of-fi cer of Haya Water, expressed his delight on this occasion and said: “On behalf of all Haya Water staff , I would also like to seize this oppor-tunity to express our best greet-ings to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said wishing him good heath,
happiness and long life, and the Omani people more progress and prosperity under his wise leader-ship praying to Almighty Allah to return this occasion on him and the Omani people with eminence and glory.”
“The leadership team, through the organisation of this event, in-tended to share with the Omani people the celebration of this glo-rious day and to express love and loyalty of Haya Water staff towards His Majesty Sultan Qaboos. This celebration also aims to recognize diff erent achievements in various fi elds,” he added.
The CEO emphasised on the consideration and support that His Majesty has granted to the infrastructure sector in the Sul-tanate through future plans and programs which aim to heavily in-volve the private sector in the de-velopment process. Moreover, the execution of the treated wastewa-ter project seeks to keep pace with the growing population and con-struction boom in all the wilayats and governorates of the Sultanate.
In addition, Haya Water was recently assigned for the develop-ment, construction, management, operation and maintenance of the wastewater systems indiff erent wilayats and governorates of the Sultanate except Dhofar.
S P E C I A L O C C A S I O N
Grand National Day celebration at PSMMUSCAT: As part of the patri-otic festivity on Oman’s 45th Na-tional Day, Pakistan School Mus-cat (PSM) organised a friendly cricket match between Oman Na-tional Youth Development team and Pakistan School Muscat. The evening exhibited the true Omani colours with the spirit of owning the jubilation by Pakistani com-munity, says a press release.
Al Shaikh Abdullah Zahir bin Saif Al Hussni attended the oc-casion as the chief guest whereas Shaikh ShehabYousuf Alawi Al Ibrahim, a renowned businessman and managing director, Al Alawi Real Estate, Ahmad Mohammad Hassan Al Yahmadi, director of Private Sports, Ministry of Sports Aff airs, Colonel Shaikh Nassa Al Khanjari – assistant director, Pub-lic Relations Department, Royal Oman Police and Dad Al Balushi, member Oman Cricket Board, were the guests of honour.
The chairman BODs Adnan Shahzad, members BODs, Attaul-lah Niazi, senior principal Paki-stan School System, Khalid Ja-doon, principal PSM, Munnazza Ghafoor, principal junior school, faculty members and a large num-ber of Pakistan community were also present.
National Youth Development team batted fi rst, reaching a to-
tal of 175 runs to be chased by the team of Pakistan School Muscat in 12 overs. Extending their fi rst rate performance to the next innings, NYDT made it a tough chase for PSM, claiming the trophy with a comfortable victory.
A special prayer for the contin-ued success of Oman and the long and healthy life of His Majesty Sul-tan Qaboos bin Said was also held.
Welcoming the guests, the Pub-lic Relations Offi cer (PRO) of Paki-stan School Muscat, representing the Omanis, said that lately Oman has emerged as a country with no-ticeable prosperity in all the sec-tors and everyone in the Sultanate was benefi tting from these attain-ments. He conveyed his indebted-ness to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos for being a phenomenal founder of the Modern Oman.
Shaikh Abdullah Zahir bin Saif Al Hussni expressed his gratitude to Pakistani community for organis-ing such an impressive celebration and being an integral part of Oman’s march to progress. He commended the strong bond between Oman and Pakistan.
The chief guest gave the med-als to the players and the trophy to the captain of National Youth De-velopment team. The guests were presented with the special souve-nirs from Pakistan School Muscat.
F E S T I V E O C C A S I O N
45th National Day at Badr Al SamaaMUSCAT: Oman reached great heights under the glorious Renais-sance and wise leadership of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said. The awesome achievements made by the nation were celebrated re-cently by Badr Al Samaa health-care group on its premises.
The board directors Abdul Latheef, V. T. Vinod, senior man-agement, members from diff er-ent media, doctors and staff were present at the function. The Om-ani national anthem was played during the function, followed by cutting of cake by the directors, distribution of traditional Omani halwa, kahwa and sweets, says a press release.
“We extend our gratitude to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, a great visionary ruler, for bring-ing great transparency in the sys-tem, fi nest infrastructure, state-of-the-art healthcare facilities, excellent land and air connectiv-ity and balanced economy. We are proud to have such an outstanding leader and salute him for his great eff orts in making Oman one of the
most important countries in the region. Let’s pray to the Almighty to protect His Majesty, grant him good health, happiness, long life and success,” said Abdul Latheef, director, Badr Al Samaa group of hospitals.
“I have been in the Sultan-ate for the last 38 years and this is my 38th National celebration with the people of Oman. I have experienced tremendous growth and prosperity of this blessed na-tion has come through all these years and I have also been greatly touched by His Majesty’s charis-
matic leadership and vision for the future of his people,” said V. T. Vinod, director Badr Al Samaa.
Started in 2002“Badr Al Samaa started its op-eration in 2002. Having fi rmly in-grained Badr Al Samaa’s name in public hearts and having branded it as a reliable and dependable household name across the re-gion, I deeply acknowledge the support given to us by His Maj-esty and the people of Oman. We are thankful to the secular and cosmopolitan Omani society for
understanding and accepting us,” he added.
“Various business communi-ties in the Sultanate of Oman have provided employment opportu-nities to many people under the leadership of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said. Under the be-nevolent vision of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the large, diverse, accomplished and highly regarded diff erent business com-munities have fl ourished in the Sultanate of Oman,” said Saleh Obaid Humaid Al Rashdi, person-nel manager, Badr Al Samaa.
C E L E B R A T I O N
3,500 students, 300 employees of Indian School
Wadi Kabir get together to celebrate National Day
MUSCAT: The 45th National Day of Oman was celebrated with great splendour by the manage-ment, staff and students of the Indian School Al Wadi Al Kabir (ISWK), says a press release.
It was a grand momentous oc-casion as 3,500 students, 300 teaching and non-teaching staff and the Omani staff of the school congregated on the school ground to extend their heartfelt and ear-nest felicitations to the benevo-lent ruler His Majesty Sultan Qa-boos bin Said and the hospitable people of Oman.
The spectacular progression of events for the special day was awe-inspiring as the procession of students, members of the school managing committee, staff and parents walked round the fi eld displaying befi tting banners and pictures that hailed the leader and the glory of Oman.
The National Anthem brought forth the ceremonious fervour of the occasion and the prayer that followed, entreated the blessings
of the Almighty for a long and healthy life for the compassionate leader and for peace and prosper-ity for the people of Oman.
The celebratory event then had on display fabulous, breathtaking formations modeled by the stu-dents of the primary and the sen-ior school. The impressive forma-tion depicting the 45th National Day, had students form the num-ber 45 surrounded by the colours of the national fl ag and the rays depicting glory and radiance.
The silhouette of the map of Oman permeated by students with the three colours — white, red and
green was a treat to the eyes.The enthusiasm continued
with a soulful rendering of an Arabic song by the students of Std V acclaiming His Majesty as a father fi gure and thanking him for being a visionary leader and blessing Oman and its people with development and prosperity.
The thrilling facet of the pro-gramme was the spontaneous participation of the Omani staff of the school and their families who staged traditional dances with songs and folklore that not only added colour to the show but made evident the close bond in school
between the local and the Indian community and the aff ection and cordiality shared by them.
The fusion dance performed by the students of the senior school showcased the merging and blending of the popular Omani music and dance with the tradi-tional and captivating song and dance of Rajasthan.
The programme by ISWK was without doubt, a testimony of the homage paid to the magnanimous leader His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said and the love and defer-ence that they hold for the people of the Oman.
G R E A T T R I B U T E
B6 T H U R S DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 6, 2 0 1 5
ROUND-UP
Bank Muscat to hold Open Day at Al Mouj
MUSCAT: Bank Muscat, the fl ag-ship fi nancial services provider in the Sultanate, is off ering a never-to-be-missed opportunity for citizens and residents to avail ex-clusive personal fi nance off erings in the concluding Open Day to be held at Al Mouj (The Wave).
The three-day event to be held at The Walk, Al Mouj from Decem-ber 3 to 5, coincides with the popu-lar winter carnival at the Sultan-ate’s premier integrated tourism complex. The timing of the Open Day event at Al Mouj is from 5pm to 10pm, says a press release.
The range of unique off ers to
be only available at the Open Day include special interest rate on personal loans; 6 months payment holiday on home loans; quick dis-bursement; free Bank Muscat credit card and free personal pro-tection insurance plan. Visitors also have numerous chances to win attractive gifts.
Notably, exclusive home fi -nance and insurance off ers are available for Al Mouj residents. The Open Day facilitates a unique opportunity for citizens and resi-dents to explore emerging real es-tate investment opportunities in Al Mouj.
To avail the off ers, customers are required to submit copy of national identity card or resident card, salary assignment letter, passport copy for expatriates and address proof of water or electric-ity bill or rental agreement.
Bank Muscat has joined hands with Al Mouj to host the popular winter carnival which is set to transform the waterfront complex into an enchanting frozen world. The three-day winter themed event include concerts, games, fun activities and entertainment for the whole family. Set against the backdrop of the popular carnival, the Open Day promises to be an engaging and rewarding experi-ence for Bank Muscat customers.
Aimed at simplifying and en-hancing convenience to help customers meet their fi nancial requirements, the unique Open Day initiative was launched by the fl agship fi nancial services pro-vider in the Sultanate as part of its ‘Let’s Do More’ vision.
The concept of the Open Day is to provide a unique opportunity for customers to avail personal fi -nance at their convenience. The
exclusive opportunity reiterates the bank’s commitment to extend-ing the helping hand to fulfi ll the fi -nancial needs of customers. This is the fi rst time a fi nance off er of this kind with a range of add-on ben-efi ts is being made available to the largest banking family in Oman.
In step with responsible bank-ing, the focus of Bank Muscat is clear – create a sustainable fi nan-cial platform for the nation and people and thereby contribute to the country’s progress and devel-opment. Committed to supporting economic growth and sustainable development, the bank utilises every opportunity to reiterate partnership in building the nation by creating opportunities for in-dividuals and businesses to grow and prosper.
Doing more is the forte of Bank Muscat - more for the economy, more for the community and more for the individual. The bank has incorporated sustainable best practices and is fully equipped to guide customers through all stag-es of banking life, whether it be savings, investments, fi nancing or just reliable fi nancial advice.
Range of off ers to be available from
December 3 to 5 includes special interest
rate on personal loans; 6 months payment
holiday on home loans; free credit card and
free personal protection insurance plan
Dance competitionon November 27MUSCAT: The much-awaited In-ternational Group dance compe-tition, being organised by Majan Events Management, in associa-tion with Angels Dance Group, is all set to be held at City Amphi-theatre in Qurum on November 27.
The show, scheduled to start at 6.45pm, endeavours to bring the best dancing fl air in front of the massive audience with 250 chil-dren and students performing on the stage. The show features a for-mat where dancers from a variety of styles will perform in the fi nals, , says a press release.
Famous Bollywood choreogra-pher and actor Dharmesh will be the judge in this competition. An expert in freestyle dancing, dance choreographer for the movie ‘Tees Maar Khan’, he has worked in the 3D dance-based fi lm ABCD — An-ybody Can Dance and his recently released ABCD 2 movie.
Huge audience is thrilled, excit-ed and waiting to see live perfor-mance of Dharmesh on the stage along with the participants. Apart from the spectacular dance show, the event also has a musical per-formance by Nadeem Live in con-cert, a self-taught Omani singer who released an album with songs
in six diff erent languages. The master of ceremony is
RJ Prince from 89.1 Radio 4 FM Dubai who with his refreshing voice and charming personal-ity will host this show with all the deal he has in his entertaining box. Those interested in attending the show may call 93293247 for invi-tation passes.
E N T E R T A I N M E N T
Al Madina Takaful wins ‘General Takaful Company of Year’ awardMUSCAT: Al Madina Takaful has become the proud recipient of one of the most coveted awards in the insurance industry in the Middle East. The company was named ‘General Takaful Company of the Year’ at the second Middle East Insurance Industry Awards 2015 held in Dubai, says a press release.
The awards ceremony marked a long journey of the awards pro-gramme that attracted close to 280 nominations in diff erent catego-ries from across the region. The judges’ panel comprised about 26 leading members from the Mid-dle East business world. The gala awards ceremony was well attend-ed by delegates from the insurance and ancillary industries.
Speaking at the awards ceremo-ny, Gautam Datta, CEO, Al Madina Insurance, said, “It gives us great pride to be chosen as the General Takaful Company of the Year in the entire Middle East region. As the fl ag bearer of the industry, we are proud to bring this award to Oman, and we dedicate this as a special gift for the industry and country on the magnifi cent occasion of the country’s 45th National Day.”
“Oman is a relatively new en-
trant into the world of takaful, and securing this award in the nascent stages of the industry will give all the players confi dence and the encouragement to go further. We extend our thanks to the CMA for their continuous support, and to our business partners who inspire our performance. Thanks also goes to all our staff who are living our values, this is a celebration of all their eff orts,” he added.
Speaking on what this award means to the organisation, Usama Al Barwani, deputy CEO, Al Ma-dina Insurance added, “This award inspires us to continue performing
our role in providing leadership to the Takaful Industry in Oman and the region. We will continue to ex-cel in the way we engage with our stakeholders – policyholders, em-ployees, shareholders, intermedi-aries, regulators and all those in our sphere of infl uence. We will strive to innovate in the way we engage, in the way we fi nd solutions and in the way we achieve our goals.”
Al Madina is at the forefront of innovation in the insurance industry, and in a series of fi rsts introduced mInsurance, a power-packed mobile app, and a self-ser-vice concept in the form of a kiosk.
H O N O U R
Khimji’s Watches rewards NBO Golf Classic winner with RolexMUSCAT: Anil Khimji, direc-tor of Khimji Ramdas Group, the business conglomerate in Oman that includes Khimji’s Watches, recently presented a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Explorer to Portuguese golfer Gouveia Ricardo for his win at the NBO Golf Classic grand fi nal. Ricardo outperformed 45 other professional golfers to take the fi nal event of the challenge Tour Season -- with the top 15 players in the ‘Road to Oman’ rankings progressing to the Eu-ropean Tour, says a press release.
The event began with the much-awaited Pro Am tournament, in which aspiring amateur golfers from Oman teamed up with pro-fessionals to win the Pro Am title. Khimji’s Watches had two teams representing Rolex, one of which won the Pro Am title.
Madhursinh Jesrani, general manager of Khimji’s Watches, said: “We were proud to be a part of this event. The NBO Golf Clas-sic is a highly anticipated annual event for Oman’s golfi ng com-munity. Gouveia Ricardo played spectacularly throughout the tournament, and was presented with a Rolex Explorer. The watch
was handed over by Anil Khimji at the prize giving ceremony.”
“Rolex embodies excellence and perfection and has been an avid global supporter of golf for
over fi ve decades. As the only Rolex retailer in the country, we are proud to further the brand’s timeless reputation and prestige in Oman,” Jesrani added.
C O R P O R A T E S U P P O R T
Easy way to realise your dream of owning a new Kia OptimaMUSCAT: For all those who have dreamt of cruising in style behind the wheel of a shiny new Optima … the time is now! Yes, it is the best time to realise the dream of owning an Optima that too with an off er that presents custom-ers with a cash gift of OMR1,300 or a service package lasting 18 months/30,000km (whichever is earlier) together with one-year insurance…and on top of it all – a cash gift of OMR700. The best part is that the cash gift amount can be used as part of down payment.
There also is an attractive of-fer on 14YM Optima whereby customers can avail a cash gift of OMR1,500 or 5 years/100,000km service package (whichever is ear-lier) together with one year insur-ance and a cash gift of OMR600,
says a press release.But there is no time to waste as
the scheme period is from October 25 to December 24. “Don’t wait any longer or you may regret,” says an Optima customer, “The off er is really good… so go for it, now!”
The stunningly styled Kia Opti-ma stands apart from others, deliv-ering a fun-to-drive performance. Some of Optima’s trailblazing fea-tures include an innovative motor-driven ‘D’ shaped steering wheel. “Just the feel of the wheel is enough to add a new thrill to the driving,” is the reaction of an enthusiast.
The Optima also features a drive selector with a choice of eco, normal or sport modes. Optima’s LED daytime front running lights (DRL), fog lamps and darkness-piercing Xenon headlamps light up
the road ahead, says a press release. The Xenon headlamps also
have cornering lighting – that an-ticipates corners and lights up the dark spaces. Adding to the safety is the Vehicle Stability Manage-
ment (VSM) system that keeps the Optima balanced and steady. This is further enhanced by the front and rear sensors. The Optima per-sonality is further enhanced with the fi tment of the newly designed
225/45 R 18 alloy wheels – that add a scintillating touch to the sharp looks of the vehicle!
Optima’s 2.4 L (178 HP), dual exhaust engine is mated with a 6-speed auto transmission. The steering controls include Blue-tooth/cruise/paddle shifter/eco/audio/trip computer. The rear view camera & back warning sen-sors aid in parking the vehicle while the dual zone auto A/C and rear A/C vents keep all occupants comfortable. The panoramic sun-roof and rear spoiler add to its luxurious feel.
Apart from these the Optima includes driver and passenger Airbags, anti-lock braking system (ABS), cool glove box, power lumbar support, gull-wing type power fold-ing outer mirrors with LED turn
indicators, fog lamps & escort head-lamp function, wood grain steering/ TGS knob. The Optima is on display at the showroom – for those who wish to have a closer look!
Reliable International Automo-tive (RIA), the distributor for Kia in Oman, provides a rewarding ownership experience for custom-ers. Excellent product attributes and unmatched facilities easily ensure their absolute satisfaction, every mile of the way. No wonder then that Reliable International Automotive has been ranked amongst the top Kia distributors worldwide and has been honoured with prestigious accolades includ-ing the ‘Good Partnership award, ‘Family Like Care’ Service award’, and ‘Kia ‘Distributor of Distinc-tion’ award.
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Allo’s international mobile top-up service launchedMUSCAT: Allo, the market lead-ing international calling service from Integrated Telecommuni-cations Oman (TeO), announced the launch of a new service for international mobile top-up.
TeO recently signed an agree-ment with Ding, a global provider of mobile top-up service with a network of 350 telecom opera-tors across 130 countries world-wide, to enable the international top up service for all its brands, says a press release.
Allo customers will now be able to top up any international pre-paid mobile account at the click of a button anytime and from an-ywhere as per their convenience. The service will be available from Allo’s recently launched mobile app called AlloApp available for download from Google Play for Android smartphones.
Customers can then top up any mobile account using their Allo credits and further recharge their Allo credits by purchasing Allo cards available all over the Sultanate in denominations of OMR1 and OMR5.
The Allo international mobile top-up service will currently be available for 14 countries — Af-ghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Kuwait, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the UAE. Depending on the country and the telecom opera-tor, customers can transfer cred-its from three diff erent options starting from 275 baisas.
Darren Tong, COO and acting CEO at TeO commented on the signing of the agreement with
Ding, “Allo as a telecom brand has been focused on bringing people together even when they are geo-graphically far apart. Our market leading international call rates allow both expatriates and na-tionals in Oman to stay connected with their families and friends abroad. The addition of the in-ternational mobile top up service will further allow them to stay connected with their loved ones wherever they may be located.”
Muhannad Hassan, general manager (Europe & Middle East) at Ding added, “We are happy to announce a new partnership be-tween Ding and TeO in the Sul-tanate of Oman. TeO customers will be able to send international mobile top up to their family and friends wherever they are in the world through AlloApp around the Sultanate of Oman. Our part-nership will further expand in 2016 to include other TeO chan-nels available in Oman. This high-lights our ongoing commitment to make it easier for our custom-ers to stay in touch with their loved ones back home through the leading retail channels.”
T E L E C O M
Toyota offers cash gift
MUSCAT: Owning a Toyota sedan is more than just a matter of joy. It is a feeling of confi dence, know-ing that Toyota models not merely perform well, they last long and command a good resale value even after many years of use.
Now, Toyota’s best-loved pas-senger car range models are being off ered with a ‘cash gift like never before’, says a press release.
“Customers can now pay only OMR499 and own a brand new Toyota,” said a company spokes-person.
This amount is payable by cus-tomers in addition to cash gift of-fered in the scheme which can be used as down payment for 2016 YM/2015 production model of
Yaris sedan 1.5 E. The amount pay-able varies for other Toyota pas-senger car models/grades as appli-cable. This is available only during the campaign period from Novem-ber 22 to January 21. Benefi ts are applicable for all purchases except those made by government organi-sations and ministries.
“There also is an assured cash gift of up to OMR1,100. This as-sured cash gift is applicable on Yaris hatchback and all Toyota sedans only and the amount var-ies between model, model variants and model year. It can also be used as part of down payment,” added the spokesperson.
“The scheme makes the Toyota passenger car range models simply
irresistible,” exclaims an enthusi-ast, “These iconic products have won over many hearts with their style, quality and value.”
Toyota’s passenger cars range models include the Yaris hatch-back, Yaris sedan, Corolla, Camry, Aurion and Avalon. The 2016 Yaris hatchback has a sporty design and an impressive profi le. Class-lead-ing performance is powered by a 1.5 L VVT-i engine with a maxi-mum output of 107 HP and a maxi-mum torque of 14.4 Kg-m.
A worthy choice, the 2016 Toyota Yaris is an exciting sedan, available in 1.5 L and 1.3 L engine choices; Toyota Yaris also has a compact 4-speed automatic gear-box delivering excellent response and a smooth gearshift.
Toyota Corolla is a pride to own and a joy to drive. It off ers two engine variants. Customers can choose a powerful 2.0 L engine with maximum power of 143 HP (Net). The second option is a 1.6 L engine delivering 121 HP (Net).
The recently launched 2016 Toyota Camry has raised the bar yet again in the mid-size sedan
segment with a bold, bumper-to-bumper redesign to open a new chapter in the illustrious history of the world’s most popular mid-size sedan. With a striking new design, and more dynamic handling, the new Toyota Camry is truly in a league of its own.
The luxurious Aurion is avail-able with 6-speed multimode au-tomatic transmission, with a 3.5 -litre engine and a maximum out-put of 268 HP, delivering top-class level fuel economy and a powerful driving experience.
The Toyota Avalon is a sedan par excellence. It utilizes a 3.5-li-tre, six-cylinder engine that fea-tures Dual VVT-i. The V6 Engine produces 273 horsepower and pro-vides the Avalon with remarkable acceleration. This fl agship model from the Toyota stable redefi nes luxury and sophistication.
In Oman, the nationwide parts and service network of Saud Bahwan Automotive supports Toyota’s outstanding product quality. No wonder then that today, Toyota is one of the most trusted and well-known brands.
The main attraction of the scheme is that
customers can now pay only OMR499 and
own a brand new Toyota
Al Hassan Group celebrates 45th National Day
Godrej roadshow on real estate project at Haff a House
MUSCAT: Al Hassan Group of Companies recently organised a get-together to celebrate Oman’s 45th National Day. Festive fervour prevailed in the offi ce as diff erent initiatives were organised to pay tribute to His Majesty Sultan Qa-boos bin Said and the culture and heritage of this beautiful nation.
Al Hassan’s various offi ces were were dressed up in national col-ours and the photos of His Maj-esty adorned every corner of the buildings in what became a beau-tiful display of patriotism, says a press release.
On the day of the event, the employees turned up wearing the
traditional costume with badges and scarves that featured the spe-cially designed 45th anniversary logo. Various company-wide ini-tiatives were organised as part of the celebrations like a photogra-phy contest, distribution specially designed merchandise and the cutting of a huge cake in the midst of an enthusiastic gathering on November 18. Heartfelt messages wishing His Majesty a prosperous long life were heard all across as well as displayed on banners put up on the buildings and advertise-ments that were featured in main-line newspapers.
Hassan Ali Salman, chairman
of the Group said: “His Majesty’s leadership has over the years fa-cilitated our growth as one of the leading contracting, manufac-turing and trading companies in Oman as well as the region. It is indeed our pride and good fortune to be a part of Oman’s journey of success. This is a landmark year and we are proud of how Oman has developed into a modern na-tion, with excellent infrastruc-ture, health, education and other facilities. On this very positive note, we wish His Majesty contin-ued good health as we embark on another year of progress under his successful stewardship.”
MUSCAT: ‘Godrej The Trees’ in-ternational roadshow is currently on at Hotel Haff a House, Ruwi, and will continue till November 29.
The road show is a planned strat-egy globally to have international presence in this fl agship project, one of the largest real estate de-velopment projects located on the Eastern Express Highway, Vikh-roli, Mumbai in western India.
Conceived as an extensive 34-acre mixed used development, the design carefully choreographs a robust programme of residen-tial, retail, hotel and corporate work spaces that also houses the group’s new headquarters, Godrej One, says a press release.
Godrej Sky is a premium resi-dential project located in Byculla, very close to the Byculla zoo (Ji-jamata Udyaan).
The project will have 146 ex-clusive residences, spread over 66 fl oors. Situated strategically at the Gateway of South Mumbai-Byculla, Godrej Sky does not only
provide you breathtaking views but also one of the most spacious apartments and exclusivity like never before. Be it luxury or con-venience, units at Godrej Sky are
second to none. With a range of product mix, on multiple fl oors, Godrej Sky off ers units with lux-ury of villa and ease of an apart-ment, added the press release.
Product mixWith an interesting product mix of 2 BHK, 3 BHK, 4 BHK units, duplex and penthouses, picture yourself in a home with views of harbor, race course and zoo. All units will give you the rich feel that you deserve along with pri-vacy. Few apartments come with 180 degree view of the serene sur-roundings
Established in 1990, Godrej Properties brings the Godrej Group philosophy of innovation and excellence to the real estate industry. Godrej Properties as-pires to be among India’s top three real estate companies while continuing to be the most trust-ed name in the industry. Godrej Properties has completed several landmark projects and is current-ly developing signifi cant projects in 11 cities across India.
S H O W O F P A T R I O T I S M
M U S C A T R O A D S H O W
Nicolas Labban
appointed general
manager of Havas
Worldwide Muscat
MUSCAT: Nicolas Labban, a key individual who has played an in-strumental role in the growth of Havas Worldwide, Abu Dhabi, will now take over Havas Worldwide Muscat operations as the com-pany’s new general manager. He will be responsible of overseeing all strategic planning and related activities of the company, says a press release.
Labban, a veteran in the world of strategic and operational man-agement, has an invaluable indus-try experience of over 21 years. Running and managing agencies in both Lebanon and the UAE, he has successfully and with great versatility managed a gamut of prestigious brands across various categories, marketing and adver-tising them through a range of me-dia channels.
An entrepreneur by nature, his exceptional business fl air is backed by a Bachelor in Business Administration and his excep-tional leadership skills stem from an inherent passion for mentoring and developing others.
Labban’s original thinking and strong perseverance will raise the bar for the profession as a whole, setting new industry standards for advertising agencies in Oman.
N E W R O L E
WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM
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Bilal wrecks Hong Kong as Oman seal T20I series with thrilling win
ABU DHABI: Bilal Khan’s four-wicket haul and Aamir Kaleem’s unbeaten 42 stood out in Oman’s four-run win over Hong Kong in the second Twenty20 Internation-al at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
The win gave Oman the three-match series after it had won the fi rst game by six wickets.
Batting fi rst, Oman put up 131 for 6, and then it bowled out Hong Kong for 127 with one ball in hand.
In its chase, Hong Kong lost An-shuman Rath off the fi rst ball of the innings when Bilal had him caught behind with a slightly widish de-livery. Bilal struck in his next over again when Waqas Barkat was caught behind in almost similar fashion. Babar Hayat and Mark Chapman put on 36 runs to put the chase back on track, but Zeeshan Maqsood bowled Chapman for 20.
Maqsood made two more im-pressions after that as he had Hayat out for 27 and Tanwir Afzal, the captain, for seven to fi nish with fi gures of 3 for 22. Nizakat became the ninth man to fall in the last over of the match, bowled by Bilal.
After that, Hong Kong needed fi ve runs in four balls, but, Bilal, who returned 4 for 20 — his ca-reer-best eff ort — bowled Nadeem Ahmed off the penultimate ball.
Earlier in the day, Oman’s in-nings had been steered by the 47-run stand between Adnan Ilyas and Kaleem. Ilyas was run out for a run-a-ball 37 in the 15th over, but Kaleem remained unbeaten to take the team past the 130-run mark.
Kaleem, who faced just 31 balls, hit four fours and a six. The last match of the series will be played on Thursday. — ICC
Aamir Kaleem, Adnan
Ilyas bat Oman to
respectability before
Bilal Khan restricts
Hong Kong four
runs short of target
STROKEFUL KNOCK: Aamir Kaleem played well to give Oman a respectable total. DEADLY SPELL: Bilal Khan ran through Hong Kong to hand Oman win.
OMANZ. Maqsood c B. Hayat b T. Afzal 0K. Ali c W. Barkat b A. Khan 27J. Singh c B. Hayat b H. Amjad 6A. Ilyas run out (Carter) 37A. Kaleem not out 42Z. Siddiqui c & b A. Khan 2A. Ali lbw b A. Khan 6S. Ahmed not out 5Extras (lb-2, w-4) 6Total (6 wickets; 20 overs) 131Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-17, 3-43, 4-90, 5-99, 6-114Bowling: Tanwir Afzal 4-0-27-1; Haseeb Amjad 4-0-18-1;
Aizaz Khan 4-0-22-3; Anshuman Rath 4-0-25-0; Waqas Khan 1-0-12-0; Nadeem Ahmed 3-0-25-0HONG KONGA. Rath c S. Ahmed b B. Khan 0W. Barkat c S. Ahmed b B. Khan 10B. Hayat c Amir Ali b Z. Maqsood 27MS Chapman b Z. Maqsood 20N. Khan b B. Khan 29 T. Afzal c Lalcheta b Z. Maqsood 7W. Khan c A. Kaleem b K. Ali 0A. Khan c B. Khan b Ansari 13C. Carter c A. Kaleem b K. Ali 15H. Amjad not out 2
N. Ahmed b B. Khan 0Extras (lb-2, w-2) 4 Total (all out; 19.5 overs) 127Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-13, 3-49, 4-71, 5-86, 6-87, 7-104, 8-124, 9-127, 10-127Bowling: Bilal Khan 3.5-0-20-4; M. Ansari 3-0-20-1; A. Lal-cheta 4-0-31-0; Zeeshan Maqsood 4-0-22-3; Amir Ali 2-0-13-0; Khawar Ali 3-0-19-2Toss: Hong Kong, who chose to fi eldSeries: Oman led the 3-match series 2-0Umpires: VA Kulkarni (India) and Sarika Prasad (Singapore)Match referee: D Govindjee (South Africa)Reserve umpire: Rabiul Hoque
S C O R E B O A R D
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LIGHTS ON, OMAN CRICKET UNVEILS NEW FACILITIES AT AL AMERATOman Cricket on Wednesday unveiled its newly installed fl oodlights for Ministry of Sports Aff airs Groun 1 in Al Amerat. The
contract for the design, supply and installation of 6 Pole Flood Light Systems was awarded to and undertaken by Rukun Al
Yaqeen International LLC in June 2015. The completion of the Flood Light installation is in line with the commencement of
the Muscat Pharmacy & Stores sponsored Senior Premier Division and the National Team’s preparation for the ICC World Cup
T20 in January-February 2016. Oman Cricket offi cial Pankaj Khimji said it is a historic day, “I appreciate the eff orts of each
and every one and for achieveing the feat of infrastructure developmen in a specifi c time frame. It feels great and very soon we
will experience the joy of playing cricket in night.” Oman Cricket’s general secretary Madhu Jesrani also poured praises. “It’s a
special feeling to stand in the ground with lights on. From January next year we will play the One-day games in the day and the
T20 matches in the night. It will be a great 2016 for us,” said Madhu. — Supplied photos
Azzan and Fahad for King Hamad Trophy
MUSCAT: It’s time for some tests and turns for Omani golfers yet again. It’s time for King Hamad Trophy, one of the most prestig-ious tournaments in the GCC’s golfi ng calendar.
The OGC (Oman Golf Com-mittee) has entered the names of its experienced golfer Azaan Al Rumhy and young gun Fahad Al Kitani to represent the country in the big championship, which is into its 8th year.
The tournament is all set to be-gin on November 26 and will con-tinue till 28th and will be played at the iconic Royal Golf Club in Bah-rain. The Omani golfi ng duo left for Bahrain on Wednesday morn-ing. They will undergo a practice session right after reaching in the venue.
Azaan said, “I am looking for-ward to the competition. It’s a very well organised and prestig-ious event with Pros from various European and Asian countries taking part.”
For 16 year old Fahad, to get se-lected is admittedly a prestigious matter. He said, “I am thrilled that
I would get a chance to represent my country in the King Hamad Trophy. I will try my best to leave a mark there. I have practised well and my coach Milo Breitenwis-cher gave me some valuable tips about the competition. I know it will be very, very challenging for me, but I want to be at the top of my game.”
The year has been very remark-able for Fahad. He has emerged as the champion in the individual gross category in the GCC Un-der-15 tournament in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in March this year. He fi nished champion in the team event as well.
The young gun continued his sparkling form with the team in the GCC Cup Kuwait in April. Fa-had and his Oman junior squad teammates put up a good show and narrowly missed the sec-
ond position despite taking lead on the opening day. The team fi nished third in the Under-18 category, which was considered a commendable performance, given that the Omani boys were the youngest among all the competitors.
“It has been a good year for me and I want to end it on a sweet note,” said Fahad.
“But I am well aware of the competition level in Bahrain.”
The competition will be chal-lenging for the Omani golfers as some of the top golfers have en-tered their name in the competi-tion. This year’s fi eld is set for 102 players from the Asian and the European region. With 22 pro golfers participating in the tournament, the organisers are expecting some stiff competition over the next few days. Defending
champion Andrew Marshall, the 2013 winner Yasin Ali and other MENA Tour regulars are ready to throw challenge at the others.
Resident pro Daniel Owen as well as some top amateurs in the region are also heading their way to try and win the coveted trophy.
“So, It’s a great opportunity for us especially for Fahad to rub shoulders with great golfers, in-cluding top national golfers of the GCC,” said Azaan.
“I look forward to spending time with Fahad and sharing some of my experience in playing these major tournaments.”
“I have played so many times on this golf course and I know this course very well. This will be my fi fth year in this champi-onship, still we need to practice here before the tournament, and it will acclamatise us with the weather and course condi-tions,” said Azaan Al Rumhy, Oman’s top golfer, before leaving for Bahrain.
“In golf, every day is diff erent. One small mistake can fi nish you for that day and aff ect your game, so I am very careful and cautious,” he signed off .
The OGC has high hopes over Azaan and Fahad’s participation in this year’s championship, with OGC Chairman Mundhir Al Barwani wishing the players all the best.
“This is a great opportunity for our golfers to shine on behalf of Oman in a major golf tourna-ment,” Al Barwani said. “Azaan is a seasoned golfer and had already taken part in the competition sev-eral times in the past and Fahad is our young gun. He has also shaped up well for this competition. I am confi dent that the two of them will give their best and have a good time out there.”
The competition will
be challenging for
the Omani golfers
as some of the top
golfers have entered
their name in
the competition
AT PRACTICE: Azaan Al Rumhy, left and Fahad Al Kitani honing
their skills for the King Hamad Trophy tournament.
Murali, Subash win titles at ISC
MUSCAT: R. Murali and Sub-ash Pillai won titles at the Falcon Insurance Company-sponsored Annual Tennis Tournament or-ganised by the Indian Social Club Muscat. Murali won the veter-ans’ singles and Subash captured the men’s singles title.
R. Murali, the No. 2 seed scored a hard-fought 6-4, 3-6, 11-9 victo-ry to upset top seed Mohan Kan-nan in the fi nal.
Mohan drew fi rst blood and led 3-0 before Murali bounced back and broke Mohan in the fourth game and reeled four games in a row and broke again to win the fi rst set. Mohan achieved the fi rst break in the third game of the sec-ond set and controlled the tempo.
Although Murali broke back, Mohan was up to the task, broke again in the seventh game and served out the set for one-all. The third set super tie-breaker was a cliffh anger.
Mohan raced to a 6-1 lead when Murali staged a brilliant rearguard action to level at 7-all.
Scores went neck and neck until 9-all when a brilliant cross-court by Murali earned him match-point.
Mohan was serving to save the title, but double-faulted to hand the title to Murali.
Teenagers ruled the court in the men’s singles event as teenag-ers Subash Pillai and Yash Tanna battled it out in the fi nal before Subash lifted the title with a 6-4, 6-1 victory.
After a keen tussle and the fi rst set going on serve, Subash earned the fi rst break in the ninth game but was broken back.
Subash broke again to win the fi rst set and then dominated the second to win it convincingly to claim the men’s singles crown, his fi rst of three possible titles in the tournament.
T E N N I S
VETERANS’ SINGLES:
R. Murali and Mohan Kannan.
MEN’S SINGLES: Yash Tanna
and Subash Pillai.
OFA appoints Saleh Al Farsi as head of competitions committee
MUSCAT: The Oman Football Association appointed today Saleh Abdullah Al Farsi as head of the competitions committee as he re-placed Ahmed Abdullah Al Habsi, who has left Oman for a year on a scholarship. Saleh Al Farsi has previously been General Secretary of the OFA and is the currently the second Vice Chairman of the OFA Board of Directors. He holds other signifi cant positions in the GCC and AFC as well.
F O O T B A L L
Saleh Al Farsi
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Thrilling start to Final Series of Laser Radial Women’s Worlds
MUSCAT: The opening races of the Final Series produced the windiest conditions seen so far at the Oman Sail-organised Laser Radial Women’s World Champi-onship in Mussanah.
After a tough opening three days on the water, and a day of relaxa-tion enjoying cultural activities on Reserve Day, competitors were ready for action this morning for the fi rst, fi nal showdown.
Winds that reached in excess of 16kts made for exciting rac-ing with the cream of the fl eets embracing the conditions and producing some extremely im-pressive racing.
Although she didn’t actually win a race Anne-Marie Rindom (DEN), representing Horsens Se-jlklub in Jutland, took two good starts from the middle of the line, sailed consistently and was happy to fi nish the day with a 4, 5 score.
Rindom commented: “I was just
trying to sail my own race, not do so many tacks just sail really, really fast because that is what it is all about when there is that much wind.
Because of my leading position, also, I don’t want to risk anything so my strategy is to just stick with the fl eet and sail my own race and do as best I can.
I do not want to think about oth-
er people, especially Marit [Bou-wmeester] and the other Danish girl because we have our Olympic trials here.”
Marit Bouwmeester (NED), reigning World Champion and silver medallist at London 2012 demonstrated her heavy weath-er skills and concluded the day with a 1, 3, which lifts her into
second place overall overnight.A modest Bouwmeester com-
menting on the opening races of the Finals Series, said: “It was an okay day.
I was naturally pleased with the fi rst race of the day, but my focus switched to the second race where I messed up my start.
Thankfully I worked really hard
and made a good comeback, so I’m happy about that.”
Number 1-ranked Evi Van Acker (BEL) had a poor fi rst race of the day but learned from her mistakes and rounded the day off with a fi rst.
In race 1 she found herself in the middle of the start line and confessed she was not happy at all with her sailing.
“My upwind performance in that race had plenty of room for improvement.
Getting stuck in the middle of the line wasn’t a particularly smart decision either but I learned from it and did better in the second race, so I’m happy with that.”
In the second race of the day, it paid to go right off the start and that was exactly where Van Acker (30) positioned herself.
“I also had good speed in the windy conditions and built up a nice lead.
Thursday is all about making improvements in the opening mo-ments of the race.”
Josefi n Olsson (SWE), who won the ISAF Sailing World Cup Final in Abu Dhabi a few weeks ago, is also sailing consistently.
With 5, 4 score line, this 26-year-old from Kungliga Svenska Segel Sällskapet (KSSS) in Saltsjöbaden, Sweden, is now in fourth place.
With a 15th and 27th it was not such a good day for reigning Olym-pic champion, Lijia Xu (CHN) who now drops down the rankings to 7th with 54 points.
However, this 28-year-old sailor from Shanghai, who is back on the race scene after her two-year break to recover from sailing-re-lated injury, says this event is all about getting back into the grove.
In Silver fl eet, Line Flem Høst (NOR) currently holds the lead from Isabella Bertold (CAN) with Susannah Pyatt (NZL) in third.
As the event reaches the pe-nultimate day on Thursday, the competition is likely to intensify further, particularly with just four points between the top four boats.
At the end of play (after 10 races are complete) a second discard will also come into play.
After a tough opening
three days on the
water, and a day of
relaxation enjoying
cultural activities
on Reserve Day,
competitors got
ready for action for
the fi nal showdown
CONSISTENT SAILING: Josefi n Olsson of Sweden at the Laser Women’s Radial World Championships in Al Musannah. – Supplied photo
Muscat Bikers celebrate National Day with a special ride in GCC countriesMUSCAT: Nearly 200 bike en-thusiasts celebrated the 45th Na-tional Day in style by riding across the neighbouring GCC countries.
Rally Bikers Network, a GCC bike ride team comprising of vari-ous GCC nationals and residents, organised a special ride carrying the message of peace and together-ness to celebrate the 45th National Day of the Sutlanate and thanked His Majesty Sultan Qaboos for building a great nation.
From the Sultanate, the Muscat Bikers’ rally started on November 14 from Muscat Grand Mall and they then rode to Qatar where they met representatives from Rally Bikers Network.
Together they all rode back to Muscat Grand Mall and reached on November 18 to celebrate the national day.
Speaking on the occasion, Taher Al Zadjali, chairman of Muscat Bikers said: “We want to thank His Majesty Sultan Qa-boos by bringing bike lovers from our neighboring GCC countries through this event.
“We wanted to celebrate this special day with this bikers as Oman has become a popular desti-
nation for bike enthusiasts mainly due to its strong infrastructure and terrifi c terrain which makes the ride more special.
“We also want more people
from other GCC countries to come and see for themselves what Oman has to off er and it is all pos-sible because of our beloved Sul-tan and his vision to make this
country a great nation.“On this special occasion we
also launched a new team called ‘Oman Bikers’ and invite every bike enthusiast to join the group.”
B I K E R S N E T W O R K
ISM WIN INTER-SCHOOL BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT Indian School Muscat won the 13th edition of Inter-school Basketball Tournament organised by Sri Lankan School
Muscat. The victorious boys are with Principal Srinivas K Naidu, Head of the PE department R.S Pathyarch, coaches
Harikrishna. P and Suresh M.L.. — Supplied photo
ECB discusses ways to reduce home advantage
LONDON: A proposal to abolish the pre-match toss deciding which team bats fi rst will be discussed at a meeting of the England and Wales Cricket Board on Thursday.
But contrary to reports, England and Wales Cricket Board source said that the away team captain would only be given the opportu-nity to bowl fi rst, not bat fi rst.
If they did not want to bowl, the toss would take place as normal.
The move would, however, end a tradition that dates back to the fi rst laws of the sport, drawn up in the 1740s.
It has already been approved by
the ECB cricket committee and if approved on Thursday, a one-season experiment will take place next year in the second division of the county championship.
ExperimentThe idea is to help prevent home teams producing pitches that fa-vour their own bowlers, and try to ensure more games last the full four days, giving greater op-portunity to spin bowlers. Any ex-periment would be carefully moni-tored in other countries before consideration was given to extend-ing it to other competitions. - Reuters
A B O L I S H I N G T O S S
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South Africa stutter after skittling India out for 215
NAGPUR: Off -spinner Simon Harmer took four wickets while paceman Morne Morkel bagged three as South Africa skittled In-dia for 215 in the fi rst innings on the opening day of the third Test on Wednesday.
The visitors, however, surren-dered some of the advantage and lost opener Stiaan van Zyl for a duck to off -spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and nightwatchman Im-ran Tahir (four) to Ravindra Jade-ja to slump to 11-2 at stumps.
Dean Elgar (seven) and captain Hashim Amla (nought) were un-beaten at the crease with South Africa, who trail the four-test se-ries 1-0, still 204 runs behind.
India captain Virat Kohli had no hesitation in opting to bat fi rst after winning the toss at the VCA Stadium with the pitch expected to assist the slow bowlers.
But strikes from Morkel and Harmer, who returned to the side after playing the opening test in Mohali, eroded most of the advan-tage the hosts thought they had by batting fi rst.
Jadeja (34) and Wriddhiman Saha (32) then combined in a cru-cial 48-run stand to ensure the hosts had a competitive total in what appears to be a low-scoring match after India were reduced to 125-6 at one stage.
The surface provided prodigious turn for the spinners from the fi rst session of the match, which the touring side, currently the top-ranked test team, need to win to level the series.
It will not be an easy task for South Africa, especially on a track which has already seen spinners from both sides claim eight out of the 12 wickets to fall on the opening day.
Part-time left-arm spinner El-gar broke India’s opening stand by dismissing Shikhar Dhawan (12) after the left-hander had added 50 with Murali Vijay.
Dhawan advanced down the wicket but could only manage to spoon the ball back to the bowler, who took a smart diving catch.
Vijay (40), India’s top scorer, looked in control before he was done in by a Morkel delivery that straightened after pitching to hit
the batsman plumb in front of the wicket.
Morkel, leading the South Afri-can pace attack in absence of in-jured team mate Dale Steyn, beat Kohli (22) several times before inducing an edge from the right-hander which was pouched by wicketkeeper Dane Vilas.
Ajinkya Rahane (13) struggled throughout his stay at the crease and played an expansive drive off Morkel to be clean bowled.
Harmer sent back Cheteshwar Pujara (21) and Rohit Sharma (two), who was playing his fi rst match in the series, before also dis-missing Saha who was caught ac-robatically by JP Duminy at short mid-wicket.
Both sides went in with an ex-tra spinner for the match with India opting for leg-spinner Amit Mishra and South Africa adding Harmer to their line-up. - Reuters
The visitors
surrendered some of
the advantage and
lost opener Stiaan
van Zyl for a duck to
off -spinner Ashwin
and nightwatchman
Imran Tahir (four) to
Jadeja to slump to
11-2 at stumps
CELEBRATIONS: Murali Vijay, right, Ajinkya Rahane, second left,
and Wriddhiman Saha, left, congratulate teammate Ravindra
Jadeja, centre, for taking the wicket of Imran Tahir. – AFP
SPIN RULES: South Africa’s Simon Harmer celebrates the wicket of
Cheteshwar Pujara during the opening day of the third Test match
in Nagpur on Wednesday. – PTI
India 1st innings:M. Vijay lbw b Morkel 40S. Dhawan c & b Elgar 12C. Pujara lbw b Harmer 21V. Kohli c Vilas b Morkel 22A. Rahane b Morkel 13R. Sharma c de Villiers b Harmer 2W. Saha c Duminy b Harmer 32R. Jadeja b Rabada 34R. Ashwin b Imran Tahir 15A. Mishra lbw b Harmer 3I. Sharma not out 0Extras (b-15, lb-3, w-2, nb-1) 21 Total (all out; 78.2 overs) 215Fall of wickets: 1-50, 2-69, 3-94, 4-115, 5-116, 6-125, 7-173, 8-201, 9-215, 10-215Bowling: Morne Morkel 16.1-7-35-3, Kagiso Rabada 17-8-30-1, Simon Harmer 27.2-2-78-4, Dean Elgar 4-0-7-1, Imran Tahir 12.5-1-41-1, JP Duminy 1-0-6-0South Africa 1st innings:D. Elgar not out 7S. van Zyl c Rahane b Ashwin 0I. Tahir b Jadeja 4H. Amla not out 0Total (2 wickets; 9 overs) 11Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-9Bowling: Ishant Sharma 2-1-4-0, Ravichandran Ashwin 4-2-5-1, Ravindra Jadeja 3-1-2-1Toss: India chose to batUmpires: Ian Gould (England) and Bruce Oxenford (Australia)TV umpire: Anil Chaudhary (India)Match referee: Jeff Crowe (New Zealand)Reserve umpire: C. Shamshuddin (India)
S C O R E B O A R D
NAGPUR: With the debate on cricket pitches refusing to die down after the three-day fi nish in Mohali, South African off -spinner Simon Harmer echoed India’s batting coach Sanjay Bangar’s views by saying that Test match wickets are nowa-days prepared to get results.
“I don’t think the wickets are prepared to last fi ve full days. The reason behind the prepa-ration of the wickets is to get a result.
“When the Indian team comes to South Africa, we are going to prepare wickets that suit our bowlers. So them playing one seamer, it’s clear to see what sort of wicket they are preparing,” said Harmer after day one of the third and penultimate Test here on Wednesday.
Harmer picked up 4 for 78 and, in tandem with fast bowler Morne Morkel (3-35), helped South Africa pack off India for a paltry fi rst innings score of 215 in 78.2 overs.In reply the visitors were 11 for two in 9 overs.
Bangar had also defended the wicket prepared for the contest by saying that it was a result-oriented wicket, which was the same for both teams.
Harmer said he took some time before getting the right pace to bowl, which he said was a bit faster than normal.
“I found it diffi cult to adjust to the right pace. I think I was a bit slow at the beginning of my spell. I wouldn’t say I was struggling to adjust to lines or lengths. I think pace on this wicket was vital. At the begin-ning of my spell, I was just sort of trying to fi nd my feet.
“Obviously you can’t bowl one pace the whole time. But I felt that the quicker pace there was a bit more bite off the wicket. You saw a few balls spit. As a spinner that is what you are looking for,” said the off spinner who got rid of Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit
Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha and Amit Mishra.
“When you bowl too slowly, a batsman can adjust and go back easily. Ideally you want a batsman to commit to a shot and I felt the best way to do that was to bowl a quicker pace,” he explained further.
Bangar defendsRefusing to blame the pitch for India’s slipshod batting performance on the opening day, coach Sanjay Bangar said the hosts paid for a few errors of judgement on a challenging and ‘result-oriented wicket’.
“It’s defi nitely a result-oriented wicket which is equally challenging for both sides. Whichever side adjusts to it (better) will end up with a chance of winning the game,” said Bangar at the end of day one in the penultimate game of
the four-match rubber.Though the Indian batting
eff ort lasted just 78.2 overs, and the highest score was an innings of 40 from in-form opener Murali Vijay, Bangar said all his batsmen applied themselves to the hard task.
“All our batsmen applied themselves well. But when the wicket is slightly challenging there are likely to be errors in judgement. It’s all part of the game.”
India, leading the series 1-0, hit back after being bowled out cheaply, by dismissing two vis-iting team’s batsmen with only 4 runs on the board and there’s every likelihood of the game not lasting even four days, let alone fi ve. He further said in defense of the hosts’ tactics in the series that teams visit-ing the Indian sub-continent should expect such conditions.
“When India travel over-seas, ball starts seaming from the fi rst over. It’s the same for teams coming to subcontinent. Wickets are same for both sides; it is a test of skills. Just as skill against the seaming ball is important, skill against the spinning ball is also equally important.”
“It’s a very challenging wicket to score. This has been a low scoring series and we have to accept that,” he said.
“Patience is a very important virtue here while playing the spinning ball, trusting your defense, getting to pitch, using the depth of the crease or using the feet. You saw all our bats-men played a lot of balls during the innings,” added the former Test player when asked how one should bat on such sharply turning surfaces.
While praising wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha, who made the third-highest score of 32 and put on 48 valuable runs with Ravindra Jadeja (34), Bangar also backed Rohit Sharma who struggled to score 2 runs in 39 balls. - PTI
Wickets are being prepared to get results: Harmer
I don’t think the wickets
are prepared to last five
full days. The reason is
to get a result. When the
Indian team comes to
South Africa, we are going
to prepare wickets that
suit our bowlers. So them
playing one seamer, it’s
clear to see what sort of
wicket they are preparing
Simon HarmerSouth Africa spinner
England likely venue for Indo-Pak TestsKARACHI: The much talked-about India-Pakistan cricket se-ries could be played out in two parts with Sri Lanka hosting the limited-overs games next month and England being the venue for Test matches next year.
Speculation is rife that the ar-rangement has been agreed upon during a meeting of BCCI Presi-dent Shashank Manohar and Pa-kistan Cricket Board Chairman Shaharyar Khan in Dubai but a formal announcement is yet to come through.
“PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan has sought permission of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the foreign ministry to play a limited-overs series with India in Sri Lanka next month,” a source in the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination told PTI.
He said Shaharyar had also in-dicated that India was willing to also play some Tests against Paki-stan next year.
“The plan is that Pakistan would tour India in 2017 for a full series while before that India will play us in two phases. Indications are that the Tests will be held in England in summer,” he said.
Pakistan is due to tour England for a full series from July onwards and in 2010 played two Tests against Australia at the Lord’s and Headingly with considerable suc-cess due to the large South Asian population in the United Kingdom.
Another source in the PCB said that the President of the England and Wales cricket board Giles Clarke, who acted as a mediator when Shashank Manohar and Shaharyar Khan met in Dubai at the weekend, had pitched the idea
of having the Tests in England.The source said Manohar had
outlined the reasons for India be-ing unwilling to play the Decem-ber series in UAE and had also made it clear to the PCB chief to stop giving unnecessary state-ments in the media on Indo-Pak cricket. “Manohar made it clear that cricket relations were also being aff ected because of confi -dential discussions between the two boards being made public in the media,” the source said.
He said both Manohar and Khan had agreed that they would not reveal any details about the planned future series between the two countries until they got clearances from their respective governments.
“That is one reason why Shaha-ryar has declined to give details of his meeting with the Indian board chief,” the source said.
The source also revealed that one reason for picking Sri Lanka and England as venues for Indo-Pak matches was to ensure the PCB earned maximum revenues from its broadcasting deals. India and Pakistan have not played a Test match since 2007. - PTI
I N D I A - P A K I S T A N S E R I E S
NEW DELHI: The BCCI has formally sought the clearance of the central government to play Pakistan in Sri Lanka in December, its secretary Anurag Thakur confi rmed. The ball is now in the court of respective governments of India and Pakistan with both BCCI and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) waiting for political clearance for the series next month.
“Yesterday, I have written a letter to the Foreign Ministry seeking clearance to play with Pakistan in Sri Lanka,”
said Thakur. “According to the agreement of India and Pakistan, both teams were supposed to play in UAE or at any other neutral venue if the conditions in Pakistan were not suitable. It is up to Paki-stan as to where they want to play. After discussions with BCCI and PCB, both coun-tries have decided to play in Sri Lanka,” he added.
PCB too is waiting for the government nod and its chief Shahryar Khan expects Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to take the decision soon. — PTI
BCCI seeks government clearance
7 full-member cricket boards to receive $10 million each
NEW DELHI: The ICC has de-cided to pay seven full-member Boards US$10 million over the next eight years as part of Test Cricket Fund announced last year when Big Three (BCCI, ECB and CA) had gained con-trol over revamped ICC.
According to ESPNcricinfo, the remaining full-member boards will receive US$1.25 million each annually, begin-ning January 2016.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) plans to make its fi rst Test Cricket Fund payment of US$ 600,000 in early Janu-ary, and then disburse another US$ 650,000 to the ‘small seven’ member boards in July.
Payments are expected to fol-low this biannual pattern until 2023. The ICC had originally announced that the Test Crick-et Fund was aimed to “encour-age and support Test cricket” outside the Big Three nations, BCCI, ECB and CA.
Since the Boards have already entered bilateral touring agree-ments until 2023, there appears to be limited scope to enhance their Test schedules using this payments.
The report says, “it seems that the money would be used to underwrite loss-making tours. For example, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) loses money on Test tours featuring all coun-tries except the Big Three and Pakistan.”
The Test Cricket Fund would help them recover losses from home tours such as the recent visit by the West Indies, which is estimated to have cost SLC about US$ 648,000. - PTI
B I G F U N D
Chess tourney on Friday
MUSCAT: To celebrate the 45th National Day, Markaz Al Bahja is organising a chess tournament on Friday, Novem-ber 27. Registration of entries in various categories, junior as well as senior sections, will start at 2.30pm. The partici-pants are required to bring their own standard tournament size chess boards.
Further information can be had from 92277539 and also follow on facebook.com/Mus-catChess
Meanwhile, the organisers also claimed that the event will also be marked as a tribute to late Dilip Asher, who had been the architect of the tournament.
After Dilip Asher’s demise there was a long gap. But thanks to Markaz Al Bahja’s support we have decided to restart the monthly tournaments, the fi rst of which, marking the ongoing National Day celebrations, will be held on Friday.
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Hashim Amla owes his team a big innings. Even
if he gets half the score that he did when he last played in Nagpur fi ve years back when he scored an unbeaten 253 he will have done his bit to repay the team for guessing wrongly which way the coin was going to fall. It is never easy to guess which way the coin is going to fall but a skipper who has a good look at the coin and sees and weighs if any side is slightly heavier than the other has a better chance of calling correctly. That’s why home team cap-tains wait for a Test or two to see which call the visiting teams skipper prefers and if they are smart and desperately want to win the toss they can spin the coin in such a manner that it will fall their way more often than not. Of course nothing is too certain for sometimes the coin can roll along the length of the pitch and so may not fall according to expectations. There are some skippers who just lift the coin in the air and don’t spin or fl ick it especially once they are certain that the call is going to be in a particular way.
Virat Kohli’s smile showed how much the toss meant to him for that gave his team fi rst use of a pitch that was going to turn from the fi rst ball itself. In fact before the toss took place the ceremonial spin of the bail between umpires to decide who would stand at which end produced a puff of dust when the bail
landed. That was a clear in-dication that if a light object like a bail can cause that then a cricket ball hurled at greater speed and with revolutions would get more out of the pitch. India got off to a decent start of a half century simply because the South African pacers tried to bang the ball halfway down the pitch rather than trying to get some move-ment in the air or after pitching. When Morkel started to land the ball fuller he was getting the ball to cut both ways and swing it in the air too.
He was rewarded for that with a three wicket haul and Rabada too bowled well without the rewards to show for it. South Africa missed Dale Steyn for the great man with his length would have created prob-lems for the batsmen even if there was no bounce and carry for him and the pacers.
This is a slow low pitch and doesn’t look like it will hold up too long. Ravindra Jadeja, who batted splen-didly will be the danger man because of the quickish pace at which he bowls as well as for his accuracy. Ashwin and Mishra will not be far behind and it will take the champion AB de Villiers to play the kind of innings that can turn it around for the South Africans. - PMG
Jadeja — the danger manC O M M E N T A R Y Hamilton ready to wrap
up the season on a high
ABU DHABI: Lewis Hamilton will fi nd his number is up in lights in Abu Dhabi, and that can only be a good omen as the triple Formula One world champion seeks to end another dominant season on a high this weekend.
The number 44, the one the Brit-on has on his Mercedes, fi gures prominently on roadside illumina-tions as the United Arab Emirates celebrates the 44th anniversary of its founding on Dec. 2, 1971.
The return to Yas Marina will also bring back fond memories for the 30-year-old who clinched his second title by winning at the circuit last season and can take his 50th career pole position this weekend.
“Last year, this place brought
probably the most intense week-end of my life. I didn’t sleep much through nerves and not knowing what was ahead,” the race favour-ite recalled.
“But this time around there’s no pressure, so I’ll be well-rested and aiming to go out on a high.
“A lot of British fans come out to Abu Dhabi so it’s like another home crowd for me. To win for them and show how grateful I am for the fantastic support I’ve had all year would be the best way to end an in-credible season,” he added.
Another win would also be his 11th of the season, matching his 2014 tally. For Mercedes, regard-less of who wins, a 12th one-two fi nish from 19 races would also be the icing on the cake by breaking
their own record set last year.With fi rst and second assured in
the championship for the second year in a row, and the constructor’s title retained, there is also the hope of seeing both Mercedes drivers battling wheel to wheel.
There was none of that in Bra-zil two weeks ago, or in Mexico, as Mercedes made clear that their priority was to secure second place for Nico Rosberg.
“We will not be backing off -- and an entertaining battle at the front between our boys for one last time in 2015 will be the ideal way to show that,” said motorsport head Toto Wolff .
Rosberg will be aiming to con-tinue two sequences of his own, the German chasing his third win in a
row and sixth successive pole to go into the winter with at least some bragging rights. “I’ve had two really great weekends now in Mexico and Brazil, so I’m heading into the fi nal race on a massive high,” he said.
Rosberg started on pole in the day-to-night race last year but a mechanical failure dashed his hopes. “Of course, it will be close as always with Lewis and we saw a big push from Ferrari in Sao Paulo, so it won’t be straightforward. But I’m up for a battle and hopefully we can put on a great show for the fans to end the year,” he said.
With little movement in the driver market and familiar lineups for 2016, there will be fewer fare-wells than usual in the paddock’s end of term atmosphere. - Reuters
The return to Yas
Marina will also bring
back fond memories
for the 30-year-
old who clinched
his second title by
winning at the circuit
last season and can
take his 50th career
pole position
this weekend
A lot of British fans
come out to Abu Dhabi
so it’s like another
home crowd for me. To
win for them and show
how grateful I am for
the fantastic support
Lewis HamiltonMercedes
Fatma marches ahead in RabatMUSCAT: Omani star Fatma Al Nabhani found success both in the singles and doubles, reaching the quarterfi nals and semifi nals respectively, at the ongoing ITF Pro Circuit $10,000 Rabat tourna-ment in Morocco.
According to information re-ceived here, the top-seeded Om-ani defeated Croatian qualifi er Mariana Drazic in the singles sec-ond round match 6-2, 6-3.
In the quarterfi nals, Fatma will face Belgian eighth seed Cath-erine Chantraine, who eased past her compatriot Dorien Cuypers 6-3, 6-0 in her second match.
In the doubles quarterfi nals, Fatma and her Spanish partner Olga Parres Azcoitia defeated Slo-venian duo of Pia Brgleg and Sara Palcic 6-2, 6-2.
In the last four, the top seeded pair of Fatma and Olga will clash with Belgian third seeds Catherine Chantraine and Deborah Kerfs.
The Belgians advanced to the semifi nals without hitting a ball as they received a walkover from their quarterfi nal opponents Vail-ia Aponasenko of Russia and Lou-ise Lampla of France.
I T F P R O C I R C U I T
IN FINE FORM: Fatma Al Nabhani
Test cricket makes evening debutMELBOURNE: Whether the catalyst for a full-scale revolution or a more gentle evolution, Fri-day’s inaugural day-night Test be-tween Australia and New Zealand should lead to irrevocable change for cricket’s oldest and most hal-lowed format.
Traditionalists have decried the concept and players on both teams have concerns about the fi tness of the pink ball to be used in the match at Adelaide Oval.
Some fi ngers will inevitably be crossed when the lights fl ood down at the venue, where some of crick-et’s most powerful offi cials will be among a crowd of some 40,000 people during the fi rst day’s play.
However, like anxious parents fussing over their child on a school morning before the class photo, Australia’s cricket board has gone to great lengths to ensure the match puts on its best face for the cameras.
Over seven painstaking years have been devoted to the develop-ment and testing of Kookaburra’s pink ball but the match has still seemingly arrived in a hurry.
The concept has had top-level
endorsement from the Interna-tional Cricket Council since 2012, but Cricket Australia led by chief executive James Sutherland has been its most steadfast champion for over a decade.
The Adelaide Oval, recently re-developed into an ultra-modern stadium, has been hand-picked to host the match and appears an inspired choice as both a reli-able tourist magnet and being resistant to the dew that plagues other venues at night and can play havoc with the behaviour of a ball.
‘Ashes-style’ crowds are expect-ed to attend the 53,500-capacity ground through the opening days and the weekend, with many curi-ous interstate visitors intrigued by the novelty factor of seeing players in traditional whites grap-ple with a pink ball.
Ground-staff have also done their best to ensure bowlers have more sway in the battle between bat and ball which has been hope-lessly skewed towards the bats-men in the opening two matches of the series in Brisbane and Perth.
A green tinge will give hope to
both teams’ pacemen that there may not be a repeat of the bruising run-fests they were subject to in the earlier matches.
Ready to go“We just feel very confi dent now that it behaves in the same man-ner as the red ball does,” South Australia Cricket Association Chief Executive Keith Bradshaw said on Wednesday.
“There have been comments from time to time but what we’re seeing now is more and more positive comments,” he said of the players’ feedback. “The statistics would say that we’re ready to go.”
Players have warmed to the concept after a recent round of domestic Sheffi eld Shield match-es helped ease concerns after the performance of the ball during the tour match in Canberra.
Australia batsman Adam Voges remarked that the ball, which was heavily battered by the abrasive Manuka Oval pitch had turned “green”, raising concerns about the welfare of players unable to see the ball properly.
The ball performed far better in the recent Shield match at the Ad-elaide Oval between New South Wales and South Australia, with Australia captain Steven Smith relieved by its endurance.
The match has naturally de-lighted host broadcaster Chan-nel Nine, as it off ers a chance for Test cricket to go into prime-time viewing.
Australia’s players’ associa-tion has also off ered its cautious endorsement but is less bullish about the concept than Cricket Australia which has invested heavily in it.
“We’ve always seen this as an in-itiative and after this Test I think it’s important that players’ views are represented as to whether day-night Test cricket goes on into the future,” Australian Cricketers’ As-sociation chief executive Alistair Nicholson said.
“That’s important in the washup that we have that input from the players and their safety’s involved in that. There’s probably a bigger debate worldwide about where it sits.” - Reuters
A C I D T E S T
Goa hold NorthEastFATORDA: Striker Reinaldo found a late equaliser as FC Goa held NorthEast United FC (NEFC) to a 1-1 draw in an Indian Super League (ISL) clash at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Wednesday.
Reinaldo scored in the 80th minute to rescue a point for the hosts after a Victor Mendy (56th) header had given NEFC the lead early in the second half.
The visitors have now climbed a spot to the fourth spot in the ISL ta-ble with 17 points from 12 matches. Goa continue to hold on to the sec-ond spot with 19 points, trailing defending champions Atletico de Kolkata by just a single point.
The fi rst chance of the game came NEFC’s way from a corner in
the fi fth minute. Defender Carlos Javier Lopez headed a loose ball towards the Goa goal from the cor-ner and his eff ort was kept out by Leo Moura on the goal line.
The visitors also came closest to getting their noses in front in the fi rst half when four minutes be-fore the break Bruno Arias made a surging run but was unable to break the deadlock.
NEFC took the lead soon af-ter from a corner. The visitors’ marquee player Simao Sabrosa stepped up and delivered a quality corner into the six-yard area which Mendy headed past Goa custodian Laxmikant Kattimani.
The home crowd was brought to its feet 10 minutes before the end af-ter Reinaldo got the equaliser. - IANS
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The Forty Club, largest wandering cricket club makes halt in Muscat
A. SESHAGIRI [email protected]
MUSCAT: The Forty Club, a UK-based cricket body, was formed way back in 1936 with primary ob-jective of ‘taking cricket to schools’ and over the years the club’s mem-bers have been travelling to several countries, encouraging the young cricketers and promoting the game with great success.
Now a team from the ‘larg-est wandering cricket club in the world’ has landed in Muscat after a tie up with local cricket promoters — Al Hail Cricket Club.
And if The Forty Club’s Secre-tary Barry Aitken is to be believed the team are quite impressed with the cricket scenario here but the offi cial sees the need to ‘do more’ for the sake of future development of the game.
Speaking to Times Sport, Barry Aitken said: “We generally make two to three tours in a year. This year we are happy to have chosen Oman as one of our destinations.”
Asked why the club has chosen the Sultanate, he said: “There are several reasons for us to chose Oman this year, the primary one being Oman getting the ICC asso-ciate status. Secondly their status as an emerging cricket nation and not to forget the success they have been achieving in the T20s.”
“All these aspects show there is support for the game here in Oman and a lot of interest and enthusi-asm among the people regarding cricket,” he added.
“So we thought it’s appropriate to include Oman in our list and do our little bit of what The Forty Club has been doing over the years — to encourage the youngsters,” he said.
Speaking more on the history of their club, Aitken said: “The Forty Club was started primarily as a body for players of over 40 years with the aim of taking cricket to the schools by off ering schools and youth teams matches against experienced cricketers. That was the way of encouraging the young cricketers to play the game to the highest standards and in the best spirit of the game.
“But later the club started giving
full membership to players of 35 years and older. On a trial basis in 2013 we have also began enrolling 18 years and older players as asso-ciate members — that is because of demands of the times.”
He explained: “Nowadays the players leaving active cricket much younger than in the past. They are not old enough to play in the senior sides of county clubs. So our attempt is to fi ll the gap be-tween the ages of 28 and 45 who are looking for good quality mid-week non-league games.”
Taking in Oman into context, he said: “As I said the club’s aim has been and will be to encourage the youngsters and promote the game among the youth. That’s what we are here for.”
The visiting club members have already played a couple of matches
with Al Hail Cricket Academy, run by their hosts Al Hail Cricket Club, as well as Pakistan School Muscat and also watched and had net ses-sions with Indian School teams and Oman Cricket’s National Youth Development Team.
“We have talked to young crick-eters of schools and academies here. They are all very enthusiastic about the game. But what is next for them. That is the question we need to address,” he said.
However, Aitken also said it is encouraging to see facilities be-ing developed as per the modern standards.
“The matting wickets and the ground we have played on or watched these young cricketers played are very fast and suitable for T20s. That’s one very good aspect. There are two green grounds with
good facilities now and that augurs well for the cricket in the country.
“But my question is who will be allowed to play at these grounds. Will these young aspring cricket-ers get an opportunity to utilise these facilities. That is one area Oman Cricket has to look into and do the needful because they need to keep these kids interested in the game ... for the future.”
Quoting an example from his na-tive land, he said: “The ECB (Eng-land and Wales Cricket Board) has conducted a study which showed that there is a considerable de-crease in the number of young players practising cricketing com-pared to the previous years. They (ECB) have now formed a task force to fi nd ways to overcome this challenge.
“The reason I am referring to
this particular study is it applies to any country. After 18 years there is a possibility of players getting away from the game. The reasons are many — the inappropriate conditions, coaching methods and their own distractions... or for that matter demands of their studies at colleges and universities.”
The offi cials also said: “But I have no doubt in three, four or fi ve years time there will be more youngsters playing cricket in Oman thanks to the developments here.
“But as I said we need to keep these youngsters in the game for a longer time. That’s where our club steps in to encourage these kids to keep playing and keep learning.”
Barry Aitken, revealing the club’s plan to rope in more mod-ern cricket stars as members, ex-pressed the desire include Oman
in their list of priorities next year as well as the years that follow.
“We would defi nitely like to tour Oman in next year and the follow-ing years. From next time around we may bring with us some mod-ern day stars like (Shane) Warnes (Joe) Roots so that these young cricketers will recognise them and connect with them easily. And that will make our job easy. After all we are in the business of encouraging the young cricketers.”
Meanwhile, Al Hail Cricket Club offi cial Moula Baksh Al Balushi confi rmed that The Forty Club bandwagon will return to Oman in February next year.
“We have a tie up with them and as part of the agreement our team (Al Hail Cricket Academy) will also be visiting the United King-dom next year,” he said.
A team from the
UK-based club has
landed in Muscat
after including the
Sultanate in their
list of stops ‘to
encourage young
cricketers’ thanks to
the growing status
of Oman cricket
A. SESHAGIRI [email protected]
MUSCAT: Derek Leslie Un-derwood. The name rings a bell, isn’t it?
Yes we are talking about ‘Deadly’ Derek Underwood, the former England cricketer and the country’s Ashes hero of late 1960s and early 70s.
Times Sport was pleasantly surprised to spot the England great at Al Falaj Hotel early on Wednesday and tried to catch up with him just before he boarded a bus to go on a tour of the city and its cricketing facili-ties. The 70-year-old had quietly slipped into Muscat along with the touring side from UK’s The Forty Club. The celebrated English cricketer readily obliged a request for a quick photo ses-sion, which soon led to a friendly conversation and amiable Un-derwood also went on to speak, though briefl y, about —what else — cricket.
As in his playing days, when he was known for accuracy and ‘spot on’ spin bowling, Under-wood was to the point on few topics Times Sport tried elicit his opinion on during the brief conversation. Underwood spoke about the ‘exciting times’ for cricket, when asked about the shorter formats getting popular with the young people.
“When I started playing we had only three-day matches and fi ve-day Tests. Then came the one-dayers. Now we have T20s,” Underwood, who represented England in 86 Tests and 26 ODIs, said.
“I personally think these are exciting times for cricket as a whole. These formats are very exciting. They are not only bringing in people (as specta-
tors) but they are also attracting a lot of youngsters to the game.”
“These youngsters will play and stay with cricket for a long time because of these exciting formats. And I think that is very good for the game,” he added.
Asked about another modern aspect of the game which was absent during his playing days — use of technology, he quipped: “I would have fi nished with a few more wickets if we had this technology then.”
Experiment, experienceOn a serious note, Underwood, who has taken a total of 2,465 wickets in fi rst class cricket including 297 Test and 32 ODI scalps, said: “We have to be
sympathetic with the umpires because there is also a tendency to go for the referrals more of-ten. “But I personally think the umpires are all doing a great job despite being under the pres-sure due to use of technology.
“In fact, I should say the um-pires have also been improving in keeping with the demands. And that is very good for the game.” “It is the same with the players, especially in the aspect of fi elding. They are more agile than the players of our time. They are more spectacular, the throws are more accurate and there more direct hits now than during my playing days — all of which make good viewing for the spectators.”
Love and hateSpeaking about another cricket-ing revolution in the offi ng, day-night Tests, which in olden times when cricket was steeped in tradition would have been dismissed without much con-sideration, he said: “Test cricket in day light and under fl ood lights, the pink ball... I think it is defi nitely exciting.
“If it is good for cricket it should be experimented and experienced.”
Asked about another burning topic in cricket right now -- the Indo-Pak cricket series, Under-wood said: “I think there is a lot of ‘love and hate’ about these series — just like our Ashes battles with the Australians.
You know it’s ‘old enemy’ stuff ! There is always love and hate.
“It’s the same with India and Pakistan series. But I can say one thing with conviction — once they (India and Pakistan boards) sort out the issues and get on with the game, all the politics will be forgotten and people will only be taking about the performances on the fi eld.”
A proud native of Kent, Underwood played for England between 1966 and 1982. An orthodox left-arm spin bowler who bowled with pace of a medium pacer, he was known for his accuracy and the ability to land the ball at the same spot at will. He once famously said: ‘Bowling was a ‘low mentality profession: plug away, line and length, until there’s a mistake’, and sooner or later every bats-man would make a mistake.”
He averaged 25.83 for his 297 Test wickets and 22.93 for his 32 ODI wickets.
Underwood, who was nick-named ‘Deadly’ for his unplaya-ble bowling on seaming English wickets, became part of Ashes folklore when he dismissed the last four Australian batsmen in a space of 27 balls in the fi nal half an hour of the fi fth Test in 1968, after a heavy thunder-storm, to square an Ashes series that Australia were winning 1–0. In 1970-71, Underwood’s performance helped England regain Ashes from the Aussies Down Under.
An inductee into ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009, Under-wood had also featured in Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket in the late 1970s, and toured South Africa in 1981–82. Underwood, who was awarded the MBE in 1981, also served as the presi-dent of MCC in 2009.
‘Deadly’ Derek sees ‘exciting times for cricket’
‘DEADLY’ DEREK: England great Derek Underwood, right, and The Forty Club Secertary Barry
Aitken pictured at Al Falaj Hotel on Wednesday. – JUN ESTRADA/Times of Oman
Al Faisal championsMUSCAT: Al Faisal Group emerged champions of the Nation-al Day Cup cricket tournament or-ganised by Zayed Khalifa Al Rashi-di with support of Nizwa Lions and Express Cargo Cleaning Nizwa at the Nizwa football stadium. Total of 12 teams took part in the tourna-ment. In the fi nal, Al Faisal Group beat South XI by 28 runs.
Batting fi rst, Al Faisal scored 77 for 5 in the allotted seven overs and
later restricted South XI for just 49 runs. Earlier in semifi nals, South XI beat Bisiya Lions by 2 wickets and Al Faisal overcame BHR XI by 30 runs.
Zaheer of Al Faisal Group was declared man of the fi nal and Al Faisal skipper Sageer was declared the best batsman and player of the tournament.
Zayed Khalifa Al Rashidi gave away the prices after the fi nal.
N A T I O N A L D A Y C U P C R I C K E T
Indian women’s team draws with Argentina
BUENOS AIRES: The Indian women’s hockey team drew 2-2 against Argentina in its second match of the tour to the South American nation here.
The fi rst half of the match saw India putting up an aggressive fi ght and they eventually netted the ball in the 27th minute with Anuradah Devi knocking in the fi rst goal. The
team continued to maintain their rhythm throughout the fi rst half to lead 1-0 at half-time. But four min-utes into the second half, Argenti-na scored the equaliser as Delfi na Merino hit the goal.
India, however, scored again in the 44th minute. But Argentina, in the 56th minute, hit their second goal to hold India to a draw. - PTI
H O C K E Y
WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM
CultureSECTIONC L I F E STY L E T H U R S DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 6, 2 0 1 5
SAYING GOODBYE TO ANTJEMuscat mourns for Antje Manser, a beloved artist who contributed immensely to the growth of art in Oman, who passed away in Zurich last week.
S T O RY PAT R I C I A G R O V E S | P H O T O G R A P H Y C O U R T E S Y O F B A I T M U Z N A G A L L E RY
LIFESTYLEC8 T H U R S DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 6, 2 0 1 5
It was through the poems of Rumi, the famous thirteenth cen-tury Sufi mystic, that Antje liked to speak to her friends and it was through her art that she connected with
the world. Antje Manser lived among us
in the art community here in Muscat for many years. She was part of the rhythm of our lives. You would see her walking on the beach, having breakfast alone or with a friend in a shady nook at D’Arcy’s, or contemplating life and art with a cup of tea on the terrace at Stal Gallery. She would be at the opening of exhibitions support-ing her fellow artists and at the Royal Opera House, often with her friend, the renowned Omani poet, Sama Issa and his daughter. Whenever I wrote an article on an artist or an exhibition, always, Antje would send me a text of appreciation punctuated with an insightful comment.
When recently the terribly sad news came that Antje had left this world, her friends unfailingly mentioned the beauty of her inner being which shone through in her art. As Antje once wrote to Malik Al Hinai, Director of Bait Al Baranda, in preparation for an exhibition:
Antje has always loved draw-
ing from nature, especially the quiet, organic harmony of fl oral forms and of trees, their spread-ing branches, the surfaces of their leaves. Her work is characterised by exquisite delicacy within an atmosphere of spiritual calm… and by a fi ne rendering of detail that is reminiscent of the ink work in ancient Oriental paintings.
Ever inventive and always
drawing on new sources of inspiration, Antje made wonder-ful photo art, including a very large and beautiful portrait of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said within a realm of ethereal blue like that of the sky. She created this painting from an image she captured on her television screen. It can be found at Bait Baranda.
Searching the Internet for Anjte’s work prior to her Oman phase, I found an absolutely gorgeous work in fl oating shades of green. Titled Park, it was painted in 1978 in acrylics on wood. Lush and sumptuous, Park depicts a view of the greenest of green parks viewed from above and is centred in an in-triguing, delicately painted abstract structure, perhaps an Oriental pavilion. It’s a place one longs to be.
In addition to Bait Muzna and Bait Baranda, Antje has exhib-ited in several prestigious galler-ies in Europe, Asia and the USA. She is included in the Belser list of Important Artists of the Twentieth Century.
I met Antje when she fi rst came to Oman a decade ago and was en-chanted with her magical approach to art and the way she talked about her work in the context of the hum-ming birds that come to her place in Sante Fe where she lived half the year. I called my article Humming-bird Patterns of Art and have just found out that Hummingbird was the aff ectionate name that Antje’s sons Philipp and Marc called their mother in childhood.
In an artist’s statement a while ago Antje said, “Look forward to dreams and be free.” I imagine Antje in heaven … light as a hummingbird darting from fl ower to fl ower.
In my dreams....I live in beautiful gardens,listen to the sound of birds,fountains give me peace and relaxation.I travel to foreign countries... When I wake up....I create my sanctuary on canvas,inspired by Moorish culture,Japanese gardensand beautiful landscape.
AN
TJ
E
MA
NS
ER
LIFESTYLEC9T H U R S DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 6, 2 0 1 5
SO TO SPEAK
SALEHAL-SHAIBANY
The Arabian Blights of OmanThirty years ago, many
expatriates were complaining about the slow pace of pro-gress in the Sultan-
ate. Just 10 years ago, I remember reading an article from a local paper saying that there was not enough entertainment.
Now the story is diff erent. Oman has astonishingly moved forward that the same residents moan about the fast life. From just a few meandering roads to multiple-lane highways stretch-ing from one city to another.
Here in Muscat, teenagers cause accidents on these mod-ern carriageways. Inside the malls, rap music play at deaf-ening volume and youngsters dance on their heads‚ the way we see on MTV.
Outside these malls, they gath-er in a group wearing clothes my grandfather would have raised a walking stick instead of an eye-brow. Not that they would have cared. Respect of elders is far from their minds. Internet communi-cation has removed the last straw
of decency. We have indecency in our own homes at the touch of a few electronic buttons. To please the international commu-nity, artifi cial cities like Almouj in Muscat are built and planners forget to include mosques in the blueprints. The offi cial who went through the plan with me was very apologetic but shrugged his shoul-ders. The law stipulates that every new town must have a mosque or two but these regulations slip the net with new tourist resorts.
Old markets, which are part of the attraction to visitors, are things of the past. Golf courses, marinas, cinemas and interna-tional hotel chains are a priority but whose priority is it? European or American tourists have better sport facilities and movie houses. Certainly they don’t come here to see another version of their own inventions. They want to see local heritage and cultures where they buy a property and not white-washed facades. Remember, it is the Arabian Nights stories that they associate the Arab world with and not Arabian Blights.
When the late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia said that a new era was dawning in the region, he nev-er thought the desert sands would be on the verge of extinction. This is not an exaggeration. How many children in the city have seen a camel more than a few times? Every single one of them is in cap-tivity. If you think the beautiful sand dunes will be preserved for your Four Wheel-Drive to climb, then think again.
That is not all. Prime beaches are taken away from local resi-dents and ancient towns razed to ground to make way for secluded areas. Every square inch is under the surveyor’s scrutiny. When
they are fi nished, it would be like looking inside the goldfi sh bowl from the sardine can for local residents. Young graduates are pushed away from the cities when they look for their own homes to build. They live a great deal of distance from their offi ces and the gap is widening. The problem is that there is a mismatch of de-velopment. While urban areas are sprawling, fi nancial, business districts and government offi ces, which provide the livelihood of the majority of nationals, are root-ed in the same place.
It seems like overnight progress has been intrusive to the quiet life. This is because planners are in a great hurry to pull in the funds of foreign investors. One fear is that even cultivated lands fall under the hammer of sale. Farmers can-not resist the lure of cash and in that they sell away the country-side. With it goes the locally pro-duced crops and the hope that one day we would be self-suffi cient in vegetables and fruits. Well, as long as there are oil and gas, who cares about a banana or a mango?
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It seems like overnight
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Ageing makes Angelina Jolie feel ‘settled’
Actress Angelina Jolie says she is “happy” with getting older as she feels more “settled” in her life. “I feel older, and I feel set-tled being older. I feel happy that I’ve grown up. I don’t want to be young again,” Jolie said. The actress had earlier said that she is proud to have reached the milestone birthday as a lot of the women in her family have died young. “I turned 40 this year and I am so happy. Most women in my family start to get sick and start dying in their 40s and I am going to be very happy to become 50 and 60. I love getting older,” she said.
I’m motivated by fear, says actor Will Smith
Actor Will Smith, who has been part of the enter-tainment industry for the past few decades, says he still lives in “complete ter-ror” while shooting, but tries to get motivated from his fear and build his rep-ertoire. Asked whether he still gets nervous or afraid while facing the camera, Smith said: “I live in com-plete terror. Everything for me about this business and about what I’ve been try-ing to build and what I’ve been trying to do with my life keeps me in terror. I am deeply motivated by fear.”
Sofi a Vergara’s wedding dress made by 32 people
Actress Sofi a Vergara’s custom-made wedding dress was made by 32 peo-ple in 1,657 hours. The Mod-ern Family actress worked closely with designer Zu-hair Murad on the gown she wore to marry Joe Mangan-iello in Palm Beach, Florida on November 22 and the stunning design required 32 people to work around the clock to complete it on time. “I was delighted to have the opportunity to col-laborate with Sofi a on her dream wedding gown,” said Murad. — IANS
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Thailand 24 602684/5
Tunisia 24603486
Turkey 24697050/1/2
UAE 24400000
United Kingdom 24609000
United States 24643400
Yemen 24600815
PHARMACIES
Round the clock
Al Hashar Pharmacy, Ruwi 24783334
Apollo Medical Centre,
Hamriya 24782666
Muscat Pharmacy, Ruwi 24702542
Salalah 23291635;
Atlas Pharmacy, Ghubra 24503585
Muscat Region
Apollo, Al Hamriya 24787766
Muscat, A Seeb Market 24421691
Muscat, Al Khuwair 24485740
Muscat, Al Hail South 24537080
Dhofar Region
Muscat, Al Nahdha Road,
Salalah 23291635
HOSPITALS
Al Amal Medical & Health Care
Centre 24485052
Atlas Hospital
Ruwi 24811743/
Ghubra 24504000
Al Musafir Specialised
Medical Clinic 24706453
Hatat Polyclinic LLC,
Ruwi 24563641
Azaiba 24499269
Sohar 2683006
Al Raffah Hospital 24618900/1/2
Al Massaraat Clinic &
Laboratory 24566435
Al Makook Medical
Coordinance Centre 24499434
Apollo Medical Centre,
Hamriya 24787766, 24787780
Capital Polyclinic 24707549
Badr Al Samaa Polyclinic,
Ruwi 24799760/1/2
Capital Clinic, Seeb 24420740
Ceregem National Raak 24485633
Dr Harub’s Clinic 24563217
Elixir Health Centre 24565802
Emirates Medical Centre 24604540
1st Chiropractic Centre 24472274
Lifeline Hospital Salalah 23212340
International Medical
Centre LLC 24794501/2/3/4/5
Kims Oman Hospital 24760100
24 Hrs Emergency 24760123
Lama Polyclinic, Sohar 26751128
MBD 24799077
Al Khuwair 24478818
Magrabi Eye and
Ear Hospital 24568870
Muscat Private Hospital 24583600
Welcare Diagnostic and Treatment
Centre, Al Khuwair 24477666
Al-Hayat Polyclinc LLC 22004000
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
@SHATTI @AZAIBA
Bridge of Spies (Drama | History) (PG) Cast: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Alan AldaTiming: 3:15, 06:00, 08:45, 11:30 PM
@PANORAMA MALL
Creed (Drama, Sport)(2D)(15+)Cast : Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa ThompsonTiming: 4:00, 9:00, 11:50 pmVIP Lounge: 6:00 pm
Tamasha – 2D (PG12) Romance, DramaCast: Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor, Javed SheikhTiming: 2:30, 5:15, 8:00, 10:45, 11:30 PM
Dhuhr 11.59pm
Asr 3.04pm
Maghrib 5.25pm
Isha 6.39pm Fajr (Tomorrow) 5.09am
PRAYER TIMINGS
BAHJA CINEMAFilm information 24540856 / Advance Booking 24540855Website: www.albahjacinemaoman.com
Hunting the Phantom (Action / Adventure)Cast: Kristanna Loken, Armand Assante, Jose Rosete2.00, 8.00, 10.00 & 11.55 pm CP No : 3027 (12+)Creed (Sports / Drama) Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson4.30, 9.30 & 11.55 pm CP No : 3026 (15+)Blinky Bill the Movie: (Animation / Adventure) Voice Overs: Toni Collette, Rufus Sewell, Ryan2.00 & 6.00 pm CP No : 3024 (U)The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (Adventure / Sci-Fi) Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth7.00 pm CP No: 3015 (PG12)Tiger House (Action / Crime / Drama) Cast: Kaya Scodelario, Dougray Scott, Ed Skrein4.00 pmCP No: 3016 (12+)
STAR CINEMAFilm information 24791641 / 24786776Website: www.isurf.co.om
Anarkali (Mal) (Rom/Drama) Cast : Prithviraj, Biju Menon, Mia & Priyal Glor 3-00 & 10-00 Pm Cinema Main; 6-30 Pm At Cinema-2 Amar Akbar Anthony (Mal) (Act/Drama) Cast : Prithviraj,Jaya surya,Indrajith & Namitha 6-30 Pm Cinema Main ; 3-30 & 9-30 Pm Cinema -2Inji Iduppazhagi (Tamil) (Rom/Com) Cast : Arya, Anushka Shetty & Bharath 3-45, 6-45 & 9-45 Pm At Cinema-3 Vedalam (Tamil) (Act) Cast: Ajith, Shruthi Hassan & Lakshmi Menon 3-45, 6-45 & 9-45 Pm At Cinema - 4 From 27/11/2015 Friday Size Zero (Telugu) (Rom/ com)Cast: Arya, Anushka Shetty & Bharath3-45,6-45 & 9-45 Pm At Cinema -4 Programmes are subject to change
WEATHER
270
Maximum
220
Minimum
TEMPERATURE
45-70%RELATIVE HUMIDITY
Send us a colour photograph of the child (below 16 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 [email protected]
NAVANEETHNovember 26, 2010
HRITHVIK BRIJITH November 26, 2010
WITH LOVE
Z ahra Santos is a true Omani pioneer, intro-ducing the Sultanate to house music as the fi rst female DJ in the
country seven years ago, and next week, she is set to blaze another trail with the fi rst ever, full-scale live dance music event. With a line-up of eight of the area’s best house DJs, LED-lit performance artists, 3D mapping, fi re-throwing, live graffi ti art, and, most importantly, a night of true, deep house perfor-mances, the event will be the fi rst of its kind here in Oman.
Seven years ago, after studying graphic design abroad in Australia, Zahra brought her new-found pas-sion for house music back to Muscat with her, becoming the fi rst female DJ in the Sultanate.
In a city where hip-hop and khaleeji tracks ruled the party scene, Zahra, then called DJ Z, of-fered something fresh and new, sampling and remixing popular songs and introducing the city to new music styles.
In the years since her return, she
has watched the music scene in Muscat begin to develop, thanks in no small part to her and the growing community of DJs who are commit-ted to promoting underground styles.
Far more than a music style, there is a culture surrounding ‘house’ that incorporates visual
arts and live performance into the listening experience. This aspect of the scene is thriving in Dubai where Zahra recently studied fi re throwing and poi, a performance art, that combines rhythmic danc-ing with the swinging of LED-lit, tethered weights to create geomet-
ric patterns, at FlowGround (face-book.com/fl owground). And this is an aspect of the experience that she wants to share with people here.
Zahra is the resident DJ at Al Bustan Palace Hotel, and after working for event companies and as a freelance DJ for almost a dec-ade, she opened her own agency and event production company earlier this year. She is everything, from the CEO to the stage-hand for her com-pany, Prismatic, which employs the talents of some of the area’s best DJs and performance artists. And next week, Prismatic will make its event debut with “The Secret Garden” at the Al Bustan Lawn.
Leading up to the event, Zahra’s home has transformed into a work-space for the visual artists who are busy building 3D projection cubes for the stage, weaving string-art, and experimenting with new tracks. The excitement is contagious, and the idea of new forms of creative expression being introduced in Oman, is thrilling. Be sure to go see this historic entertainment event. [email protected]
LIFESTYLEC11T H U R S DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 6, 2 0 1 5
GHAWIBAZAAR
BUY LOCAL DATESDate is the most revered fruit in Islam. It is categorised amongst the fruits of heaven. Moreover, dieticians recommend dates as an excellent source of nutrition and inseparable part of a balanced diet.
PHOT
OGR
APH
Y: M
MG
FILE
PH
OTO
WHATIn Oman, the annual consumption of dates is esti-mated at 150,000 tonnes. As the country doesn’t pro-duce enough fruit for consumption, it has to depend on other countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran, and Algeria, to meet the demand. But Oman has more than 250 indigenous varieties of dates, out of which, the most relished for their delectable taste and succulence are Khalas, Khunaizi, and Fargh. The sale of date increases during Ramadan. Some shop-keepers claim that they sell around 500kg of Omani dates during Ramadan.
WHOThe beginning of the season will see the souqs become inundated with freshly harvested dates brought from Bid Bid, Dima wa’ Tayeen, Samad A’Shan, Al Rowdha, Samayil, and Bausher. With 75% of the cultivated land dedicated to date farm-ing, the fruit is produced almost in parts of the country, with Nizwa and Suwaiq being the focal centres along-with the various wilayats of the inte-rior and Sharqiyah regions.
PATTERNThe Ash Patash and Al Nagal varieties will hit the market fi rst. When the season progresses, dates of the Al Khunaizi variety, described as the most sugary in taste, and Al Khalas, billed as the most delicious, enters the market - followed closely by Al Mebselli and Al Khasab varieties.
HOW MUCHSouqs across the Sultanate and supermarkets sell dates. The price keeps fl uctuating by day according to demand. If the demand grows high, the prices go even higher. The price becomes steady when there is enough supply. Al Khunaizi variety is currently sold at 600 baisa per kilo gram.
Have a favourite Omani product or shop? Tell us about it: [email protected]
Passion, Performance, and Deep House
DJ LINE UP5-7pm: Phonetic Mood
7-8pm: Harmallea
8-9pm: Um Ailana
9-10pm: Nasir
10-11pm: Will Bruce
11-12am: Faizan
12-1am: Zand!
1am-Closing: Zam
HIGHLIGHTSCostumes (Optional)
LED Poi and Hoops
Live Graffi ti Art
Face Painting
Korean Dance Show at Bosch Centre on December 1The Embassy of the Republic of Korea will celebrate Oman’s 45th National Day with the Ko-rean traditional dance by the Moonlight Love group on De-cember 1 at the Bosch Centre, The American International School of Muscat (TAISM).
Dance has been a fundamental part of Korean culture and society for millennia, from the royal courts to the festivals of the common peo-ple. The young and angelic dancers and musicians of Moonlight Group have kept these traditions alive and will present a diverse overview of spirited, deeply felt Korean dances and music at this event.
The event will provide an op-portunity for the Omani people
to enjoy the rich talent of the Ko-rean artistes and that it will be another bridge in bringing closer the two peoples. The doors to the auditorium open at 6.30pm and the performance starts at 7.30pm. Entry is [email protected]
N A T I O N A L D A Y
THE DETAILSThe Secret Garden
December 4, 5pm
Al Bustan Palace Lawn
OMR10 per person,
at the door,
21 and above only
CONTACT+968 9412 7007
instagram: @prismaticdjs
Snapchat: prismaticdjs
mixcloud: mixcloud.com/
prismaticdjs
Story Felicia Campbell
On December 4, Oman’s fi rst female DJ will present the fi rst live dance music experience in the Sultanate
READ HI WEEKLY ON DECEMBER 11for more about Zahra and highlights from the event
LIFESTYLEC12 T H U R S DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 6, 2 0 1 5
Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa joins the 45th National
Day celebrations with a unique display of 45 luxury watches of high-
end brands. Each watch exclusively commemorates the National Day
of Oman. Many of the exquisite watches showcase either the fl ag of
Oman, the khanjar, or a picture of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said.
All of them are designed for this very special national occasion. The
display in Al Bandar Hotel lobby runs till the end of November. It is a
rare opportunity to witness a private collection of some of the fi nest
timekeeping masterpieces in the Sultanate.
CATCH A GLIMPSE OF TIMEKEEPING MASTERPIECES
Phot
os: O
.K. M
oham
med
Ali
Art exhibition at Bait Al DalaleelIf you wish to see an ex-cellent mix of abstract art and calligraphy, just walk into Bait Al Dalaleel at Bait Al Zubair for Syed Muzaf-far Moin’s solo exhibition “Beauty and Harmony”.
The exhibition show-cases 30 art works, in which Syed used trees, buildings and diff erent types of calligraphy.
The artist aims to make people understand a simple fact that we all need to ap-preciate the beauty and har-mony given to us by God.
Beauty is not only in vi-brant colours and pretty things like fl owers, pea-cocks, and angelic crea-tures, it also lies in the hands of man and his heart.
Syed said: “I like land-scape, abstract art and fi gu-rative calligraphy that can be expressed on a canvas using lines, shapes, colours and texture.
“I am really grateful to Bait Al Zubair for sup-porting me and giving me the opportunity to exhibit in Oman.”
Bait Al Dalaleel at Bait Al Zubair is an art space created for young Omanis and expatriates to display their work to new audienc-es in a relaxed and beauti-ful environment.
Artists and audiences alike can explore a wide va-riety of art books and maga-zines as well as discover some new creativity and talent in Oman.
Throughout the year Bait Al Dalaleel off ers workshops and meetings for young creatives to ex-plore their work and devel-op their talent. The exhibi-tion will continue till the end of November and can be visited from Saturday till Thursday from 9.30am to 6.00pm. [email protected]
A R T N O T E
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 D6
T H U R S D AY, N O V E M B E R 2 6 , 2 0 1 5
RENT D2
*Tourist visa arranged
Email: [email protected] classifi [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461
FOR RENT
1BHK near medical Darsait
Muttrah house R.O 175/- & 2 BHK
R.O 220/-. Contact: 98748925
Showroom for rent at Wadi Kabir
perfectly suitable for travels,
money exchange, Auto parts up
holster advertising materials.
Contact: 94143636
Flats for rent in Wadi Kabir.
Contact: 99376454
1BHK fl at near Hamriya hotel.
Contact: 96500860
4 BHK villa for rent Al Khuwair
650/- O.R Contact: 94232344
2 BHK Honda road Ruwi.
Contact: 99224748 /99332297
D2 T H U R S D AY, N O V E M B E R 2 6 , 2 0 1 5
DAILY GUIDE
Room, kitchen & bath in north
Ghobrah include E/W & AC split
200/- R.O. Contact: 92811110
Excellent offi ce 5 rooms Al Khu-
wair O.A. Bank building 850/-R.O.
Contact: 94232344
Flats in Qurum, Al Wallaj, 3 rooms,
Majlis, dining room, kitchen,
3 bathrooms. Contact: 98044421
2 BHK with spilt A/C in W.K behind
Sana fashion. Contact: 96708000
1 BHK with split A/C in Darsait
opposite Muscat Municipality.
Contact: 96708000
2 BHK with spilt /AC in MSQ oppo-
site AL Fair. Contact: 96708000
Indian school Darsait (ISD), 2BHK
Spacious fl ats, ground fl oor air
conditioners provided , OMR 350/-
including full maintenance . Ideal
for south Indian families.
Contact: 99076557
Beautiful villa directly on beach in
best location in Shatti Qurum 1800
OMR. Contact: 95887572
One / two, B/R RES / Comm. direct-
ly from own ER near medical college
Bausher. Contact: 92158031
2 BHK in Al Meera MKT building in
Al Khuwair available. Rent RO420.
Contact 94047434
House for rent in AL Amerat oppo-
site offi ce Justice, 3rooms, Majlis
, 4 toilets, living room ,food hall &
kitchen. Contact: 99252494
5 BHK villa at Mabela 7 for Rent.
Contact: 99428221/ 99269912
A Bedroom along with separate
bathroom available for rent for an
Executive Bachelor in Al Khuwair
(near Zawawi Mosque). Contact
92138451
5B/R villa in Mumtaz area and 4
B/R villas in Mawalah next to the
wave for rent. Contact: 97296105
Flat available for rent 2 bedrooms
hall, 2 toilets, 1 kitchen & balcony
with proper sun light & ventilator
location or Mabela north very close
to Indian school AL Seeb rent R.O
230/-. Contact: 99432496
1.2 BHK M.B.D. Contact: 92144045
1BHK Darsait I.S.D school R.O 225/-
Contact: 92144045
House in Al Khoud commercial dis-
trict, 4rooms, Majlis, 2 kitchens,
3 bathrooms. Contact: 98044421
Furnished rooms attached bath for
Indian bachelor Al Falaj area - Ruwi
& for lady in Wadi Kabir near Mars
Hypermarket -
Contact 96202458/96761960
1BHK new bldg with A/C curtains
near Khimji mart MBD. Contact:
99061408 /99024039
Furnished offi ce, accommodation
available Walja. Contact: 96246625
2.3 BHK Ghobrah R.O 350/- / 400/-.
Contact: 92144045
1BHK Mumtaz R.O 250/-.
Contact: 92144045
1.2.3 BHK fl ats 8 villas.
Contact: 97799175
1BHK fl at near Star Cinema 220/-.
Contact 99358589 /95570288
Shops in AL Amerat industrial area
near shell station.Contact: 98044421
2BHK near Oman house behind
Khimji, H.O. Contact: 95865686
1BHK fl at Darsait near
MCT Municipality 220/-.
Contact: 99342661
2 & 3 BHK Al Khuwair.
Contact: 99024730
Flat for Rent 1/2 BHK Flat at Mut-
trah, near Oman fl our mills, 10 min.
from Corniche.Equipped with split
unit ACs, internet points, free-to-air
dish connection, CCTV monitored,
basement parking. Rent RO.250/350
per month. Contact: 99229263;
93221054; 95215289
New villa at Mawalah south 5 bed
room, family hall, Majlis, bath.
Contact: 99332367
Villa in Arjan complex near Seeb
stadium 4BHK, 1 living room,
1 majles, 1 extra room in ground
fl oor. Contact 93219597
NEW FLAT FOR RENT1/2 BHK Flat at Mutt rah, near Oman fl our mills, 10 min. from corniche.
equipped with split unit ACs, internet points, free-to-air dish connecti on, CCTV
monitored, basement parking. Rent RO.250/350 (Negoti able) per month.
Contact : 99229263; 93221054; 95215289
FOR RENTSPACIOUS – 2 BHK,
3 bathrooms Flatwith Split AC at Muttrah
Prime LocationContact : 93202733
Sohar: 3BHK AND 4BHK FLATS, R.O 200 and R.O 215 respectively.
(New Building with CCTV camera
with Split A/C). Contact: 99881426 /
92123699
DAILY GUIDET H U R S D AY, N O V E M B E R 2 6 , 2 0 1 5 D3
FOR SALEFOR RENT
Running furniture showroom for urgent sale.
Ladies beauty parlor sale at Mutt rah.
Contact - 91135930
Flat for rent in Amerat two bed-
room, one hall. Contact: 91141097
2 Bedroom centrally air condi-
tioned fl at in CBD, Central bank
area. # 24714625/ 94460790
2 Bedrooms fl at with hall, 2 bath-
rooms in Darsait near Muscat Mu-
nicipality. # 92584715 /24700120
Spacious separate room with A/c
and Bed, for non-cooking Asian
bachelor, behind Shell fi lling
station, Ghobrah round about.
Contact: 94263390
New pent house 219 meters,
3 bedrooms Each own toilet , serv-
ant room with toilet laundry area ,
kitchen with store elevator avail-
able AL Khuwair 39 rent R.O 575/-
family only. Contact: 99207840
2 B/R Apartment Executive Fully
Furnished @ Al Khuwair 33
1 B/R Apartment Executive Fully
Furnished @ Al Khuwair 33
1 B/R Flat - Fully Furnished @
Salalah Near New Lulu.
2 B/R Flat - Fully Furnished
American standard @ Salalah.
5 B/R Villa - Fully Furnished @
Madinat Al Ilam, 5 B/R Villa - Un-
furnished @ Madinat Al Ilam
5 B/R Villa - Unfurnished @
Al Mawalah North Brand New
Please Contact: Atlas Real Estate
& Rent A Car LLC. 24834888,
99249069 / 92888376 92888374
Email: [email protected]
2BHK Wadi Kabir near Kuwaiti
mosque. Contact: 97007934/
92629232
6 shops in South Mawalah
Contact: 96420432
Studio in souk Al Khoud behind
of Al Ahali bank with 2 BR toilet+
kitchen in 2 fl oor 160RO.
Contact 99738881
Flats and shops for rent in Ruwi
Honda road Mumtaz area. Contact:
97293708 /92433127
New fl ats for rent Darsait Al Sahel.
Contact: 99311525 / 92533356
Villa with 5 rooms, two sitting
rooms, 5 toilets and kitchen at
Al Hail North. Contact: 91130875
Flat for rent at Wadi Al Kabir next
Al Hassan.co, 2 bedroom, 3 WS,
1 sitting room. Contact: 99210008
600 SQT commercial fl at for rent
opposite Oman fl ourmill Darsait
more details. Contact: 91214849/
99364735
3 Bedroom fl at at Al Khuwair.
Contact: 99447257/97014234
Coff ee shop for rent Jifnain.
Contact: 93340597
Single BHK fl at available in Honda
road Ruwi. Contact - 24833972/
24833974/99367448
Fully equipped running café for sale
at Wadi Al Kabir. Contact: 99636550
Curtains green colour 2 x 2.70MTS,
7 nos, almost new R.O 45 no bar-
gains Qurum. Contact: 95865457
Coff ee shop Mabela industrial area
for sale. Contact: 92253080
Running dental clinic in Quriyat for
sale Contact: 96534564
Beauty Salon for urgent sale in
Azaiba prime location behind
Al Fardan building. With sponsor and
1 staff and 1 ready visa clearance.
Call: 95318629 / 95169411
Ladies saloon with 2 staff for sale in
Mawalah. Contact 94197589
Printing Press for sale at Musanah.
Contact – 99645150
Sale house & offi ce furniture & elec-
tronic items. Contact : 99834373/
96642500/22010080
For Sale Luxury Apartments in
Bousher (35) - 95056808-97201688
Running barber shop for sale in
Ruwi with all equipments.
Contact: 99343735
For sale 8 Apartments (Total area
850 SQM approximate) in “Bait Al
Noor” occupying two full fl oors
(7th and 8th fl oors). The building
is opposite to GMC car showroom
facing the main road (Sultan Qaboos
Road). Excellent location for best
visibility of signboard for any
corporate. Contact 94194071
for details.
Beauty parlor for sale Muttrah.
Contact: 93142676
For sale villas in Al Khoud -
95056808-97201688
For Rent Flats in Darsait -
94051789-97201688
For Rent Flats in Ghala Heights -
94051789-97201688
For Rent Flats in Wadi Kabir -
94051789-97201688
For Rent Fully Furnished
apartments in Boucher (35) -
94051789-97201688
For Rent fl ats in Muttrah-
Contact – 94051789-97201688
Offi ces for Rent Gala-
Contact –94051789-97201688
For Rent Duplex villa in Qurum
29- 94051789-97201688
3BHK Qurum P.D.O light 350/-.
Contact: 99342661
For Rent Offi ces & Showrooms in
Al Khoud- 94051789-97201688
For Rent offi ces in Qurum op-
posite city center- 94051789-
97201688
1000 SQ mtrs industrial land for
rent in Ghala suitable for ware
house workshop etc. Contact:
24700120 /92584715
For Rent Mini Furnished Apart-
ment in Qurum- 94051789-
97201688
For Rent Flats in Mawalah
south-94051789-97201688
For Rent brand new villas in
Al Ansab- 94051789-97201688
For Rent Offi ces & Showrooms in
Muttrah -94051789-97201688
2 BHK fl at available for rent in
Darsait. Contact: 99357586
RESTAURANT/ CAFÉ FOR SALE
An established and functi oning restaurant/ café
available for sale in prime locati on at Qurum.
Well –furnished and equipped
for instant launch. Please contact:
95126949
SERVICES REQUIRED IN OMAN
We are looking for a suitable sub-contractor to carry out installation and supervision of
GRP Sectional Water tanks. Interested parties may contact by e-mail :
[email protected] or call 99104461
FOR SALE2013 Model Mitsubishi Diesel tanker in good condition is to be sold on the maximum off er.Mileage :- 28,000 kmContact -Mr. Mohan 93214717/93214707
GENERAL ELECTRONICS SERVICES LLC
CONTACT: 99627299 / 93327841
BRING HOME - LIVE MUSIC & CINEMA
HOME THEATER&
KARAOKE
D/C Pick-Ups, 3 Ton Trucks, Cars, Buses, Stati on Wagons, Prime Movers, Hiabs, Swg. Tankers,
Diesel Tankers, Water Tankers, Skip Trucks, Trailers, Dozer, Sideboom, Excavators, Shovels,
Rollers, Graders, JCB for sale on “as is where is basis”
USED & SCRAP VEHICLES & EQUIPMENT FOR SALE
Interested parti es may please contactbetween 9 AM to 4 PM from Saturday to Thursday on
99235977 / 92880784
FOR HIRE WITH OPERATORS1. Back Hoe Loaders (Shovels): 5 Nos2. 10 Tons Vibratory Roller Compactor: 1 No.3. 42 Mtrs. Concrete Pump Putzmeister: 1 No.4. 45 Cbm Tippers: 2 Nos5. 50 M height, 50 Boom tower cranes: 5 Nos.
Please contact – Mr. Ravi on 96529679Email – [email protected] / [email protected]
For Sale: Equipped carpentry work-
shop with 10 working employees at
Sohar. Contact: 95728453
For sale Fully Furnished apart-
ments in Bousher (35) - 95056808-
97201688
A running restaurant for sale near
Oman oil petrol Pump Al Uqdah
(Barka). Contact: 99059013
ACC. AVAILABLE
ACC. AVAILABLE
LOST
CHANGE OF NAME
Single room bathroom in Darsait R.O
140/-. Contact: 93289652
Large room with separate bathroom,
sharing available in Al Khuwair.
Contact - 95250161
Sharing room available for family
/executive bachelor, near Oman
house. Contact: 96753740
Room with bath for executive bach-
elor near A/C fl at, hotel.
Contact: 99643845
Furnished rooms attached bath for
Indian bachelor in Al Falaj
Ruwi & lady in Wadi Kabir.
Contact 96202458 /96761960
Furnished single rooms available
for executive bachelors at Ruwi.
Contact: 98049288
Bed space / sharing accommodation
available for executive bachelor near
to Mars hypermarket Wadi Kabir.
Contact: 93137816
1 Bedroom with bathroom available
for rent. Only Indian female.
Contact - 92394614
ACC. WANTED
Sharing Accommodation Required
for Non cooking Executive Lady in
Darsait /Ruwi/Wadikabir. #99360615
Kholil Murshid Miah has lost
Bangladeshi Passport No. AC
7191226. Finder please handover
to ROP
Mohammad Shamim Miah has
lost Bangladeshi Passport No. E
1553984. Finder please handover
to ROP
Bayt Al-Eaz Lalaiemar L.L.C Com-pany which is recorded under the
commercial register in directorate
general for trade industry number
1050014 is going to change its
name to Honest Hands Technical
Services International L.L.C Com-
pany.This is to inform anybody
who concerns about that.
1BHK fully furnished spacious for
rent CBD, ideal for family or two
bachelors easy access to Main road
near Sheraton hotel with all
electronics & furniture.
Contact: 96444400 /5pm -10pm
3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, sitting
room, Kitchen & store including
utilities bills at Al hail.
Contact 92817777
Furnished sharing accommodation
in ruwi near O.K. Center for non-
cooking indian bachelor.
Gsm 9880-5474
Single room for expat Indian bach-
elors near Al Aktham restaurant
Al khuwair for RO 120. Water and
electricity included.
Contact : 98803261
Big room available near Hamriya
R/A for Muslim couple / small family
/ Executive bachelor rent 150/- per
month including W+ E.
Contact : 99495131
1 Bedroom with attached Bath, fully
furnished, separate entrance at
Mabela for ladies only.
Contact : 99634841
DAILY GUIDED4 T H U R S D AY, N O V E M B E R 2 6 , 2 0 1 5
SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION VACANT
SITUATION WANTEDSIT. WANTED
Email: [email protected] classifi [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624
DOMESTIC HELP
CATERING
LAWYER
ADMIN ENGINEER/TECH/MECH
DRIVERMEDICAL
ACCOUNT. & FINANCE
ACCOUNT. & FINANCE
ARCHITECT
SALES / MARKETING
ADMIN
Wanted Nurse and Omani Re-ceptionist for a well established
dental centre in Mawalah South.
Contact – 93431024/ Email –
Wanted GP Doctor with MOH
license, job location in muscat with
good salary and benifi ts. Drop ur cv
Urgently required Philipina Nurse with MOH license at pro-
metric parsed. Contact: 99724013
A reputed Wellness Center is
looking for MOH licensed or Pro-metric Passed Physiotherapist, Nurse and Occupational therapy. Please send your CV to :
Wanted female Gynecologist, female
Staff Nurse – 2 no., Dental Asst, female
Lab Tech from India or Filipino with
MOH license & data flow for Al Saadi
Specialized Medical Centre in Mussana.
Contact 92025033, [email protected]
WANTEDCivil Engineer (Building Construction)
2 Nos
Qualification: BE in Civil Engineering
Electro Mechanical Engineer (Building
Services)1 No.
Qualification: BE in Electrical or
Mechanical Engineering
Send detailed resume to
MISCELLANEOUS
Required Aggressive Sales Execu-tive with B.Com /BBA. Preference to
bilingual applicants with experience
in luxury products. Interested
candidates please send CV to
Sales man / Interior Designer wanted for prestigious interior
design and offi ce furniture Supply
Company. Experience and drivers
license needed excellent
remuneration package.
Email: [email protected]
Media Company needs sales male /female not required experience,
only to have good knowledge on
Muscat area, having driving license.
Having some knowledge on
designs) send CV to:
magicfi [email protected]
Egyptian woman resident has
considerable experience in the
administration and secretarial
executive for companies.
Contact: 97221126
Male BBA graduate 5 years admin
HR document controller purchaser
account assistant (tally) experience
NOC. Contact: 97015178
Legal advisor (Egyptian)| experi-
ence in international arbitra-
tion, contracts and labor law
and administration looking for a
company. Contact: 99664890
Senior HR , professional MBA ,
12 yr GCC experience at manage-
rial recruitment, administration
, policy formulator working with
a leading construction co (4000
plus employees) looking for a im-
mediate change over , NOC avail-
able. Contact: 94017306
Email: [email protected]
10 years Gulf & 4 years Oman ex-
perience in HR / Admin & logistics
fl uent in Arabic / English with D/L
looking for suitable position.
Contact 95824598
MBA (HR & marketing) & B.Com,
Indian male 28 yrs, 2 years exp
in Qatar having Oman driving
license, currently on family visa in
Salalah (NOC available.
Contact: 98138376 Email:
Looking for Executi ve Sales
and Sales Engineers with experience in
earthmoving equipments, cruchers, quarry & mining
industry. Email:
Urgently required for a reputed
company in Oman (Tyre, Battery &
Lubricant division) Sr. Executives/Executive-5 nos (Sohar, Nizwa &
Muscat), Techno Commercial Pro-fessional-5nos, Driver (Omani)-1no.
Required minimum 3-5 yrs experi-
ence in the same fi eld with market
exposure holding valid Omani driv-
ing license or GCC. Kindly fwd your
CV’s to [email protected]
Contact: (+968)93891700
ENGLISH TEACHERSWANTED IMMEDIATELY
FOR VARIOUS LOCATIONSMUSCAT | IBRI | SOHAR | NIZWA
SALALAH | BARKA | BURAIMIKHABOURAH | KHASAB
92325542 | 93657915 | [email protected]
BEAUTY
Urgently wanted Lady Beautician
at Sur call after 10 am
Contact: 99771763.
Branded salon in Muscat requires a beautician with skills of: Mani-
cure, Pedicure, Nails techniques,
Massage, Facial and waxing.
Contact- 98500222
Full time living House maid required for an Indian female in
Al Ghobrah. Contact: 97084023
Urgently required a Kerala House maid for small family (2 members)
aged around 40-45 visa available.
Contact: 99324343
Small Omani family in Muscat
requires an educated House maid. Contact – 98500222
Required experienced part / full time house keeper for company
CEO. Contact: 98458542
Need excellent cook & housekeep-er. Contact Whatsapp: 95887572
We are looking for Chief Finan-cial Offi cer, Male 40- 45 years old,
Bachelor of Science in Account-
ancy with 5 - 15 yrs. of experience.
Contact: +968 24702133
Email: [email protected]
1. Service Administrator: A qualifi ed Electro/Automobile/Electric Diploma holder with minimum 2 years’ experience on deskjobs such as preparing
quotation, supplier correspondence, warranty claims etc. Age between 25 – 30.2. Accountant:
A qualifi ed B.Com/M.Com/C.A. Inter accountant with minimum 4 years’ experience in accounting with banking knowledge.
Age between 25-30.Attractive Salary and terms Off ered
VACANCY
Candidates with NOC or on visit visa can apply, please drop your CV at [email protected]
VACANCIES FOR HEAVY DUTY TRUCK DRIVERS
An excellent grade internati onal company is looking for Heavy Duty Truck Drivers
with valid Omani Driving Licence and NOC. Please send your CV with copy of valid Omani Driving
Licence and a copy of NOC.Fax number 24480417
Email: [email protected]
1. Electrical Engineer (B.tech with relevant experience in MEP works (Gulf experience preferred)2. Accounts Manager - (CA with minimum 5-10 years gulf experience)3. Purchase Manager (Degree with minimum 5-10 years gulf experience in constructi on fi eld. D/L preferred)4. Recepti onist (Omani Nati onal) (Knowledge in MS offi ce and good communicati on skill in English)5. HR Manager (5-10 years gulf experience in enti re HR functi ons and policies)6. Driver (Omani Nati onal) - Driver required for 3 ton pickup (Full ti me)
URGENTLY REQUIRED
Send detailed resume to [email protected]:99845439
SECT. /OFFICE
Personal Assistant, 5yrs experi-
ence in Oman or GCC. MBA or
equivalent. Part-time preferred.
Call 95364625.
We are looking for Experienced Omani Receptionists and Omani PRO (Public Relation Offi cer) for
our organization
Ayaan Healthcare centre.
Contact – 93676708
Email: [email protected]
Chief Financial Offi cer (CFO)
Looking for dynamic and talented individuals to join our team in
Oman for the position of Chief Financial Offi cer.
with at least 5 years experience in the relevant fi eld for a group of
companies associated with Petroleum,please apply, with confi dence and
send your [email protected]
A reputable law fi rm in Oman is seeking an
Account/Administrative Assistant
required:- Accounting experience required - Administrative experience required- Computer literate- Willing to learn
Please send your cv to [email protected]
ASSISTANT RETAIL MANAGER
Use the email -recruitment@afl aggroup.com
• To support GM in developing Muscat based stores• 5 years past Retail store operations experience • Omani or Expatriate (must have NOC if moving jobs)• Full Time or Part Time (fl exible hours )• Omani Driving License • Team player & good communicator• Written & spoken English
REQUIRED A SUPERVISOR
For Travel Agency with minimum 5 years’ experience in the
Sales, marketi ng and Ticketi ng, with Oman Driving License,
Interested candidates can send their CV to:
Urgently Required One General Cook (Experience in Indian/
Chinese) for Hotel Apartment –
Tel: 99797170 / Fax : 24490735
Email – [email protected]
Engineering consultancy offi ce looking for Architect with experi-
ence in Oman (portfolio needed)
[email protected] 96649374 -
99441122
Urgently required Omani Nation-als P.R.O & Merchandiser cum driver & 3 Ton truck drivers. Please send your resume to
Contact: 99348211/93203550
A reputed construction company in Muscat urgently requires the
following candidates (Omani Nationals only) Civil Engineer & P.R.O & light duty driver. Send C.V to [email protected]
or call 99344896
Instrumentation & controls Technician with 2-3 years experi-
ence preferably in water sector
and having valid driving license
Send CV to [email protected] or
call Ph:+968 99450811
Indian female, MBA HR & Finance,
having 1 year experience, seeking
suitable placement. Currently in
Oman. Contact: 96052366.
12 years of Oman experienced
chief accountant looking for suit-
able position. Contact: 99513082
Chief Accountant 25 years expe-
rienced, for the last 7 years work-
ing as Chief Accountant seeks
immediate placement.
Contact: 95598477/98803439
ACCA affi liate, fresher, Indian
male, valid driving license, look-
ing for full time employment in
Accounting and Finance, also
open to other opportunities,
Contact +968 91291520,
Email: [email protected]
Sr. Accountant ( CA- inter) Indian
male 31 years having 9 years
experience in fi nance & accounts
looking for suitable placement.
NOC available and valid Oman
D/L. Contact: 94108678 Email:
Indian male highly resulted
oriented and self driven CA Inter
qualifi ed accountant with over
more than 14 years of experience
in auditing, fi nance and
accounts seeks placement.
Contact: 93405047
Finance controller 15 years
experience in Oman contracting,
consultancy, trading oil & gas
tourism IT etc project fi nancing
feasibility ERP cost control.
Contact: 98571309
Male Indian with 7 years experi-
ence in accounting & 6 years expe-
rience in sales and marketing very
good knowledge of tally currently
in Muscat on a visit visa.
Contact: 96148427
Email: [email protected]
Experienced Female Senior
Accountant looking for suitable
alternative. Contact: 99849325
Sr. accountant M.com (fi nance)
2 yrs in Oman seeking suitable
placement NOC Available with
immediate joining.
Contact: 92404608
Email: jin_75@rediff muil.com
Indian male, 23 years, MBA fi -
nance MNC 2 years experience in
accounts, currently in Oman seek-
ing for suitable position. Contact:
Yahya Manager 96930855
Indian female 28yrs, B.com, 7yrs
call center/accounts/admin/
marketing experience, currently
on visit, seek suitable placement.
Contact Rashmi 96746698.
ACCA member / B.com (3.7 years
experience) looking accounts /
audit job. Contact: 97769145
Email: [email protected]
Part time accounting, also contact
for auditing, tax reports and feasi-
bility study – 91044655
B.com, 25 years male, 3 years exp
release available on visa, seeks
placement accounts / comm. Asst.
Contact: 94693593
Indain male Accountant, 8 years
experience 4 years In dubai,4 yrs
in Muscat. Additional knwoledge
in JDE and Tally.9, NOC available
ready to join immediately.
Contact: 95364896 /92912347
Email: [email protected]
WASTE MANAGEMENT AND WATER TREATMENT
SPECIALIST Looking for dynamic and talented
individuals to join our team in Oman for the position of
“waste management and water treatment specialist”
with at least 5 years experience in the relevant fi eld.
And one in-house specialist [email protected]
VACANCIES FORHEAVY DUTY TRUCK
DRIVERSA excellent grade company is looking for heavy duty
truck driver with valid driving license (Oman/ Dubai)
Please send CV with copy of license.
Fax: 24817276 Mob: 93728515
Email: [email protected]
VACANCYOil Service Company is
looking for Finance Manager: HSE Manager &
HR Specialist With relevant experience in
oil industry.Contact:
Urgently required Admin / Accountant with minimum
4 years experience with valid
Omani driving should be fl uent in
Ms Offi ce applications and tally.
Fax: 24564459
Email: [email protected]
Wanted heavy driver. Contact: 91770195
Heavy duty driver with valid
driving license and experience.
Contact: 94107090 or 95398929
Email: alkharusi.international@
gmail.com
Wanted driver. Contact 91025698
Engineering consultancy fi rm in
Sur looking for graduate Civil Engineers. Interested candidates apply to
babupj@ gmail.com
or call 99318205
Instrumentation & controls Technician with 2-3 years
experience preferably in water
sector and having valid driving
license Send CV to
call Ph:+968 99450811
HVAC Technician with GCC
experience in installation of spilt /
package ducted AC Units, ducting
design ETC. Contact: 93214193
Email CV:
Civil Engineer with minimum fi ve
years, PDO Experience, earth work
and building construction (PDO
driving license preferred.
Please send CV to
Contact: 99150203/91404425
Medical CARE Centre, Al Seeb,
requires General Practitioners and
Pharmacist, Please Mail CV-
or call 97884856.
Required General Physician, Gynecology, Lab Technician & Pharmacists. Contact: 95133572
Email: [email protected]
SKILLED
Store keeper with minimum 5
years experience, should have
experience in handling offi ce
furniture and fl uency in tally & bar
coding software etc. Interested
candidates can apply by mail:
fax: 24818818
Freelance services of accounting,
auditing, taxation and feasibility
report - 91720465
28/ male MBA – fi nance /B.com –
accountant with 4 years of Dubai
/ India experience looking for a
suitable placement.
Contact: 90187483 Email:
Accountant job wanted 8 years
experience 5 years in Indian 3
years in Oman knowledge of tally
ERP- 9 NOC available.
Contact: 91162503
Indian lady, bachelor degree in
Preparatory Programme (BPP)
and Bachelor of Commerce
(BCom), completed training
course in MS Word, Excel, Power
Point and Outlook from KTI look-
ing for full time / part time job
opportunity in Oman.
Contact 92437568, 96795853,
Email: [email protected]
SENIOR ACCOUNTANT, with
13yrs experience, 6 yrs Oman
in manufacturing, trading &
contracting Cos, capable of
handling all accounting, fi nance,
banking, L/C, import, export &
fi nalization seeks placement. NOC
Available. Call+968-98932752,
mail:[email protected]
Indian female 5+ yrs Oman exp in
Accounts tally looking for suitable
placement in W.K to Qurum area.
Contact: 95580416
Part time accountant services
from senior accountant M.com
15 years Oman exp.
Contact: 97441960
Accountant Indian female having
5 years exp in fi nalization, audit
and administration in GCC pres-
ently in Muscat seeking suitable
position. Contact 97323574
Email: sreeja@[email protected]
MEP Engineer with minimum fi ve
years PDO / ministry experience.
Please send CV to
Contact: 99150203/91404425
A REPUTED COMPANY INOMAN URGENTLY REQUIRED
DEBT COLLECTORCandidates interested and
having worked in same fi eld with minimum 5 years
experience may apply with CV giving full details by Email
We prefer Omani Nati onal.Valid Oman driving License is must.
A group of well reputed Private Schools associated with Cambridge Programs in
Muscat – Sultanate of Oman Requires following teaching posts:
WELL QUALIFIED TEACHERS for IGCSE & CIP for (English, Maths, Physics, Chemistry, IT, lab assistant for Chemistry and
Physics) - MSc / BSc and M.Ed / B.Ed with (IELTs / TOFEL) and at least 3 years of teaching
experience with attested documents.
Mail your CV at: [email protected]
Required urgently an Indian Legal Consultant /Lawyer for
a reputed Law Firm in Muscat &
Sohar. Candidates should have 5-7
years experience as Legal Consult-
ant/Lawyer with good knowledge
of Computer & should be fl uent in
English. Email C V to
[email protected] or contact
99153620 between 8am to 5.30pm
*Classifi ed Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon for next
day’s publication. * Subject to space availability
DAILY GUIDET H U R S D AY, N O V E M B E R 2 6 , 2 0 1 5 D5
SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED
DRIVER
ARCHITECT
HOSPITALITY
DRIVER
ADMIN
ENGG. / TECH./MECH.
ENGG. / TECH./MECH.
ENGG. / TECH./MECH.
CATERING
DESIGNER/DRAUGHTSMAN
Egyptian male B.S degree tourism
& hotels (10 years experience)
2 in Oman in hotels management
have Oman driving license
looking for suitable job.
Contact: 91695779
Email: [email protected]
Indian male/31yrs with hotel
management degree, 03 yrs ex-
perience in F&B services at 5 star
hotel Dubai & 05 yrs in American
6 star cruise liner as Butler. Has
Oman driving license.
Contact no 91135371
Dutch male qualifi ed commer-
cial pilot (Faa-ME-IR certifi ed) is
looking for job openings in middle
east. [email protected]
Indian male 24, B.Tech electri-
cal & electronics engineer and
P.G. Diploma in automation &
SCADA with 2 years experience
Kerala electricity board, looking
for suitable placement. Contact:
95340253 /92914336 Email:
Indian male 21, B.Tech, Mech
Engineering + quantity analyzer/
controller looking for suitable
placement. Contact: 92914336/
96585010
Email: [email protected]
Indian Male 23yrs Fresh Me-
chanical Engineer presently on a
visit visa looking for placements
in service/sales/purchase/
project engineer.
Contact Ajith 91791724
Indian 30 yrs B.E civil Engineer
8 year experience with Oman D/L
& NOC available.
Contact: 95962450 Email:
B.E civil Engineer having 11 years
experience with NOC looking for
job. Contact: 95690780
Email: [email protected]
Indian male 24, B.E. Civil Eng’g
with 2 years experience as Struc-
tural Engineer looking for suitable
job in Muscat. 97355352
Indian male 27yrs, mechanical
engineer (energy engineering
M.Tech & HVAC diploma) with
4 yrs experience on visit visa,
seeking suitable placement.
Contact: 98791735
Email: [email protected]
Indian male 25 years diploma in
mechanical engineering having 2.5
years experience in piping fabrica-
tion, plumping and fi re fi ghting
knowledge in AutoCAD seeking
suitable placement.
Contact 92733482
Email: [email protected]
Mechanical Engineer graduated
from Caledonian college Oman
with NDT Level 2 ( ASNT ) and
solid works looking for suitable
placement currently on family
visit visa having valid Oman D/L.
Contact: 95990677
Email: [email protected]
BE Electrical with 14 years experi-
ence in projects & maintenance
industry and power sector up to
132 KV, NOC & DL available.
Ph: 99015463 / +919447249212 ;
email: abhi_lash2@rediff mail.com
Sri Lankan Engineer (27 Years
old) – B.Sc Engineering (Hon)
Mining / Geotechnical Presently
in Muscat, 1.5 years experi-
ence.91295802 /
Indian Male, Mechanical Engineer
having 1year experience, on visit
visa looking for suitable job.
Contact: 97416564,
Email:[email protected]
Indian male B.Tech electrical
2 years experience seeks place-
ment. Contact: 93570984 Email:
Engineer Mechanical (BR) Indian
male, with NDT Level 2 (ASNT),
works, 2 years above experience
(as mechanical QC Engineer and
SME Engineer) seeking suitable
placement (on visit visa). Contact:
90249803 / 00919446048596
Email: [email protected]
Civil Engineer diploma holder 1
years experience site supervision
level 2, 2D, 3D Revit languages
English, Malayalam and Hindi
Tamil looking challenging career.
Contact: 98058242
Email: [email protected]
B.Sc in Civil Engineer 12 yrs exp
in Dubai and South Africa on
construction and infrastructure
having Dubai license currently on
visit looking suitable position.
Contact: 91206763
Email: [email protected]
Mechanical Engineer, 24 yrs
Indian male, 2yrs experience (L+T
Port) as maintenance Engineer
sear citing for a suitable job on
visit visa. Contact: +968 92685011
Email: srinathvijayanavs@gmail.
com
Experienced Light Duty Driver,
Fluent in English, Arabic Well
knowledge of Oman Areas Seeking
Suitable placement 97950869
Driver looking for job.
Contact: 91354803
Light driver, looking for job.
Contact: 98372745/99090362
Light driver. Contact:
95084826
Looking for Job driving.
Contact: 97418036
Driving with car, looking for job.
Contact: 97095200
Driver with new car looking for
job.contact: 95873286
Heavy duty driver (Exp 3years)
seeking suitable job.
Contact 91372623
Pakistan male light vehicle driver
8 yrs GCC exp looking for job.
Contact: 96393805
Driver (light & heavy duty) valid
gulf /Indian) looking job.
Contact: 95175192
Creative Designer with 8+ years
experience in web, graphic, video
editing, outsourcing looking for a
suitable placement in a reputed
company. Contact 97276004
25 years male BA. English ,
Qualifi ed as mast in digital
animation having 5 yrs ex in
character animation special-
ized Auto Desk mago and motion
building software knowledge,
seeking suitable placement.
Contact: 97917357
Professional architect 3ds max
(interior, exterior) looking for pri-
vate work. Contact: 96041201
Architect (B. Arch) 5 years experi-
ence seeking job. Contact 96146645
Email: [email protected]
Indian male B.Tech IT 3 years
experience windows / Ulinux /
network administration on visit
visa. Contact: 93311963
Email: [email protected]
Experienced female D. Arch Engg
seeking job AutoCAD (2D, 3D), 3D
Max, and revit Photoshop.
Contact: 98907341
Email: [email protected]
Female seeking job in graphic de-
signing, admin, MS offi ce Photoshop,
CorelDraw, 3D Max.
Contact: 94536117
Email: [email protected]
Indian male B.Tech (E& C) MCSE,
CCNA having 1.5 years of
experience seeks job.
Contact 99257702 Email:
Indian male MC.A 2 years
experience in software knowledge
of Java ASP Net,
network in techno park Kerala.
Contact: 99210940
Male 31 Years, IT 6 year’s online
marketing experience in India
seeks suitable placement.
Contact-91175265
Net work Engineer with
experience degree in computer
science, CCNA, MCSA.
Contact: 92346191
Age 28 years experience 2years
& 8 month in IT accounting
technical skill, java, J.S.P tally
Peachtree M.S excel, SQL ,Working
java programmer India , account-
ant , Dubai ,Qualifi cation MCA,
B.C.A mathematic visit visa.
Contact: 95673451
Indian female M.Tech in electron-
ics Engg 2 yrs industrial exp in IT
& robotics research seeking oppor-
tunities in academy or industry.
Email:mariaannajoseph@gmail.
com Contact: 91306841
Indian female, MCA, Oracle
& ACL certifi ed, 5+ years of experi-
ence in Data Analysis,
IT Administration, Accounting and
Offi ce Administration etc. holds
valid Oman driving license,
seeking suitable opening.
Mob: 98579241.
B.Tech Computer Science fresh
graduate looking for suitable job.
Android application marketing
services. Valid D/L also available.
Contact 91024385
IT Indian male B.Tech computers,
networking 1 years experience in
Database support on visit.
Contact: 96376061
Email: [email protected]
Cooks (Arabic Indian) gulf exp
looking job. Contact: 99531802
EDUCATION
M.Tech Civil, certifi cate attested,
Indian, 18.8 year experience seeks
suitable position.
Contact: 98327311
Email: [email protected]
Civil Engineer 11 years experience
in construction, having driving
license & NOC. Contact: 94194399
Email: [email protected]
Indian male , 29 yrs electrical
design engineer , having 5 years
of gulf experience in oil & gas /
construction fi eld specialization
in load calculations cable sizing
& selection, earthing , transformer
selection etc having GCC valid li-
cense , looking for an suitable job.
Contact: 00968-98052942
Email: [email protected]
Electrical Engineer 13 years ex-
perience HV/ LV in Oman 5 years,
Oman valid D/L to NOC.
Contact: + 0091- 9946570903
Email: [email protected]
Ref: no-Oman 97095094
American female Master’s TESOL
12 yrs teaching exp. EFL Curricu-
lum Developer & Teacher Trainer.
Professional Development Specialist
& Educational Activity Coordinator.
Available February 1st 2016.
Email: [email protected]
Contact: 99630244
Indian female M.SC B.Ed,
3 years experience looking
for suitable placement.
Contact: 94420033 Email:
Indian Female B.Ed. and B.C.A. and
IELTS certifi ed with 5yr U.A.E. exp.
and 6 months Oman exp. in teaching
primary and secondary students
looking for a teacher’s job.
Email: [email protected].
Mob. 97384206.
Three years driving experience in
Muscat language known English,
Arabic, and Hindi, Bengali.
Contact 97462781
Light duty driver looking for job.
Contact: 93131542
Indian male driver 3yrs experi-
ence seeking for suitable placemen.
Contact: 93663493
Light duty driver looking for job.
Contact: 98356230
Sudanese female Electrical En-
gineer graduated with distinction
excellent knowledge and inter-
ested in protection.
Contact: 98133281
Electrical Engineer Indian male
29 years, having 5 years of experi-
ence in industrial automation and
utility maintenance in India (MRF
Tyres) seeking suitable place-
ment. Contact: 92789995 Email:
Civil Engineer 6 yrs Exp in Oman
with license. Contact: 98975528
Mechanic Tractor Diesel Engines
& Hydraulic, 25 years Experience
in Multinational Companies.
Contact - 91685048
Indian female M.Tech (electri-
cal power system) having gulf
experience in family visa seeking
suitable placements in Oman.
Contact: 91001194 /94306164
Civil Engineer 8 years experience
in Oman as a project engineer for
governmental & private projects.
Contact – 90164912
B.E civil Engineer having 5
years experience in Oman with
construction companies need
suitable placement.
Contact: 98180524
Civil Engineer (4 years ) hav-
ing total 5 years experience in
building construction ( 2 years , 8
months in Oman) looking for suit-
able placement D/L available.
Contact: 94450270
B.E Biomedical Engineer 5 years
experience in the subfi eld (hospi-
tal / company) looking for suitable
placement. Contact 92084807
Email: bonnygeorge1005@gmail.
com
Civil Engineer B.E , 06 years expe-
rience in Oman having D/L
seeking for a suitable position .
Contact 95961336
Email: [email protected]
IT
Well experienced team available to provide feasibility reports & business solutions, product
development, risk management methods for startups, progressive,
defunct operations. Creating of ERP modules.
Contact - 93343251 Email: profi [email protected]
A result oriented professional B.E.(Mech), 30+ years experience in
Oil & Gas Projects, Fabricati on, R & M and Services. Seeking job as
GM, CEO, Country Head. NOC & immediate availability.
Phone : +91 9773828663, Email : [email protected]
Qualifi cation B.com accounting
BE mechanical engineer course
completed experience 17 years
HR administration, parches store,
quality assurance.
Contact: 93820512 Email:
Indian male MBA graduate (HR)
with 19 years of gulf experience
(6 years in Oman) seeking suit-
able job can join immediately
with NOC. Contact: 99103763
/99519841
Indian male - 25 years - MBA
(HR & marketing) with one year
experience on visit visa look-
ing preferably for suitable HR/
ADMIN / marketing jobs .contact :
Mr. Harish Ravindranathan / mail
ID : [email protected]
/ 90189964
5 years of experience in software
and 1yr in administrator looking
for any software of any offi ce suit-
able jobs or any work from home
jobs. Contact: 91711326 Email:
Female Indian 9+ yrs experience
in administration customer sup-
port offi ce coordination with good
computer skill now on visit visa
looking for suitable openings.
Contact: 99285440
Indian female, Masters in HR,
having 4 + years Oman experience
in media management and HR,
looking for openings in HR, Educa-
tion, Admin, Corporate communi-
cations. Contact 98252030
Indian male MBA- UK 18 yrs Gulf
exp in Administration/ HR & Pub-
lic relationship. Fluent in Arabic/
English with D/L. Looking for suit-
able position. Contact - 99897280
Indian Female, MBA-HR having
8+ experience in Administration/
HR, Customer Support, Offi ce
Coordinator with good Computer
skill, Now on Visit Visa, looking
for suitable position. Contact:
90196235
26 yrs male, MBA, 3+ years experi-
ence in Administration in MNC,
seeks suitable placement.
Contact 95041201
Email: [email protected]
MISCELLANEOUS
SALES / MARKETING
12 years of experience in Oman;
marketing strategies & operations,
logistics, government tenders, public
relations & dealing with international
companies -4 years of experience
in UK, engineering CNC & industrial
areas, have dual nationality, fl uent in
English & Arabic speaking and writ-
ing , (I can travel abroad easily with-
out visa, for fi nalizing business or any
other purpose). Contact: 94123939
07 years Dubai 02 years Oman
experience in sales marketing MBA
in marketing diploma in marketing
with Dubai, Oman driving license
studied in S.E.O online sales & mar-
keting E-commerce looking for job.
Contact: 97367321
Indian male 25 age, MBA market-
ing (fresher) PGDM (HR) fl uency
in English, Arabic, Hindi looking
for suitable job currently in Oman
on visit visa. Contact: 97127799
Email: [email protected]
Indian male 26, 4 years experi-
ence in sales and marketing D/L ,
seeking suitable placement.
Contact: 95137733
Email: [email protected]
Purchase experienced 8 years in
Construction Company Indian male
45 yrs, release & D/L available.
Contact: 90268183 / 96987234
Indian male 29 , BHM , 6 years
overall 3 yrs in Oman in sales with
D/L NOC available to join immedi-
ately. Contact: 92594055
Indian male MBA, 8 years experi-
ence in hospitality industry sales
& marketing looking for suitable
job now in visit visa. # 92115860
Indian male, 26 years, B. Pharm
graduate having 3 years experience
in marketing / sales looking for a
suitable job. Contact: 94145992
Email: syedanasmustafa1989@
gmail.com
Indian male, MBA with 8 yrs expe-
rience in sales and marketing with
Omani D/L , NOC available.
Contact: 96746107
Sales Engineer 5 years experi-
ence looking for a placement.
Contact: 91411043
Indian male MBA marketing 2
years Oman experience with valid
Oman driving license looking for
a suitable position NOC available.
Contact: 91202335
Email: [email protected]
Sales Manager having 12 years
experience M.B.A in sales & mar-
keting having valid GCC driving li-
cense seeking suitable placement,
NOC available. Contact: 98125226
Indian male, 25 yrs, 1 year experi-
ence in auditing and 10 month in
sales. Currently on visit visa seek-
ing suitable placement.
Contact 97142538
Indian Male 32, MBA (Marketing &
Finance) with 10 years experience
in Marketing of Banking Products
& Insurance Industry. Seeking for
a Job in Oman. Contact: 93576980,
97750460
Email: [email protected]
Marketing Executive/Merchan-
diser, Omani License, BA 8 years
Experience in Multinational
Groups. Contact 97601343
SKILLED / UNSKILLED
Mason, SH / carpenter, steel fi tter
gulf & Indian exp looking job.
Contact: 95175192
Electrician, plumber (exp gulf / In-
dian) looking job. Contact 95175192
MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR
MEDICAL
MISCELLANEOUS
The Business Development Man-
ager, Iraqi, Experience 15 Years
Inside and outside Oman follow-
ing activities: construction(Very
strong and qualifi ed to bringing
business for civil work Or any
type of the construction work for
many million per year with a good
experience in pricing and collect
payment and cash management of
the company & marketing projects
& investments& tenders & real
estate. Contact: - 92385033
MBA (marketing) with 17 years
experience in freight forwarding/
logistics industry in GCC & Oman.
Presently working as branch
manager in Muscat. Looking for a
suitable position. Release and NOC
available. Contact: 99856331
Manager Finance, M.Com/MBA
-thorough knowledge & more than
20 years of experience with start-up
skills. Group consolidation and audit.
: Bank dealing for corporate credit/
funding.: Ability to handle Group
of companies on professional way.
Contact: 00968-91279373,
20 yrs experienced MEP Manager seeks suitable placement
NOC available. Contact: 97892269
Manager MBA (Finance) 13+ yrs
experience in Oman with knowledge
of fi nance admin purchase logistics
costing looking for suitable position
with D/L. Contact : 93826090
Email: [email protected]
The Business Development Manager, Iraqi, Experience 15
Years Inside and outside Oman
following activities: tenders& real
estate& construction & marketing
projects& investments& trans-
portation & Marine services&
companies management& develop
business. Contact :- 92385033
Indian male with 9 years experi-
ence in business development
looking for suitable placement NOC
available. Contact: 92573230
GP doctor with MOH license and
PDO experience seeks job off er.
Contact-96528807
An experienced Indian male GP
with MOH license and NOC, looking
for good placements in the capital
areas only. Pl contact 96386388
Arabic male general practitioner
with MOH license looking for a
suitable placement in Muscat.
Contact: 95618680
24 years Indian female MSC -
Biotechnology 1 year exp.in clinical
microbiology, worked in ICRISAT
for project work as Trainee, looking
for suitable job. Contact: 92619048
Email: [email protected]
Purchase Offi cer with 8 years exp
in Oman having D/L & NOC looking
for urgently placement. # 96174564
email: [email protected]
Graduate, computer literate, experi-
enced in sales, credit control,
accounts, omani d/l , seeks suitable
placement. Gsm 9880-5474
Indian male, 27 years SAP –
CRM certifi ed associate fresher
P.G (English) having 5 years of
experience in marketing, com-
munication and designing on visit,
seeks suitable placement. Contact:
90196845 Email: joshjk99@gmail.
com Web: www.joshjk.net
Indian male B.SC graduate having
experience of 30 years in inspec-
tion, testify and QA – Industrial
technical textiles and tyre indus-
try. Currently in Oman with visit-
ing visa. Contact: 93375690
B.E Civil (fi rst class) site / project
Engineer with 3 years of experience
in residential building projects Ms.
Offi ce AutoCAD on visit visa valid
till Dec 2nd (week), looking for a
suitable job. Contact: 96692175
Email Id: [email protected]
Indian male B.Com Graduate looking
for job in admin sales or account-
ant with valid Oman driving license
ready to join. Contact: 98093949
Indian female, 26, M.sc biotech-
nology now in family visa seeks
suitable placement. Contact:
95210498/ 99850321/93093466
Omani national with bachelor in
management looking for suitable
placement please call: 91908052 or
Email: [email protected]
Indian male, Msc Electronics, Dip in hardware & networking Engg (Exchange server 2010,
CCNA & MCITP) WITH 2 YRS EXP INCLUDING GCC. Exp in networking, IT support 7 server support. (MCITP Certifi cation id: 9408340) Valid Saudi D/L. Now in Muscat on visit visa,
looking for suitable job. Contact – 96133981
Email: [email protected]
Female executive secretary
with 29 years experience with
fi nanced services & top manage-
ment & valid Omani D/L, seeks
suitable placement. Contact:
96202458/96761960
BE electronics & instrumenta-
tion engineer, with one year of
experience. Looking for suitable
positions. On visit visa.
Contact-99339306, e-mail:
Looking for a part time accounting
& admin job. Contact 99196621.
Indian (Kerala) Male, 32yrs,
looking for a job as Accounts
Assistant/ Cashier/ Salesman
(indoor), having 5 yrs experience
in Oman. Currently on Visit Visa.
Contact-94410485,
Email: [email protected]
DAILY GUIDED6 T H U R S D AY, N O V E M B E R 2 6 , 2 0 1 5
Email: [email protected] classifi [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624
Dolphin Watch, Dhow Cruise with
Buffet, & Land Tours Al- Ainain
Marine Tours contact 98029602,
92808636
TOURS
SITUATION WANTEDCARGO
ABDULHAKIM AL BIMANI TRADING & CONTRACTOR
Expert in Shipping cargo by sea & air to Zanzibar, Pemba, Dar es Salam in Tanzania, Burundi, Th e Philippines,
Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.Reasonable price.
Contact: 97440625/95416662Email: [email protected]
*Classifi ed Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon for next day’s publication. * Subject to space availability
DAILY GUIDET H U R S D AY, N O V E M B E R 2 6 , 2 0 1 5 D7
SITUATION WANTEDSERVICES
A/C maintenance, installation spilt
A.C and maintenance window A/C
and ducted and package the reunites.
Contact: Asad Abbas 98667326
GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet & sofa shampooing,
Contact 99314807/24792998
Debt collection services your
money we collect value com-
mercial services. Fax: 00968-
24783669 Contact: 00968-
2479815 /00968- 24701422
/00968- 94665476 Email:
Carpet Shampoo, marble & tile
polishing, pest control & anti-ter-
mite treatment, general cleaning
painting,Plumbing, Electrical,
shifting. Contact Mundhir
Al-Rizaiqi trading. L.L.C.
Contact: 24810137, 99450130
Window & split unit A.C servicing &
repairing. Contact: 99557080
Split & window unit A.C servicing &
maintenance. Contact: 96236476
House shifting & transporting.
Contact 92490422
MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of
your marble. Contact 24793614/
99314807
Window & split unit A.C ser-
vicing & maintenance. Contact
93769089 / 95323517
Split & window A/c servicing &
maintenance. Contact: 93769089 /
95323517
Cleaning & carpet shampooing, Ocean Center LLC.
Contact: 99884591
Pest control treatments. Ocean Center LLC.
Contact: 99344723
House shifting. Contact:
99657644/98518013
Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles
polishing, carpet shampooing,
maintenance. contact ABU QABAS-
99320217 /24788722
WEBSITE
WEB, ERP and Business Intel-
ligence (BI) creation and manage-
ment at rock bottom price.
Contact: http//webviewoman
CLASSES
IELTS & TOEFL
Academic / General
Target Band 8
TQT Institute.
Ph #
24480800 / 99347202
Classes for bakery, cup cakes, icing
decorations. Contact: 96202458
/96761960
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
COMPUTER
SERVICESWe Provide Cleaners,
Offi ce boys, Cleaning Contracts, General cleaning etc.
Al Mudakhir Nati onal Est. LLC Contact : 94277020
Classes for Spoken EnglishTOEFL / GRE / GMAT / SAT
Excellent Guidance and Coaching Satisfaction Guaranteed
IELTS PREPARATION Target Band 8.0
EAGLES INSTITUTE92325542 | 93657915 | 93657917 | Email: [email protected]
NRI
Plot with three BHK in Calicut
city, Kerala for details.
Contact: 99735584
Available on rent 2 Bedroom fur-
nished fl at in Koregaon Park, Pune
and Maharashtra, India.
Contact: 99374187.
11 Cent land with house for sale,
Ernakulum dist 14 km from airport
Contact: 91101457
2BHK 1100SQMT fl at with 300
SQMT Terrace allotted parking with
luxury amenities for sale in Dona
Paula Panjim Goa Indian price 95
lakes. Contact: 0091-9823674576 /
00968- 97488872
Ayurvedic treatment for joint
pain, backache, paralysis, massage
steambath, obesity, Spondylitis,
Ideal Care Ayurvedic Clinic,
18 November Street Azaiba.
Contact: 99639695 / 98342990
Ayurvedic treatment for backache,
paralysis, arthritis etc & massage,
All Season (Vaidyaratnam).
Contact 24475280 / 95371664 /
92504980
www.siddhayur.com
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
GOOD NEWS
SIT.WANTED
GOOD NEWS
MANPOWER
SITUATION WANT-
ED
BUSINESS
An investor requested in a print-
ing press in Muscat.
Contact: 99498949
MANPOWER Tile Masons, Masons, Electricians, Plumbers, False Ceiling / Gypsum Works and Carpenters required
immediately on Labor supply basis.Interested parti es please contact
GSM: 96775023 / 96775024
TRANSPORTATION
TRANSPORTATION
Muttrah to Bausher. Contact:
99022790/24712088
Transportation. Contact: 96538078
Transportation. Contact 99508282
Transportation. Contact:95190627
MATRIMONIAL
35 years Bombay based Sunni
Muslim divorcee girl (Degree
holder) seeking alliance.
Contact: 92886145
Suitable match for punjabi ,sikh,
ramgharia girl, 1982 born, 5”5”,
bachelor of design.
Contact- 00968 98581868,
Indian male christian 40yrs.
working in muscat.looking for life
partner.divorced or single.
Contact :91429811
Keralite R.C. Boy, 30yrs, 161cm,
MBA (Finance) Working in Oman
seeking suitable alliance. Contact:
92290247 / 97302978
Seeking alliance for our son
from Muslim families. Interested
families Contact: 99889590
MV SALE
Mitsubishi lancer 92 model very
good running condition RE GN up
to 6/11/2016 R.O 500/-.
Contact: 92545269
BMW 318/ 2003 for sale.
Contact 96364990
Ford focus, automatic, 2010
model, silver colour, expat driven,
58000 kms, dealer serviced, regis-
tration till sep 2016, price ro 2750.
Contact- 93207590
Nissan Altima 2.55, 2012
excellent condition agency
maintained. Contact: 97717152
Tucson automatic 2009 model
black color very good conduction
registration up to 2016 price R.O
2950/-. Contact: 98196845
AVAILABLE
Party & Wedding equipment rentals.
Full line, from Tables, Linen & Skirt-
ing, Chairs & Chair covers, Cutlery,
Crockery, Glassware, Chafi ng 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: [email protected]
*Classifi ed Advertisement space booking with text, should be done
till 12.00 noon for next day’s publication. * Subject to space
availability
RENT A CAR
Best Rates for Saloon. Tel: 99826300 / 97869042,
Al farzdaq Al Fedi Trad and Cont
Maintenance services electric,
plumbing and A/C.
Contact: 96524904 /
94285064
A/C Maintenance & servicing,
fridge, washing machine & dish
washer repairing, painting &
cleaning services, electrical &
plumbing. Contact: 99447257
/97014234 / 24504281
DRIVING
Learn driving with professional.
Contact: 94022250
Luxurious villas in a Gated community with all the modern facili�es at
Vakathanam By-Pass (MC road-NH 220)Web: www.royalcastles.inemail: [email protected]
+968 92855909, +91 9961 11 9988
royal castles royal castles vakathanam, kottayamvakathanam, kottayam
Indian Male 33 yrs, BCA ,10 years
experience(India & Oman) IT
Support, System administrator/
supervisor looking for suitable Job.
#95448561.
Indian female accountant 5 years
of experience in accounting tally,
offi ce coordination,And admin, cur-
rently on visit visa. seeking suitable
placement Contact: 95684179
Water proofi ng ABUQABAS-
Contact 99320217/24788722
Transportation available Ruwi to
Al Khuwair, Ghubra & Azaiba.
Contact: 91103909
D8 T H U R S D AY, N O V E M B E R 2 6 , 2 0 1 5
DAILY GUIDEEmail: [email protected] classifi [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624