Lebanese President Emile Lahud presented the national medal of cedar (Grade Knight) to Saudi German Hospitals Group CEO Sobhi Batterjee at the presidential palace in Beirut recently. Batterjee was nominated for the award for his contribution to community services in the Arab world, especially the group’s latest project in Sanaa. Under Batterjee’s leadership, the group is recognized as a leader in health care. The group plans to construct and operate 30 world class hospitals and create 50,000 jobs by 2015. So far, five of the hospitals are in operation across the Kingdom and Yemen, while more than 12 other hospital projects are under construction in the Kingdom, Egypt, Ethiopia and Dubai aside from nonprofit hospitals in Kashmir and Africa. “Delivering reliable, affordable, quality medical care is our mission,” Batterjee said.
INTERPIPE
Leading steel company Interpipe has commenced the upgrade of its finishing lines at the Interpipe Niko Tube facility in Ukraine as part of its ongoing program of investment in its production facilities. This investment will involve the replacement of existing finishing lines with two higher productivity lines that will be equipped with state-of-the-art NDT units. Andrey Korotkov, Interpipe director for production and investments, said: “Interpipe has designated the increase of pipe production at the Interpipe Niko Tube mill as a key part of its overall business development program. Investment in new finishing lines is crucial to be able to deliver this upswing in productivity, and this investment will increase the production levels of finishing lines at the mill to 525,000 tons per year.” The first line is scheduled to launch in October 2008, followed by a second one in December. Austrian company LINSINGER, German companies REIKA and FOERSTER, and Czech Republic’s PRESTAR company were selected as the suppliers of equipment for the project.
AGA
AGA glided up the charts at Jordan Advertising Awards (JAA) 2007 as one of the most-awarded agencies. At the recently held JAA, this 10-year old agency competed against the “big names” and repeatedly struck gold, silver and bronze across various categories in print, outdoor, radio and BTL, winning 22 prizes. Part of the ever-expanding AGA network, AGA Profess Graphics walked away with a total of 22 trophies including overall winner in the radio category and stood third at the end of the night, in terms of award wins. A packed ballroom at the Grand Hyatt happily sung along to every line from AGA Profess Graphics’ radio spots. And cheered on every print ad, BTL work and outdoor that was displayed. The management expressed their profound happiness for this remarkable achievement, which clearly highlighted the creative talent of the agency and reflected a high level of commitment from staff members to the growth of the agency and most importantly, client satisfaction. The JAA is an annual event that aims to measure the level of development in the advertising industry and honor competition among advertising agencies in Jordan. This event is usually organized by local and regional organizers and judged by a combination of local, regional and international jury members while the participants are all from Jordan. Established in 1997, AGA is a full service, total communications network providing innovative and effective advertising and marketing solutions.
ICD
The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) hosted a dinner on Monday to bid farewell to Dr. Ali Abdul Aziz Soliman, who has been its CEO and general manager for six years. The event was attended by senior staff of the Islamic Development Bank including its President Dr. Ahmad Mohammad Ali, who is also the chairman of ICD’s board of directors, members of the ICD board, Khaled Al-Aboodi, deputy general manager of ICD, the ICD staff, the diplomatic corps in Jeddah, several local and foreign clients of ICD and prominent businessmen from Saudi Arabia and other regional countries notably Yemen. Also present at the event were Saudi German Hospitals Group CEO Sobhi Batterjee, Shaikh Solaiman El-Khereiji and Shaikh Hameed Al-Ahmar from Yemen. Dr. Soliman was congratulated by Dr. Ahmad Ali on his achievements during the past six years considering the difficulty of establishing and consolidating a new entity. Dr. Soliman thanked the board and staff of ICD for support and highlighted the role and tremendous growth of ICD in a short time. Several businessmen also paid tributes to the contribution of Dr. Soliman and the ICD to the private sector.
JAC
Juffali Automotive Company (JAC), the sole dealer of Mercedes-Benz cars in Saudi Arabia, launched a “unique and pioneering” campaign for Ramadan that links the prestigious Mercedes-Benz brand with an enduring Saudi symbol — the thobe. The campaign offers Juffali’s clients and new buyers of Mercedes-Benz cars the opportunity to select their thobes from a collection, designed exclusively by Lomar, for the company. Lomar has named the style of each thobe in the collection after Mercedes-Benz cars such as Maybach, SLR, Classic, Vanguard and Elegance. Safi Kobeissi, general manager of Juffali Automotive Company, said: “We have chosen ‘Lomar’ for this special assignment in view of its outstanding reputation among a large number of users of men’s thobes, which is the traditional costume in Saudi Arabia. Lomar offers high-quality material as well as unique and unparalleled designs, making it the premium thobe designer and manufacturer in the country today.” Loai Nasim, chairman of Lomar Co., said: “We are delighted to cooperate with such an incredible brand — Mercedes-Benz’s name is synonymous with luxury and comfort and we are proud to offer thobes that carry names of such distinctive cars, produced by the renowned German company.”
ESTEE LAUDER
The Estee Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign is preparing for a showdown in the battle against breast cancer this fall and has its sights set on one goal — to “Win the Fight on Breast Cancer.” Around the world and including Dubai in October, the company will host a series of high-profile events, sell gorgeous pink beauty products, illuminate hundreds of famous landmarks in pink lights and engage corporate partners, government officials, celebrities and the media to spread its lifesaving message about the need for early detection of breast cancer and to raise funds for coordinated research for prevention and a cure for breast cancer. “Pink illuminations of these amazing landmarks will clearly be the most publicly visible display of our campaign,” said Didier Picard, VP and GM, Estee Lauder Middle East. “The new campaign will be featured at our brands’ counters across the Middle East and around the world beginning of October. Most of all, our iconic pink ribbons will be available and we encourage everyone to wear them this month and buy pink products.” Estee Lauder Middle East has also tied up with several corporations and key people in the health community to conduct high profile awareness and charitable activities throughout the month.
AJMAL PERFUMES
Ajmal, the leading perfume house in the Middle East, has launched a new fragrance. The latest perfume is named Mawsouf, meaning “to describe” in Arabic, and “demonstrates yet again Ajmal’s commitment to creating unique and innovative fragrances.” With a combination of traditional ingredients such as Dahn Al-Oudh, with the warm, sensual notes of vanilla and amber and a delicate flowery scent from rose, Mawsouf is perfect for classy mature men and women. It offers a modernized interpretation of classic elegance and appeals to people with refined tastes and a sophisticated understanding of oriental fragrances. Mawsouf is also for the individual with a strong character who wishes to make a statement. It is an oriental concentrate that is characterized by a spicy and woody base, with a heart of warm amber scents, and spicy top notes. It is available in 18ml bottles and can be found in all Ajmal showrooms as well as selected outlets across the region.
