Dubai Bank Kunooz Account Proves 7 Times Lucky For Emarati Customer

For Rashid Khalifa, an Emarati government employee in his forties, August has proved to be an extremely special month – when he was declared the winner of Dubai Bank’s million dirham draw as a valued Kunooz account holder.

Having won 10,000 dirhams each in six previous draws, Rashid was hoping that he would be lucky one more time, this hope proved well founded when he received a call from Dubai Bank that he had won the million dirham prize.

On this occasion, Rashid, a father of four children who has been a Kunooz Account holder for the last ten months, said, “This is a wonderful moment for me and I am going to use this windfall to invest in my children’s future. I have reinvested the entire million dirhams back into Kunooz as it is a flexible and Shari’a compliant savings account with the promise of winning substantial prizes through daily and monthly draws.”

Tariq Al Farsi, Head of Branches at Dubai Bank, who presented the winning cheque to Mr. Khalifa, said, “Month after month, winners like Mr. Rashid have been the recipients of a million dirhams, transforming their lives forever. The appeal of Kunooz, with its savings potential and the opportunity to generate optimal returns, has grown exponentially among customers across the UAE. The added benefit of channeling their savings in a prudent and Shari’a-compliant manner has also proved to be a big draw for customers.”

Under the Kunooz monthly cash prize promotion, each multiple of AED 1,000 deposited in the Kunooz Account qualifies the customer for multiple entries into the draw for daily cash prizes of AED 30,000. For every multiple of AED 5,000 deposited, account holders become eligible for entry into the monthly grand prize draw of AED 1 million. The programme also offers participants the possibility to win more than once.
 

Dubai Islamic Bank Launches Three New Account Options

In line with its commitment to offering pioneering Sharia-compliant products and services to its customers, Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) announced today the launch of three new account variants to its product portfolio. Tailored to meet the needs of different customer segments, the new accounts – Al Islami 2-in-1 Account, Al Islami Current Account Plus and Al Islami E-Savings Account – represent the bank’s latest addition to its diverse product range.

"Having a customer base of almost a million customers is a source of pride for DIB but presents its own challenges. It means that we need to cater to extremely varied needs of customers representing over 170 nationalities. The launch of these new retail products indicates our focus on fulfilling these customer needs and providing innovative products and services to them,” said Dr. Adnan Chilwan, Chief of Retail and Business Banking, DIB. “We are committed to broadening our product range and to offer compelling value to our customers combined with a great product experience.”

The Al Islami 2-in-1 Account offers the convenience of chequebook and profits in one account, with attractive profit rates that are credited on a quarterly basis. The account also comes with a free Al Islami Debit Card with daily cash withdrawal limit of AED 7,000, in addition to numerous other value added features.

Al Islami Current Account Plus is offered to salaried customers and provides a Current account with the additional benefits of no minimum balance requirement and Al Islami Salary-in-Advance facility, all for a fixed monthly fee.

The Al Islami E-Savings Account has been launched in response to the increased demand for a savings account that can be managed completely online and comes with a low opening balance requirement of AED 1000 only. Customers can earn higher profit rates with this account.

“Innovation remains a key focus at DIB. As part of our 2010 retail strategy, we will continue offering the best and most innovative Sharia-compliant banking solutions to all our customers,” added Dr. Chilwan. “
 

Retail And Commercial Developments Account For 12 Per Cent Of Total Projects In UAE, Says REIDIN.Com

Retail and commercial developments account for approximately 12 per cent of the total number of projects in the UAE, according to reports from Projects Database, a tool that tracks over 16,000 real estate projects across 60 emerging countries. Part of ‘RETAILFocus’, a product of REIDIN.com that delivers an updated database of malls, shopping centres, tenants, projects and retail real estate deals along with retail real estate news and research reports, the report also revealed that the UAE is home to 107 retail facilities including shopping centres, multi-use commercial facilities and regional mall chains. ‘RETAILFocus’ is a product of REIDIN.com, the world’s first and leading global online information services provider.

‘RETAILFocus’ features extensive and interlinked databases of shopping centres, which reveal that UAE-based retail facilities are made up of regional centres and malls (61.11 per cent), shopping centres (25.93 per cent) and multi-use centres (10.19 per cent). Dispersed mostly across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ajman, some of the regional centres and malls include ‘The Dubai Mall’, ‘Marina Mall’, ‘Wafi Mall’, ‘Mega Mall’, and ‘Al Wahda Mall’. The shopping centres include ‘, ‘Sharjah City Centre’, ‘Twin Towers Shopping Centres’, ‘Madinat Zayed Shopping Centre’, and ‘Sahara Centre’; while leading multi-use centres include ‘Mall of the Emirates’, ‘Souk Madinat Jumeirah’, ‘Dragon Mart’, ‘Emirates Towers Boulevard’, ‘Al Khaleej Centre’ and ‘Al Bustan Centre & Residence’.

“The presence of a significant number of retail complexes in the UAE is indicative of its thriving economy especially prior to the onset of the financial crisis. While the country recovers from the effects of the global downturn, these developments continue to attract foreign and domestic tourists and encourage cash flow within the retail sector,” said Ahmet Kayhan, CEO, REIDIN.com. “Our aim is to provide investors, developers, buyers and real estate professionals with a solid foundation upon which they can base their important business decisions, by offering accurate data on retail and commercial developments in the UAE.”

With aims to further enhance the services it provides through ‘RETAILFocus’, REIDIN.com has incorporated new features within the online tool, which will expand the users’ access to more valuable market information. This includes ‘Retail Market Price Data’, which tracks the sales and rental prices across retail sector on a monthly basis; ‘Map Search’ and ‘Proximity Report’, which allow users to find shopping centres more easily and also conduct competitor and location analysis; and ‘Deals’, which tracks relevant retail property deals and links to the malls’ profiles to simplify the monitoring of the development. In addition, ‘Mall Images’ provides an up-to-date photo gallery of listed developments, while ‘Mall Press Release’ keeps the user informed about changes and developments directly from the owners.

“Our growing portfolio of products dedicated to the real estate sector underlines our commitment to the advancement of this industry by way of encouraging transparency across the market and making accurate and relevant information easily available to decision makers. We are continuously investing in developing new products and expanding the coverage of our current offerings, as we anticipate a new era in real estate amidst the positive developments resulting from the current correction phase,” concluded Kayhan.

The fourth property and real estate related product by REIDIN.com, ‘RETAILFocus’ offers valuable market data such as retailer profiles, Gross Leasable Area (GLA), footfall statistics, price data, news, research, upcoming retail projects, owners, developers, and property manager profiles. Other products within REIDIN.com’s portfolio are ‘DUBAIFocus’, an online analytical tool on real estate deals and transactions in Dubai; ‘INDEXFocus’, a tool that enables users to establish house price differentials, conduct property valuations and perform multiple simultaneous market analyses. It also offers ‘REBIS’, a one-stop shop real estate information portal that covers market price data series, news, research, projects, deals and company profiles, legal, and macroeconomic data series fully archived and searchable powered by customisation, analytical and charting tools, in emerging markets.