DIB Unveils Sharia-Compliant Asia Pacific Equity Fund, Offering Access To A High-Growth Region

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Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) unveiled today a new opportunity for regional investors to participate in the rapidly growing economy of Asia. The Prudential Shariah Opportunities – Asia Pacific Equity Fund (the Fund), endeavors to provide medium to long-term capital appreciation by investing in Sharia-compliant companies within the Asia Pacific region (excluding Japan).

Capitalising on the sustained economic growth and increasing wealth across the APAC region, the Fund is offered by Prudential Asset Management Limited, based at DIFC. The Fund will seek to invest in Sharia-compliant companies in the APAC region, excluding Japan.

Benchmarked against the Dow Jones Islamic Market Asia Pacific ex-Japan Index, participation in the Fund allows investors to gain exposure across a range of growth countries and industries through a single platform.

Dr. Adnan Chilwan, Deputy CEO – Chief of Consumer and Wholesale Banking, Dubai Islamic Bank, said: “The Asia Pacific region has emerged as an anchor for the global economic recovery and, driven by consumption and investment, is poised for further growth. This new product is in line with DIB’s commitment to introduce pioneering, high quality financial products. It is designed for our valued high net worth customers who understand the opportunities presented by the Asia Pacific equities markets, and would like to capitalise on the same.”

According to estimates by brokerage firm Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia, Asia’s rapidly expanding middle-class population is forecast to reach the 1 billion mark by 2015. Meanwhile, Asian consumer spending is estimated to grow from US$4.3 trillion in 2008 to US$32 trillion by 2030, representing roughly 43 per cent of global consumption.

The pace of urbanisation in Asia-Pacific is unparalleled by any other region in the world. The United Nations estimates that the population of Asian cities is expected to increase from 1.8 billion in 2010 to a staggering 3.4 billion in 2050, creating massive infrastructure investment opportunities for the private sector.

The Prudential Shariah Opportunities – Asia Pacific Equity Fund offers lucrative access to the growth story of Asia Pacific, including but not limited to many of the companies that will be supporting the APAC region’s increasing prosperity in the years to come.
 

Emirates Takes Its Premium Onboard Offering To Greater Heights

Reinforcing its commitment to providing the best onboard experience to its customers, Emirates (www.emirates.com) has unveiled a new range of products in its premium cabins.

Customers in First Class and Business Class can look forward a new range of white Royal Doulton fine bone china, whose delicate relief pattern and subtle simplicity provides the ideal backdrop to showcase the diversity of Emirates’ extensive menu. The redefined dining experience also includes the introduction of elegant Robert Welsh cutlery which adds to the contemporary and high-quality dining experience onboard.

“We are constantly seeking new ways to not only delight, but also surpass the high expectations of our discerning customers. By taking a fine dining experience they may have had as a benchmark, we at Emirates continue to innovate and raise the bar,” said Terry Daly, Divisional Senior Vice President, Service Delivery – Emirates. “Redefining not just our onboard product, but also the complete customer service experience is the result of painstaking attention to detail and extensive planning.”

The new service extends beyond the launch of new products, and resonates through the onboard dining philosophy to also include the exclusive introduction to the First Class dining range, such as stylish charger plates that are present in many leading restaurants, new salad and soup bowls, coffee mugs and teacups, as well as the introduction of soup dishes to the Business Class menu. In addition, approximately 5,000 cabin crew including Pursers, Senior Flight Stewards, and crew who operate in Business Class have been through an intensive training programme aimed at familiarizing the crew with not only the new product range, but also the new service philosophy.

The new service and range of cutlery, crockery and other products in premium cabins launched across all flights in Emirates’ main fleet in July, and will launch across the Airbus A380 fleet from 1st August, 2011. Additionally, passengers who travel on Emirates First Class and Business Class not only have the opportunity to enjoy the new service, but also experience some of Dubai’s leading hotels such as The Armani Hotel, Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, The Address Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel – where passengers, flying to and via Dubai, are offered complimentary hotel stays and 96-hour transfer visas. To take advantage of this great offer, passengers must complete their journey entirely in either Emirates First Class or Business class, between 1 August and 30 September, 2011 and book before 31 July 2011.
 

The Dubai Mall, Downtown Dubai Hosts Month-Long ‘Electronics Promotion’ Offering An Array Of Prizes

The Dubai Mall, Downtown Dubai, the world’s largest shopping and entertainment destination, will host a month-long promotion dedicated to electronics. All electronic retailers are participating in the promotion to be held through May offering an array of prizes for lucky winners.

Shoppers who spend AED 200 at any of the electronics retailers will receive a raffle coupon from the Guest Services to enter the draw. Weekly prizes at the draws to be held on May 8, 15 and 22 include an LED 38”, Blu Ray Player and Home Theatre System. The grand prize, to be drawn on June 1, 2011 is an AED 50,000 gift voucher from Panasonic.

Drawing on its huge popularity in the social media circle, The Dubai Mall will also run exclusive online competitions for its Twitter (www.twitter.com/TheDubaiMall) followers and Facebook (www.facebook.com/TheDubaiMall) fans.

A highlight of the social media campaign is a ‘Tag’ competition, whereby fans and followers are requested to visit the participating retailer to identify the tagged product and write about it on the social media network. Every week one lucky winner will be awarded a gift voucher worth AED 5,000 from Panasonic.

Nasser Rafi, Chief Executive Officer at Emaar Malls Group said: “The Dubai Mall has established its credentials as the most popular shopping and entertainment destination having hosted over 13.5 million visitors in the first quarter of this year, and over 47 million visitors in 2010. The mall has a strong portfolio of electronic retailers, and this dedicated promotion on electronics items will further add value to the customer experience of our mall visitors. As a leader in social media in the region amongst malls, we are also leveraging our presence by offering our Twitter followers and Facebook fans a unique opportunity to be part of the promotion.”

The electronics retailers at the mall offer the entire spectrum of electronics – from the most modern gadgets to the essentials, representing all leading global brands. Located in the heart of Downtown Dubai, described as ‘The Centre of Now,’ The Dubai Mall has 1,200 retail outlets, several of them flagship stores or Middle East debuts of global brands, and 160 F&B outlets.

Visitors at the mall can also enjoy the leisure assets including Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo with over 33,000 aquatic animals and the world’s largest acrylic viewing panel; the Olympic-sized Dubai Ice Rink; the Middle East’s first of its kind SEGA Republic theme park; the region’s first KidZania® children’s edutainment centre and Dubai’s largest megaplex, the 22-screen Reel Cinemas.

The Dubai Mall also offers exclusive access to At the Top, Burj Khalifa, the world’s highest observatory deck with an outdoor terrace in the world’s tallest building. The Dubai Mall’s waterfront promenade opens to spectacular views of The Dubai Fountain, the world’s tallest performing fountain.
 

University Of Dubais Center For Management Professional Development Offering Groundbreaking Programs

The Center for Management & Professional Development (CMPD) at the University of Dubai (UD) has been accredited by the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment, (CISI) UK as a training provider for its range of CISI qualifications.

Formed as a not-for-profit membership body out of the London Stock Exchange in 1992, CISI is a leading global professional organization for individuals working in the securities and investment industry. International Certificate in Investment Management, International Certificate in Wealth Management, Islamic Finance Qualifications, International Introduction to Investment, UAE Financial Rules and regulations and Risk in Financial Services are the few CISI qualifications that CMPD is launching in February this year.

These qualifications are not only suitable for investment bankers, fund managers, portfolio wealth and relationship managers, financial advisers, stock brokers, but also for administration, operations, sales and customer service staff working in banks and financial institutions. These qualifications are delivered in the evenings or during weekends providing a convenient option for working professionals to enhance skills and advance their career.

Dr Omar Hefni, UD President, said: “The CISI qualifications are becoming increasingly popular throughout the Middle East as regulators are seeking to raise the skills of financial services industry practitioners by developing mandatory, qualification led licensing regimes and regulatory examinations. The Securities & Commodities Authority (SCA) which regulates the securities and investment market in UAE have partnered with CISI to develop the UAE financial rules and regulations and require candidates to pass defined set of CISI exams to be able to work in certain job functions.

Both SCA and Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) which regulates firms operating in the Dubai International Financial Center recognize that increased competence amongst market practitioners inspires investor confidence and appropriate qualifications and membership of a professional body are tangible ways of demonstrating proven ability.”

Thus the university has provided local students a dynamic forum to study under top professionals helping them develop and advance their careers by acquiring skills that drive business performance. As benchmark qualifications, these courses will raise the skills of UAE workforce to global standards and promote best business practices thus enhancing UAE’s stature as the hub of international financial services.

Focusing on ‘real world’ and ‘applied learning’ the professional programs taught at the centre have transformed the lives of over 2,500 individuals in the UAE, many of whom have moved on and are now holding senior positions in their organizations and making significant contributions in the realms of business.

Dr Hefni concluded: “Our highly professional faculty aims to foster a learning environment which is both challenging and rewarding, designed to develop skills and capabilities through the powerful combination of expert class instruction and peer interaction. In addition to using faculty members from the university, practitioners who have experience in establishing and executing best practices in the business world are invited to provide input to our programs, which allows participants to put theory into context.”
 

Seventh Dubai International Film Festival Opens Today Offering Audiences Glamour, Glitz And Best Of World Cinema

Dubai will once again roll out the red carpet for the world’s luminaries in cinema to mark the opening of the seventh edition of the Dubai International Film Festival. Billed as ’the most exciting and accessible DIFF ever,’ the eight-day feast of world cinema includes a line-up of 157 films from 57 countries from South America to South Korea, a robust competition segment, a thriving film market and greater public interaction than ever before.

The Sunday night opening of the leading and largest film festival of its kind in the Arab world, Asia and Africa will be marked by a glittering red carpet event at the Madinat Jumeirah to be headlined by British actor Colin Firth, the star of The King’s Speech. Fresh from significant awards sweeps in Toronto and Britain, the Oscar favourite also stars Geoffrey Rush, Guy Pearce, and Helena Bonham Carter.

In a significant first, audiences across Dubai will be able to watch the glitz and glamour of the red carpet as well as the opening film live and for free at DIFF’s newest outdoor venue, The Walk at JBR. The venue will also host the Festival’s popular Rhythm & Reels segment, featuring music-linked films and a series of open-air concerts featuring Rima Khcheich, Massar Egbari, Y-Crew and a mariachi group flown in from Mexico. The beachfront venue is open from 6pm.

Subsequent red carpet events over the next week include the Arabian gala screening of Six, Seven, Eight, one of the most anticipated films from Egyptian cinema; the controversial Egyptian love story Cairo Exit from the DIFF Cultural Bridge segment; the Polish film Tomorrow Will Be Better from the festival’s Cinema of the World programme; The Nutcracker in 3-D from its Cinema for Children segment; Emirati short The Philosopher from its Muhr competition; and Chinese martial arts extravaganza Reign of Assassins from the Festival’s Cinema of AsiaAfrica slate.

Abdulhamid Juma, Chairman of the Dubai International Film Festival, said: "The DIFF team has spent the last 357 days planning the opening night and the following week, and we are very proud of what we have been able to achieve. The seventh edition of the Dubai International Film Festival will be extra special not only for the powerful showcase of movies from around the world and impressive talent line-up of globally acclaimed actors and directors, but also for the largest selections of quality, contemporary Arab cinema anywhere in the world."

This is a compelling testament to the success of the Festival in building the definitive space for Arab talent, providing a platform for them to achieve their ambitions and also giving them the opportunity to stand tall alongside their international counterparts."

The Festival’s standout Arab films, representing the length and breadth of the Arab world from Iraq to Morocco, are primarily distributed among its in-competition Muhr Arab and Muhr Emirati Awards segment and its out-of-competition Arabian Nights and Gulf Voices segments. All screenings are open to the public.

The Festival also features the best of cinema from Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe and Australia, including 41 world premieres and 13 international premieres. Every genre, from thriller to comedy, drama to documentary, is included.

Masoud Amralla Al Ali, DIFF’s Artistic Director, said: "I believe that our programming this year not only offers something for everyone, it also offers new, very interesting, unusual and surprising films. If I could choose one word to describe our 2010 programme, it would be "discovery." We have discoveries of new talents, new styles and new collaborations."

DIFF has also created a series of new box office packages to help filmgoers identify films of interest, and debuted new public-friendly features include a redesigned and fully interactive website, a free new mobile application that provides up-to-the-minute information on the Festival including schedules, news, and the ability to purchase tickets for screenings, and up-to-the-minute coverage of the Festival on YouTube, enabled by Zayed University.

From the Arab world, celebrity guests include Khaled Abol Naga, Menna Shalab, Bushra, Nelly Kareem, Majed Kidwany, Saba Mubarak, Mohammed Qabbani, Ayman Zeidan, Samar Sami, Marah Jabr, Fares Al Helo, Nabil Toume, Mohammed Ramadan, Maryhan, Sanaa Muzian, Hala Sarhan, Sherine Adel, Raghda and Rima Khcheich.

GCC stars Khaled Amen, Khaled AlBreki, Dawood Hussein, Shojoon AlHajri, Lamia Tareq, Maraam AlBlooshi, Hind AlBlooshi, Elham Alfadalla, Ali Algreer, Haifa Hussain Yousif, Shahed Alyaseen, Ahmed Al Jasmi, Habeb Gholom, Mare’e Al Halyan, Jamal Salem, Juma Al Leem, Ahmed Alansari, Abed Almhasan Alnmr, Naseer Al Qassbi, Najwa Alqbesi, Abdul Aziz Jassim Al Jassim, and Buthayna Alraesy will also make an appearance.

Hollywood, Asia, and Africa, stars expected to grace the carpet this week include Colin Farrell, Ed Harris, Jean Reno, Andrey Konchalovskiy, Julia Vysotskaya, Kelly Brook, Emma Caulfield, Maya Sansa, Carey Mulligan, Beau Garrett, Jim Sturgess, Peter Weir, Karan Johar, Johnnie To, and Aparna Sen.

DIFF’s will honour Lifetime Achievement Honouree from Africa, Souleymane Cisse, Hollywood A-lister Sean Penn, and Arab icon Sabah with Lifetime Achievement Awards this year.

DIFF 2010 box office locations are: Cinestar Mall of the Emirates, Madinat Souk, the CNN Building in Dubai Media City and The Walk at JBR. Tickets can also be purchased through DIFF’s Dial-a-Ticket service at (04) 391 3378 and from the website www.dubaifilmfest.com.

The seventh edition of Dubai International Film Festival 2010 is held in association with Dubai Studio City. Dubai Duty Free, Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai Pearl, Emirates Airline and Madinat Jumeirah, the home of the Dubai International Film Festival, are the principal sponsors of DIFF. The event is supported by the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority.

For more and updated information about DIFF, please visit www.dubaifilmfest.com

Emirates Offering Packages For AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 Football Tournament

For football fans who missed the FIFA 2010 World Cup or those who just cannot get enough of the “beautiful game,” Emirates is offering competitively priced packages for the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011.

The tournament, which takes place in Doha from 7th to 29th January 2011, will see 16 of Asia’s top national teams compete for the AFC Asian Cup 2011, including the United Arab Emirates, as well as Korea Republic, Japan and Australia, who played in the FIFA 2010 World Cup tournament.

“Qatar is set to host the AFC Asian Cup 2011, with new facilities and world class stadia, and this will no doubt be a tournament to remember. To enable fans to attend these exciting matches, combined with a stay in Doha, we have put together packages to suit all budgets,” said Russell Sheldon, Senior Vice President Network Passenger Sales Development, Emirates Airline. “The packages have been designed so that football fans living in the UAE and the rest of the Gulf region can fly to Doha, watch their favourite team play, and fly back the next morning,”

Packages can be purchased through travel agents and Emirates offices worldwide, and include a choice of hotels, as well as a match ticket. Participating hotels in Doha are La Villa Palace, Ayana Golden Coast Hotel, Movenpick Hotel and Ritz Carlton Hotel.

All passengers, regardless of airfare or class of travel, can purchase the packages. All taxes and service charges are included in the prices.

For bookings or more information, visit http://www.emirates.com/english/destinations_offers/special_offers/afc_asian_cup_2011/packages_with_emirates.aspx

 

Blanchard Dubai  Housing Dreams. Now Offering An Integrated One Stop Shop!

For over fifteen years in London and four years in Dubai, the name Blanchard has been synonymous with elegant, timeless, as well as practical, residential interiors. Blanchard now offers, in addition to its mainstay interior architectural consultancy, an integrated one stop shop service which allows its clientele to tailor-make villas which wholly house their dreams. Individual homes in the UAE should benefit from being designed using holistic principles from the ground-up!

If clients’ visions of their dream interiors can be married to a thoughtful relationship with the architecture of the building, homes can be created which satisfy all of the clients’ lifestyle aspirations. To this end, Blanchard has expanded the scope of services of its boutique design studio over the past two years by adding the required architectural and technical expertise to its in-house team. Their designs are all unique and tailor-made to each client’s taste, allowing Blanchard to distinguish itself from that of its competitors.

Whether by design from the ground-up or through amendments to an existing building or space, Blanchard’s team delivers their work across the market with a consistently high standard of service. In addition to their prestigious local and expatriate clientele for villa projects in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Ras Al Khaimah, Blanchard can also name Emaar and Mubadala / Capitaland as satisfied clients.

Blanchard welcomes you to use the experience of one of the leading residential design specialists in the region for life-enhancing designs, inside and out!
 

Christies October Sale In Dubai Features Rich Offering Of Works From Around The Middle East Turkey

Christie’s October 26th, 2010 Dubai sale of Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art is blessed with a rich offering of works reflecting the emergence of the Iranian Modern Art movement, a further selection of works from the renowned Farsi Collection, one of the most comprehensive groups of modern Egyptian art in private hands and a diverse range of 20 works from modern and contemporary Turkish artists.

Michael Jeha, Managing Director of Christie’s Dubai, said: “We are delighted to have been entrusted with the great private collection of Egyptian art which has in turn attracted a wealth of individual collectors, from 15 different countries, to consign other significant works to this, our ninth sale series in the Middle East. I believe this is one of Christie’s richest sale yet in terms of its diversity and rarity.” (Separate press releases are available for the Farsi Collection and the Turkish works).

The Farsi Collection
Dr. Farsi’s private collection is recognized as the most comprehensive group of modern Egyptian art in private hands. The group of 30 works to be offered at Christie’s in Dubai includes paintings representing many of Egypt’s most famous 20th century artists such as
Mahmoud Said, Ragheb Ayad, Abul Hadi El-Gazzar, Hamed Nada, Seif and Adham Wanly, and Adam Henein, for which new world auction records have been established earlier this year in Dubai.

Lebanese Art
Chafic Abboud (1926-2004) is represented by three works from the studio of the artist which include an oil on canvas painted in 1992, Premiers Gestes (estimate: $70,000-100,000 lot 32) and Untitled (estimate: $60,000-80,000 lot 34). Six works are also offered in the sale the proceeds of which are to benefit the forthcoming Shafic Abboud Retrospective at the Institut du Monde Arabe, in Paris, in 2011. With a combined estimate of $130,000, the six works include three by Abboud and one by fellow Lebanese artist Hussein Madi.

Two works by Paul Guiragossian (1926-1993), dominate this section of the sale; La Foule, 1987, exhibited earlier this year in Beirut, is reminiscent of the warm exotic tones used by Fauve artists and shows a feize-like group of women standing in line facing the viewer and reflecting Guiragossian’s preoccupation with women and motherhood, (estimate: 100,000-130,000 lot 38). His Claire Obscure (shown here) also painted in 1987 but with fewer figures and painted in thick strokes and larger blocks of colour is rare to find among the artist’s work and is a technique reserved for his most monumental compositions. Nothing similar has been sold at auction before and it is estimated at $100,000 – 130,000 (lot 39).

Turkish Art
The highlight of this section of the sale is Fahrelnissa Zeid’s (Turkish / Jordanian 1900-1991) exuberant Dervishes, painted circa 1950s. As a young aristocratic woman, Zeid, lived in Paris joining the so-called Ecole de Paris group of artists in the 1940s. She later married into the Jordanian Royal Family. The whirling dance depicted here is a Sufi tradition where the goal is to reach Majbhd, a sacred ecstasy. The dervishes wear their traditional white whirling skirts and distinctive tall hats and the work is estimated at $80,000-100,000 (lot 31). A panoramic view of Istanbul by Devrim Erbil (b.1937) inspired by the jewel-like illustrations of the city by the 16th century Turkish artist Matrakci Nasuh, is estimated at $70,000-90,000 (lot 108). (A separate press release is available on Turkish Art.)

Syrian Art
Eight works by Fateh Moudarres (1922-1999) include Untitled from circa 1970 (estimate: $140,000-180,000 – lot 40). The striped painting is reminiscent of the walls of the Mamluk buildings in Damascus with its alternate strips of black and paler stone merged onto the bodies of the figures in the crowd. It also features Moudarres’ childhood nightmare figure of a ravenous dog which he referred to as ‘the Beast’ and used in his paintings after the war of 1967. Another highlight is a view of Maaloula by Louay Kayyali (1934-1978), depicting a tiny village to the northeast of Damascus, built into the rugged hillside at high altitude. Maaloula from the Arabic word meaning ‘entrance’ is the only place where the western dialect of Aramaic, the language of Christ, is still spoken. All students of Fine Art at Damascus University, where Fateh Moudaress and Louay Kayyali both taught, are required to paint in Maaloula and therefore it is unsurprising that both artists used the village as a subject for many of their paintings. The example in the sale is a rare and spectacular version from the 1960s and is estimated at $50,000-70,000 – lot 92. Kayyali’s Ice Cream Seller, painted in 1972, is also included in the sale with an estimate of $90,000- 120,000 (lot 90). There are also eight works by Syrian artists from an Italian private collection.

Iranian Art
Aside from the private collection mentioned above, the highlight of the sale is a large oil on canvas triptych by the leading Iranian artist Mohammed Ehsai (b. 1939). Entitled Banquet (lot 79 – illustrated page 1) and painted in 2009, the monochrome black and white design reflects his fascination with calligraphy and is estimated at $350,000-500,000.

Farhad Moshiri’s (b. 1963), Love, (shown here) a rare example from early in his Jars series, shows a jar inscribed with Eshgh the Arabic word for Love. By folding and crushing the canvas Moshiri mimicks the cracquelure effect of traditional earthenware pots (estimate: $150,000-250,000 – lot 71). Moshiri’s Mobile Talker, from his Candy Store series and painted in 2007 shows a fashionable young woman in a headscarf holding her ‘phone, the outline of her face, features and hands traced in blobs of glitter all superimposed onto a multi-tiered cake. This saccharine, artificial image plays to Moshiri’s interest in the new media-savvy generation of young Iranians, his love of Pop Art and issues of consumerism (estimate: $120,000-180,000 – lot 106).

Untitled, one of only ten or twelve abstract works by Sohrab Sepehri (1928-1980), painted in 1970 with primary coloured lines and shapes set against a dark background carries an estimate of $200,000-300,000 (lot 80). It was exhibited last year in a retrospective of the artist’s work at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art. An unnerving oil on canvas by Afshin Pirhashemi (b. 1974) Seduction, (shown here) painted this year, shows six women dressed in black robes advancing towards the viewer holding swords and pistols, each applying bright red lipstick??. Exploring the complexities of life in today’s Iran, it is estimated at $80,000-120,000 (lot 81). Kambiz Sabri’s (b.1967) Red Dive from 2008 is a red Toshiba television with a collection of red plastic toys attached, estimate $7,000- 10,000 (lot 114).

Others Iranian artists represented in sale include Reza Aramesh, Farzan Sadjadi, Alireza Fani, and Shahriar Ahmadi.
 

Empower Launches World-Class Customer Service Center Offering Integrated Services

Emirates Central Cooling Corporation (Empower) has launched a world class customer service center that provides customers with integrated services to cater to the demands of customers growing at the rate of 60 percent annually.

Designed to provide quality and efficient services, the new center reflects the company’s commitment to enhance customer support.

Empower’s customer base included individual customers as well as large businesses, including projects in Dubai International Financial Center, Dubai Healthcare City, Jumeirah Beach Residence and Business Bay.

Ahmed Bin Shafar, CEO, Empower, said: “Customers are the backbone of our operations as we believe customer satisfaction is the key to business success. As dedicated providers of district cooling services not only in the UAE but also in the region, we aspire to deliver satisfaction through a group of professionals backed with the knowledge and technical expertise. We offer our clients an experience rather than a service.”

The customer service center reflects the core values of Empower and it reinforces its position on the global front as an organization that delivers efficient service. The system is designed to manage customers’ queries through increased efficiency and productivity.

A dedicated team of Empower will be on hand at all times to serve customers in registration, bill payment, final bill and general enquiries.

Bin Shafar added: “Our customer base rose by 60 % in 2010. This is why we launched this center as the number of customers has increased dramatically. Customers of Dubai International Financial Center, Dubai Healthcare City, Jumeirah Beach Residence and Business Bay can avail of this service.”

This is the third customer service center for Empower, after Business Bay and Jumeirah Beach Residence, which are only dedicated to bill payments. The customer servicing center timings will be from 9 am to 2 pm in Ramadan and from 7:30 am to 3:30 am thereafter.

The Dubai based company believes that district cooling technology achieves optimal results not only to customers but also to the society at a socio-economic level through diminishing the electricity and water consumption thus conserving the environmental resources of the Emirate of Dubai.

Empower’s district cooling systems (DCS) provide effective and efficient means of air conditioning. Water is cooled in central plants and distributed through a network of piping systems to individual customer buildings. Empower which is a joint venture between Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and TECOM Investments has world class work stations being built on various locations in the Emirate of Dubai.
 

du Enhances Business Mobile Offering With Launch Of 1st Ever Smart Business Plan In UAE

As part of its efforts to transform business communications solutions in the UAE, du today announced the launch of its innovative new ‘Smart Business Plan’, a business mobile plan which brings the latest Windows® handsets with bundled benefits including unlimited internet and email.

“Data has become a vital ingredient for the running of any business, and with today’s increasingly mobile lifestyle, professionals need to be provided with more flexibility and accessibility of data even on the move. Therefore, we are pleased to introduce to our business customers the latest ‘Smart Business Plan’, which provides the benefits of unlimited internet and email, freedom to call anywhere in the world for as little as AED 1 per minute, and the latest windows phones, along with all the benefits of Business Super Plan and Premier Plan,” commented Farid Faraidooni, Chief Commercial Officer, du.

Business customers under Smart Business Plan can choose from a range of latest Windows® phone, bundled with unlimited internet and email, national and international minutes and more, starting as low as AED 350 per month. Also, business customers can now enjoy one unified and attractive rate of AED 1 per 50KB for data usage outside the UAE, anytime, anywhere

Business customers under Smart Business Plan get a Windows® phone starting from AED 199 and enjoy features such as e-mail, text messaging, instant messaging, and access to the web, mobile applications, calendar and contacts, and complete Windows synchronization with the latest 6.5 mobile operating system from Microsoft.