Job Opportunities Exploding in UAE and Other Gulf States

Sanjay Modi, Managing Director of Monster.com

Over the course of the past year available jobs as listed on the internet has soared in the UAE by 33 percent. The figure, which was announced by the monthly Monster Employment Index, is based on online job posting activity which the index tracks in 12 leading industry sectors in the six GGC countries and in Egypt.

June’s Monster Index shows that the UAE leads the rest in the increase in online job postings over the past twelve months, while Kuwait followed closely with a 30 percent increase in job opportunities from June 2011 until June 2012. Qatar was tracked with a 23 percent gain.

Overall the increase was even more impressive, growing by an incredible 39 percent annually. Only Saudi Arabia did not grow in the double digits, expanding by only 2 percent for the year in its online job opportunities.

In Egypt job openings posted online surged by 15 percent, while in Bahrain and Oman online job listings increased by 18 and 20 percent respectively.

Xpress Money Offering Lower Fees to Expat Indians

Xpress Money Offering Flat Fee to Expat Indians in Oman

In honor of the festive month of Ramadan, Xpress Money, a company that facilitates cash transfers overseas, will be lowering their service fee to the flat amount of 1.70 Omani Rial ($4.40) for transfers of any denomination made to India during the Holy month.

Xpress Money is one of the world’s fastest growing cash transfer service companies, and this new flat fee is considered to be the most competitive among the other remittance service providers in Oman.

"The Holy Month of Ramadan is very special to us and we are happy to launch this special promotion which will be of great value to our customers. This initiative falls in line with our commitment to provide affordable and easily accessible money transfer services" said Mr. Sudhesh Giriyan, the chief of Xpress Money.

"India is a critical market for us. Apart from being one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, it is also the largest 'receive' market globally, with inward remittances upwards of USD 64 billion in 2011. Since it is such a high volume market, we are tapping into the efficiencies of scale that our extensive networks in Oman and India can generate and passing on the savings to our customers" Giriyan added.

Omantel Introduces 4G Service at Sultan Qaboos University

Amer al Rawas, CEO of Omantel

Omantel’s CEO Dr. Amer al Rawas said that the climax of their 500 million Omani riyal investment (1.3 billion USD) is the latest telecommunication service, 4G LTE.

For now the 4G service will only be available at SQU and certain places in Muscat, Buraimi and Khasab only, at least of the time being. Al Rawas explained that Omantel did studies which showed that there was high demand for 3.5G services in just those places.

Admitting that there are some problems which operators may face with compatible frequencies, al Rawas said “The government has announced allocation of 15 million riyals to resolve the frequency problems.”

“We have set up 50 stations for the 4G services and plan to increase to 200 stations in future,” the CEO said.
The company first tried the 4G network at SQU.

“The traffic at SQU is high for 3.5G as students use it for gaming as well as for their study use,” al Rawas said. He added that the trial was highly successful at SQU and it will most likely lead to the establishment of five “hot-spots” at SQU for the 4G service.

Prices to Remain Steady in Oman During Ramadan

Consumers in Oman

Oman’s Public Authority for Consumer Protection (PACP) is working together with the Ministry of Commerce to assure the public that there will not be any precipitous price rises in food staples and other necessary items as a result of the coming Ramadan season.

Despite the fact that consumers tend to spend more during Ramadan, the PACP is going to monitor retailers carefully so that they do not engage in price manipulation or in any other form of price gauging during a time when it would be easy to take advantage of a public which is engaged in observing the holiday.

"The prices of essential commodities have been somewhat constant since the beginning of this year, and will continue to be so throughout Ramadan. We have received all the assurances from suppliers regarding this. No malpractice of any sort will be tolerated, and consumers have the right to report them to us. Offenders will be dealt with as per the law," one official of the PACP declared.

It has been common practice in the past for such items as flour, bread, sugar, rice, vegetables, fruit, chicken, beef, mutton and eggs to rise parallel to the increased demand during Ramadan. This year, however, the traders in these goods stocked up adequate supplies to meet increased demand.

"We have enough stocks of all commodities to meet the projected demand. We don't find any reason to hike the prices," says Ananth A V, Country Manager, Lulu Hypermarket. “Any rise in the prices at the sources of imports, it will not affect us. At any cost we will maintain status quo on the prices."

"Despite increased demand, we expect the prices of staple food to remain at the present level. We also have a mechanism to prevent any rise," he says.

"There is good flow of vegetables from local producers without much fluctuation in the prices. Often what happens is that retailers do not buy directly from them. The supply chain is well exploited by the middlemen. They charge exorbitantly before the commodities reach the consumers," said Naveej Vinod, the Executive Director of Mars Hypermarket.

Auris Opening Hotel in Port of Sohar

Hatem Gasmi

The managing director of Dubai-based Auris Hotel Management, Hatem Gasmi, announced that his company will be opening a new four-star, 70-room hotel in Sohar within the next eight months, making it the first property outside Dubai launched by Auris.

The hotel will be located approximately 12 kilometers from Sohar’s airport and will be receiving business as well as leisure guests to the port city.

Gasmi said, "We are in the final stages of design and furnishing – everything is there. It will cater to the needs of the business traveler in Sohar."

The hotel will make a point of attracting family guests by instituting a non-alcohol policy on the premises. Business guests will be enticed with a conference area which can accommodate 200 people in two rooms; a business lounge; two restaurants; and separate health clubs for men and women.

Gasmi stated that the investments which the government made totaling $12 billion towards building up the area will turn Sohar into a “major industrial hub.”

GCC States Growing Despite Oil Price Drops

GIC

The Gulf Investment Corporation published a report saying that the six Gulf Cooperation Council States will collectively post a 5.8 percent expansion by the end of the year, reaching a GDP of $1.6 trillion in current prices.

The GIC is a Kuwaiti-based firm owned jointly by the governments of the GCC.

The report stated that it is not expected that the recent falling oil prices will have any effect on the predicted growth because the GCC countries are moving towards a consumer society in which public spending is fueling the economy while at the same time governments are instituting reforms to strengthen and stabilize their economies.

"Despite speculation about a further oil price decline, the GCC economies are still expanding as they are based on real growth pillars," the report stated.

"The first and most important pillar is the high public spending in most member states as it accounts for nearly 35 percent of GDP… this is coupled with the implementation of massive projects worth nearly $1.1 trillion, almost a quarter of the world's investment in infrastructure and energy."

Standard and Poors Changes Oman’s Rating Upward

Standard and Poor’s Ratings Services has re-examined its rating of Oman and decided to change its evaluation from what had been a negative rating to an improved, positive one. The agency explained its new opinion of the Sultanate in the following manner:

“The outlook revision reflects our view that political reforms and economic measures are helping address popular demands and restoring stability to the domestic environment. The ratings are supported by Oman’s substantial net external and general government asset positions and prudent investment policies, and constrained by, in our view, a heavy dependence on hydrocarbons, political risk, and a challenging demographic profile — 60 per cent of the Omani population is under the age of 25 (source: 2010 census data). Oman, similar to other sovereigns in the Gulf Cooperation Council, is subject to geopolitical risk. This is somewhat mitigated by the country’s strong alliances with international powers, as well as its ability to maintain a neutral and independent stance in the region.”

The S&P is hoping to see other reforms as well, which will add to the economic strength and stability of Oman. Among the changes the S&P would like to see are some intitiatives that the Omani government has already begun to put into place, such as wage increases and the promise to create as many as 75,000 new jobs.

“We expect a significant share of these to be generated in the public sphere. According to our base-case scenario, we anticipate that social spending will rise during 2012-2015, but that the government’s resources will be sufficient to manage this increase without incurring a weakening in its fiscal buffers,”

officials for the ratings agency said.

Bank Nizwa Hopeful of Success Soon

The Chief Executive Officer of Bank Nizwa, Jamil Al Jaroudi, is hoping that the bank will be able to post a profit within two and one half years of launching operations, which is planned for the coming month.

"We aim to make our first profit in 2014 though we would like to make it happen sooner in the first year of our operation but that may not be possible,” Jaroudi said in an interview.

The board will be elected when the shareholders meet this coming July 31st, Jaroudi added.

"We will start our operation two weeks after that with three branches, in Nizwa, Sohar and Muscat. Eighteen months after the start of our operation, we hope to open about seven branches nationwide,” Jaroudi also said.

Bank Nizwa is the first bank in Oman run according to Islamic law. Nizwa’s initial public offering raised RO 681 million ($1.77 billion) in bids, 11-fold the amount that it sought to raise, reflecting the powerful interest the enterprise has for investors.

Jaroudi was happy for the over-subscription to the IPO from investors, and commented that it was a positive indication that the bank will be successful. He mentioned that he hoped that the returned funds will be used as deposits in the bank by their new and loyal customers.

“It shows that we are well placed and there's a healthy appetite for a fully-fledged Islamic bank in Oman,” Jaroudi added.

Mars Hypermarket Opening in Barka

Mars Hypermarket in Barka, Oman

V.T. Vinod and Naveej Vinod, the managing and executive directors of Mars International LLC, announced the opening of a branch of the Mars Hypermarket Group will be opening in Barka. The dedication ceremony of the store to the people of South Batinah Governorate will take place on June 30 and will be presided over by Sayyid Khalifa bin al Mirdas bin Ahmed al Busaidy.

In his speech V.T. Vinod said, "It is our privilege to express our heartfelt and sincere gratitude to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, and the government and people of Oman for giving us an opportunity to serve them in the retail sector."

"Mars has always represented the best in retail concepts and provided maximum convenience to our valuable shoppers. Let us all work together towards excellence and make shopping a different experience where customers feel that they have obtained the quality service for the money they shell out," added Vinod.

The Barka branch will be the sixth outlet for the Mars Hypermarket Group in the Sultanate of Oman, with a seventh scheduled to open in Qurum in October. While the Mars Group is a specialist in retail services, the international company is diversified into many other industries including healthcare under the brand Badr Al Samaa Group of Hospitals, hospitality and real estate. The Mars Group hopes to soon enlarge its reach to additional GCC nations.

UAE Federal National Council Requests Dress Code Law from Minister of Culture

Abdul Rahman Mohammed Al Owais

One member of the Federal National Council of the United Arab Emirates, Hamad Ahmad Al Rahoumi from Dubai would like to see a law in place which would require residents and tourists to adhere to a modest dress code which respects the culture and sensibilities of the people of the UAE.

Al Rahoumi was speaking with the Minister of Culture Abdul Rahman Mohammad Al Owais with the goal of persuading him that such a law is needed to protect the culture of decency and modesty that is practiced in the UAE.

“There has to be respect for the people in the UAE. Residents and tourists should dress modestly and not spread their bad habits for our children to see and imitate,” Al Rahoumi said.

“I am not demanding that visitors and residents wear our clothes, but their dress should be respectful and not revealing,” he added.

Al Rahoumi also said that the law should include other “unacceptable” behaviors like kissing in public places.

The FNC represented said that visitors should be told in advance about the law; that it is offensive to dress in mini-skirts and shorts in the UAE, in shopping malls or outside on the streets.

“Dress code brochures should be given out at the airport and when the passport is stamped with the visa. Also, there should be big posters in malls and everywhere showing the rules and how women should dress decently.”