Etihad, Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority and Miral Asset Management partner to promote Yas Island

Etihad Airways has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi), and also with Miral Asset Management (Miral), which oversees the development and management of a range of hospitality, sports, entertainment, retail and leisure destinations on Yas Island. The two MOUs will cement stronger ties between the three parties, and promote the global appeal of Abu Dhabi as a year-round tourist, business and cultural destination.

The exclusive partnership will see the three parties drive the growth of inbound destination and stopover tourism to Abu Dhabi by joining forces on various strategic activities including co-branded marketing and communication, market intelligence and data exchange, cruise industry support, loyalty and affinity programmes, and business and leisure events within the Emirate and around the world.

Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways’ Chief Commercial Officer, said: “Today we sign our joint commitment to make Abu Dhabi the best destination brand in the world. This unique and important partnership between the national airline, TCA Abu Dhabi and Miral will boost Abu Dhabi’s image exponentially.

“As the national airline, we continue to foster mutually beneficial relationships with the leading drivers of growth and progress in Abu Dhabi and the wider UAE. In the 12 short years since Etihad Airways was launched, both the airline and the Emirate have witnessed a spectacular transformation and are now leaders in service and hospitality. The growth of Etihad Airways is inextricably linked to the continued success of Abu Dhabi as a destination on the world stage.”

Etihad Airways will coordinate more closely with TCA Abu Dhabi across a range of disciplines and targeted B2B and B2C programmes, and will continue to grow the established and successful Essential Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi Now and Access Abu Dhabi trade and consumer programmes, the latter being an integrated destination management campaign focused on key tour operators and online travel agencies, providing incentives for management and familiarisation trips.

Sultan Al Dhaheri, Acting Executive Director Tourism, TCA Abu Dhabi, said: “Abu Dhabi’s diversity of experiences, landscapes and deep-rooted heritage combine to create a compelling visitor experience which has established the destination as a world-leading and progressive tourism, sporting and cultural hub. 2016 will see many more guests coming to our warm and welcoming home, and enjoying all the exciting vacation and business opportunities it has to offer.

“TCA Abu Dhabi and Etihad Airways are once again joining forces with common objectives to promote the Emirate, and to continue to enhance its word-class tourism infrastructure, and to establish a development plan for tourism in order to further strengthen the economic and social impact on the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Etihad Airways, as the national airline of the UAE, is an invaluable and strategic partner for the development of the tourism sector in line with Abu Dhabi Vision 2030.”

Miral and Etihad Airways will enter into a close destination-driven relationship in which Hala Abu Dhabi, the airline’s destination management subsidiary, will be providing a wide range of tourism, marketing and distribution services, including product development, global distribution and digital capabilities.

Mohamed Al Zaabi, Chief Executive Officer of Miral, said: “Abu Dhabi is a world-leader in state-of-the-art leisure, business and sporting facilities, and nowhere is this more evident than on Yas Island. Miral’s collaboration with Etihad Airways and TCA Abu Dhabi signifies our commitment to growing inbound tourism and long-haul stopovers to Yas Island. Together, we will increase in-market trade cooperation, international branding exercises, media and loyalty programmes, as well as education and PR strategies. This will increase passengers on Etihad Airways and visitor numbers to Yas Island, providing an immeasurable benefit to all travellers wanting a unique and authentic holiday experience."

Previous collaborative work between Etihad Airways and TCA Abu Dhabi has yielded highly successful global campaigns such as the Travellers Welcome campaign and the Abu Dhabi golf and MICE programmes.

CIMB Principal Islamic Asset Management expects healthy 2014

CIMB-Principal Islamic Asset Management (CIMB-Principal Islamic) notes that the strong economic data release and the change of tone in the statement made by the Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) during the May policy meeting raised expectations that a rate hike could arrive sooner rather than later. 

The first quarter of 2014 has seen gross domestic product (GDP) rise by 6.2% year-on-year, higher than consensus estimate, while BNM’s statement has highlighted the need to adjust the degree of monetary accommodation to counter the threat of financial imbalances.

Wong Loke Chin, Head of Fixed Income, ASEAN Region of CIMB-Principal Asset Management, said: “We expect the demand and supply to remain healthy in 2014 with year-to-date total new gross corporate debt issuances including sukuks standing at approximately RM32 billion. For the full year 2014, we are projecting the total new gross corporate debt issuances of about RM70 billion, which is smaller than the past two years, as issuers are currently adjusting to the potential higher interest rates.” 

Ramlie Kamsari, Chief Executive, CIMB-Principal Islamic said, “CIMB-Principal Islamic is dedicated and strives to provide the best service and guidance to our valued customers. We believe this ensures our relationship with our clients will be a long and satisfying one. With our commitment and support towards the Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre’s (MIFC's) agenda to set the stage for Malaysia to position itself as a centre for the offering of Islamic financial products and services, CIMB-Principal Islamic will continue to provide a thought leadership standpoint to fortify our position as one of the leading global Malaysian-based shari'ah-compliant asset managers.”

As at 31 December 2013, CIMB-Principal Islamic’s assets under management stand at RM7.57 billion (US$2.31 billion). It manages one of the largest portfolios for global sukuk and domestic sukuk, having won breakthrough mandates in the UAE, Brunei and Saudi Arabia.