Colliers brings project management, infrastructure advisory services to MENA

Colliers, a diversified professional services and investment management company, has strengthened its Middle East and North Africa (MENA) platform through the introduction of the Colliers Project Leaders' service to the region.

The addition delivers project management and infrastructure advisory services to government, occupier enterprises and private sector owners across complex and large-scale projects, refurbishment programmes, and optimises capital investments through asset enhancements.

"We are thrilled to extend Colliers Project Leaders' end-to-end project management capabilities to MENA. The team's unparalleled level of expertise and depth of experience significantly enhance the services we can provide to clients and further accelerate our growth in the region," said Chris McLernon, CEO, EMEA.

"Our expansion enables us to offer additional expertise including alternative financing such as public-private-partnerships, the establishment of dedicated project management offices, and comprehensive real estate development solutions, all with proven expertise and project certainty," said Yamin Shihab, VP, Colliers Project Leaders, Middle East.

Colliers Project Leaders' business and certified practitioners have successfully completed more than 15,000 projects globally. Colliers was recently recognised with the Hamdan bin Mohammed Award for Innovation in Project Management.

IFSB admits new member organisations

The Council of the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) has approved the admission of seven new member organisations. These include five supervisory authorities as full and associate members, plus a financial institution and an industry association as observer members.

There are three categories of membership at the IFSB, namely full member, associate member and observer member. The full membership, which is the sole membership with voting rights, is available to the financial sector supervisory authorities of each sovereign country.

The new members from the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions are:

Full members
Central Bank of Iraq

Associate members
Undersecretariat of Treasury, The Republic of Turkey

Observer members
Turkish Capital Markets Association, The Republic of Turkey

To date, the 188 members of the IFSB consist of 70 supervisory and regulatory authorities from the banking, capital markets and Islamic insurance (takāful) sectors from 57 jurisdictions, as well as eight international intergovernmental organisations, and 110 market players (financial institutions, professional firms and industry associations).

Dubai Roads and Transport Authority commits extra hours for services over Eid al Fitr

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced the timings of its services during the Eid al-Fitr holidays, covering customer service centres, car parks, public buses, Dubai Metro & Tram services, marine transit, driving institutes, as well as vehicles testing & registration centres.
 

Source: RTA. Al Marri.

Moaza Al Marri, Director of Marketing & Corporate Communication, RTA Corporate Administrative Support Services Sector, said: “Customer Service Centers will be off-duty the during Eid al-Fitr holiday from Sunday 3rd July 2016 and will resume duty on Sunday 10 July 2016. All paid parking zones in Dubai will be free of charge except for the parking lots of the Fish Market and the Multi-level Parking terminal starting from Sunday 3rd July, and fees will be activated on Saturday 9 July."
 

Al Marri added that trains will be running almost 24 hours during the holidays. 

 

Red Line stations

Tuesday 5 July: 5.30am to 11.59pm.

Wednesday 6 July: 12am to 2am; 5.50am to 11.59pm.

Thursday 7 July: 12am to 2am; 5.30am to 11.59pm.

Friday 8 July: 12am to 2am; 10am to 11.59pm.

Saturday 9 July: 12am to 2am.

 

Green Line stations

5 July:  5.50am to 11.59pm

6, 7 July: 12am to 2am; 5.50am to 11.59pm

8 July: 12am to 2am; 10am to 11.59pm

9 July: 12am to 2am.

The tram service will operate from 5 to 7 July from 6:30am to 1am the next day. On 8 July, the tram service will start at 9am and continue up to 1am on 9 July.

The Route C01 bus will operate around the clock. Other public buses will have varied timings:

 

Main bus stations, e.g. the Gold Souk

6, 7 July: 5.20am to 12 midnight (next day)

 

Al Ghubaiba Station; subsidiary stations, such as Al Qusais and Satwa

6, 7 July: 5am to 12 midnight (next day)

 

Al Quoz Industrial Area station

6, 7 July: 5.30am to 11.30pm

 

Jebel Ali station 

6, 7 July: 6am to 10.15pm 

 

Metro feeder service stations such as Rashidiya, Mall of the Emirates, Ibn Battuta, Abu Hail, Etisalat, and Burj Khalifa Dubai Mall

6, 7 July: 5.15am to 1.10am (next day)

 

The service timing of commercial transport and inter-city bus services will be as follows: 

 

Main stations, such as Ghubaiba to:

Sharjah (Jubail): 24 hours 

Abu Dhabi: 5am to 12:50am the following day

 

Subsidiary stations, such as Sabkha will start at 6.30am and continue to 12 midnight. 

Union Square Station: 5am to 12:30am the next day. 

Deira City Center: 6:55am to 10pm. 

Karama Station: 6:10am to 10:15pm. 

Al Ahli Club Station: 7am to 11pm. 

 

External stations: 

Sharjah (Al Taawon): 7am to 11:30pm.

Al Fujairah Station: 6:45am to 10:30pm.

Ajman Station: 6am to 11:30pm.

Hatta Station: 6:30am to 10:40pm.

From 5 to 7 July, water buses at Marina Stations (Marina Mall, Marina Walk, Marina Terrace, and Marina Promenade) will run from 12 noon to 12 midnight. 

Water taxis will operate daily from 9am to 10pm. 

At Al Ghubaiba Station, the water taxi will operate from 4pm to 10pm

At Dubai Marina station it will operate from 2pm to 10pm. 

From Jumeirah Palm Atlantis, the service timings will be from 4pm to 10pm. 

From Jumeirah Palm Station (Rexos) it will run from 11am to 5pm.

Dubai Ferry will operate at Al Ghubaiba and Marina stations during the Eid holidays at 11am, 1pm, and then at 3pm, 5pm and 6:30pm.

The working hours of traditional abra (boats) at Dubai Creek Stations (Al Ghubaiba, Al Sabkha, Baniyas, and Dubai Old Souk) will be from 10am to 12 midnight. The Blue (electrical) abra will operate at Burj Khalifa from 6pm up to 11pm, at Al Mamzar from 2pm to 12 midnight, and at Atlantis from 1pm to 9pm. The air-conditioned abra at Al Jaddaf will operate from 7am to 12 midnight.

All service providers and partner centres will be closed from 5 to 7 July 2016.
Interested?

View detailed Eid al Fitr timings for all RTA services

Afghanistan opens first Hajj Operation Registration Center for central region

Source: MOHIA. HE Dr Abdullah Abdullah, the Chief Executive of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Dr Dai-ul-Haq Abed, Deputy Minister and Superintendent of the Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs, Musfer Abdul Rahman Al Ghaseb, Ambassadorof the KSA in Kabul and senior representatives of the Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs were present at the opening ceremony.

The first Hajj Operation Registration Center was inaugurated in Afghanistan on 5 June, 2016, the Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs (MOHIA) of Afghanistan has reported. The centre was established to streamline the organisation of Hajj affairs for pilgrims of the central part of the country.

HE Dr Abdullah Abdullah, Chief Executive of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, acknowledged the achievements of pilgrims, and said the new Hajj complex would help the ministry better regulate Hajj pilgrims and that Hajj logistics are expected to be managed more effectively going forward.

Dubai Islamic Bank introduces Emirati Family Banking

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), the largest Islamic bank in the UAE, has announced the launch of Emirati Family Banking services. Designed to allow individuals to bring multiple family members under a joint plan, the Emirati Family Banking service is available to both new and existing customers.

One of the primary benefits is that the accounts of all members will be upgraded to the same level as that of the highest designated account holder in the family. As a result, family members may enjoy a whole range of new privileges and benefits by qualifying for an upgraded account.

Mohammed Al Nahdi, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at DIB said: “There is a real need for this solution that is unmatched by the market in order to allow Emirati families to bank together. Also, DIB recognises the substantial contribution that these families make in terms of building a prosperous economic environment that spurs further growth. As such, the bank is determined to have them rewarded for their banking experience with DIB through a host of unique benefits. Moving forward, we will continue to extend our financial counsel and support to allow Emirati customers to enjoy our high level of product and service excellence.”

Sanjay Malhotra, Chief of Consumer Banking at DIB, said: “As one of the most innovative banks in the market today, we are constantly looking for ways to deliver significant value for our customers. One of the areas where we have seen growing demand is for a multifaceted service offering that allows families to bank together as a combined relationship. With this in mind, we believe that we have created a relationship-based solution that not only meets, but exceeds, customers’ expectations by delivering a range of unique privileges for them.”

DIB has one of the largest retail bases in the UAE with over 1.5 million customers and 90 branches across the country.

Quicker food deliveries through new foodpanda service in Singapore

Source: foodpanda website, showing a selection of supported outlets with halal food.

As part of its 3rd anniversary celebrations in Singapore this year, foodpanda Singapore has launched a premium delivery service with selected outlets covering the central business district. The new service comes a month after a recent funding round of US$110 million, and is part of the company's promise to optimise the user experience and improve customer service. 

Customers selecting the service receive their food within 60 minutes of placing their orders while paying up to 50% less in delivery charges. 

“Foodpanda understands the dynamics of a fast-paced working environment, where we see a rising trend of people opting for convenient solutions of having takeout meals while at work without compromising choice or quality. As the leading platform in offering the widest selection of deliverable food options, we strive to ease the lives of our customers by simply delivering the food you love to wherever you are,” explains Cassandra Ong, Marketing Director of foodpanda Singapore. 

“We constantly listen to the feedback of our customers as well as delivery riders. So besides welcoming additional restaurant partners to the foodpanda family to give our customers an even greater choice, we followed the call for shorter delivery time at a lower price tag. This is an initiative we have been working on since late last year and we are really excited to finally roll it out now as a gift to our treasured customers.”

Since foodpanda started in Singapore three years ago, it has signed up over 400 restaurants. Its latest additions include Burger King, Chicken Up*, Manhattan’s Fish Market, Nando’s, and Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks**.

On a global level, foodpanda, together with its affiliated brands, focuses on emerging markets, operating in 40 countries across five continents. The website and the mobile app are location-based. For some countries, it is possible to search by the 'halal' category. 

Foodpanda is active in over 580 cities around the world, operating in 12 of the largest 20 metropolises, and partnering with over 60,000 restaurants. The company operates under the foodpanda brand in Thailand, Indonesia, Pakistan, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and the Philippines. The hellofood brand operates in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, and Qatar. In India, foodpanda serves companies with both the foodpanda and Tastykhana brands.

*A search on Google reveals a Facebook post that the company does not use pork, lard and gets its meat from halal sources. However, the actual Facebook post was not found in recent timeline entries.
**Shihlin has on occasion displayed signs that say 'no pork, no lard, no beef' at its counters. 

Zain KSA signs up Nokia Networks to enhance data services for Hajj

Zain KSA, the latest player in Saudi Arabia’s mobile telecommunications market, is now better positioned to handle demand for data services for the Hajj. In late June, Nokia Networks signed a large contract with Zain to modernise and expand the operator’s network in a programme called RELOAD. 

Source: Zain KSA website.

The agreement enables Zain to offer a 4G network with better speed, capacity and coverage, and manage 2G, 3G and 4G services more efficiently. Nokia Networks will also deploy its Liquid Applications cloud solution to enable Zain KSA to enjoy enhanced 4G throughput and enable the delivery of sophisticated applications such as augmented reality and location-based services. 

Hassan Kabbani, CEO of Zain KSA, said: “We want to reload our network infrastructure with the very latest of technologies in order to address the high demand for more interesting services. We are confident that Nokia’s unique technologies such as Liquid Applications will greatly improve customer experience and position Zain KSA as a technology leader in the Saudi market.”

Nokia Networks will also enhance mobile broadband coverage for Zain KSA’s subscribers inside offices, malls, hotels and residential buildings.

Click here for the technical details of the implementation.

Free Islamic civilisation and Asian civilisation MOOC to be offered by Universiti Putra Malaysia

Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) said its new online learning environment, available for free to the local community and globally as well, will include a course on Islamic civilisation.

The new method of learning, incorporating video lectures, interactive forums, chats, quizzes, and e-assessments, is in line with the current National Higher Education Strategic Plan which emphasises life-long learning, e-learning, internationalisation and knowledge transfer, the university said. 

UPM is currently converting the “Islamic Civilization and Asian Civilization” (Tamadun Islam, Tamadun Asia) course that is compulsory for all public universities as a MOOC course to benefit in-campus students as well as interested public communities. To be conducted in English, the course will focus on the role of civilisation in building Malaysian society based on principles such as mutual respect and social interaction within a multiracial society.  

Students can register online for the Putra Massive Open Online Course (PutraMOOC), and complete a course in roughly seven to eight weeks. 

*Images from UPM website