Times of Oman - June 2, 2016

Founded 1975 . Volume 41 No. | Pages . Baisas 200 . Subscription OMR63 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company | Chairman/Editor-in-Chief: Mohamed Issa Al Zadjali | Printed & Published by Muscat Media Group

June 2, 2016 26 Sha’aban 1437 AH

THURSDAY

4087

FROM THE WORDS OF HIS MAJESTYTHE SULTAN

On the occasion of the 7th National Day, 1977

Encouragement is to be given to private investors to participate as our national enterprises continue to develop and expand.

‘His Majesty’s Wisdom’

A4

Dhank farm blaze doused

REGIONSaudi Arabia gives death sentence to 14

2Saudi Arabia sentenced 14 people to death for terrorism. >A8

MARKET‘Oman attractive to set up business’

3Oman is one of the best countries for business, said the Octal chief. >B1

OMANNew mobile app for car registrations

1Motorists can now renew their car registrations via their smartphones, thanks

to the ROP’s new app. >A2

T O P T H R E E I N S I D E S T O R I E S

REJIMON K [email protected]

MUSCAT: Around 4,700 pri-mary and kindergarten stu-dents at Indian School Muscat (ISM) can enjoy an early sum-mer holiday as the school au-thorities have decided to close classes from June 6.

Holiday“Due to rise in temperature, we are announcing an early summer holiday for primary and kindergarten students,” Srinivas K. Naidu, the ISM Principal, said.

For primary and kindergar-ten students, the holidays will begin on June 6. As per the ear-lier schedule, the closing day was on June 19.

There are 4,625 students at ISM in both sections. >A6

P R I M A R Y S E C T I O N

PETROL PRICE HIKE FUELS FRUSTRATION AT PUMPS

REJIMON K [email protected]

MUSCAT: Filling stations repor-ted a staggering 50 per cent rise in sales on Tuesday as thousands of frustrated motorists battled to beat the midnight fuel price in-crease deadline.

Some stations ran out of fuel and long queues of drivers waited for more than an hour to fill their tanks ahead of the price hike.

Sales figures revealed by one station chain reveal that 50 per

cent more fuel was sold in the 24 hours leading up to the price hike when compared to the previous day’s sales.

The company raked in an extra OMR14,276.584 by selling Regular grade and OMR44,508.148 by sell-ing Super grade ahead of May 31 midnight hike, compared to sales on May 30.

The 21 baisas increase in regu-lar petrol (M90), 19 baisas in su-per grade (M95) and 19 baisas in diesel led to long queues at filling stations all over Oman prompting

station officials to shut down op-erations as they ran out of stock much earlier than expected.

Huge rush“As the prices were announced on Tuesday afternoon, motorists rushed to fill their vehicles at the cheaper price. In all our filling sta-tions, long queues were present by evening. By 10pm, many of our fuel stations ran out of stock,” Rajeev KR, the senior official at Siraj Al Jazeera Projects, a fuel sales com-pany in Oman, said.

This month, the price of revised regular petrol (M90) is 170 baisas per litre, super graded (M95) is 180 baisas and diesel is 185 baisas while in May it was 149 baisas, 161 baisas and 166 baisas, respectively.

According to the sales charts of 34 fillings stations, the fuel com-pany witnessed over a 50 per cent increase in sales of M90 and M95 within 24 hours. >A6

Long queues of vehicles were seen at petrol

stations with staff on their toes as the

deadline for midnight fuel price hike neared

MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a cable of greetings to President Sergio Mattarella of the Italian Republic on the occasion of his country’s National Day. In his cable, His

Majesty the Sultan has expressed his sincere greetings and best wishes of good health and happi-ness to President Mattarella and the Italian people further pro-gress and prosperity. -ONA

I T A L Y

His Majesty sends greetings

Early summer vacation for ISM students

MORNING MINUTE

MORNING MINUTE

Source: Siraj Al Jazeerah Projects Graphics

FUEL SALES (in thousand litres)

DieselSuperRegular

15.8

517.0

251.1

22.0

647.9

269.3

51.8

981.3

350.0

135.3

397.2

277.9

231.1

697.6

304.2

Variation52%

May 312015

Dec 312015

Jan 142016

30th 31stMay 2016

1,233.0Total1,383.2

Total

810.6Total939.3

Total

784.0Total

A2 T H U R S DAY, J U N E 2 , 2 0 1 6

OMAN

State Bank of India chief in Oman allays fears on mergerREJIMON [email protected]

MUSCAT: The proposed merger of State Bank of India (SBI), the largest Indian public sector bank, with its associate banks will not have an impact on its customers in Oman, a senior official from the bank said.

“The merger will not affect cus-tomers. Merger or no merger, the existing loan interest rates will not be affected. As SBI and its associ-ate banks run on the same IT sup-port system, the transactions will also not be affected,” Piyus Kumar, the chief executive officer of SBI in Oman, told Times of Oman.

“Loan interest rates are reset

only according to the loan agree-ment on periods mentioned in it. The merger will not affect loan in-terest rates,” the CEO said, adding that there may be cosmetic chang-es to the online platform.

The move is expected to im-prove its treasury operations and cut redundancies, as SBI is plan-ning to merge State Bank of Bi-

kaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Hyderabad.

“We will post notifications for the public through newspapers and online media when the merger happens,” the CEO added.

In India, SBI chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya said the

prime goal of the merger is im-proving the efficiency of the bank.

“By merging various associate banks with the SBI, we hope to cre-ate a formidable organisation. All stakeholders, including employees and shareholders, will equally ben-efit from the move,” she said.

Meanwhile, Suresh Kumar S, a Muscat-based Indian business-

man who has loans and transac-tions with SBT, said he is happy to know that the merger will not affect his company.

“I have personal loans in SBT. I was worried whether the merger will affect us or not. If bank of-ficials are saying that we will not be affected, then we are happy,” Suresh added.

M O N E Y M A T T E R S

Photograph not needed for driving licence, renewal: ROP

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Both Omani and ex-patriate motorists do not have to produce their passport size photo while renewing their driv-ing licence, Royal Oman Police (ROP) said in a notice uploaded on its official twitter handle.

“Motorists do not have to pro-duce their passport size photo. However, those who are ap-plying for learners licence and those who want to convert their foreign licence should have to produce their photo,” the ROP said in the notice.

“Passport size photo should be in white back-ground,” it added.

Car registration renewalMotorists in Oman can now renew their car registrations via their smartphones, thanks to the recently updated app by Royal Oman Police.

People can also send inquir-ies about passport requests.

The ROP said in a tweet that the app features new services including phone numbers of po-lice stations and their location via GPS.

The app also includes latest news about the police.

N O T I C E

Merger or no merger, the existing loan interest rates will not

be affected. As SBI and its associate banks run on the same

IT support system, the transactions will also not be affected

Piyus Kumar, chief executive officer of SBI in Oman

MUSCAT: Mwasalat will soon launch a twice daily direct ser-vice from Burj A’Sahwa to Sohar Port. The first trip will start from Burj A’Sahwa at 6:00am and ar-

rive at 08:20am, and the second trip will depart at 14:40pm and arrive at 17:00pm. One way fare will be OMR1.6 and return trip will cost OMR2.9. -ONA

B U R J A ’ S A H W A T O S O H A R P O R T

Mwasalat to launch new service

A4 T H U R S DAY, J U N E 2 , 2 0 1 6

OMAN 3,335 was the number of fires in Oman

in 2014. Twenty three per cent of

these were in residential buildings

15-hour fight controls blaze in Dhank farm

REJIMON [email protected]

MUSCAT: Firefighters fought for 15 hours beginning Tuesday night to extinguish a massive blaze at a farm in Dhank, some 312km from Muscat.

The fire, which broke out late on Tuesday night, continued to rage until Wednesday afternoon.

According to tweets by the Pub-lic Authority for Civil Defence and Ambulance (PACDA), the fire began at about 9pm on Tuesday.

“Water tankers, with a capacity of 10,000 gallons, were rushed to the site,” the PACDA tweeted.

No casualties were reported.The announcement by authori-

ties about putting out the fire was praised by the public, with many lauding the authority’s efforts and praying for the well-being of the fire fighters.

Last week in Izki, five people were injured in a fire, and earlier in May a massive fire damaged four warehouses in Al Ansab.

There were three fires reported in Oman over a 24 hour period-during the second week of May.

According to experts, it is com-mon for the number of fires to in-

crease in summer, however, a lack of safety precautions is the main cause of fires.

In March, Colonel Said Al Asmi, assistant general manager for op-erations at the Royal Oman Police (ROP), said that fire threats remain a major challenge for businesses in Oman, especially in summer.

“The unorganised and poorly marked storage of cables and flammable materials in many buildings raise the risk of damage by fire,” he said.

Oman records a fire incident every three hours, according to a

2015 report by the National Cen-tre for Statistics and Information.

Reports show that 3,335 fires were reported in Oman in 2014, with 23 per cent of these fires oc-curring in residential buildings.

Also in 2014, 755 house fires, 55 building fires and 57 apartment fires were reported.

The fire, which broke

out at about 9pm on

Tuesday, continued

until the afternoon on

Wednesday

Pakistani schools in Sultanate to improve facilities, ensure excellenceSHAHZAD [email protected] MUSCAT: Parents of Pakistani schools in Oman can expect in-creased efforts by the newly-elect-ed Board of Directors to ensure academic excellence and new fa-cilities to strengthen the existing infrastructure and create a more conducive environment for teach-ing and learning.

This was stated by Muhammad Adnan Shahzad after being re-elected Chairman BOD, Pakistan School Muscat.

“We will be focusing on further upgrading academic excellence in terms of quality, as well as edu-cational objectives, by initiating teachers training programmes and providing conducive environment for students. Increasing the depth of leadership qualities to middle and lower management through the delegation of power, as well as providing purpose built facilities to Pakistani schools in Mussana, Seeb and Nizwa, will be among our top priorities. We will also construct a college block in PSM to reduce student size per class-room,” he explained, in comments to Times of Oman.

Parents of Pakistan School Mus-cat elected the new Board of Direc-tors in a keenly contested election, that saw over 63 per cent voter turnout. After the Board’s election, Muhammad Adnan Shahzad was once again elected Chairman by the directors, defeating Asghar Ali, the other candidate, in a 6-3 vote. Adnan has become the first Board Chairman of PSM to be elected for a second successive term.

In all 14 candidates contested the election for the six seats on the board. The winning candidates were Asghar Ali (122 votes), Adnan Shahzad (80), Rizwan Aziz (75), Muhammad Usman Lakhan (73), Mohammad Hafeez Malik (66) and Sumara Asif (66). The other three voting members on the PSM Board are Naeem Ahmed Tiwana, presi-dent School Management Commit-tee (SMC) Pakistan School Sala-lah, Chaudhry Mohammed Aslam Gondal, president SMC Pakistan School Musannah and Ataullah Khan Niazi, senior principal Paki-stan Schools System in Oman.

According to election commis-sioner Mohammad Ziaul Haq Sid-diqui, 802 parents cast their votes out of the registered 1256, with only four votes being disqualified for procedural errors.

Smooth election“The whole election process went on quite smoothly and we are ex-tremely proud of the fact that we were able to hold an impartial and transparent election witnessed by Ministry of Education officials and monitored by independent ob-servers from various walks of life. There wasn’t even a single com-plaint, as all the candidates signed the document soon after the re-sults were announced. In fact, we received effusive praise from min-istry officials for the transparent election,” Zia added.

Talking about his future plans, Adnan said, “During our first term, we established parents’ councils for the first time in the history of PSM. There will be an increase in

the number of parents in the coun-cils. We will set professional crite-ria for the formation of these coun-cils, including the mandate for their smooth functioning. We are going to form SMC for Pakistan School Muscat,as at other branch-es. At the same time, we will try to incorporate representatives of all SMCs into boards to enhance the harmony among branches.”

He said the board was thinking of expanding counselling services for students, in terms of career and behavioural management. Talk-ing about their main achievements in their previous two-year term, Adnan said, “We take pride in pro-viding highly qualified teachers for all schools, as well as regular principals who are master trainers. We delivered key infrastructure projects for all schools, especially PSM library, the PSM grassy crick-et ground and sports facilities, completion of facilities for Sohar school, self sponsored administra-tive block of PS Salalah by Naeem Ahmed Tiwana and his friends, the conversion of PS Seeb from a Mon-tessori school to middle school up to class 8 in just two months, and then to high school up to class 10 within two years. We are also proud of producing best academic results matching the International Stream, as well as Federal Streams. We further undertook centralisa-tion of internal exams from class 5 to 12.”

N E W B O A R D O F D I R E C T O R S

Oman Air launches new service to IranTARIQ ZIAD AL [email protected]

TEHRAN: Oman Air completed its first maiden flight to Mash-had, Iran, a new route launched by the national airline which seeks to enhance current rela-tions between the Sultanate and the Islamic Republic.

The route was inaugurated by Mohammad Jawad bin Has-san, Advisor to the Minister of Finance with the presence of top officials from Oman Air, at Mus-cat International Airport where a cake cutting ceremony took place.

“No doubt that the launch of this route culminates the strong relationship between the govern-

ments of the Sultanate and the Islamic Republic of Iran,” said Mohammad Jawad.

“In addition to expanding com-mercial activities and economic

movement it was agreed between both governments that Oman Air will fly daily to its new destina-tion,” he added.

He also said that daily flights

to Mashhad will boost Oman’s economy as well as gain monetary returns by solidifying the com-mercial activity and relationship between the two countries.

Second destination in IranThis is Oman Air’s second des-tination to Iran following their route to Tehran in 2012.

Flights from Mashhad will leave Muscat International Air-port at 2pm local time and arrive at Mashhad International Airport at 5:15pm local.

Return flights will be at 9:45pm local from Mashhad and arrive to Muscat at 11:50pm local time.

Oman Air will launch their Mashhad office on June 3, 2016.

A V I A T I O N

MASHHAD CALLING: Oman Air will fly daily to Mashhad. – File photo

We will be focusing on further upgrading academic excellence in terms of quality, as well as educational objectives, by initiating teachers training programmes and providing conducive environment for students

M. Adnan ShahzadChairman BOD, Pakistan School Muscat

New Salalah flights plannedTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Salalah will soon be connected by direct air service to Pakistan, a senior official of Paki-stan International Airlines (PIA) said on Wednesday.

Shahzad Paracha, country manager of PIA Oman, said that they are planning to to connect Salalah with Islamabad, Lahore and Sialkot.

“We are hopeful that we will be able to fly to Salalah once new air-craft joins our fleet this summer,” he told Times of Oman on Tues-day. He also said this will benefit some 40,000 to 50,000 Pakistani nationals who reside in Dhofar governorate of Oman.

“Now, they have to change flights either in Muscat, Doha, Dubai or Sharjah,” he noted.

PIA operates as many as 16 weekly flights from Muscat to Pakistan, covering major destina-tions such as Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, Sialkot, Peshawar, Gwadar and Turbat with direct service.

“We are also planning to in-crease our Muscat service, but it depends on the number of new aircraft that we get this summer,” he said.

The airline has nearly dou-bled its Oman operations in re-cent years, increasing its weekly flights from eight in 2014 to the current 16.

Also, the airline has recently added state-of-the-art Boeing 777 airplane to its flight opera-tions in Oman.

Direct flights from Salalah will also benefit Bangladeshis and In-dian expatriates, who can reach connecting flights from Pakistan.

“Our connecting flights are quite convenient with competi-tive fares that attract internation-al passengers from these commu-nities,” he added.

P A K I S T A N I N T E R N A T I O N A L A I R L I N E S

Shahzad Paracha, country

manager, PIA Oman

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A5

OMANT H U R S DAY, J U N E 2 , 2 0 1 6

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Well educated Omanis just 10% of private sector

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Oman needs to diver-sify the nationalities of expatri-ates in the private sector’s senior positions, Majlis Al Shura mem-bers said, arguing that failing to do so poses a danger to Omanisa-tion policies.

This was discussed recently during a meeting to discuss Al Shura’s study on “Omanisation challenges in leading and super-

visory positions in the private sec-tor,” which aims to attract the local workforce to the private sector.

The Youth Committee of Al Shura Council said that, at pre-sent, Omanis working in the pri-vate sector in technical, manage-rial, leading and supervisory jobs make up only 11.5 per cent of total Omanis in the sector.

Some 76 per cent of Omani job seekers with higher education degree believe that the expatriate workforce “negatively affects” the opportunities for Omanis to obtain jobs.

The study also showed that the Omanisation rate in the country’s public sector has stood at 86.6 per cent.

However, according to the Al Shura Council twitter handle, the capacity for employment in the government sector is limited, as current and future employment trends depend on the private sec-tor due to its continuous growth and expansion.

Omanis with higher education degrees occupy only 10.3 per cent of senior positions in the private sector.

Further, Ministry of Manpower figures recorded only 3,898 Oma-nis with higher education degrees working in senior positions in the

sector at the end of 2015, com-pared to 21,459 expatriates with the same educational levels.

Nevertheless, Omanis with no degrees or below diploma level make up 29 per cent of the total senior positions of workforces in the country’s private sector.

Members of the committee ar-gued that wages and incentives in junior positions in the private sector are relatively low, com-pared to government jobs.

Further, it was noted that only 8 per cent of Omani job seekers who hold higher diplomas prefer working in the private sector, ac-cording to figures released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

Also, more than 128,000 expa-triates who hold higher education degrees work in Oman’s private sector, according to the Public Authority of Manpower Register.

The Youth Committee, chaired by Mohammed Al Busaidi, has is-sued a number of recommenda-tions to provide more job oppor-tunities for the local workforce.

The suggestions included hav-ing a database on the number and salaries of expatriate workers in the private sector who are in charge of technical, managerial, leading and supervisory jobs.

Ministry of Manpower

figures recorded only

3,898 Omanis with

higher education

degrees working in

senior positions in

the sector at the end

of 2015, compared to

21,459 expatriates

with the same

education levels

‘Genetic disease rate high in Oman’MUSCAT: The average genetic diseases rate in Oman is between 5.4 per cent to 7 per cent in the new live births; above the world average which is not more than 4.5 per cent, said Dr Musallam bin Said Al Araimi, Senior Molecular and Community Geneticist at the

National Genetic Centre. He added that 37 per cent of the

newborn mortality and prema-ture newborn are due to severe genetic disorders. He added that genetic disorders are the reasons for 10 per cent of the newborn mortality and 52 per cent for old-

er children in Oman. He said that more than 300 types of genetic diseases have been recorded in the Sultanate. 3.5 to 4.7:1000 live births have blood hereditary dis-eases and 60 per cent of the Sul-tanate’s population have genes for genetic blood disorders. -ONA

EXPERT

A6


Last year, we recruited more than 40 Omani colleagues in supervisory and managerial posts, and we look forward to adding to this numberClive Freeman, COO, Landmark group Oman group

Moon sighting panel meets on June 5FAHAD AL GHADANI [email protected]

MUSCAT: With Ramadan around the corner, Oman’s Moon Sight-ing Main Committee, led by Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Salmi, Minister of Awqaf and Religious Affairs, will meet on June 5 evening.

Members of the committee

include His Eminence Sheikh Ahmed bin Hamad Al Khalili, Grand Mufti of the Sultanate, Sayyid Harbi bin Hamad bin Saud, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs, Eng. Khalid bin Hilal Al Busaidi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior, Sheikh Abdullah bin Rashid Al Siyabi, Deputy Chair-man of the Supreme

Court, Sheikh Ahmed Al Khatib, Judge of the Supreme Court in Salalah. According to the calcu-lations of Astronomical Affairs at the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs for the sighting of moon for the Holy Month of Ramadan 1437 AH, the moon may be visible in all the governorates on Monday and Ramadan is ex-pected to start on Tuesday.

A N N O U N C E M E N T O F R A M A D A N

Oasis Mall to create 350 new jobs in Oman

MOBIN MATHEW [email protected]

MUSCAT: Oasis Mall, a brand new shopping destination, open-ing in Al Khuwair on June 16, is expected to create 350 new jobs.

It is a venture of the Landmark Group, a leading Retail and Hospi-tality conglomerate in the Middle East, Africa and the Indian sub-continent.

“With Oasis Mall, our focus is to provide our customers with a neighbourhood shopping destina-tion,” Clive Freeman COO, Land-mark Group Oman told Times of Oman in an exclusive interview.

“Our mall provides a wide range of services, retail and dining offer-ing and an entertainment centre. So there is something for each member of the family. It will be a one stop destination for our cus-tomers,” he added.

Oasis Mall, 8th for the Land-

mark group, encompasses a wide selection of brands and categories in a compact, shopping-focused format offering outstanding value for money.

According to Clive, Oasis mall will have 38 stores which are spread on two floors.

Mall’s strength lies in multi-ple and diverse anchor stores in-cluding Home Centre, Babyshop, Splash, Shoe Mart , Lifestyle & the fastest growing electronics chain at E-max .

Babyshop and Mothercare of-fer adorable options for the mall’s youngest shoppers.

Oman’s fashion enthusiasts can satisfy their thirst for the latest trends at stores such as Splash, Max, New Look, Koton, and Iconic amongst others.

Other concepts available at Oa-sis Mall include Fun City which will provide children and young adults with a variety of fun activi-ties in specially created learning and play zones, a food court which features a delectable spread - from fast food to cafes.

McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Star bucks etc are some of the food outlets available in the food court.

Oasis Mall will also bring in regional themed cuisine with different brands.

“The Al Khuwair area has been a popular destination for the Group’s brands. When we got an opportu-nity to build a mall, we felt that it was an ideal location to extend our offering to our loyal customers in this community,” Freeman said.

Mall also has an atrium area

where they plan to organise dif-ferent kind of events for promo-tions and also to showcase various things in the mall.

According to him, Landmark Group is operating in Oman for the last 24 years and they have 87 stores in Oman.

According to Freeman, Land-mark Group has done a research on the area before setting up the building. “As per our study this is one of the best areas to establish a community mall,” Freeman said.

According to the COO, the mall will creatine 350 job opportunities.

Speaking about the Omanisa-tion Clive said, “Omanisation ranks highly in our agenda. We have also developed a plan to cre-ate more managerial roles for our Omani colleagues.”

“Last year, we recruited more than 40 Omani colleagues in su-pervisory and managerial posts, and we look forward to adding to this number,” he added.

Freeman also said that the es-tablishment of Oasis Mall is the reflection if the opportunity and growth potential in Oman.

“This kind of development gives lot of opportunity in terms of Omanisation and developing managerial roles for the Omani nationals,” Freeman said. Speak-ing about Landmark Oman’s fu-ture plan, Freeman said, “We are setting up new malls in Sohar and Salalah and it is expected to open in the first quarter of 2018.”

Oasis Mall, 8th for

the Landmark group,

encompasses a wide

selection of brands

and categories in a

compact, shopping-

focused format

offering value for

the money

Middle and higher sections of school to remain open

“The ministry in Oman had an-nounced early holidays for their schools and decision for private schools were left to us. We dis-cussed with the management committee and have decided to announce early holidays for small children,” the principal said, add-ing that for middle and higher section students they will con-tinue as per the earlier schedule as they have to meet the class days

according to norms.Meanwhile, other Indian

schools in capital city said that they still not have initiated any such plans.

Summer heat“There are calls from parents, we have to think about it,” an official from an Indian School in Mus-cat, said. Two days ago, to protect schoolchildren from the summer

heat, the Board of Directors of Indian Schools has directed the principals of all 19 Indian schools to restrict outdoor activities to ensure that children are not ex-posed to excessive sunlight.

Earlier, the Ministry of Educa-tion in Oman had declared early summer vacations for students from grades one to four due to heat wave conditions prevailing in the country.

H O L I D A Y S C H E D U L E

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Petrol station employees had tough time serving customers

On May 30, the company sold 397,262 litres of M95 while they sold 697,625 litres of the same on May 31.

Similarly, on May 30, while the company sold 135,313 litres of M90, they sold 231,129 litres on May 31.

“In regular and super sales, there was an increase of 52 per cent and 54 per cent respectively,” the senior official said, adding that at many of their stations, it was a chaotic situation.

“Our employers had a tough time running here and there,” the senior official added.

Mohammed Shafiqul Islam Bhuiyan, who manages a petrol pump at Ghala, said he reckoned a thousand motorists lined up in front of his petrol station between 7pm and midnight.

Meanwhile, motorists said that they had not seen such a rush at fuel stations in the past in Oman.

“I had a bad time yesterday in filling my vehicle. I waited for my

turn at a fuel station. After realis-ing that it would take a long time, I then changed my plan and went to another one. There, I waited for at least one hour,” Sunil Sudevan, a marketing executive said.

Another motorist said he couldn’t take fuel because by the time he reached the filling station it had closed as it ran out of stock.

“It was a late night drive from Ibri to Muscat. I didn’t think of filling fuel on the way. By the time I reached Muscat, I saw long queues at fuel stations in Muscat. When I approached one in Seeb, they were out of stock. I filled fuel this morning only,” Rajendaran Ravi, an automobile parts sales-man in Muscat, said.

According to the new price, consumers are forced to pay around 50 per cent per litre extra for regular petrol this month com-pared to the price before regula-tion on fuel was lifted in January.

Prior to the government lifting the regulation, the price of regu-

lar petrol in Oman was 114 bai-sas, while for super grade it was 120 baisas, and for diesel it was 146 baisas.

Now, just five months later, consumers have to pay around 49 per cent extra per litre of regular petrol, 50 per cent extra for super grade, and 26 per cent extra for diesel. Oman had deregulated its oil prices on January 15 this year as part of the austerity measures aimed at plugging the deficit.

On January 15, the price of su-per unleaded petrol was revised from 120 baisas to 160 baisas per litre. For regular it was raised from 114 baisas to 140 baisas per litre and for diesel, it was made raised to 160 baisas from 146 bai-sas per litre.

Meanwhile, economists feel that the petrol hike directly or in-directly affects all the major sec-tors like transportation, textiles and the auto industry.

“This affects the prices of es-sential commodities which are

transported on a daily basis,” said a Muscat based financial expert, N Gurumurthy.

He added that given the slide in oil prices, the rise in petrol prices is an option that can help reduce the fiscal deficit.

“But compared to other coun-tries it is still the lowest in the world,” he said.

A marketing executive in Muscat said that his company officials find it hard to pay the fuel cost to him as the prices keep rising every month.

“A lot of travel is needed for my job. The company pays my fuel bills. But, nowadays, they seem reluctant when they have to bear the extra cost as the prices keep rising,” Suresh Kumar S, the mar-keting official, added.

Fuel subsidies for 2015 were estimated to be OMR580 million, and with deregulation the gov-ernment will be able to save that money, which is expected to be of great help in reducing the deficit.

R U S H F O R F U E L

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Qatari PM to visit SultanateMUSCAT: Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, Prime Minister, Minister of Inte-rior of Qatar will arrive on a one-day visit to Oman on Thursday.

The Qatari PM and his ac-companying delegation will be received by His Highness Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said, Depu-ty Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers and others.

The Qatari premier will be ac-

companied by Ali Shareef Al Ema-di, Minister of Finance, Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani, Min-ister of Economy and Commerce, Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti, Minis-ter of Transport and Communica-tions, Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Rumaihi, Minister of Munici-pality and Environment, Ali bin Fahad Al Hajri, Qatari envoy to Oman besides a number of high level officials. -ONA

O N E - D A Y T R I P

Omanisation ranks highly in our agenda. We have also developed a plan to create more managerial roles for our Omani colleagues

Clive FreemanCOO, Landmark group Oman group

HAVE YOUR SAY Send us your comments at facebook.com/timesofoman blog.timesofoman.com [email protected]

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New mosque to be opened in Bukha

MUSCAT: Assigned by His Maj-esty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Shehi, Minister of Regional Munici-palities and Water Resources will open on Friday the Sultan Qaboos Mosque in the Wilayat of Bukha in the Governorate of Musandam.

The mosque is built over an area of 12,536 square metres and the construction area 3, 836

square metres. The remaining area includes the landscaping, green areas, external works and parking. The mosque consists of the main prayer hall that can accommodate 1,088 worship-pers and a room for imams and preachers of the mosque, in addi-tion to prayer hall for women that accommodates 120 worshippers.

The mosque has a library, four

classrooms, maintenance office, and management office and guard room. The mosque includes three class halls, two large 6.46 me-ters minarets, with 636.30 metre domes, parking, green spaces and a small garden for children.

Sultan Qaboos Mosque in the Wilayat of Bukha is one of the landmarks of the blessed Renais-sance in the Wilaya. -ONA

A S S I G N E D B Y H I S M A J E S T Y

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REGIONT H U R S DAY, J U N E 2 , 2 0 1 6

TO ADVERTISECall: 24726666

EGYPT OPENS RAFAH CROSSING People wait for travel permits to cross into Egypt through the Rafah border crossing after it was opened for four days

by Egyptian authorities, in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday. — Reuters

Saudi sentences 14 to

death over terrorism

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia sen-tenced 14 people to death for ter-rorism on Wednesday after they were convicted of attacks on po-lice in Qatif in the Eastern Prov-ince, scene of past anti-govern-ment protests, their lawyer said.

Another nine people were given jail sentences of three to 15 years and one was acquit-ted, their defence lawyer, who asked to remain anonymous, told Reuters.

Arabiya TV said the charges had included opening fire on se-curity forces and civilians, caus-ing several deaths and destruc-tion of property.

They were also accused of ped-dling drugs and armed robbery against shops and cars.

The defence lawyer said he in-tended to appeal the rulings.

Shooting at policeThe 24 defendants -- most in their 20s -- had been held for about four years and accused of carrying weapons and shooting at police, he said.

During 2011-14 protests, around 20 civilians and several police officers were killed.

A spokesman for the Saudi jus-tice ministry could not immedi-ately be reached for a comment on the report, first broadcast by the Dubai-based Al Arabiya TV.

On January 2 Saudi Arabia ex-ecuted four members of a minor-ity community convicted of simi-lar crimes alongside 43 majority community members accused of carrying out attacks for Al Qaeda a decade ago. — Reuters

A T T A C K S I N Q A T I F

Arabiya TV said the

charges had included

opening fire on

security forces and

civilians, causing

several deaths

and destruction of

property

King Abdullah swears in new cabinet to prepare for polls

AMMAN: Jordanian King Ab-dullah swore in a new govern-ment led by a business-friendly politician on Wednesday, charg-ing him with preparing for parlia-mentary elections by September and pushing legislation to spur sluggish growth.

Hani Mulki, 64, who has held a string of senior diplomatic and ministerial posts, is a former chief commissioner of Jordan’s eco-nomic zone in the Red Sea port city of Aqaba.

Near end of termHe was appointed by the king on Sunday to replace Abdullah En-sour shortly after the King dis-solved parliament as it neared the end of its four-year term.

Elections must be held within four months under the constitution.

Official sources said the gov-ernment is expected to maintain traditional support for US policies in the region and continue with International Monetary Fund-guided reforms.

Long-serving Foreign Minis-ter Nasser Joudeh and Finance Minister Omar Malhas, who is

negotiating a new programme with the IMF, kept their posts in a 28-member cabinet dominated by a mix of technocrats and conserv-ative politicians who held sway in previous governments.

Mulki will be overseeing prepa-rations for elections that have long been marred by accusations of meddling by the authorities and the powerful security forces.

Jordan’s main political oppo-

sition comes from the Muslim Brotherhood movement but it faces increasing legal curbs on its activities, leaving mostly pro-mon-archy parties and some independ-ent extremists and politicians to compete in these elections, politi-cal analysts say.

The Brotherhood, wants sweep-ing political reforms in Jordan.

Analysts say it could be diffi-cult for the Brotherhood, which

has operated legally in Jordan for decades, to participate in the elec-tion after the authorities closed many of its offices and encour-aged a splinter group to legally challenge the main movement’s licence to operate.

Western diplomats and in-dependent politicians say the absence of the group, which has strong grassroots support in ur-ban centres, could undermine the election.

RadicalisationWestern donors have pushed Jor-dan’s authorities to widen politi-cal representation to stem radi-calisation among alienated and unemployed young people in poor overcrowded areas.

Hundreds of them have al-ready joined extremists in Syria and Iraq

Abdullah also charged Mulki in a letter of appointment to help spur investment, especially from Saudi Arabia, which has shown interest in investing in the debt-laden kingdom that official sourc-es say is tied to Amman becoming more supportive of Riyadh’s re-gional policies.

Jordan’s finances have been hit by a drop in Gulf aid which tra-ditionally tops up its coffers and worsened investor confidence hit by regional uncertainty.

The economy has also been strained by a flood of refugees from the five-year-old civil war in neighbouring Syria. — Reuters

Hani Mulki was

appointed by the

King on Sunday to

replace Abdullah

Ensour. Elections

must be held within

four months under

the constitution

NEW LOOK: A handout picture released by the Jordanian Royal Palace on Wednesday shows

Jordanian King Abdullah, left, shaking hands with members of Jordan’s new government at

a swearing in ceremony in Amman. — AFP /JORDANIAN ROYAL PALACE/YOUSEF ALLAN

‘Children inFalluja face extreme violence’BAGHDAD: At least 20,000 chil-dren remain inside besieged Fal-luja, IS stronghold near Baghdad, facing the risk of forced recruit-ment in the fighting and separa-tion from their families, the Unit-ed Nations’ children’s agency said on Wednesday.

“We are concerned over the pro-tection of children in the face of extreme violence,” UNICEF Rep-resentative in Iraq Peter Hawkins said in a statement.

“Children face the risk of forced recruitment into the fighting” in-side the besieged city, and “sepa-ration from their families” if they manage to leave, he added.

Backed by militias and air strikes from the US-led coalition, the Iraqi armed forces launched on May 23 an offensive to recap-ture Falluja, 50 kms (32 miles) west of Baghdad.

First city to fall to ISThe assault on Falluja has be-gun what is expected to be one of the biggest battles ever fought against IS. Falluja was the first Iraqi city that fell under control of the ultra-hardline militants, in January 2014.

About 50,000 civilians remain in the city, according to the United Nations.

Iraqi security forces operating in Falluja separate systematically men and boys over 12 from the families to probe possible links with IS. — Reuters

U N I C E F W A R N I N G

French ship detects signals from EgyptAir jet black boxCAIRO/PARIS: A French search vessel has picked up signals from one of the black boxes of EgyptAir flight MS804, Egyptian and French investigators said, a po-tential breakthrough in efforts to uncover why it plummeted into the Mediterranean last month.

Search teams are working against the clock to recover the two flight recorders that will offer vital clues to the fate of the plane that crashed en route from Paris to Cairo on May 19 killing all 66 people on board.

Without the black boxes, say in-vestigators and aviation disaster experts, there is not enough infor-mation to determine what went wrong or whether the plane was brought down deliberately.

The recorders are designed to emit acoustic signals for 30 days after a crash, giving search teams fewer than three weeks to spot them in waters up to 9,840-feet (3,000 meters) deep, which is on the edge of their range.

The Egyptian investigation committee said on Wednesday

that the search was intensifying ahead of the arrival of another vessel, the John Lethbridge, from Mauritius-based company Deep Ocean Search to help retrieve the devices. That ship is expected to arrive within a week, it said.

“Search equipment aboard French naval vessel Laplace... has detected signals from the seabed of the search area, which likely belong to one of the data boxes,” the Egyptian committee said in

its statement. France’s aviation accident bureau BEA confirmed that the signal had come from one of the recorders.

The Laplace has equipment from ALSEAMAR, a subsidiary of French industrial group Al-cen, which can pick up black box pinger signals over long distances up to 5 km (3 miles) and was con-tracted by the Egyptian investiga-tors last week.

Egyptian investigators have said that the EgyptAir plane did not show any technical problems before taking off and the pilot made no distress call to air traffic control. There has been no claim of responsibility for the crash.

The jet transmitted a series of messages in the minutes before it crashed showing a rise in tem-perature at the co-pilot’s window and smoke on board, but investi-gators say these shed little light on the cause.

There are also conflicting re-ports of the plane’s last moments as it crossed from Greek to Egyp-tian airspace. — Reuters

F L I G H T M S 8 0 4

TRAGEDY: Recovered debris of

the EgyptAir jet that crashed

in the Mediterranean Sea is

seen in this handout image re-

leased May 21, 2016 by Egypt’s

military. — Egyptian Military/Handout via

Reuters/File photo

A9

INDIAT H U R S DAY, J U N E 2 , 2 0 1 6

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Modi releases first ever plan for disaster management

NEW DELHI: India on Wednes-day got its first national plan to manage disasters with an aim to make the country “resilient” to and reduce mortality from deadly calamities with effective manage-ment and prevention policies.

The National Disaster Manage-ment Plan (NDMP), unveiled by

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is based on the UN’s Sendai frame-work, a 15-year blueprint signed last year to reduce deaths and eco-nomic losses from disasters the world over.

The plan is based on four pri-orities as were outlined by the UN framework. These include under-standing disaster risk, strength-ening disaster risk governance, investing in disaster risk reduc-tion for resilience and enhancing disaster preparedness for effec-tive response during and in the aftermath of a disaster.

“This is the first ever national plan prepared in the country,” a statement from the Prime Min-ister’s Office said, adding it has a “regional approach...beneficial not only for disaster management but also for development planning”.

The new plan is significant because India is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world and some 200 million In-dians are likely to be exposed to natural disasters by 2050 because of rapid urbanization and the ex-treme weather stemming from climate change, according to a

World Bank report.Many Indian cities recently

faced deadly natural calamities in-cluding in floods in Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Odi-sha, Maharashtra and Assam that left thousands of people dead and losses to properties worth billions of rupees.

The key to battle such deadly events depends on an effective preparedness, including early warning systems and strong infra-structure. The country’s disaster management has always come un-der the flak despite the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) — in place.

But at state-level disaster management and mitigation has always been lax. The new plan involves all stakeholders includ-ing state governments and other government agencies.

It sets out targets that will en-able disaster managers to reduce possible damage to infrastructure and any disruptions to basic ser-vices, including health and edu-cation facilities. It also lays down guidelines to increase access to early warning systems and disas-ter risk information for the public.

The “vision”, the statement said, is to “make India disaster resilient, achieve substantial dis-

aster risk reduction, and signifi-cantly decrease the losses of life, livelihoods, and assets - econom-ic, physical, social, cultural and environmental”.

This will be done by maximiz-ing the disaster-fighting abilities at all levels of administration and the communities, according to the plan that lays stress on a greater need for information, education and communication activities.

It also sets out to reduce dis-aster risk by mainstreaming its requirements into the overall de-velopmental plans.

“The NDMP is a dynamic docu-ment in the sense that it will be periodically improved keeping up with the emerging global best practices and knowledge bases in disaster management,” a home ministry statement said.

Experts hailed the plan as a leap forward with stress on protecting people and properties.

But some appeared cynical about its proper implementation.

“It is good. But the key lies in its implementation. Its effectiveness will be determined by its imple-mentation and not what lies in the blueprint,” said Mahesh Upad-hyay, a disaster management ex-pert, who has on many occasions consulted with the NDMA. - IANS

The new plan is

significant because

India is one of the

most disaster-prone

countries in the world

and some 200 million

Indians are likely to

be exposed to natural

disasters by 2050

because of rapid

urbanization

LAUNCH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Home Minster Ra-

jnath Singh and MoS Kiren Rijiju at the release of the National Dis-

aster Management Plan (NDMP), first ever national plan prepared

in the country, in New Delhi on Wednesday. - PTI

India, Morocco launch Chamber of Commerce

RABAT (Morocco): India and Morocco on Wednesday launched the India-Morocco Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IMCCI) here to accelerate the pace of eco-nomic development between the two countries. The chamber was jointly launched by visiting Vice President Hamid Ansari and Mo-roccan Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane at a function here.

Speaking on the occasion, An-sari said that a Chamber of Com-merce and Industry did not ex-ist because “we took things for granted”. He said that the world is changing and it has become a glo-balised world. “We do need bodies like the IMCCI,” he added.

Ansari said, “It is a testament to the growing importance of com-mercial engagement between our two countries”. He said that the IMCCI should focus on the re-quirements of both sides. An offi-cial spokesman said that bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $1.26 billion in 2015 with Indian exports forming roughly 25 per cent of the trade volume. He said that Morocco has emerged as a favoured destination for invest-ments by Indian firms adding that Indian companies have cumula-tively invested more that $320 mil-lion in Morocco, including in the flagship project, the Indo-Maroc Phosphore SA joint venture. - PTI

B O O S T I N G T R A D E

Opposition parties attack government over fuel price hikeNEW DELHI/CHENNAI: Oppo-sition parties on Wednesday attacked the Modi government over the hike in prices of petrol and diesel with Rahul Gandhi wondering whether these are the “promised acche din” and Jayalalithaa demanding im-mediate rollback.

The ruling Trinamool Con-gress in West Bengal termed the price hike as a “burden” on gener-al public while the CPI-M stoutly opposed the increase, the third in a month.

“The Modi government in-creased petrol and diesel prices for the 3rd time in last one month. Is this the promised #AccheDin” (good days), the Congress Vice President said on micro-blogging site Twitter.

At the AICC briefing earlier, party spokesperson Sushmita Dev targeted the government for raising the prices of petrol and diesel. “This insensitive govern-ment has not even spared the women of the household already reeling under high prices of dal and vegetables and has dealt a double blow by increasing the cost of non-subsidised LPG cyl-inder by Rs21 and commercial cylinder by Rs37”, she said.

She said while the present price of diesel (in Delhi) is Rs 53.93 per litre and that of petrol and Rs 65.60 per litre, they should have been Rs 21.66 and Rs 25 re-spectively as per the decrease in international crude prices.

Taking a jibe at the govern-ment’s tagline on its second an-niversary that “desh badal raha hai,” she said what was actually happening was that the common man was being burdened with rising prices.

In Chennai, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa demanded rollback of the latest hike, saying it would lead to increase in prices of essential commodities.

“I have pointed out many times that the Price Fixation Policy followed by Oil Marketing com-panies is wrong. The price of petrol and diesel has now been increased based on this wrong policy,” she said in a statement.

The bi-monthly determination of fuel price based on the rupee-US dollar exchange rate was “not the right policy”, she said pointing to the petrol price hike by Rs 2.57 a litre and diesel by Rs 2.35 per litre.

“Due to the hike in petrol and diesel prices, freight charges will increase and the prices of es-sential commodities will go up, affecting the ordinary people. I urge, the hike announced by the Oil Marketing companies should be withdrawn,” she said. In Kol-kata, Trinamool Congress said the fuel price hike was a fresh “burden” on the people. - PTI

D E M A N D I N G R O L L B A C K

I have pointed out

many times that

the Price Fixation

Policy followed by Oil

Marketing companies

is wrong. The price of

petrol and diesel has

now been increased

based on this wrong

policy

J. JayalalithaaTamil Nadu chief minister

Lightning strikes kill 15 in Odisha

BHUBANESWAR: At least 15 people were killed and eight oth-ers injured in separate lightning incidents in Odisha on Wednes-day, police said.

While four persons were killed as lightning struck at three places in Kendrapara district, four oth-ers were killed in Ganjam dis-trict, they said. Among the other

deaths, three were reported from Jatni area near Bhubaneswar and two each in Mayurbhanj and Bhadrak districts, police said.

The victims were either work-ing in open field or sheltered un-der tree when they were struck by thunderbolts in different parts of the state which was hit by a squall, police said. - PTI

S E P A R A T E I N C I D E N T S

A10

INDIA T H U R S DAY, J U N E 2 , 2 0 1 6

Notwithstanding an unsupportive global environment, I firmly

do believe that India has the potential over the next year or two

to improve upon this growth rates and continue to retain its

position as the world’s fastest growing economy

Arun Jaitley, Finance minister

India’s growth curve to accelerate further: Jaitley

TOKYO: Highlighting India as the world’s fastest growing major economy despite an unsupport-ive global environment, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednes-day said good monsoon, GST pas-sage and higher spending will ac-celerate the upward curve in the coming years.

“When globally the going is good most countries do well. It is when the world is slowing down and world environment is not only unsupportive but at times ob-structive, for an economy to grow is most challenging,” he said.

Pro-growth policies have helped GDP grow at faster-than- expected 7.9 per cent in the Jan-uary-March quarter, and 7.6 per cent for the entire 2015-16 fiscal, Jaitley said, asserting that these are not “stray figures” and an anal-ysis of the pattern shows inherent strength in the Indian economy.

“To grow at this rate in the midst of an unsupportive global environment is itself significant,” Jaitley said addressing a confer-ence here before heading for Osa-ka. Stating that global unpredict-ability impacts India, he said the shrinkage of global trade as well as

fluctuations in currencies has ad-versely effected the economy. Be-sides, drought for two consecutive years in parts of the country also impacted the growth prospects.

Potential“Notwithstanding an unsupport-ive global environment, I firmly do believe that India has the po-tential over the next year or two to improve upon this growth rates and continue to retain its posi-tion as the world’s fastest growing economy,” he said.

Going forward, “reform pro-cess is going to continue. Hope-

fully, Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill is passed (in ensuing monsoon session of Parliament), which has the potential to add to GDP growth. Also, our infrastruc-ture and rural spending will add to that,” he said commenting on the latest GDP numbers.

A good monsoon this year, as forecast, “would mean an in-crease in agriculture production, more purchasing power and rural demand,” he said.

“Better monsoon, when rural demand increases, will cumula-tively push up growth.”

The GDP expansion in January-

March period bettered 7.2 per cent of December quarter and helped extend the lead over Chi-na, which grew 6.7 per cent in the March quarter — slowest in the world’s second largest economy in seven years.

“In the midst of global slow down our per capita income in-creased by 7.4 per cent. We met our target of fiscal deficit. What is more significant, revenue deficit has been down to 2.5 per cent,” Jaitley said.

On external factors, he said oil and commodity prices effect the Indian economy.

“India being a net buyer has benefited from the regime in last over a year. And if the prices re-main within the current range we have the ability to absorb although if there is any undue increase in prices its impact on both inflation and savings would be noticeable,” he said. He said the GDP figures released on Tuesday have shown that there was an increased con-sumer spending which has its impact on the private sector as in-creased demand will enable them to fill up their capacities.

“Starting this week the fresh monsoon season in India begins and by all indications this is go-ing to be a good season for mon-soons. In last 100 years, India has never had three years of bad monsoons in a row. Met dept projections indicate it will be a bumper monsoon,” he said. - PTI

Finance Minister

Arun Jaitley said pro-

growth policies have

helped GDP grow at

faster-than- expected

7.9 per cent in the

January-March

quarter, and 7.6 per

cent for the entire

2015-16 fiscalONE FOR THE ALBUM: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley with Indian and Japanese top Executives and

CEOs during a meeting in Tokyo on Wednesday. - PTI

Green tribunal notice to centre on Taj turning yellowNEW DELHI: The National Green Tribunal has asked the Cen-tre to respond to the plea of an en-vironment enthusiast alleging that largescale burning of municipal solid waste in Agra was turning the Taj Mahal yellow.

The green panel also restrained civic authorities from burning municipal solid waste and other waste in open in Agra and the ar-eas around the eco-sensitive Taj Trapezium Zone.

A bench headed by NGT Chair-person Justice Swatanter Kumar issued notices to Ministry of En-

vironment & Forests, Ministry of Urban Development, Uttar Pradesh government, Central Pollution Control Board and oth-ers while seeking their reply in two weeks.

The order came on a plea filed by Agra resident and green activist D. K. Joshi, who claimed a joint study by IIT-Kanpur, Georgia Institute of Technology and University of Wisconsin had revealed that “brown and black carbons along with dust” were responsible for giving yellow tinge to the 17th cen-tury white marble monument.

Subsequent to the report, the parliamentary standing com-mittee on environment passed several directions to the Agra ad-ministration to curb pollution in the city.

“According to a study carried out by Ajay Nagpure, the burning of MSW releases a high amount of particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), which is responsible for damaging the aesthetics of a culturally important monument, like the Taj Mahal,” the plea, filed through advocate Rahul Choudhary, said.

It said that one of the major threats to the Taj Mahal was the high level of particulate matter (PM) which was being released into air due to large scale burning of municipal solid waste (MSW) in the city.

The plea contends that civic bodies in Agra were blatantly vio-lating Solid Waste Management Rules as more than 2,000 met-ric tonnes of solid waste per day was being dumped in various part of the city besides plastic waste which was being consumed by stray animals. - PTI

P O L L U T I O N

Ammunition depot fire toll climbs to 19

PULGAON (Maharashtra):Three more bodies were on Wednesday recovered from the site of the fire mishap at the Central Ammuni-tion Depot at Pulgaon in Maha-rashtra, taking the death toll to 19.

“Three bodies charred beyond recognition have been recovered from the accident site today,” De-fence sources said.

All the three belonged to De-fence Security Corps, the sources added. Seventeen persons includ-

ing a senior CAD official were Tuesday rushed to the Acharya Vinoba Bhave Rural Hospital in Sawangi Meghe as they sustained injuries in the blaze that broke out at one of Asia’s biggest ammuni-tion depot, which houses the larg-est stockpile of weapons in the country. Three of the injured were airlifted to Army Hospital in Pune on Wednesday, a hospital spokes-person said. They include Deputy Commandant of the CAD, Colonel

Ganendra Singh and two other of-ficers -- Sharad Yadav and Jag-dish Chandra. Yadav has suffered some injuries on his face and arm caused by flying splinters and Chandra suffered burn injuries, the spokesperson said. The Army has instituted an inquiry into the incident. Parrikar had said that there was no sabotage involved in the fire at the ammunition de-pot but the exact cause would be known only after inquiry. - PTI

M A H A R A S H T R A

MAJESTIC: In this photograph taken on December 4, 2010, tourists

visit the Taj Mahal in Agra. - AFP

Dadri report sparks fresh political sparringLUCKNOW/NOIDA: The Dadri lynching sparked fresh political sparring on Wednesday after de-tails of a forensic report on a meat sample that led to the attack sur-faced with BJP leaders from Uttar Pradesh targeting the ruling Sa-majwadi Party after Chief Minis-ter Akhilesh Yadav questioned its authenticity.

With a clarity from where ex-actly the meat sample was found yet to emerge, a report prepared by a forensic lab in Mathura conclud-ed that it was beef, eight months after the attack set off a fierce de-bate over intolerance and political slugfest. The meat was said to have been found in a garbage dump out-side the victim’s house while some reports said it was recovered from the freezer inside.

The finding was in contrast to the preliminary report of an en-quiry by the Uttar Pradesh Vet-erinary department which said the meat over which Mohammad Akhlaq, 52, was lynched on Sep-tember 28 last in Dadri on rumours that his family stored and ate beef was mutton of ‘goat progeny’.

With UP headed for a crucial assembly polls next year, BJP MP Yogi Adityanath hit out at the Sa-majwadi Party(SP)for questioning the authenticity of the report, al-leging they only want votes.

He also demanded registra-tion of cow slaughter case against Akhlaq’s family. - PTI

A U T H E N T I C I T Y Q U E S T I O N E D

A11

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Shahbaz the richest, Qaim the poorest chief ministerISLAMABAD: Judging by their declared assets, Shahbaz Sharif is the richest, while Qaim Ali Shah is the poorest of all provincial chief ministers.

Shahbaz owns more assets than those of the three chief ministers’ combined, according to the asset details of provincial lawmakers released by the Election Commis-sion of Pakistan on Tuesday.

The assets of Shahbaz and his two wives are worth Rs520.75 mil-lion. He owns two flats in London worth Rs147 million and Rs70 million shares in two factories, in-cluding Hudaibiya Paper Mills.

He was also gifted a Toyota Land Cruiser worth Rs1.4 million.

His net wealth is Rs240 million.Interestingly, his wife Nusrat

Shahbaz owns assets worth Rs277 million, including properties at eight different places in Kasur and

Sheikhupura. His second spouse, Tehmina Durrani, owns assets worth Rs9.1 million.

Second richestSimilarly, Khyber-Paktunkhwa chief minister Pervez Khattak is the second richest with Rs270 mil-lion assets. His wife also owns 53 tolas of gold worth Rs2.6 million and around Rs6 million in cash – Rs4.3 million in hand and Rs1.6 million in banks.

The declared assests of Balo-chistan Chief Minister Sanaullah Zehri are worth Rs110 million while Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah has assets worth Rs20 million, making him the poorest among his counterparts.

Zehri’s predecessor Dr Abdul Malik Baloch owns Rs40 million assets. Majority of provincial as-sembly members have mentioned

immovable property in the name of their parents, spouses, or showed it as being inherited from ancestors.

Punjab Assembly’s Opposi-tion Leader Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed owns assets worth Rs21.5 million, Law Minister Rana San-aullah has assets of Rs50 million, Moonis Elahi, son of Punjab’s for-mer chief minister Pervaiz Elahi, owns assets of Rs650 million.

Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon reportedly own assets of Rs27.9 million. Punjab MPA Rana Mashood Ahmad owns three plots in the name of his wife of Rs136 million. Besides, he also runs a business in Lahore with capital amount of Rs85million. He has 150 tolas of jewellery and Rs29 million in a bank – in the name of his spouse.

Sindh former chief minister

Arbab Ghulam Rahim has a Land Cruiser of Rs12 million. He also owns buffaloes worth Rs33 million and goats worth Rs3.5 million.

Another member of the Sindh Assembly, Sharmila Faruqui owns 135 acres of land in Thatta.

This land was a ‘gift’ from her mother while she also has 100 to-las of gold and gems inherited from her ancestors. Besides, 200 tolas of gold were also presented to her by her parents and in-laws on her marriage. She also owns Rs4.8 mil-lion in cash and bank account.

As per details, Sindh Assembly Speaker Shehla Raza has Rs11,000 in cash and Rs40 million in her bank. Raza has, however, avoided sharing other details of her assets.

PPP’s Owais Muzaffar has sub-mitted a detailed report of his as-sets, which include agriculture land in Thatta and a house in La-

hore. Apart from other businesses, he has invested 5.5 million UAE dirham in Barkat Investment, 9.5 million dinars in Dubai and 1.7 mil-lion dinars in Sudan.

In the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, Pakistan Tehreek-e- Insaf’s Ali Amin Gandapur owns assets worth Rs85 million.

He has a bullet-proof vehicle worth Rs8 million and gold worth Rs18 million. Sardar Hussain Babak of the ANP owns a Prado worth Rs3.2 million, 25 tolas of gold, 100 kanal agricultural land of Rs30 million and 200 kanal land worth Rs25 million. -Express Tribune

E L E C T I O N C O M M I S S I O N O F P A K I S T A N

DECLARED ASSETS: Shahbaz

owns more assets than those of

the three chief ministers’ com-

bined, according to the asset

details of provincial lawmakers

released by the Election Com-

mission of Pakistan on Tuesday.

- Express Tribune

Projects worth $30b already finalised under CPEC: Iqbal

ISLAMABAD: Projects worth $30 billion out of a total portfolio of $46 billion have been initiated in the last one year, said Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Ahsan Iqbal, adding that there was no bureaucratic hurdle in the implementation of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) schemes.

The financing arrangements for $30 billion CPEC projects are either finalised or are at vari-ous stages of approval, said Iqbal while addressing a press confer-ence a day after the National Eco-nomic Council (NEC) meeting.

The minister said that most of the $30 billion active portfolio is in the private sector while financ-ing agreements of road infrastruc-ture projects of the public sector have also been signed.

Iqbal said that making $30 bil-lion CPEC portfolio active in a limited period of one year was a big success for the country and it shows that there were no bureau-cratic hurdles in the way of swift implementation. Iqbal’s com-ments came amid pressure to set up a CPEC authority for swift im-plementation of the projects that started under Chinese president’s strategic initiative, One-Belt One-Road. The purpose of the pro-

posed CPEC authority is said to fast-track approvals and monitor-ing of these schemes.

However, the federal govern-ment has already turned down the request on the ground that it would add another bureaucratic layer. Iqbal said that Gwadar port projects including New Gwadar International Airport and East-bay Expressway have been for-warded to the Chinese side for financial approval. He hoped that this process would be completed in the next three months and work would begin soon.

According to Iqbal, the govern-ment has allocated Rs125 billion ($1.2 billion) for carrying out work on CPEC schemes during the new fiscal year 2016-17. “However, the allocations remain far less than the actual requirements.

“An amount of Rs60 billion has also been allocated for two LNG-fired power plants being set up in Punjab,” Iqbal added, hoping that these two projects would be com-pleted by May next year.

He said in the last three years, 610 projects costing Rs747 billion have been completed.

The minister said that the 1,320MW Port Qasim power pro-ject would be completed by Sep-tember next year while the Thar Coal mining projects would be

operational by 2018.To a question whether Chah-

bahar Port of Iran was a threat to Gwadar port, the minister said that Pakistan does not feel threat-ened by any project.

For the outgoing fiscal year, the federal government had allocated Rs700 billion for PSDP spending while the four provinces allocated Rs814 billion, bringing the total outlay to Rs1.514 trillion.

However, the Planning Com-mission on Monday informed the NEC that the spending would re-main close to Rs1.401 trillion.

Iqbal insisted that the Rs114 billion lesser spending than ap-proved budget was not actually a cut but a result of administrative weaknesses, legal issues and ca-pacity constraints.

Contrary to this claim, the In-ternational Monetary Fund had reported about a year ago that the federal PSDP spending would re-main lower than the Rs700 billion allocation. The minister said that due to less spending the minis-tries actually surrendered the sur-plus funds allocated for the outgo-ing fiscal year.

This nullifies the case of seek-ing a trillion-rupee federal PSDP after the ministries and corpora-tions were unable to spend half a trillion rupee fund. - Express Tribune

Iqbal said that

making $30 billion

CPEC portfolio active

in a limited period

of one year was a

big success for the

country and it shows

that there were no

bureaucratic hurdles

in the way of swift

implementation

STRATEGIC INITIATIVE: This file photograph taken on April 13,

2016, shows a general view of the dockside at the port of Gwadar,

some 700km west of Karachi. - AFP

Budget books fudge foreign loan figures to deflect criticismISLAMABAD: While the gov-ernment will borrow roughly $10 billion in foreign loans in the next financial year, the budget docu-ments to be presented in National Assembly on Friday only mention $6 billion in borrowings, appar-ently to deflect criticism against the growing debt pile.

The finalised foreign borrow-ings plan for 2016-17 excludes all publicly guaranteed loans, bor-rowings obtained previously to inflate forex reserves and foreign short-term commercial loans, sources told The Express Tribune.

These exclusions will understate the country’s external debt pile by

as much as $4 billion in a single year. By including these borrow-ings into the total foreign economic estimates of next fiscal, the accu-mulated loans would be close to $10 billion — the highest ever borrow-ings in a single financial year.

The sources said most of the loans from China have been ex-cluded from Estimate of Foreign Assistance Book 2016-17 that the Finance Ministry will table in the lower house of parliament along with the other budget documents.

Against original estimates of $3.1 billion Chinese loans being obtained in the outgoing fiscal year, the government has now pro-

jected only $594 million borrow-ings from China in 2016-17.

This shows a reduction of 513 per cent or $2.5 billion over the previous year.

Foreign currency reservesThe $594-million figure appears highly unrealistic, as Islamabad has started work on billions of dol-lars worth of defence and power projects with China’s cooperation.

The sources said another $1 bil-lion in China Safe Deposit loan, which is part of Pakistan’s foreign currency reserves held by the cen-tral bank, has been excluded from the estimates. To a question if Is-

lamabad had decided to return this loan, State Bank spokesman Abid Qamar said the $1 billion loan was obtained by the federal govern-ment and it would be in a better position to explain this.

Another loan of over $1.2 bil-lion to be obtained for building 2,200MW nuclear power plants in Karachi, known as K2 and K3, has been excluded not only from the next fiscal’s estimates but also from the outgoing year’s estimates.

China signed an agreement to provide about $6.5 billion in loan for K2 and K3 plants, and Islama-bad has already received about $1.5 billion under this head.

The total foreign economic as-sistance for the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), which manages these plants, is shown at just $126 million for the next fiscal. For the outgoing year, PAEC’s original foreign loans were estimated at $1.4 billion.

The government also has de-cided to exclude short-term for-eign commercial borrowings from next year’s loan estimates.In the outgoing fiscal, the government borrowed $1.4 billion from foreign commercial banks without com-petitive bidding.

In the words of Finance Sec-retary Dr Waqar Masood, these

short-term loans were meant for “balance of support and budget fi-nancing”. Growing public debt has severely limited Pakistan’s loan repayment ability, forcing the gov-ernment to reschedule payments every year. In 2016-17, borrowings from the Asian Development Bank are projected at $1.1 billion.

The World Bank is expected to give fresh loans worth $1.5 bil-lion while loans from the Islamic Development Bank may go down drastically to about $465 million. A Finance Ministry official claimed the foreign loans have been ex-cluded from the estimates as they were double counted. - Express Tribune

G R O W I N G D E B T P I L E

US drone strikes on Pakistani territory must stop: Raheel

ISLAMABAD: Army chief Gen-eral Raheel Sharif on Wednesday said US drone strikes on Pakistani territory are regrettable and must stop as they are a threat to the sov-ereignty and security of the coun-try, Express News reported.

“US drone strikes in Pakistani territory are regrettable and must stop,” said General Raheel while speaking to the media after Presi-dent Mamnoon Hussain’s address to the joint session of Parliament.

General Raheel Sharif was pre-sent at the session marking the start of the new parliamentary year along with the navy and air force chiefs. Regarding the ongo-ing war on terror, General Raheel said, “The war on terror will be completed at any cost.” He also lauded the efforts of those partici-pating in Operation Zarb-e-Azb.

Earlier, the army chief warned the recent US drone strike tar-geting late Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour was detrimental to bilateral relations between the two countries.

The army chief’s reaction came during a meeting with the Ambas-sador of US David Hale at the Gen-eral Headquarters in Rawalpindi, a statement issued by Inter Services Public relations (ISPR) said.- Express Tribune

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Financing health, education for allJeffrey D. Sachs

In 2015, around 5.9 million children under the age of five, almost all in developing countries, died from easily preventable or treatable

causes. And up to 200 million young children and adolescents do not attend primary or sec-ondary school, owing to poverty, including 110 million through the lower-secondary level, ac-cording to a recent estimate. In both cases, mas-sive suffering could be ended with a modest amount of global funding.

Children in poor countries die from causes – such as unsafe childbirth, vaccine-preventable diseases, infections such as malaria for which low-cost treatments exist, and nutritional deficiencies – that have been almost totally eliminated in the rich countries. In a moral world, we would devote our utmost effort to end such deaths.

In fact, the world has made a half-hearted effort. Deaths of young children have fallen to slightly un-der half the 12.7 million recorded in 1990, thanks to additional global funding for disease control, chan-neled through new institutions such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.

When I first recommended such a fund in 2000, skeptics said that more money would not save lives. Yet the Global Fund proved the doubters wrong: More money prevented millions of deaths from AIDS, TB, and malaria. It was well used.

The reason that child deaths fell to 5.9 million, rather to near zero, is that the world gave only about half the funding necessary. While most countries can cover their health needs with their own budgets, the poorest countries cannot. They need about $50 billion per year of global help to close the financing gap. Current global aid for health runs at about $25 billion per year. While these numbers are only approximate, we need roughly an additional $25 billion per year to help prevent up to six million deaths per year. It’s hard to imagine a better bargain.

Similar calculations help us to estimate the global funding needed to enable all children to complete at least a high-school education. UN-ESCO recently calculated the global education “financing gap” to cover the incremental costs – of classrooms, teachers, and supplies – of universal completion of secondary school at roughly $39 billion. With current global funding for education at around $10-15 billion per year, the gap is again

roughly $25 billion, similar to health care. And, as with health care, such increased global funding could effectively flow through a new Global Fund for Education. Thus, an extra $50 billion or so per year could help ensure that children everywhere have access to basic health care and schooling. The world’s governments have already adopted these two objectives – universal health care and univer-sal quality education – in the new Sustainable De-velopment Goals.

An extra $50 billion per year is not hard to find. One option targets my own country, the United States, which currently gives only around 0.17 per cent of gross national income for development aid, or roughly one-quarter of the international target of 0.7 per cent of GNI for development assistance.

Sweden, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and the United Kingdom each give at least 0.7 per cent of GNI; the US can and should do so as well. If it did, that extra 0.53 per cent of GNI would add roughly $90 billion per year of global funding. The US currently spends around 5 per cent of GDP, or roughly $900 billion per year, on military-related spending (for the Pentagon, the CIA, veterans, and others). It could and should transfer at least $90 billion of that to development aid. Such a shift in focus from war to develop-ment would greatly bolster US and global security; the recent US wars in North Africa and the Mid-dle East have cost trillions of dollars and yet have weakened, not strengthened, national security.

A second option would tax the global rich, who often hide their money in tax havens in the Car-ibbean and elsewhere. Many of these tax havens are UK overseas territories. Most are closely con-nected with Wall Street and the City of London. The US and British governments have protected the tax havens mainly because the rich people who put their money there also put their money into campaign contributions or into hiring poli-ticians’ family members. The tax havens should be called upon to impose a small tax on their de-posits, which total at least $21 trillion. The rich countries could enforce such a tax by threatening to cut off noncompliant havens’ access to global financial markets. - Project Syndicate

Scan this QR for full storyFuel price hike will maintain Oman economy

This refers to the online article, Fuel prices in Oman to rise in June (May 31). In my opinion, as long as it is good for Oman‘s economy, the decision should be respected. This is why one must comply as

the decision is being made to improve and maintain a healthy economy. - Sanjay Jangir Thomson, Muscat via Facebook

Expats must return favour This refers to the online article Fuel prices in Oman to rise in June (May 31). This is a much needed step to support Oman’s economy. This nation has given us expats quite much. Now is the time to return the favour by supporting hard steps. - Tanxeel Rehman, Muscat via Facebook

Bose has wife acceptance factorThis refers to the online article, Bose home theatre systems: Not the best (May 29). The-re is no better speaker, however, this based on the listener. Bose speakers are probably the best marketed and the wife acceptance factor is very high. But Bose gets bashed

because they are not neutral and do not handle the entire spectrum of frequencies. Their old series 901 were real good but acoustimass is subjective. - Nagaraj Shankar, Muscat via Facebook

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Five killed as Taliban storm Afghan court

KABUL/DUSHANBE: Taliban insurgents stormed a court in the Afghan city of Ghazni on Wednes-day, clashing with police for at least an hour in an attack in which 10 people, including all five of the militants, were killed, police said.

The attack came days after the Taliban, who are fighting to top-ple the government of President Ashraf Ghani, vowed to seek revenge for the execution last month of six Taliban prisoners.

The raid began when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the gate of the court and four more attackers fought their way inside, sparking an hour-long battle with police, said city police chief Ami-nullah Amarkhil.

“Four civilian visitors and a po-liceman were killed in the attack but our forces were on high alert and shot dead the other bombers

in no time,” he said.The court building in the city,

150km (southwest of Kabul, was damaged, he said. Spokesmen for the Taliban were not available for comment. The militants had vowed revenge for the hanging on May 8 of six Taliban prisoners convicted of terrorism offences, as part of a tougher security pol-icy in retaliation for an April sui-cide attack in Kabul in which 64 people were killed.

The Taliban have made con-siderable gains in various parts of the country since the departure of most foreign combat troops at the end of 2014, and both government forces and the militants have suf-fered heavy losses in fighting.

The United States killed the leader of the Taliban in a drone attack in southwest Pakistan on May 21 but the death of Mullah Akhtar Mansour has had no dis-cernable impact on the violence.

In another incident on Wednes-day, a roadside bomb killed a top police administrator and wounded

four policemen in the relatively peaceful northern province of Balkh, officials there said.

Security threatsMeanwhile, Tajikistan has boost-ed troop numbers on its frontier with Afghanistan, the border guard service said on Wednes-day, due to security threats from armed smugglers, kidnappers and insurgents.

Tajikistan, the poorest coun-try in the former Soviet Union, is worried about militant groups based in conflict-ridden Afghani-stan trying to open a new front in their war. The border area is also a major route for narcotics from Afghanistan, the world’s main producer of opium used to make heroin, into Central Asia and on to Russia and Europe.

To address the threats, Du-shanbe has sent more troops to the border and set up dozens of new outposts, border guard ser-vice spokesman Muhammad Ul-ugkhodzhayev said. - Reuters

The attack came

days after the

Taliban, who are

fighting to topple

the government of

President Ashraf

Ghani, vowed to

seek revenge for

the execution last

month of six Taliban

prisoners

ON GUARD: Afghan security force personnel stand alert at the

entrance to a provincial court in Ghazni on June 1, 2016, after

a group of Taliban gunmen targeted the building. - AFP

The Taliban have made considerable gains in various parts

of the country since the departure of most foreign combat

troops at the end of 2014, and both government forces and

the militants have suffered heavy losses in fighting.

A14

WORLDT H U R S DAY, J U N E 2 , 2 0 1 6

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HEAVY RAINFALL IN FRANCE French firefighters on small boats evacuate residents from a flooded area after heavy rainfall in Nemours, France, on Wednesday. — Reuters

Zimbabwe lobbies for on ivory tradeHARARE: Zimbabwe is seeking support from its neighbours to be allowed to engage in international trade in ivory and will not burn its 70 tonnes of ivory stocks as Kenya did last month, the environment minister said on Wednesday.

Zimbabwe and Namibia are bid-ding to open up international trade in elephant ivory, against initia-tives led by Kenya for a complete global ban.

Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri told diplomats from the Southern Afri-can Development Community that Zimbabwe was counting on their support at the next UN Conven-tion on International Trade in En-dangered Species (CITES) meet-ing in September.

Stop poachingMuchinguri-Kashiri said ban-ning trade in ivory would not stop poaching and gave the example of how the rhino population re-mained under threat 40 years after trading in the rhino horn was out-lawed by CITES.

“There is no tangible evidence that trade bans have ever saved a species from extinction,” Muchin-guri-Kashiri said. — Reuters

S U P P O R T

US-backed forces open front against IS in northern Syria

WA S H I N G T O N/ B E I R U T : Thousands of US-backed fight-ers opened a major new front in Syria’s war, launching an offensive to drive IS out of a swathe of north-ern Syria it uses as a logistics base, and were reported on Wednesday to be making rapid progress.

The operation, which began on Tuesday after weeks of quiet preparations, aims to choke off the group’s access to Syrian land along the Turkish border that the militants have long used to move foreign fighters back and forth to Europe.

“It’s significant in that it’s their last remaining funnel” to Europe, a US military official told Reuters.

A small number of US special operations forces will support the push on the ground, acting as advisers and staying some dis-

tance back from the front lines, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to dis-cuss military planning.

“They’ll be as close as they need to be for the (Syrian fighters) to complete the operation.

But they will not engage in di-rect combat,” the official said.

The operation will also count on support from US-led coalition air strikes as well as from ground-based firing positions across the border in Turkey.

Driving IS from its last remain-ing foothold at the Turkish border has been a top priority of the US-led campaign against the group.

The group controls around

80 km (50 miles) of the frontier stretching west from Jarablus.

The Syrian Observatory for Hu-man Rights said US-led air strikes in support of the ground opera-tion killed 15 civilians including three children near Manbij in the last 24 hours.

The Observatory’s reporting is based on an activist network in Syria.

It said the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance, the force that is conducting the assault to capture the tract of land known as the Manbij pocket, had taken 16 villages and were at a distance of 15 km (9 miles) from Manbij town itself.

The US officials said the op-eration would be overwhelmingly comprised of Syrian Arabs instead of forces with the Kurdish YPG militia, who will only represent about a fifth or a sixth of the over-all force.

This is seen as important to NATO member Turkey, which has opposed any further expan-sion of Syrian Kurdish sway at the frontier.

Ankara sees the Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters -- who already con-trol an uninterrupted 400 km (250 mile) stretch of the border -- to be terrorists and has been enraged by US backing for the militia in its battle with IS in Syria.

However, the Observatory said the Kurdish YPG militia made up the majority of the fighters taking part in the SDF assault.

A US official said Turkey sup-ported the offensive. SDF and YPG officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

The US officials told Reuters the YPG would only fight to help clear IS from the area around Manbij.

Syrian Arab fighters would be the ones to stabilise and secure it once IS is gone, according to the operational plans.

“After they take Manbij, the agreement is the YPG will not be staying... So you’ll have Syrian Ar-abs occupying traditional Syrian Arab land,” the official said.

In Ankara, a Turkish military source said Turkey was not con-tributing to the operation.

Ankara had been told by Wash-ington about the push but could not back it because of the involve-ment of Kurdish YPG fighters and because it was beyond the range of artillery stationed in Turkey, the source said.

The operation is happening ahead of an eventual push by the US-backed Syrian forces toward the city of Raqqa, the IS defacto capital in Syria and the prime ob-jective in Syria for US military planners.

The US military official said depriving IS of the Manbij pocket would help further isolate the mili-tants and further undermine their ability to funnel supplies to Raqqa.

US President Barack Obama has authorised about 300 US special operations forces to operate on the ground from secret locations in-side Syria to help coordinate with local forces to battle IS there.

In a reminder of the risks, one US service member was injured north of Raqqa over the weekend, the Pentagon said. — Reuters

The operation, which

began on Tuesday

after weeks of quiet

preparations, aims to

choke off the group’s

access to Syrian land

along the Turkish

border that the

militants have long

used to move foreign

fighters back and

forth to Europe

CONFLICT: People walk towards the last checkpoint, which is controlled by Syrian government forces,

while waiting for permission to leave the besieged area of Moudamiya Al Sham, in the suburbs of

Damascus, Syria on Wednesday. — Reuters

No one can dictate on Philippine foreign policy: new FMMANILA: The Philippines will not distance itself from its long-time security ally, the United States, but neither will it be a lack-ey to any foreign power, incoming Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay told Reuters on Wednesday.

In his first interview with the foreign media since being appointed by President-elect Rodrigo Duterte, the lawyer by training sought to underline the Philippines’ independence in dealing with disputes with China over the South China Sea.

“We should not be a lackey of any nation,” Yasay said in Ma-nila, the day after Duterte named his cabinet.

Under outgoing President Be-nigno Aquino, the Philippines moved closer to Washington, in

turn straining ties with China.Yasay said relations with China

should improve.“For as long as it (China) ad-

heres to the rule of law, respects our territorial integrity and sov-ereignty...we should continue to make sure that our friendship and relationship would be stronger,” he said.

Duterte, the tough-talking may-or who takes office on June 30, said on Tuesday that the Philippines would not rely on Washington, signalling a potential shift in ap-proach to the South China Sea and broader security issues.

“He was simply articulating the position that, according to the con-stitution, we are supposed to carry an independent foreign policy,” Yasay said of Duterte’s remarks.

Yasay added that the president-elect would honour existing trea-ties with the United States, in-cluding the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement that al-lows US troops increased access to local bases.

US President Barack Obama called Duterte on May 17 to con-gratulate him on his election win.

“That was a very strong indi-cation about our friendship with America not being affected, and will not be affected by his elec-tion,” Yasay said. At the same time, Duterte has not ruled out renegoti-ating agreements in the future if it was deemed necessary.

“When he said he is committed to agreements we have entered into...he does not discount the pos-sibility that in the future, if it is

determined that there is a need to further negotiate on these agree-ments on the basis of pursuing the mutual interest of both countries, we should not hesitate to do so,” Yasay said.

The Supreme Court this year upheld the constitutionality of the agreement that lets the Unit-ed States build warehouses and logistics hubs anywhere in the Philippines. Washington is also helping its former colony to bol-ster its defences, providing three Hamilton-class cutters, radar equipment and a research ship that will arrive in July.

The build-up is part of an effort by the Philippines to strengthen its claims in the disputed South China Sea, where China has been constructing artificial isles. — Reuters

T I E S W I T H R E M A I N U N A F F E C T E D

CRACKDOWN: Philippines’ President-elect Rodrigo Duterte, centre,

meets his National Security officials in Davao City, southern island

of Mindanao on June 1, 2016. Philippine president-elect Rodrigo

Duterte’s war on crime appears to have begun ahead of him taking

office, rights activists said Tuesday as they voiced concern over

a spate of police and vigilante killings. — AFP/KING RODRIGUEZ/DAVAO CITY

MAYOR’S OFFICE

Newly built refugee shelter set on fire in AustriaVIENNA: A building in north-ern Austria that was due to house dozens of asylum seekers was deliberately set on fire, the Red Cross said on Wednesday, a relatively rare attack on a refu-gee centre in a country that has taken in many migrants.

The new wooden building in the town of Altenfelden, near Austria’s borders with Germany and the Czech Republic, caught fire overnight. The Red Cross, which owns the building, later said arson was the cause.

“It was a shock for us,” Red Cross spokesman Stefan Neu-bauer said, adding that 48 people had been due to move into the building in two weeks’ time.”It was an act of vandalism with which we have not been confronted yet.”

Wooden buildings are being used as a cheaper form of ac-commodation in Austria, which last year took in 90,000 asylum seekers, more than 1 percent of its population, and has scram-bled to house them in decent conditions.

ArsonPolice said two fire sources had been found at the build-ing’s external walls, adding that arson was the presumed cause of the blaze.

Austria’s Interior Ministry said an investigation was under way and referred to a report last month showing a rise in far-right crimes in 2015. “There can be no tolerance for extremist criminal acts,” Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka said in a statement.”Violence against those seeking protection is not the solution and is a breeding ground for radicalisation.”— Reuters

R A R E I N C I D E N T

A15T H U R S DAY, J U N E 2 , 2 0 1 6

LONDON: Britain would extend an Australian-style points-based immigration system to European Union citizens if it votes to leave the bloc, the “Out” campaign said on Wednesday, ratcheting up the pressure on a key issue ahead of the June 23 referendum.

Two polls on Tuesday showed Britons have moved towards vot-ing to leave the bloc after official figures published last week put net migration at the second highest level on record last year.

A YouGov poll published on Wednesday put both sides level on 41 per cent, unchanged from its previous survey.

Senior members of the Out cam-paign including former London mayor Boris Johnson and justice secretary Michael Gove said im-migration post-Brexit would be based on job and language skills.

“Migration brings many ben-efits to Britain - culturally, socially and economically,” they said in a joint statement.”We want Britain

to continue to benefit from migra-tion. But if we are to welcome more people to Britain then the public must be reassured that we have control over who comes here.

“Our membership of the EU means we don’t have control.”

Prime Minister David Cameron, who supports an “In” vote, has come under fire during the cam-paign for failing to deliver a prom-ise to keep net migration to the “tens of thousands”.

The figures released last week put net migration at 330,000 in 2015. Of those, a net 184,000 came from the EU, which mandates freedom of movement.

Britons’ choice on whether to remain in the 28-member EU has far-reaching consequences for many aspects of British life and beyond.

Immigration is one of the key battlegrounds in what is becoming an increasingly bitter debate.

Supporters of EU membership

have complained the Out cam-paign has failed to offer any concrete proposals as to what life would look like if Britain left the bloc.

Setting out its plans, the Out campaign said there would be no change for Irish citizens, who can

live and work in Britain, while those EU citizens already lawfully resident in Britain could remain and be granted indefinite leave.

But by the next national election in 2020, the Out campaign said it would have extended a points-based system where EU citizens

would be treated like any other and admitted on the basis of their suit-ability for a job.

“To gain the right to work, eco-nomic migrants will have to be suitable for the job in question,” they said.”For relevant jobs, we

will be able to ensure that all those who come have the ability to speak good English.” The In cam-paign said in response that any move to take Britain out of the EU single market would damage the economy. — Reuters

A16

WORLDT H U R S DAY, J U N E 2 , 2 0 1 6

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Brexit camp eyes Australia-style immigration system after voteSenior members of

the Out campaign

including former

London Mayor

Boris Johnson and

Justice Secretary

Michael Gove said

immigration post-

Brexit would be based

on job and language

skillsWARNING: Trades Union Congress General Secretary Frances O’Grady speaks during the launch

of a poster campaign urging voters to remain part of the European Union, in London, Britain, on

Wednesday.— Reuters

BERLIN: Germany’s Vice-Chancellor warned of serious economic and political costs if Britain were to leave the European Union after a June 23 referendum on member-ship, saying on Wednesday it would also damage confi-dence in the bloc.

Most mainstream German politicians have outlined the benefits of keeping Britain, an ally in several areas of EU policy, in the bloc although they are wary of being seen to tell Britons what to do.

“The weight of the EU but also confidence in the cohe-sion and the steadfastness of the EU would diminish dramatically,” said Social Democrat Sigmar Gabriel, also Economy Minister in conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition.

The economic effects

would be serious both for Britain and Europe but the political costs would be even greater, he said.

“Europe would be taken less seriously,” he said, point-ing in particular to a possible vacuum in the Middle East if the United States gradu-ally stepped back from that region. — Reuters

Decision to leave EU will have dramatic effect: Sigmar

Sigmar Gabriel

MARKEWWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COMT H U R S DAY, J U N E 2 , 2 0 1 6B

Muscat

5,820.26 + 9.30

+ 0.16%

Dubai

3,301.57- 12.15

- 0.37%

Abu Dhabi

4,263.97+ 13.77

+ 0.32%

Saudi Arabia

6,457.95+ 9.53

+ 0.15%

Kuwait

5,374.47- 25.86

- 0.48%

Bahrain

1,105.29 - 6.27

- 0.56%

Qatar

9,577.79+ 39.02

+ 0.41%

CURRENCY RATES* DRAFT RATES (OMR1)* GOLD PRICES*Forex rates vs OMR1*

US Dollar .................................2.58

Euro .............................................2.31

Pound ............................................1.78

Indian Rs .............................. 174.31

Pak Rs ....................................267.67

Bangla Taka........................201.61* Rates are as of June 1

Source: Bank Muscat

Indian Rs ...................................175.05

Pakistan Rs .............................272.00

Sri Lanka Rs ..................................N/A

Bangla Taka........................... 203.50

Phil Peso ....................................121.00

* Rates as of June 1 Source: Oman UAE Exchange

Muscat 24ct per gm (OMR) .......15.55

Muscat 22ct per gm (OMR) .......14.95

Dubai 24ct per gm (Dh) ............ 146.75

Dubai 22ct per gm (Dh) ............ 138.00

* Rates as of June 1

Source: Malabar Gold & Diamonds

Type ............................Delivery...........Price

Oman Crude ............. (Spot) ........$44.58

Dubai Crude ............. (Spot) ........$44.28

Murban Crude ........ (Spot) ..........$47.18

Arabian Light ......... (Spot) ........ $44.73

N.Sea Brent ............... (Spot) ........$49.38

West Texas Int ....... (Spot) ........$48.64

CRUDE OIL PRICE

DIGEST VIDEO

S CA N T H I S Q R CO D E TO I N STA N T LY L AU N C H T H E V I D EO

Top stories in one minute with our new daily Digest

Bank Sohar’s acting CEO submits resignationTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Bank Sohar said that its general manager and acting chief executive officer Rashad Ali Al Musafir has submitted his resig-nation due to personal reasons.

“The board resolved to accept the resignation. Al Musafir will serve his notice period and the board will appoint a suitable re-placement before end of that pe-riod and will make necessary dis-closures to the market as required under the applicable laws and reg-ulations,” said a disclosure state-ment posted on MSM website.

B A N K O F F I C I A L Oman attractive to set up business, says Octal chief

MOBIN MATHEW [email protected]

MUSCAT: Oman’s investment incentives, easiness in doing busi-ness and global logistics connec-tivity make it one of the best coun-tries to establish business, said Nicholas Barakat, chief executive officer of Octal — a leading manu-facturer of polyethylene tereph-thalate (PET) that invested over $700 million in Salalah way back in 2006. PET products are used for packaging applications.

“Oman’s rule of law, access to raw materials, talent, ease of do-ing business and global logistic connectivity makes it one of the best places in the world to estab-lish a business and export from,” Barakat told the ‘Times of Oman’ in an exclusive interview.

“These were the factors that at-tracted Octal to set up in Oman,” he said. According to Barakat, the availability of local, bi-lingual tal-ent also influenced Octal’s decision to establish operations in Oman.

“We saw the clear benefit and

potential of Oman’s young labour force; young professionals who could be trained to a high level, and that is what we are doing to-day,” said Barakat. “Right now, some of the top supervisors in our factories in the United States and in Saudi Arabia are from Oman,” he noted.

Ithraa’s supportOctal offers food grade polyeth-ylene copolymer resins for car-bonated water and beverages, hot fill, oil and water containers, and pharmaceutical material pack-aging, as well as heat set blow moulding applications and poly-ethylene sheets.

With support from Ithraa, Octal started operations in 2006 with an investment of more than $700 mil-lion. “Ithraa introduced us to the investment opportunities avail-able in Oman, which aided our de-cision-making, and we decided to establish our facility in the Salalah Free Zone,” Barakat said.

“We import one million tonnes of raw materials and export one million tonnes of products each year,” he added.

“From Salalah, we need just 14 days to reach NewYork, 21 days to the US west coast and 7 to south-ern Europe, so it is a great location with excellent shipping connec-tivity,” Barakat explained.

Octal has created 550 jobs and more than 95 per cent of its prod-ucts are exported.

“We use state-of-the-art tech-nology to help us produce prod-ucts at a low cost, with a minimal environmental footprint. When compared to others, we consume 65 per cent less electricity and generate significantly fewer car-bon emissions to produce the same products,” he added.

Discussing on the Octal work-force, Barakat remarked: “Most of our team members are from Sala-lah. They are young, motivated and ambitious. And they want to stay, grow and make their careers in Dhofar.”

According to Taleb Al Makh-mari, Ithraa’s director general of Marketing and Media, Oman is the ideal location for businesses interested in the growing and emerging markets of the GCC, Af-rica and Asia.

“Octal recognised the benefits of setting up a plant in Oman and reaping the commercial benefits today. They are a global player and we are proud of what they have achieved,” added Al Makhmari.

Recently, Ithraa received a prestigious award for its excel-lence in investment promotion. A panel of international experts at the annual investment meeting held in Dubai recognised Ithraa’s

work in attracting and helping es-tablish Octal’s greenfield plastics project in the Salalah Free Zone.

“The annual investment meet-ing panel scrutinised the Ithraa-Octal case study using a strict set of criteria that included size and type of inward investment, job creation, innovation and tech-nology transfers, exports, import substitutions, local linkages, sus-tainability and eco-friendliness,” explained Al Makhmari.

Exporting worldwideBy receiving the award, Ithraa has demonstrated exceptional dedi-cation to support companies, like Octal, in finding a strong business base in Oman and exporting to 140 markets worldwide.

“We were thrilled to receive this accolade, as it recognises the outstanding inward investment and export promotional work we do with our partners in govern-ment and the private sector,” said the Ithraa Director General.

“We are absolutely committed to supporting local and interna-tional businesses to succeed and the annual investment meet-ing award is a testament to our continued innovation to develop these relationships. Indeed, for-eign capital is crucial for Oman’s future growth and we work hard to attract international investors,”

added Al Makhmari.Ithraa’s success is based on its

clear international strategy with its bespoke approach to different markets and sectors, crucially supported by a range of private and public sector partners. The award underscores Oman’s out-standing business offer and fur-ther enhances its global recogni-tion as a great place to do business and as an investment destination.

“Team Ithraa is in discussions with businesses from all over the world to set up a base here. The results of their work generate jobs and create commercial opportu-nities for the people of Oman. The importance of Ithraa’s work can-not be overstated. Winning a pres-tigious AIM award is a great hon-our and well deserved,” said Octal chief executive. “Being shortlisted for an annual investment meeting award, even better, winning one, is proof to colleagues and clients that our work has been judged to be among the best in the world. It is a great morale booster for Ithraa and Oman’s business communi-ty,” added Al Makhmari.

Investment

incentives, easiness

in doing business

and global logistics

connectivity

make it one of the

best countries to

establish business,

said Nicholas

Barakat, Octal chief

Oil market moving in right direction: Opec ministers VIENNA: The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) ministers gathering in Vienna for the group’s biannual meeting said the oil market is moving in the right direction as a supply glut dissipates.

While Saudi Arabia — the ar-chitect of the Opec’ current policy — remained silent, ministers from the United Arab Emirates and Ni-geria signaled that the strategy of letting low prices eradicate sur-plus production is working.

“From the beginning of the year until now, the market has been correcting itself upward,” UAE Oil Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei told reporters in Vienna on Tues-day. “The market will fix itself to a price that is fair to the consumers and to the producers.”

Those comments, echoed by his Nigerian counterpart, suggest renewed optimism among pro-ducers after oil prices rose more than 85 per cent in New York since touching a 12-year low in February. There were still signs of division in the group, with Ven-ezuelan Energy Minister Eulogio Del Pino saying the price recovery had more to do with unexpected supply disruptions than a suc-cessful Opec strategy.

Market trendForecasters including the In-ternational Energy Agency and Goldman Sachs say the crude

glut is finally dwindling as the Saudi approach of squeezing high cost suppliers — opposed by most Opec members when it was unveiled in late 2014 — finally pays off. The group is unlikely to change direction this week.

“I think the market trends are better now” and the sense of ur-gency that spurred producers to

mull an agreement to freeze the production in April has dissi-pated, Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, Nigeria’s minister of state for pe-troleum resources, told reporters in Vienna.

While prices are moving “in the right direction, I think it needs more acceleration of the pace,” he said. - Bloomberg News

O I L P R O D U C T I O N


Rashad Ali Al Musafir. – File picture

Oil set for longest losing streak RIYADH: Oil slipped a fourth day, heading for the longest run of de-clines since April, as Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) ministers gather in Vienna ahead of a meeting on Thursday to discuss production policy.

Futures fell as much as 1 per cent in New York, after declining 0.9 per cent the previous three sessions. Canadian oil-sand pro-ducers, including Suncor Energy, began resuming operations after wildfire threats eased, while sup-ply disruptions continued to re-duce output in Nigerian and Libya.

- Bloomberg News

E N E R G Y M A R K E T

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia will use this week’s Organisa-tion of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) meeting to repair relationships with fellow producers after the failure of an April accord to freeze crude output in Doha.

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy Khalid Al Falih will reassure other members his nation would not flood the oil market and may be open to the reintroduction of an overall production target for the group, the people said, asking not to be identified because information is not

public. There’s no indication that Saudi Arabia is seeking to change current produc-tion volumes, they said.

The change of tone from Riyadh comes as ministers from the Opec gather in Vi-enna for the first time since the acrimonious Doha meet-ing. The talks in the Qatari capital failed because Saudi refused to freeze produc-tion unless Iran joined the initiative. Opec’s meeting in December also ended in disarray as the group aban-doned its 30 million barrel-a-day target. - Bloomberg News

Saudi to seek restoration of Opec unity after Doha failure

OMAN CRUDE DROPSOman oil price (August delivery) fell 73 cents to $45.91 per barrel, said Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME). The average price of Oman Crude (June delivery) stabilised at $39.40 a barrel, $3.06 higher than May delivery. - ONA

B2

MARKETT H U R S DAY, J U N E 2 , 2 0 1 6

MUSCATSECURITIES MARKET

SHARE PRICE BULLETIN FOR WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1

REGULAR MARKET .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................OM0000003224 ...........RENAISSANCE SERVICES ..................................... 429,735 ..........126,738..................... 49 ........... 0.290 ........... 0.299 ...........0.289........... 0.295 .............0.285 ............0.010 ............. 3.509 ................0.291 ..............0.292...................0.295................... 85,742,051 .........0.100

OM0000002341 ............OMAN CHLORINE....................................................... 50,000 ............ 25,000........................5 ........... 0.500 ...........0.500 ...........0.500........... 0.500 .............0.486 ............0.014 ............. 2.881 ................0.500............. 0.000...................0.500 ..................34,051,830 .........0.100

OM0000001517 ............HSBC BANK OMAN .................................................... 270,282 ........... 28,375........................6 ............0.105 ........... 0.105 ...........0.104 ........... 0.105 ............. 0.103............ 0.002 ............. 1.942 ................0.104 ..............0.103...................0.104..................210,032,843........0.100

OM0000001772 ............AL ANWAR HOLDING............................................... 528,604 ..........123,551..................... 53 ........... 0.232 ........... 0.235 ...........0.231 ........... 0.234 .............0.230 ........... 0.004 ............. 1.739.................0.234..............0.234...................0.235................... 35,117,550 .........0.100

OM0000003026 ...........OMAN TELECOMMUNICATION ..........................30,080 .............48,518........................9 ............1.610 ............1.615 ............1.600 ............1.615 ............. 1.600 ............0.015 ............. 0.938 ................1.600 ..............1.600................... 1.615 ................ 1,211,250,000 ......0.100

OM0000001418 ............RAYSUT CEMENT ...................................................... 129,786 .......... 159,907......................15 ............1.230 ........... 1.235 ...........1.230 ........... 1.230 ............. 1.225............ 0.005 ............. 0.408 ................1.230 ..............1.230...................1.240................. 246,000,000 .......0.100

OM0000002028 ...........GULF INTERNATIONAL CHEMICALS ..............30,966 ............... 7,729......................16 ............0.251 ........... 0.251 ...........0.249........... 0.250 .............0.249 ............0.001 ............. 0.402 ................0.250..............0.248...................0.250 ...................5,250,000 ..........0.100

OM0000001707 ............OMAN CABLES INDUSTRY ......................................80,406 ...........141,515........................7 ............1.760 ........... 1.760............1.760 ............1.760 ............. 1.755 ............ 0.005 ............. 0.285 ................1.760 .............. 1.760................... 1.770 ..................157,872,000 ........0.100

OM0000001160 ............NATIONAL GAS .............................................................59,087 ............ 30,439........................7 ............0.512 ........... 0.516 ...........0.512 ............0.516 ............. 0.516 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.516 .............. 0.510...................0.516 ...................28,380,000.........0.100

OM0000001319 ............NATIONAL ALUMINIUM PRODUCTS .................2,200 .................. 506........................2 ........... 0.230 ...........0.230 ...........0.230........... 0.250 .............0.250 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.230..............0.235...................0.248 ...................8,392,863 ..........0.100

OM0000001483 ............NATIONAL BANK OF OMAN .................................. 70,000 ............. 17,150........................5 ........... 0.245 ........... 0.245 ...........0.245........... 0.245 .............0.245 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.245..............0.241...................0.245 ................. 361,321,412 ........0.100

OM0000001509 ............DHOFAR INT.DEV.AND INV. HOLD. ...........................399 .................. 164........................ 1 ............0.410 ........... 0.410 ...........0.410 ........... 0.400 .............0.400 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.410 ..............0.380...................0.400 ..................98,560,000.........0.100

OM0000001525 ............OMAN INVESTMENT AND FINANCE .............. 261,250 ............51,729........................6 ............0.199 ........... 0.199 ...........0.198 ........... 0.198 ............. 0.198............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.198 ..............0.190...................0.198 ...................39,600,000.........0.100

OM0000001749 ............OMAN CEMENT .......................................................... 169,000 ............79,768........................7 ........... 0.472 ........... 0.472 ...........0.472 ........... 0.472 .............0.472 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.472 ..............0.450...................0.472.................. 156,171,919 ........0.100

OM0000001962 ............AL MADINA INVESTMENT ................................... 306,914 ............ 19,313......................18 ........... 0.063 ........... 0.063 ...........0.062........... 0.063 .............0.063 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.062..............0.062...................0.063................... 13,050,537 .........0.100

OM0000002176 ............AL JAZEERA STEEL PRODUCTS ........................ 141,336 .............29,019......................19 ........... 0.205 ...........0.207 ...........0.204 .......... 0.205 .............0.205 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.204 .............0.203...................0.204 ..................25,604,082.........0.100

OM0000002226 ...........AL JAZEERA SERVICES .......................................... 115,000 ............ 25,970........................7 ........... 0.226 ...........0.226 ...........0.224 .......... 0.226 .............0.226 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.224............. 0.224...................0.226 .................. 13,832,166 .........0.100

OM0000002440 ...........AL SHARQIA INVESTMENT HOLDING ........... 470,638 ........... 63,265..................... 42 ............0.133 ........... 0.136 ...........0.132 ........... 0.134 ............. 0.134............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.133 .............. 0.132...................0.133 ...................12,060,000 .........0.100

OM0000002796 ...........BANK MUSCAT ............................................................ 1,335,199....... 520,743..................... 67 ........... 0.396 ........... 0.396 ...........0.390........... 0.390 .............0.390 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.390..............0.390...................0.392.................. 973,537,601 ........0.100

OM0000003398 ...........BANK SOHAR................................................................ 1,125,000 ......198,000......................12 ............0.176 ........... 0.176 ...........0.176 ............0.176 ............. 0.176 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.176 .............. 0.175................... 0.176 ..................282,391,884........0.100

OM0000003661 ............VOLTAMP ENERGY .......................................................2,200 .................. 924........................ 1 ........... 0.420 ...........0.420 ...........0.420........... 0.420 .............0.420 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.420..............0.420...................0.430 ..................25,410,000 .........0.100

OM0000003711 ............SOHAR POWER ................................................................2,050 .................. 621........................3 ........... 0.300 ...........0.304 ...........0.300 ...........0.318 ............. 0.318............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.302..............0.302...................0.310 ................... 70,281,180 .........0.100

OM0000004768 ...........AL MADINA TAKAFUL ................................................. 5,000 .................. 370........................ 1 ........... 0.074 ........... 0.074 ...........0.074 ........... 0.074 .............0.074 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.074 ..............0.073...................0.074...................12,950,000 .........0.100

OM0000005005 ...........ALMAHA CERAMICS .....................................................8,215 ............... 3,417......................18 ............0.416 ........... 0.416 ...........0.416 ............0.416 ............. 0.416............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.416 .............. 0.416...................0.418 ...................21,840,000 .........0.100

OM0000003000 ...........ALMAHA PETROLEUM PRODUCTS MAR. .......36,574 .............54,961........................8 ............1.510 ........... 1.510............1.500 ............1.505 ............. 1.510 ............-0.005 ........... -0.331................1.500 ..............1.490...................1.500 ..................103,845,000........0.100

OM0000003521 ............GALFAR ENGINEERING AND CON. .................. 1,462,752 .......153,168..................... 56 ............0.106 ........... 0.106 ...........0.104 ........... 0.105 ............. 0.106 ...........-0.001 ........... -0.943 ...............0.104 ..............0.104...................0.105 ...................30,447,967 .........0.100

OM0000003968 ...........OOREDOO.........................................................................26,438 .............19,670........................2 ............0.744 ........... 0.744 ...........0.744 ........... 0.744 ............. 0.752............-0.008 ........... -1.064 ...............0.744 ..............0.744...................0.752 ................. 484,302,507 .......0.100

OM0000001145 ............PORT SERVICES CORPORATION .........................10,000 .............. 2,400........................ 1 ........... 0.240 ...........0.240 ...........0.240 .......... 0.240 .............0.249 ...........-0.009 ............-3.614................0.240 ............ 0.240...................0.248 ..................22,809,600.........0.100

OM0000002820 ...........GULF INVESTMENT SERVICES ...........................60,470 ...............6,955........................4 ............0.117 ........... 0.117 ............ 0.115 ............0.115 .............0.120 ...........-0.005 ........... -4.167 ............... 0.115 .............. 0.110................... 0.115 .................... 6,766,970 ..........0.100

.............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 7,219,581 ....1,939,883...................447 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ......29........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

PARALLEL MARKET ................................................................................................................................................................................. OM0000005963 ...........PHOENIX POWER ...................................................... 310,000 ...........48,002......................16 ............0.154 ........... 0.155 ...........0.154 ............0.155 ............. 0.154.............0.001 ............. 0.649 ................0.155 .............. 0.154................... 0.155 ..................226,703,226 .......0.100

OM0000001152 ............OMAN NATIONAL ENGINE. INVT. ........................ 3,473 .................. 688........................ 1 ............0.198 ........... 0.198 ...........0.198 ............0.195 ............. 0.195............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.198 ............. 0.000...................0.197 ...................19,500,000 .........0.100

OM0000001228 ............OMAN HOTELS AND TOURISM ...............................1,510 .................. 906........................ 1 ........... 0.600 ...........0.600 ...........0.600............0.616 ............. 0.616 ............ 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.600..............0.556...................0.672...................33,880,000.........0.100

OM0000001368 ............CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS IND. ................... 94,050 ...............3,006........................6 ........... 0.032 ........... 0.032 ...........0.031 ........... 0.032 .............0.032 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.031 .............. 0.031...................0.032 ...................2,720,000 ..........0.100

OM0000001566 ............OMAN FISHERIES ......................................................... 5,600 .................. 330........................2 ........... 0.059 ........... 0.059 ...........0.059 ........... 0.059 .............0.059 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.059 ..............0.058...................0.059.................... 7,375,000 ..........0.100

OM0000004420 ...........BANK NIZWA ................................................................ 354,622 ........... 26,592......................19 ............0.075 ........... 0.075 ...........0.074 ........... 0.075 .............0.075 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.074 ..............0.074...................0.075 ..................112,500,000 ........0.100

OM0000004511 ............ALIZZ ISLAMIC BANK................................................38,580 ...............2,180........................5 ........... 0.057 ........... 0.057 ...........0.056 ........... 0.057 .............0.057 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.056 ..............0.056...................0.057...................57,000,000 .........0.100

.............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 807,835 ............81,704..................... 50 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ........ 7........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

BONDS AND SUKUK MARKET ...................................................................................................................................................................... OM0000004867 ...........BANK MUSCAT C C B 4.5 ................................................... 76 ....................... 8........................ 1 ............0.106 ........... 0.106 ...........0.106 ........... 0.106 ............. 0.106 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.106 ..............0.106...................0.000 ..................33,882,124 .........0.100

OM0000005971 ............B.MUSCAT COMPL. CONVR. B.B.3.5 ............................. 77 ....................... 7........................ 1 ........... 0.096 ........... 0.096 ...........0.096........... 0.096 .............0.096 ........... 0.000 .............0.000 ................0.096 ..............0.097...................0.099....................31,119,515 ..........0.100

.............................................SUM: .......................................................................................... 153 ..................... 15........................2 .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ........ 2........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

ISIN ......................................SECURITY NAME .................................................................. VOLUME ..... TURNOVER ............TRADES ......OPEN PRICE ......HIGH ............. LOW ........ CLOSE PR. ...PREV. CLOSE...DIFF (RO).........DIFF % ............. LAST PR .....LAST BID .............LAST OFFER ........MARKET CAP .PAR VALUE

O M A N S T O C K S

INDICESIndex .................................................High .................Low ..................... Value ............... Prev . Value.......... Diff ...............Diff %MSM30 Index ....................................... 5,826.50 ...............5,810.80 ...................5,820.26 ................... 5,810.96 ....................9.30 ................... 0.16Financial Index .....................................7,439.23 ............... 7,412.79 ....................7,433.54 ................... 7,414.26 ..................19.28 ...................0.26Industrial Index .................................... 7,178.96 ............... 7,168.37 ....................7,173.23 ....................7,167.60 .................... 5.63 ................... 0.08Services Index ...................................... 3,266.88 ...............3,254.75 ................... 3,260.47 ................... 3,254.75 .................... 5.72 ................... 0.18MSM SHARIAH INDEX....................... 874.14 .................. 872.75 ....................... 873.17 ...................... 872.77 ....................0.40 ................... 0.05

Trading SummaryVolume ................ Turnover ..........Trades .............. Market Cap............. Up ............Down ............. Equal .........Sec. Traded8,027,569 .................... 2,021,603 .................... 499 ................ 17,031,931,744 .................. 9 ........................5 ....................24 .........................38

MSM index recovers

MUSCAT: Shares on the Mus-cat bourse recovered marginally on scattered support from retail investors. The MSM 30 Index ended on a positive note after six consecutive losses to close at 5820.26 points, up by 0.16 per cent. The MSM Sharia Index marginally grew by 0.05 per cent to close at 873.17 points.

Galfar Engineering was most active in terms of volume while Bank Muscat was the most ac-tive in terms of turnover. Re-naissance Services was the top gainer of the day, up by 3.51 per cent, while Gulf Investment Ser-vices was the top loser, down by 4.17 per cent.

As many as 499 trades were executed on Wednesday, generat-ing turnover of OMR2.02 million with 8.03 million shares changing hands. Out of 38 traded securi-ties, nine advanced, five declined and 24 remained unchanged.

Omani investors were net buy-ers to the tune of OMR432,000 worth of shares followed by GCC and Arab investors at OMR121,000. Foreign investors, who were net sellers, sold shares

amounting to OMR554,000. Financial Index to close at

7433.54 points, up by 0.26 per cent. HSBC Bank Oman and Al Anwar Holding increased by 1.94 per cent and 1.74 per cent, respectively. Gulf Investment Services was the loser and was down by 4.17 per cent to close at OMR0.115.

Industrial Index gained by 0.08 per cent to close at 7,173.23 points. Oman Chlorine, Raysut Cement, Gulf International Chemicals and Oman Cables increased by 2.88 per cent, 0.41 per cent, 0.40 per cent and 0.28 per cent, re-spectively. Galfar Engineering was the only loser in the sector and was down by 0.94 per cent to close at OMR0.105.

Services Index closed at 3,260.47 points, up by 0.18 per cent. Renaissance Services and Oman Telecommunications Com-pany increased by 3.51 per cent and 0.94 per cent, respectively.

Port Services, Oreedoo Oman and Al Maha Petroleum has de-clined by 3.61 per cent, 1.06 per cent and 0.33 per cent, respec-tively. – United Securities

Renaissance Services was the top gainer,

up by 3.51 per cent, while Gulf Investment

Services, down by 4.17 per cent, lost the most

Lulu hypermarket makes its first foray into IndonesiaTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Retail major Lulu Group marked its first retail push in the Far East by opening its hy-permarket in the capital city of Jakarta, Indonesia.

The group has already an-nounced its plans to invest $500 million as part of its expansion and intends set up 10 hypermar-kets in the country in the next three years.

The hypermarket is expected to be one of its kind in the region and will attract large segment of popu-lation in the capital city of Jakarta. Located in the Cakung sub district of East Jakarta with an area of over 200,000 square feet.

“With an initial investment of $300 million in the first phase, we plan to open 10 hypermarkets by the end 2017 and a central logis-tics and warehousing facility in Jakarta. These projects are likely to generate more than 5,000 job opportunities for Indonesians,”

said Yusuf Ali M A, chairman of the Lulu Group

“We also plan to set up contract farming to ensure continuous supply of high quality products and to support the Indonesian ag-riculture sector,” he added.

The hypermarket was officially inaugurated by Joko Widodo, the President of Indonesia in the presence of Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, governor of Jakarta; Thomas Trikasih Lembong, Indo-nesian trade minister; Ahmed Ab-

dullah Al Mussali Al Awadi, the UAE’s ambassador to Indonesia, Husin Bagis, Indonesian ambas-sador to UAE and other ministers and government officials.

During the official visit to UAE last year, the Indonesian Presi-dent had visited Lulu hypermar-ket in Abu Dhabi and expressed keen desire to have Lulu in In-donesia. He was impressed by the high standards of operations, quality of products, service and variety of products.

J A K A R T A E X P A N S I O N

Sensex firms up; rupee depreciatesMUMBAI: India’s BSE Sensex on Wednesday staged a recovery by rising nearly 46 points to close at 26,713.93 on emergence of buying in telecom, fast moving consumer goods, IT, tech and realty sectors, driven by robust macro-economic data despite a resistance from global headwinds.

The 30-share BSE barom-eter opened higher at 26,684.46 and hovered between a high of 26,857.25 and a low of 26,671.86

before ending at 26,713.93, show-ing a modest gain of 45.97 points, or 0.17 per cent.

The 50-share index ended up by 19.85 points to finish at 8,179.95 before once again reclaiming the 8,200 mark during intra-day trade.

Rupee continues to fallNotwithstanding robust macro data, the rupee continued its in-cessant free fall for a third day against the United States currency

and ended lower by 19 paise at 67.45 on sustained demand for the American currency.

Strong dollar overseas and renewed capital outflows, too, largely weighed on trade. Revers-ing its two-day downward trend, the domestic currency opened a tad higher at 67.24 from Tuesday’s closing level of 67.26 at the Inter-bank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market on bouts of dollar selling from banks and exporters. - PTI

I N D I A N M A R K E T S

B3T H U R S DAY, J U N E 2 , 2 0 1 6

MARKETSohar port opens operations control centre; volume doublesTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Sohar port announced the official completion of terminal C at its Oman International Con-tainer Terminal (OICT), besides opening a new operations control centre (OCC) and a state-of-the-art remote control crane centre.

The new facility allows the remote operation of recently in-stalled quayside cranes that have sufficient reach to load and unload 20,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) ships, said a press re-lease. As a taste of things to come, today saw the first visit of a 13,000 TEU vessel to Sohar Port, the MVMSC Altair at 366 metres the largest container vessel ever to visit the Omani logistics hub.

Dr Ahmed Mohammed Salem Al Futaisi, minister of transport and communications and Sultan bin

Salim Al Habsi, chairman of the board of Sohar Port and Freezone, secretary general of the Supreme Council for Planning, were present at the function.

The OICT is moving into a new

era of automation in Sohar, in line with continued growth in contain-er throughput that has more than doubled in just eighteen months. In addition to faster turnaround fa-cilitated through automated load-

ing and unloading systems, OICT now boasts an online truck ap-pointment system.

The new communications soft-ware schedules container truck arrival times at the terminal

through direct contact with the truck operators and drivers, reduc-ing waiting times and minimising environmental impact by avoiding unnecessary fuel wastage.

Mega vessels“OICT is handling more frequent direct calls from mega-vessels at Terminal C where it is capable of handling the latest class of 20,000 TEU containership. The construc-tion of Terminal D will increase our annual handling capacity by four times to six million TEU and construction may start as early as 2018-19,” said Albert Pang, chief executive officer of OICT.

In addition to the new quayside cranes, OICT has invested heavily in new rubber-tyre gantry cranes (RTGCs) to further increase effi-ciency in the stack yards. Contain-er Terminal B is now being fully re-

constructed as Sohar Food Zone, a dedicated agro-berth with planned facilities for rice, grain and sugar processing. Planning work is also progressing on Terminal D, a mas-sive new container terminal in So-har that will boast a 1.2 kilometres long jetty once commissioned.

Sohar now handles over one million tonnes of cargo a week and more than 2,500 ships a year.

“It’s hard to imagine that we only saw our first ship here in Sohar a little over ten years ago. The growth in size and efficiency at OICT is phenomenal and we are proud to be able to partner with companies like Hutchison Port to operate our terminals. As we look around this amazing facility today, I am proud to be able to say to all our guests: ‘welcome to the new Gateway to the Gulf,” noted Andre Toet, chief executive officer of Sohar Port.

P O R T S E R V I C E S

PDO joins hands with Riyada to train entrepreneurs, SMEsTimes News Service

MUSCAT: Petroleum Develop-ment Oman (PDO) has conducted a training workshop for entrepre-neurs and small business owners to improve their sales performance, marketing and customer service.

The company joined forces with Riyada, the Public Authority for Small and Medium Enterpris-es Development, to coach 60 of its members in new ways to be more profitable and productive.

The three-day workshop, pro-vided by instructors from the National Training Institute at Ri-yada’s headquarters in Ghala, also offered a platform for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to share experience, knowledge and best practice with each other.

“Like Riyada, PDO believes that a thriving small business sec-tor is essential to delivering more jobs and prosperity for Oman,” said Abdul Amir Abdul Hussein Al Ajmi, PDO external affairs and value creation director.

“The aim of the workshop was to help the participants become better at marketing their products and services and engage more ef-fectively with their customers. It is part of package of measures we are deploying to develop the capacity of Omani businesses so that they can compete success-fully both at home and abroad,” he explained.

“It is important that the Sul-tanate’s economy diversifies, and vibrant and dynamic SMEs can play a major role in driving that change,” he added.

Support to SMEsThe workshop was supported by PDO’s national objectives pro-gramme and was initiated after the company signed a Memoran-dum of Understanding (MoU) with Riyada aimed at strengthen-ing co-operation and collaboration between the two sides on training, business advice and knowledge exchange to help SMEs — firms with up to 100 employees — oper-

ate more successfully. “Our ultimate objective is to

provide solid support to SMEs in order to nurture the entrepre-neurial culture in the Sultanate and enhance their contribution to the socio-economic development of the country,” said Khalid AlSafi Al Haraibi, deputy chief executive officer of Riyada.

“We thank our partners at PDO for their outstanding ongoing support in helping us to reach this aim and look forward to working with them in the future on this noble cause,” he adeed.

Last year, PDO awarded con-tracts worth more than S3.7 bil-lion with nationally registered companies and offered a range of financial, operational, technical and corporate governance sup-port to SMEs.

Two business awareness work-shops were held to support local vendor development and two oth-ers were staged to help local com-panies which had failed in previ-ous bids for PDO contracts.

W O R K S H O P Global recovery won’t pick up in 2016, says OECD

PARIS: Organisation for Econom-ic Cooperation and Development (OECD) secretary-general Angel Gurria says the global economic recovery would not pick up this year and will improve only slightly in 2017 as trade fails to revive.

The world economy will expand 3 per cent in 2016, the same pace as last year, and will only improve ‘a little’ next year, Gurria said in an interview with Bloomberg Televi-sion in Paris. “Overall a rather me-diocre, a rather dismal outlook,” the OECD chief said. “Trade is growing at 2 to 3 per cent; it should be growing at 7.”

The remarks underline the lack-lustre growth as many emerging markets struggle with a slump in commodity prices and rich econo-mies such as Europe and the Unit-ed States fail to return to the sort of performance they typically had before the global financial crisis in 2008. The Paris-based OECD re-leases its semi-annual Economic Outlook at 10.30 Paris time on Wednesday.

Gurria warned UK voters that

opting to leave the European Un-ion in a referendum June 23 will penalise the country economically, wiping the rough equivalent of a month’s wages off potential in-comes, according to calculations.

Brexit is “a threat, but mostly it’s a threat to the well-being of the UK,” Gurria said. “It’s like a tax” but one “for which you get nothing in return.”

Low-growth trapThe global economy is slipping into a self-fulfilling ‘low-growth trap’ where ultra-loose monetary policy risks doing more harm than good, the OECD warned.

In a highly critical editorial in the OECD’s latest ‘Economic Out-look’, rich world governments bear the brunt of the blame for failing to revive demand and failing over-haul their economies in the wake of the financial crisis in 2008.

According to the Paris-based group, which advises its 34 mem-ber countries, too much of the bur-den of lifting growth has been left to central banks. After pushing in-

terest rates below zero and pump-ing money into their economies through asset purchases, they are starting to see diminishing returns and their actions could even gen-erate financial-market volatility.

“Monetary policy has been the main tool, used alone for too long,” OECD chief economist Catherine Mann said in the semi-annual re-port released on Wednesday. “In trying to revive economic growth alone, with little help from fiscal or structural policies, the balance of benefits-to-risks is tipping.”

Mann also said that “negative feedback loops are at work.” Lack of demand, global uncertainties and slow reform progress are de-terring investment, while trade growth remains too weak, she said.

Growing distortions“Monetary policy cannot revive near and long-term growth by it-self, and distortions are increas-ing,” the OECD said. Ultra-low and negative rates have stressed bank profitability and created financial strains for pension funds and in-surers, while becoming “less po-tent” in stimulating consumption, it said.

“Fiscal policy must be deployed more extensively and can take ad-vantage of the environment creat-ed by monetary policy,” Mann said in her editorial introducing the re-port. “Governments today can lock in very low interest rates for very long maturities to effectively open up fiscal space.” – Bloomberg News

World economy will

expand 3 per cent in

2016, the same pace

as last year, and will

only improve ‘a little’

next year, said OECD

secretary-general

Angel Gurria, secretary-general

of Organisation for Economic

Cooperation and Development.

– Bloomberg News


SHARING KNOWLEDGE: The three-day workshop, provided by instructors from the National Training

Institute at Riyada’s headquarters in Ghala, also offered a platform for small and medium enterpris-

es to share experience. - Supplied picture

Iran plans oilfield tenders for

global energy firms this month

TEHRAN: Iran plans to invite international companies to bid for oilfield development rights in June, a government official said, as the Gulf country seeks to revive its energy industry after years of crippling sanctions.

The Oil Ministry will solicit bids in a tender round starting on June 21 and running for a month, state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported on Tuesday, cit-ing Mehdi Hosseini, chairman of the ministry’s oil contracts revi-sion committee.

National Iranian Oil Company is working on a model investment

contract for any development agreements, he said.

Iran is rebuilding its oil and natural gas industries and re-storing sales of crude after in-ternational sanctions were lifted in January.

Seventy fieldsThe country, which will meet other Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) members this week in Vienna, is targeting an increase in produc-tion and exports to pre-sanctions levels. It refused to join other pro-ducers in a push to freeze output

at a meeting in Doha in April.Iran’s oil exports have doubled

since the Organization of Petro-leum Exporting Countries last met in December, the Oil Minis-try’s Shana news service reported Wednesday, citing Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh.

“This production boost has not only had no negative impact on the market, but rather it has been well absorbed by the market,” the oil minister added..

Benchmark Brent crude, which has gained 33 per cent this year, was 46 cents lower at $49.43 a barrel on Wednesday. - Bloomberg News

O I L F I E L D D E V E L O P M E N T

B4

FEATURET H U R S DAY, J U N E 2 , 2 0 1 6

Discussions of in-equality often fo-cus on income and wealth distribution. But what is the right

geographic unit to look at when we compare income and wealth? Inequality has risen in the US and much of Europe, while it has fall-en around the world thanks to rap-id growth in developing countries.

But perhaps there is a third level that deserves more attention - lo-cal and urban inequality. Instead of comparing income levels across the country or the world, maybe we should be looking at the dis-parities between people who live next to each other.

One reason urban inequality is so important is that this is how most people experience the phe-nomenon on a daily basis -- in cities, rich, middle-class and poor people are in constant contact. Experiments and other stud-ies clearly show that people care about their status relative to ref-erence groups, and one important reference group is the people who live nearby. That makes intuitive sense. If some rich person in Swit-zerland is buying a mansion, I only

perceive it as a statistic on paper, but every time I see someone walk into a restaurant that I can’t af-ford, it reminds me of my lower economic status.

These effects are visible in ag-gregate data as well. Economist Ed Glaeser finds a negative corre-lation between city-level inequal-ity and self-reported happiness.

Does this mean we can make people happier simply by reduc-ing inequality? Not necessarily. Much of the correlation might be due to other factors. But given the similarity between this aggregate result and the outcomes of psy-chology experiments, it seems fair to conclude that people do not love living in places with big income disparities.

Income inequalityAnother reason we might want to focus more on inequality within

cities is that it touches on so many political issues. At the national level, income and wealth dispari-ties are addressed by policies such as minimum wages, taxes and government-provided health care, on which few people have day-to-day input. But at the local level, inequality is affected by hous-ing policy, zoning, transit, public schools, construction regulations, environmental protection and a host of other issues that absorb a lot of people’s time and attention.

One final reason to focus on ur-ban inequality is that addressing the problem might not be nearly as costly as attacking inequality at the national level.

There is a well-known result in economics called the equity-efficiency tradeoff, which states that if you redistribute income from rich to poor, you also make the country as a whole a bit worse off. In the extreme case, creating a society where everyone makes the same amount of money would also impoverish the nation -- not some-thing anyone wants to do. If that trade-off holds at the local level as well, then fighting urban inequal-ity might not be worth the cost.

But there is reason to believe that urban inequality does not force us into the same kind of trade-off as the national kind. First, there is the aggregate evi-dence. Glaeser showed in his re-search that there is a clear nega-tive correlation between local Gini coefficients, which measure income distribution, and median family income -- more equal cities also tend to be richer.

That suggests that there are ways to make cities prosper while also making them less un-equal. So what are some steps we might take?

High rentThe obvious approach is to re-shape cities in ways that ben-efit the poor. Better transit would make it less of a chore for low-income people reach their jobs, making it easier for them to find work and reducing the likelihood that they will have to move in response to shifts in lo-cal demand. More development, especially more housing aimed at low-income occupants, would ease the burden of high rents. That is especially important at a time when rents are rising quickly across the country.

Would better transit and more low-income housing development make cities poorer? Probably the opposite. Few would argue that excellent subway systems have impoverished New York, Tokyo or London. And intense development allows urban areas to take advantage of agglomera-tion effects, which are productiv-ity boosts that economists believe come from denser cities.

In other words, density and transit let us escape the harsh logic of the equity-efficiency trade-off. They are pretty close to

being a free lunch. One underused weapon in this fight is land value taxes, which are property taxes with exemptions for develop-ment. And there are a host of other incentives that federal and state governments can use to encourage local governments to build more housing, remove more land-use restrictions and create livable ur-ban space for many more people. These might include affordable housing mandates and incentives, incentives for density, bigger sub-sidies for urban transit and more. (In some areas, progressives have resisted policies like these, but let’s hope this attitude is shifting).

Another important question is how to help poor and working-class people who are pushed out of their homes when rents in cities go up. Now, being forced to move is not entirely a negative, since

leaving bad neighbourhoods is helpful for many low-income peo-ple, and since gentrification often improves public services and pro-vides better jobs for those poor people who are not displaced. But those who are forced to move -- often by the brutal, inefficient process of eviction -- incur huge costs. It’s expensive and time-consuming to move, to build new networks and to commute from cheaper outlying areas. These costs fall disproportionately on lower-income people, thus in-creasing inequality.

A natural fix is for the govern-ment to offer financial assistance to lower-income people who have to abandon their homes as rents rise. These would be similar to the federal Moving to Opportunity programme, which gives poor peo-ple housing vouchers to help them move to low-poverty areas, except they would be aimed at people in areas with rising rents. The relo-cation assistance could be funded by local taxes on landlords.

So urban inequality is more im-portant than policy makers seem to realise. The national conver-sation about inequality cannot ignore this key aspect of the prob-lem. Some of the fixes are there; we just have to act on them.

—Noah Smith/Bloomberg News

Perhaps there is a third level that deserves more attention — local and urban inequality.

Instead of comparing income levels across the country or the world, look

at the disparities between people who live next to each other.

B5T H U R S DAY, J U N E 2 , 2 0 1 6

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RFCC Cement Tiles wins Omantel’s Award for ‘Best Business Idea of Year’

MUSCAT: Omani researcher and engineer Siham Said Al Siyabiya, founder of RFCC Cement Tiles won an award for the ‘Best Pro-ject Idea of the Year 2015’ under the purview of the fourth edition of Omantel’s Business Excellence SME Awards.

This initiative from Omantel celebrates entrepreneurs as well

as Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) for their innovation and highlights their achievements, says a press release.

Sharing more about the winning project and its practicality, Siham explained that the idea was based on re-using petroleum refineries’ waste to make cement tiles. She mentioned that the most impor-tant advantage of this business idea is that it is focused on mini-mising environmental pollutants while creating a useful product.

Siham added, “Manufacturing of cement tiles gained its signifi-cance as being the main element in a majority of architectural instal-lations. This industry does not re-quire skilled labour and I learned that the idea can be executed in in-dustrial areas across various gov-ernorates with ease. Furthermore, cement tiles are in high demand in Oman as well as in the Gulf region and setting up a manufacturing fa-cility would assist in meeting local and global demand.”

Siham is also confident that her project idea ties together varied social, economic, environmental

as well as industrial elements. In other words, this would not only raise the Omani flag high, but also contribute towards providing meaningful employment opportu-nities for the local youth.

She commented that the idea of

the project received the 5th place globally in a competition organ-ised by the British magazine Inter-national Journal of Engineering Research and Technology as the best innovative project idea which has not been applied worldwide. Moreover, it was awarded second place in the Sultanate as the best student project on innovations in the Sultanate by the Muscat-based Caledonian College of Engineering.

Recently she got first winner in the Omantel Excellence SME Award in the category of the best project idea in 2015. In addition she was the second place winner in Entrepreneurship Award by the Public Authority for SME Devel-opment (Riyada) category of the best project idea 2015.

She added that the project aims to reduce the presence of wastes of petroleum refineries in the Omani environment and the risks caused by those wastes by using them to produce an environmen-tally-friendly product, create economic income and protect the industrial pollution.

She also highlighted that the

facilities and construction mar-ket is growing rapidly as a natu-ral result of population increase, which will lead to the high de-mand of the product.

Together with a project provid-ing an environmental solution to help reduce this waste and what is caused by pollutants to the envi-ronment, where the project works on transforming this waste by handling and using it in produc-ing a mixture that can be used in manufacturing, an environmen-tal friendly product Cement Tiles that provides multiple social, environmental , economic and industrial benefits.

“If I am able to implement the project, it would mean that we can transfer dangerous industrial wastes into an environmentally friendly product. Not to forget to mention the economic benefits that the nation and the community will get from it,” added Siham.

The product manufacturing method is innovative, new, easy and affordable, where the used elements are all local, wherein it depends on using petroleum re-

fineries remnants as raw material and also the product doesn’t get affected by rising raw materials rates, and its quality as same as the biggest local companies product quality in this area, but on the con-trary what distinguishes it is that available in a competitive price.

Discussing the timeline where her project will begin, Siham said, “Presently, I am on the lookout for partners who believe in the project and would like to invest in it – be it from the government or the pri-vate sector. In the meanwhile, I am also working towards finalising the process of obtaining the neces-sary permits together with other legal requirements of the project, so that we are fully prepared when the investor(s) are available.”

She commended the attention shown by Omantel in providing material and moral support to the small and medium enterprises, along with the continued sup-port provided by the company to entrepreneurs by backing their abilities and skills, and enabling them to achieve success in their particular fields.

Siham Said Al

Siyabiya, founder of

RFCC Cement Tiles,

explained that the

idea was based on

re-using petroleum

refineries’ waste to

make cement tiles

Geely redefining ‘Made in China’ cars brandsMUSCAT: Chinese auto-maker Geely is redefining the perception of China-made models.

With its new fleet of cars with advanced features and technolo-gies, and a successful performance globally, Geely has overturned people’s traditional view of Chi-nese cars. Today, the brand Geely is synonymous with top quality, reliability and safety for all, says a press release.

Closer to home, Geely has won over consumers in the GCC and Middle East region with its prod-uct line-up and smart pricing. In Saudi Arabia and Oman, its pro-gress has been much inspiring. Recently, Geely started its op-erations in UAE with showrooms and service centres in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah and in the first 10 months of trading in Dubai’s tough auto market, Geely has already sold 600 cars.

Indeed, Geely, the fastest grow-ing Chinese brand, has come of age. The cars are designed by 300 plus European designers at the Geely R&D centre in Sweden headed by

Peter Horbury, a renowned British Volvo chief designer who came to fame for designing top luxury auto brands. He has been assisting in Geely Design in Europe and Make in China and this has ensured that Geely cars have a high level of qual-ity both in engineering and design.

A spokesperson from Towell Auto Centre (TAC), sole distribu-tor of Geely cars in the Sultanate of Oman, said: “In Oman, Geely has had over four successful years of operations and the brand con-tinues to grow strong among its existing and prospective buyers. Geely’s entrepreneurial spirit, commitment to innovation and manufacturing efficiency enables it to provide excellent cars that are economical, environment friendly

and energy efficient. Such quali-ties make Geely compete effective-ly with its industry peers, as it con-tinues to grow domestically and expand internationally. It consoli-dates Geely’s global footprint and assists in the Chinese automaker’s efforts to deliver world-class prod-uct technologies and attributes at an unbelievable value.”

Geely recently launched its most ambitious car, the Emgrand GT, designed by Peter Horbury that was crowned China’s Car of the Year at the 2016 Beijing Auto Show. It is the first car based on joint architecture developed with Volvo cars, which was bought over by Geely in 2010. Launched in Oman in January this year, the Emgrand GT #SuperSedan is the ground breaking model of Geely that offers quality, comfort, design, safety, performance along with a reasonable price. It has excellent and high quality equipment levels – an area that Chinese cars usually excel in.

Available in Oman with 2.4L and 3.5L engines, the Emgrand GT

meets Geely Total Safety Manage-ment System requirements and puts safety at the forefront with regards to both passive and active safety systems. This gives the driv-er and the passengers’ complete peace of mind at all times.

A Fortune 500 company, Geely (officially Zhejiang Geely Hold-ing Group) is also the acquirer of the Swedish Volvo brand of Cars and Manganese Bronze Holdings - the manufacturers of the London Black Taxis.

The Geely range is known for its global classy appeal, outstand-ing technology, performance and high-end active and passive safe-ty elements with ISO 9000 and C-NCAP certification. From the design concept to the manufactur-ing, all Geely models have been de-veloped in accordance with Euro-pean standards and by using global technological resources.

By bringing the Geely range to the Sultanate, TAC has reinforced its commitment to provide high-quality products and services to its customers in Oman.

A D V A N C E D F E A T U R E S

Creative Archive

Gathering concludes

at Middle East College

MUSCAT: The Archive Club at Middle East College (MEC) or-ganised the 3rd Creative Archive Gathering recently.

It was inaugurated by Dr Jumaa bin Khalifa Al Busaidi, directo-rate-general for Research and Records Circulation, National Records and Archives Authority, Sultanate of Oman, in the pres-ence of other eminent people from the authority, says a press release.

Many events were organised during the gathering, which in-cluded an exhibition on infor-mation archiving techniques, a workshop on how to record in-formation, which was presented by the National Records and Archives Authority and a lec-ture presented by Sheikh Salem Al Numani. In addition to these events, there were student pres-entations that included poetry

and other competitions.Dr Shamsa Al Musafir,faculty,

Centre for Records Management & Archival Studies, MEC, in her address, said: “The gathering comes as a part of the continu-ous effort from MEC to provide the best to its students. It aims to gather experts and students in the field of Archives and Records Management to present their skill and work in this area of study. The different workshops and lectures that were conduct-ed during the event are evidence of this.”

It is worth mentioning that MEC recently celebrated the graduation of its 5th batch of Ar-chive and Records Management students. The ARM programme was introduced at MEC in 2009, in collaboration with the National Records and Archives Authority.

W O R K S H O P S

ICT seminar concludes on high note

MUSCAT: An informative, unique and high profile seminar on Information & Communica-tions Technology (ICT), conclud-ed recently at Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Resort in Muscat. The keynote speakers at the seminar were Jorge Sebastiao and Javed A. Abbasi, says a press release.

Jorge Sebastiao, is an ICT ex-pert and award winning speaker who brings in lot of experience, creativity, structure and innova-tion to modern ICT applications and solutions. He is senior con-sultant to many governments and corporates worldwide.

The associate speaker, Javed Abbasi, is a multi-talented vision-ary, who has nearly two decades of diversified experience in the field of Information & Communication Security. He has been involved in major information security im-plementations worldwide. Abbasi has also made contributions to the Nasa Asteroid Project. He has also won many international awards Professional Excellence.

The seminar was organised by Oman Advertising Agency (OmanAd) - Conferences and Seminars Management Division - with the support from Informa-tion Technology Authority - Oman National CERT and was titled ‘Expect the Unexpected - Be pre-pared. Be secured. It was attended by a significant number of attend-ees, which included members from various government entities, corporates, banking sectors, finan-cial sectors, private organisations and individuals etc.

“The recent ICT security semi-nar delivered very relevant topics to Oman IT professionals. The experts on the topics shared their insights on the IT security threats facing the industry and urged organisations and participants

to be prepared and be secured,” commented, Mohammed Fuad Adams, head of IT Internal Audit, Bank Nizwa.

“The seminar was very impres-sive, informative, interactive and beneficial. Moreover, the speakers presented updated and valuable tools and techniques towards ICT Security and was a good platform for all professionals.

We are thankful to the organ-iser for conducting such useful seminar and bringing the key-note speakers Jorge and Javed to Oman,” commented Mohammed Hilal Al Reyami, AGM & head of Internal Auditor, Dhofar.

“This was our yet another hum-ble endeavour which benefitted Oman’s ICT and IT professionals. With the encouraging feedback from our participants, we are committed to bring such world renowned expert speakers in fu-ture to Oman whose contribution will support ICT security profes-sionals and aspiring students and

an opportunity to attend world class seminars right here in Oman at their doorstep,” added Mini Mary John, project consultant, OmanAd.

“The seminar had a correct mix of technical explanations and case studies. It also provided partici-pants with real take home value that they can apply to their pro-fession and individual lives on a daily basis. Plenty of case studies, a hands on approach and demon-strations were used to unravel the fascinating world of ICT. “Moreo-ver, it was an excellent opportuni-ty for the participants to learn and understand from the speakers, the latest tools, techniques and methods being used in ICT secu-rity,” claimed the organiser.

The organisers expressed their gratitude to ITA - OCERT, for their continuous support in conducting such seminar, Times of Oman (me-dia partner) and everyone who supported them to make the semi-nar a grand success.

I N F O R M A T I O N & C O M M U N I C A T I O N S T E C H N O L O G Y

Nikon D5 Digital SLR receives

Camera GP 2016 Readers Award

MUSCAT: Nikon D5 Digital SLR camera became the recipient of the Camera GP (Grand Prix) 2016 Readers Award recently. The Readers Award is presented to the camera that is selected through voting by users.

Out of the nine times the Read-ers Award has been presented, Nikon Digital SLR cameras have been the recipients of the award a total of seven times, proving that Nikon cameras are extremely popular with and appreciated by a great number of camera users, says a press release.

“The Nikon D5 is one of the best DSLR cameras in the world and it has been doing very well in the Oman market. The receipt of this award further reinforces our dedication to introduce world class products to our valued cus-tomers,” said Rohit Shah, GM, Khimji’s Luxury and Lifestyle (Aalami Stores).

A few outstanding features that drove up customer preference for the D5 are its high-sensitivity

specifications that support a high ISO 102400, while maintaining superior image quality, advanced AF and a touch screen monitor.

D5 is equipped with a new-generation, 153-point AF sys-tem capable of capturing the intended subject under a wide variety of conditions.

Built-in functions and perfor-mance respond to a variety of on-site demands and achieve fast workflows. In addition, the cam-era is available in two versions – one that supports XQD cards and another that supports Compact-

Flash cards.Earlier this year, the D5 was

also the recipient of the TIPA Awards 2016 Best DSLR Profes-sional/Action awards, sponsored by the Technical Image Press As-sociation (TIPA).

Khimji’s Luxury and Lifestyle (Aalami Stores) is home to a va-riety of international fashion, lifestyle, adventure and sports brands. The Nikon D5 is available at various Khimji’s Luxury and Lifestyle stores (Aalami Stores) apart from leading retailers like Lulu, Carrefour and eXtra.

R E C O G N I T I O N

OTC event showcases talents of its students

MUSCAT: Oman Tourism Col-lege (OTC) organised ‘OTC Got Talent – 2016’, an event to dis-cover college students’ talents, recently. National Mineral Water Company (NMWC) supported the event.

New energy drinkNMWC took the opportunity to ex-hibit the new brand of energy drink

'effect', the mental energiser from Germany, says a press release.

The youth appreciated the new exciting energy drink brand ef-fect® in Oman. After doing sam-pling at the event, more than 500 youths tasted the brand.

Ashok Kumar, team leader of effect- NMWC, commented that the new taste was really enjoyed by all.

‘ O T C G O T T A L E N T – 2 0 1 6 ’

B6 T H U R S DAY, J U N E 2 , 2 0 1 6

ROUND-UPToyota Avalon now comes with cashback

MUSCAT: The 2016 Toyota Av-alon is an exceptional sedan with an elegant and refined design. One of the most upscale cars in the class, the Toyota Avalon has an ar-ray of sophisticated touches that draw attention.

This one-of-a-kind Toyota is now available with many benefits during the on-going Toyota pro-motion, which ends on July 21, says a press release.

“You will experience the ‘big-gest excitement ever’ when you own an Avalon with a cashback of OMR1,100,” reminds the spokes-person, “That is not all, you are go-ing to be eligible for a grand raffle with four Toyota Prius E. And to top it all, there also a gift voucher for you and your family to spend at a prominent shopping mall.”

Conditions apply, for exact de-tails visit the showroom.

“This offer makes an Avalon so much more tempting to own,” agreed an enthusiast, “A great product with an equally exciting offer – what more is there to ask for!” A coveted model, the Avalon is adorned with many features

and design elements that make it stand out from the crowd.

In Oman, Toyota’s outstand-ing product quality is supported by the nationwide parts and service network of the Saud Bahwan Automotive.

This one-of-a-kind Toyota is now available

with many benefits during the on-going

Toyota promotion, which ends on July 21

alizz bank to hold first monthly draw for Bushra Prize Savings AccountMUSCAT: alizz Islamic bank will conduct the first Sharia-compliant Bushra Savings Ac-count cash prize draw next Tues-day. All cash prizes are gifted from shareholders’ funds.

The bank will offer weekly OMR1,000, monthly OMR25,000 and quarterly OMR50,000 prizes as well as a year-end grand prize OMR100,000. One person will be selected for the monthly cash prize, three for the weekly, one for the quarterly and another for the grand prize at the end of the year, says a press release.

Bushra Savings Account is based on the Sharia principle of ‘Mudaraba’ whereby the bank in-vests customer savings in Sharia-compliant financing in order to generate the best possible returns and profits. The customer acts as a capital provider while the bank as ‘Mudarib’ or entrepreneur. All cus-tomer funds along with the bank’s own capital will be pooled and invested in Sharia-compliant in-vestment vehicles; with the profits split with the bank and customers according to predetermined ratios.

To qualify for the programme, the minimum opening account balance required is OMR100. To facilitate and expedite their daily transactions, customers should apply for a free debit card. In or-der to be eligible to for the prize element, a weekly minimum bal-ance of OMR100 must be main-tained. The bank will addition-ally give quarterly profits to the savings account holders.

The account is yet another in-novative product that the bank has launched to provide its cus-tomers with products that ca-ter to their respective financial needs. It comes with different features and facilities includ-ing quarterly profits, a free debit card, online and mobile phone banking services and short text message alerts.

So far 15 winners have been given awarded weekly cash priz-es since the Bushra Prize Savings Account was launched. Today, alizz Islamic bank delivers over 26 Sharia-compliant products to satisfy customer different needs and requirements.

L U C K Y W I N N E R

Joyalukkas opens two new showrooms in Saudi ArabiaJEDDAH: Joyalukkas Jewellery opened two new showrooms in Sau-di Arabia, one in Lulu Hypermarket, Near Event Mall, Makkah Road, Jeddah and second at Dammam Ladies Market, Prince Saud bin Jalawy St., Dammam respectively.

This is as part of its mega expan-sion plan for this financial year as committed rapid expansion across GCC, India and a couple of new countries, says a press release.

“This compliments my vision to make the brand accessible and available to every jewellery lover in the world,” said Joy Alukkas, chair-man and MD, Joyalukkas Group.

Joyalukkas Jewellery is cur-

rently a 120 plus showroom chain network spread across 11 countries around the world. The brand which is one of the world’s largest jewellery retail chains is a part of a multi-billion dollar glob-al conglomerate, which has varied business interests.

10 million customersThe world’s largest jewellery retail chain has presence in Saudi Ara-bia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, UAE, Singapore, London, Malay-sia and India and will soon open in two new countries. The jewellery retailer currently has a customer base of over 10 million customers

worldwide and offers over 1 million choices in all types of jewellery at each of its showroom.

“Our plan for Joyalukkas Jew-ellery in this financial year (2015-2016) includes strengthening our presence across various parts of India and opening our showrooms in cities and towns that we feel is ready for Joyalukkas experience,” said John Paul Alukkas, executive director, Joyalukkas Group.

“My vision for our jewellery business is to ‘ornament the world’ and we will manage this by offering customers the best mix of price, choice, convenience and service” concluded Joy Alukkas.

E X P A N S I O N

Eint Automotive partners with Diamondback tyresMUSCAT: Eint Automotive, a part of the WJ Towell Group, has created a distinct reputation for providing world-class tyres to their quality-conscious custom-ers. Their latest partnership with Diamondback, one of the leading tyre brands worldwide, has re-sulted in the introduction to the local market.

Owing to its scale of operations, well-established position in the market and an excellent image with regard to quality service, Eint Automotive was appointed as the exclusive distributor of Di-amondback tyres from Triangle Group Oman, says a press release.

“Diamondback tyres have al-ways been one of our most popu-lar products and we needed a strong distributor who would carry the name of the brand with the same passion as we have,” said David Sun, sales president, Global Business and Market De-velopment Centre for Africa and Middle East.

“We did not have to dig very deep to establish the capabilities that Eint Automotive held and we are delighted to have them as our local distributor.”

The agreement to acquire and commence the distribution op-erations was signed amidst senior officials of both Triangle Group and WJ Towell Group.

Diamondback tyres offer an ex-tensive line of medium radial truck and passenger tyres with a variety

of application-specific patterns. A leading group founded in 1976, Diamondback can boast of being a part of the largest tyre producer in China with a current annual production capacity of more than 30 million units. Diamondback includes a range of tyres including truck and bus radial tyres (TBR), passenger car and light truck ra-dial tyres (PCR/LTR), off-road radial tyres (OTR), jumbo OTR, as well as various types of bias tyres and retreaded tyres.

Diamondback dedicates itself to innovation, development and manufacturing of commercial and passenger vehicle tyres for a variety of field applications. Currently,the brand offers more than 4,000 types. With a rich his-tory giving the brand much credit, its parent company was also the first tyre company in China to

receive the prestigious certifi-cation of ‘China World Famous Trademark’ and ‘China Name Brand Product’. Diamondback tyres emerges from a group whose products have passed the strin-gent performance tests of Cat-erpillar and Volvo. It also plays a leading role in China’s domestic market, providing OE tyres to more than fifty major Chinese au-tomobile companies.

“We are proud to have been rec-ognised and given the role of be-ing the authorised and exclusive dealers of this renowned brand,” said Raj Nair, business unit head, Eint Automotive, Tyre Division. “Diamondback tyres come from a group that has earned recognition from its customers worldwide with top quality products which we complement with our excel-lent service component.”

E X C L U S I V E D I S T R I B U T O R

Sky Jewellery anniversary celebrations begin today

MUSCAT: Sky Jewellery is all set to surprise its customers during the 11th anniversary celebrations in Muscat.

The full swing anniversary cel-ebrations that will kickstart today at 6pm at Ruwi High street show-room will last till June 11 with a grand draw on June 12 for 51 sov-ereigns, says a press release.

Any customers who turn up for the anniversary ceremonies today from 5pm onwards will have all probability to be selected as the chief celebrity. A lucky customer will be selected from the public as the chief celebrity, who will be welcomed with a bouquet by Babu John, managing director, will of-ficially cut the cake marking the celebrations inaugurated in front of the media, invited guests and

other dignitaries. The celebrity in the limelight can also bag two gold coins as an instant lucky golden gift for being the chief guest of the occasion. Further 11 other lucky customers also will be selected from the gathering to join the celebrity during the ceremonies with an award of half a sovereign each to all of them.

“I always believed in my cus-tomers. This has been my vision to share the merit of our suc-cess to the society in general but

through such anniversary cele-brations of course to our valuable customers. Over the past 10 years whoever have turned up during the anniversary celebrations have literally experienced our commit-ment and promise in this connec-tion,” stated Babu John, managing director, Sky Jewellery.

“Special anniversary collec-tions in gold, diamonds and polki have been launched. As it is the time of big buying in preparation for the upcoming holiday season, attractive promotional factors also had been added to the an-niversary celebrations to benefit the customers to meet the occa-sion. 10% pre-booking has started to extend the unmatching merit of the lowest gold rate for deliv-ery between June 2 and 11. All

the purchases are to be rewarded with sparkling free gifts. Every day 25 early bird customers would get free gold coins and special surprises every day during happy hours between 2pm and 5pm,” said Cyriac Varghese, general manager of the group.

Above all these freebies there are also chances for winning 51 gold coins during the anniver-sary celebrations exclusively at the anniversary outlet in Ruwi. Diamonds and polki collections have instant cash back with all purchases.

“Highlighted are only some of the offers and we invite all our cus-tomers and well wishers to be part of the family get together today and share the joy of winning and suc-ceeding together,” added Babu.

1 1 T H A N N I V E R S A R Y

A lucky customer will be selected from the public as the chief celebrity

B7T H U R S DAY, J U N E 2 , 2 0 1 6

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alizz offers Sharia compliant personal finance solutionsMUSCAT: alizz Islamic bank of-fers ‘Goods Murabaha & Service Ijarah’ based personal finance in-novative solutions, in furtherance of its continued efforts to help in-novate Sharia compliant banking solutions and help customers to pursue their aspirations.

The personal finance options helps customers make their dreams come true and satisfy their needs for a modern lifestyle, says a press release.

Simple processThe financing application process could not be simpler. All a custom-er has to do is to file an application accompanied by a written quota-tion for the goods the customer

wishes the bank to finance. The bank will, based on this request, purchase the goods from the ven-dor and sell the same back to the customer at mutually agreed profit mark-up and deferred instal-ments. The price of sale represents the original price of merchandise plus the agreed profit.

The options of the goods can be anything from furniture, house-hold appliances, and construction materials or acquire a wide variety of goods. While on Service Ijarah based the customer can request financing for, education, tie the knot, travel packages, Haj and Um-rah and many more.

At alizz Islamic bank, personal finance comes with numerous

features and benefits for Omani nationals, resident expatriates and businesspersons alike, including financing up to 100 percent of the value of goods. The process itself requires simple documentation, easy approvals and salary transfer. But most importantly, the custom-er will get to know the mark-up and instalments before he signs the agreement.

Moosa Al Jadidi, deputy general manager and head of Retail Bank-ing - alizz Islamic bank said: “This is one of many custom-designed products the bank provides to its esteemed customers, particularly the youth, in order to help them buy anything they desire.

“We offer many banking facili-

ties with competitive and afford-able rates for everyone.”

He stressed: “The ultimate ob-jective of our products is to satisfy our customers’ needs. We know, of course, that youth constitutes the largest segment of our society and therefore it is incumbent upon us to ensure that our Sharia-compli-ant personal finance options make their wish a reality on the ground. Through Murabaha, they can own a car, goods, land and buildings.”

It should be noted that alizz Is-lamic bank makes available to its customers myriad financing op-tions exceeding 26 products.

Besides, it provides several fi-nancing solutions for various business projects.

‘ G O O D S M U R A B A H A & S E R V I C E I J A R A H ’

Ramadan benefits on Nissan Pathfinder 3.5L

MUSCAT: Nissan Oman, from the house of Suhail Bahwan Automo-biles, has announced exceptional deals for the customers of Nissan Pathfinder 3.5L as part of the ‘Sea-son of Rewards’ Ramadan offer.

Customers of Nissan Pathfind-er 3.5L stand to gain much from the ‘Season of Rewards’ offer, as Nissan Oman is offering a host of attractive value propositions.

Making the process of Nissan Pathfinder 3.5L ownership easier

and attractive, Nissan Oman has planned a series of exclusive of-fers for customers. The offers include attractive cash gift, free periodic maintenance service package, fuel card, free registra-tion, extended mileage warranty. Customers can also participate in a grand raffle. In addition, there are benefits on purchase of sec-ond vehicle in family as well as a part of loyalty scheme, says a press release.

Assured cash giftCustomers can avail assured cash gift of OMR1,250 on buying Nis-san Pathfinder 3.5L.

Scratch and win giftsCustomers will get a scratch and win card which will entitle them

to two assured gifts comprising free periodic maintenance service upto lifetime of the car (minimum assured 1 year/ 10,000km PMS; offer includes new service inter-vals of (10,000km) and free fuel up to OMR1,000 (minimum as-sured of OMR50).

Extra benefitsBuyers can enjoy extra benefits such as free registration, 6 years un-limited mileage extended warranty, loyalty card benefits among others.

Additional benefits Customers stand to enjoy addi-tional benefits on purchase of a second Nissan vehicle in the fam-ily. To avail additional benefits un-der the scheme, the second car can be purchased either in the name of

existing Nissan owner or his/her immediate family members.

Special EMI rateCustomers can avail special EMI rate starting from OMR184 on buying Nissan Pathfinder 3.5L.

Suitable financing options SBA has designed some easy and convenient financing options to ease the convenience of owning a Nissan Pathfinder 3.5L. Flex-ible EMIs can also be tailor made for any individual requirement from in-house auto finance team. Special interest rate of 2.99% is offered on all Nissan Pathfinder 3.5 Litre variants during the above said campaign period.

Grand raffleNissan patrons have a chance to win two X-Trails 2.5S 7STR CVT 16 MY in the ‘grand SMS and win raffle draw’ that will be held on June 20 and July 18 at Qurum showroom. Anybody can SMS to 90466 to enter the contest.

Suhail Bahwan Automobiles is largely committed to supporting Nissan’s growth in the Sultanate through major emphasis on cus-tomer satisfaction and by provid-ing world-class after-sales ser-vices in Oman.

Customers of Nissan

Pathfinder 3.5L

stand to gain much

from the ‘Season

of Rewards’ offer,

as Nissan Oman

is offering a host

of attractive value

propositions

Joyalukkas achieves Superbrand statusDUBAI: Three decades in opera-tions, Joyalukkas has seen more than its share of accolades and honours, but every award is still celebrated as its first.

“We are ‘super’ thrilled to have been recognised as a Superbrand for the seventh consecutive year. It is indeed a privilege to receive Superbrand status, but to get this recognition this many times in a row is a remarkable feat we have only our customers to thank for, without their loyalty and support, we would not have the drive to work harder and innovate more so they continue to enjoy the highest level of service and the best choice of quality products. We thank the Superbrands Coun-cil and our patrons for giving us this honour once again,” said John Paul Alukkas, executive di-rector, Joyalukkas Group.

Brand excellence authoritySuperbrands is one of the world’s

most respected independent brand excellence authorities, strengthening a brand’s image and reassuring consumers and suppli-ers that they are dealing with the best in a specific category. In the jewellery industry, Joyalukkas has the distinction of being the only brand to have received this honour seven times in a row.

With a presence across the UK, USA, Singapore, UAE, Malaysia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and India at over 120 world-class jewellery show-rooms, Joyalukkas has become a household name for variety, qual-ity and value. With unique of-ferings like the world’s first and only Diamond Cave, a dedicated wedding planning service and the comprehensive Joyalukkas Gold-en Rewards loyalty programme, Joyalukkas is not only recognised as one of the world’s best brands in the industry but also as the world’s favourite jeweller.

7 T H C O N S E C U T I V E Y E A R

This is one of many custom-designed products the bank

provides to its esteemed customers, particularly the youth,

in order to help them buy anything they desire. We offer

many banking facilities with competitive and affordable

rates for everyone

Moosa Al JadidiDeputy general manager and head of Retail Banking - alizz Islamic bank

Light House offers 70% discount saleMUSCAT: Light House, a lead-ing company trading in lights and electrical accessories, is all set to brighten up the Sultanate.

Marching ahead with its ex-pansion in the Oman market, it has opened its second showroom recently in Honda Road, Ruwi, making it the largest lighting showroom in the area. The first outlet was opened in Al Hail and has been successfully operational since its launch.

As a warm welcome to its cus-tomers, Light House pitched upon the perfect gift by offering a 70% sale on its products, which has been on the go since May 28. The sale is a limited period offer that will extend

till Eid, says a press release. Lighthouse delivers a wide range

of products, around 5,000 varieties to choose from at affordable prices.

Light House has plans to launch five showrooms at differ-ent locations across the country within a span of three years. With

a professional expertise of over 25 years in the field, the company in collaboration with the some of the most reputed brands like Legend, NOPL, Lume Italia, Lu-mitek, WISS, promises to bring in world class quality of light products to its customers.

Wall lights, pendant lights, street lights, crystal chandeliers, kids lights, modern lights, solar lights, flood lights, LED lights and sensor lights are some of its strik-ing varieties. Packed with high end light products, Light House provides light products for resi-dential purposes, ranging from small residential homes to multi-million pound mansions. It also has an exclusive collection that caters to the demands of trendy light designs in large commercial developments, restaurants and hotels. Unique lights influenced by Islamic designs are also in store for the sole purpose of light-ing in mosques.

L I G H T S A N D E L E C T R I C A L A C C E S S O R I E S

Ooredoo Springboard programme empowers 150 new female graduatesMUSCAT: Under the patronage of Mohammed bin Salim Al Toobi, Minister of Environment and Cli-mate Affairs, Ooredoo celebrated the graduation of 150 female public sector employees from the world re-nowned Springboard programme.

Attended by members of the Ooredoo management team and dignitaries from the Ministry of the Civil Service, the celebratory morning also saw the presentation of prizes for the three best team projects completed during the em-powering and confidence-building course, says a press release.

Designed for women by women, this worldwide programme, run by Ooredoo in collaboration with the British Council, empowers Oman’s female workforce. During the intensive course, women from multiple government agencies and sectors across the Sultanate were taught essential management skills, soft skills, communication,

self-empowerment, and public speaking, to name but a few.

“Ooredoo believes that the Sul-tanate’s ambitious female popula-tion is one of its strongest assets. They have important roles to play

in business, industry, government, and academia; their achievements helping power Oman’s continued success and prosperity. We wel-come progressive programmes like Springboard that help them

fulfil their ambitions and make their aspirations a reality as we work together for a better tomor-row,” said Kumail Al Moosawi, Ooredoo Chief People and Corpo-rate Affairs Officer.

The Springboard Programme is an example of successful pub-lic-private sector collaboration and and has been supported by the Government of Oman, Oore-doo, the British Council and Oman Publishing House.

It is based on input sessions and community-based project work, which is designed to leave a real impact.

Positive female role models regularly share their success sto-ries with the participants who also benefit from a range of valuable networking opportunities with

women from a variety of sectors. Activities are supported by a de-tailed resource-filled workbook with features that include accom-plishments by women in Oman.

With a firm and enduring belief in the potential of Oman’s talent pool, Ooredoo offers development programmes, scholarships, spon-sorship and internships. It is com-mitted to giving opportunities to Omanis to help achieve its vision to enrich the lives of the people of Oman by providing reliable, inno-vative and excellent communica-tions services.

CELEBRAT I ON

Bank Muscat honours Omani forensic doctor for unique achievement at ICC

MUSCAT: Bank Muscat, the flag-ship financial services provider in the Sultanate, in line with its com-mitment to support and honour national achievements, felicitated Dr Mohsin Al Amri for his unique

achievement as the first Arab fo-rensic doctor to be appointed in the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague, Netherlands.

Sheikh Khalid bin Mustahail Al Mashani, chairman, led the hon-ouring ceremony at Bank Muscat head office, in the presence of Ab-

dulRazak Ali Issa, chief executive, and top management team mem-bers, says a press release.

Congratulating Dr Mohsin Al Amri for the rare achievement, Sheikh Khalid said: “Oman is proud of this great achievement, which reflects on the competence

and high standards of the coun-try’s medical and legal resources. The gesture to honour Dr Mohsin comes as part of Bank Muscat ini-tiatives to encourage and promote excellence in all fields contribut-ing to the country’s progress and development.”

Dr Mohsin thanked Bank Mus-cat for the encouraging gesture and said: “The Sultanate under the leadership of His Majesty Sul-tan Qaboos bin Said has recorded spectacular progress and develop-ment during the past 46 years. In the field of medicine and jurispru-

dence, Oman has made significant advances and I owe this achieve-ment to the valuable opportunities made available for Omanis to excel in their respective fields by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said.”

Dr Mohsin has more than 35 year experience in Forensic Sci-ence, DNA Techniques and Bio-technology. He is a DNA finger-printing and forensic expert. His educational qualifications include PhD in DNA fingerprinting and MSc in forensic science from Strathclyde University, United Kingdom. He has contributed to the establishment of forensic labo-ratories and DNA database in the GCC countries.

Committed to its ‘Let’s Do More’ vision for the nation and the peo-ple, Bank Muscat is proud to have led the way in contributing to sus-tainable development in Oman with various initiatives. As the na-tion’s leading financial institution, Bank Muscat aims to provide the momentum for citizens to attain excellence in all arenas and there-by contribute to the development and progress of Oman.

‘I owe this

achievement

to the valuable

opportunities made

available for Omanis

to excel in their

respective fields by

His Majesty Sultan

Qaboos bin Said,’ said

Dr Mohsin Al Amri

B8

ROUND-UPT H U R S DAY, J U N E 2 , 2 0 1 6

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>C2>C5

Ali all praise for Summer Sports

A. SESHAGIRI [email protected]

MUSCAT: Football legend Ali Al Habsi has described the Summer Sports Programme, which aims at engaging both Omani and expatri-ate children and youth in sports ac-tivities during the summer break, as a ‘great initiative’ that is benefit-ing the society in many aspects.

Speaking at the launch of the 2016 edition of the Ministry of Sports Affairs ambitious project at the ministry’s headquarters on Wednesday, Ali Al Habsi said: “I would like to congratulate the Ministry of Sports Affairs for suc-cessfully running a programme that benefits the society over the years. Without doubt this is a great initiative by the ministry.”

The Oman national football team

captain, who was present at the launch ceremony as an ambassa-dor of programme’s main sponsors Ooredoo, said: “The programme’s objective itself is commendable as it is aimed at engaging the children and the youth of Oman in sports ac-tivities during the summer.

“This programme is very ben-eficial to society at large. With the schools and colleges closed for summer holidays, the children and youth now have an opportunity to spend their time in a constructive and useful way.”

“It’s not just about engaging the children but developing the right interest in sports.

“Through this programme the children are introduced to differ-

ent sports and once they develop the interest, they can further pursue that particular discipline, which I think will be beneficial for the child, the family and the soci-ety at large,” he added.

Earlier, Fahd Al Raisi, Director General of Sports Development and Welfare at the Ministry of Sports Affairs, while introducing the Omani-Qatri telecommunica-tion company Ooredoo as the main sponsors said: “We would like to thank Ooredoo for coming forward to be the main sponsor of our Sum-mer Sports Programme this year.

“Like in the previous years, this time too we are hoping to organ-ise a very successful programme. And like in the past, the activities

will be open to all, both Omanis and expatriates.”

24 sportsGiving the details of this year’s ac-tivities, programme in-charge and ministry official, Ruqaiya Al Jabri, said: “This will be the 11th year of our programme and we are hoping to have another successful edition of our programme.”

“This year’s programme will of-ficially start on June 5 and lasts till August 31,” she said.

“With the aim of making the pro-gramme beneficial for more chil-dren and youth, we will be involv-ing more coaches and officials. In all there will be 24 sports activities during the programme,” she added.

“The activities will take place in several places across the Sultan-ate. The venues include the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex and other sports and youth complex in other parts of the country. We will also be using some of the schools as venues,” she informed.

The ministry official also re-vealed that this year some of the sports committees will also be in-volved with the activities, which the main objective of spotting the talented children.

“Some of the sports commit-tees, like bowling committee, will be completely involved in the pro-gramme, trying to introduce and promote their respective sports. The members will also be looking

to spot the talent, who can hopeful-ly be groomed to be future national team players. That’s one of the main objectives of their involvement in the programme,” she added.

The list of activities of the pro-gramme, as in the 2015 edition, includes ‘youth activities’, ‘youth camps’, ‘youth tours’ and ‘encour-age your team’. There will also be special camps for girls.

Ali committed to ReadingLater, Ali Al Habsi spoke to Times Sport about Oman national foot-ball team’s forthcoming camps and friendlies, and about his future with English championship side Reading FC.

With Oman team having no immediate international assign-ments, coach Juan Ramon Lopez Caro has planned a series of camps and a few friendlies as part of their preparations for the Asian Cup third round qualifiers, which are scheduled for next year.

Ali said he will always be avail-able for the national duty though it is not possible to attend all the forthcoming camps.

“I will always be available for the national duty. It is not possi-ble to attend the camps due to my club engagements. But I will surely be playing the interna-tional friendly matches which are planned to be played during the FIFA Days,” Ali said.

Asked about his future with Reading FC, he said: “At the mo-ment I am not even thinking about any other options. My present con-tract with Reading runs till next year and I am completely commit-ted to the team.”

Ali Al Habsi, the first Omani player to play in the English Pre-mier League, moved to Reading FC from Wigan Athletic in mid 2015 on a two-year contract, which runs till June 15, 2017.

Speaking at the

launch of the 11th

Summer Sports

Programme, which

will run till August

31, Ali Al Habsi

described the

programme as a

great initiative that is

proving beneficial for

the country’s children

and the youth

11TH EDITION: Oman football great Ali Al Habsi, left, poses for a photo along with Ooredoo and Ministry of Sports Affairs after the launch of 2016 Summer Sports Programme at the minstry’s headquarters on Wednesday. – TALIB AL WAHAIBI/Times of Oman

‘Flawless Kohli capable of breaking Tendulkar’s records’

NEW DELHI: The sheer self-belief in his ability separates Virat Kohli from the rest and he is very much capable of break-ing Sachin Tendulkar’s records with the way he has been bat-ting, feels his childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma.

Sharma doesn’t see a weak-ness in Kohli’s batting, which has reached the next level with sensational performances in the World T20 and subsequent Indian Premier League (IPL).

“He is in sublime form at the moment. I don’t remember anyone playing for India being as consistent as Kohli. Even internationally, there won’t be many who have shown the consistency Kohli has shown. With the way he is batting, he is very much capable of breaking Sachin’s records,” Sharma, who watched Kohli lead RCB in the IPL final in Bengaluru on Sun-day, said on Wednesday.

There has been no looking back for India’s Test captain ever since the forgettable tour of England in 2014 when he failed to make a single half cen-tury in five Tests.

What is Kohli doing differ-ently compared to the time he struggled in England couple of years ago?

“England tour was a bad patch and every player goes through that phase. After that, he worked very hard on his game and the result of that you saw in Australia, the World T20 and now the IPL.”

It is known that Kohli not only spend hours batting in the nets, he devotes a substantial time towards his fitness.

“Hard work everyone does but he does smart work with hard work. For example, every one goes back to their rooms after practice but he goes back and spends an hour or two in the gym. He has strict control over his diet even though he is very much a foodie.” - PTI

C R I C K E T

Murray, Wawrinka set up semifinal showdownPARIS: Number two seed Andy Murray overcame a bout of French Open ‘dropshotitis’ on Wednesday to beat Richard Gasquet, the last home player in the singles draw, in four sets and set up a semifinal clash with Stan Wawrinka.

Briton Murray played with power and control during the early part of a 5-7, 7-6 (3), 6-0, 6-2 win that maintained a perfect 5-0 grand slam record against the ninth-seeded Frenchman, break-ing when Gasquet double-faulted to lose the second game and con-solidating to lead 5-2.

But the momentum shifted dra-matically in the eighth game when the Scot, stepping further into the court as he tried to force the pace, conceded three points in a row with unforced errors when 0-30 up.

Gasquet broke back in the next game and, as Murray turned in-creasingly to drop shots that the Frenchman began to read, reeled off the following three games to take a set his opponent had been in the most comfortable of box seats to win.

To the joy of a packed and in-creasingly animated pro-Gasquet centre court crowd, the pattern of the first set began to repeat itself in the second.

Murray again led 5-2, this time breaking in the sixth game, before his dropshot woes returned.

Gasquet, beginning to dominate as his silky one-handed backhand found its range and throwing in the odd drop shot of his own, duly broke back and took the set to a tiebreak.

But Murray won the breaker 7-3, claiming six points in a row from 3-1 down — including a set-win-ning drop shot - in what he identi-fied as a turning-point.

“It was very, very important to win the second set because it was a very physical match up to that point,” he said courtside.

This time the Scot maintained his dominance and, reading Gas-quet’s serve more easily and bring-ing his superior fitness to bear, took sets three and four with the loss of just two more games.

Murray knows his opponent in Friday’s semifinal — which will be his fourth in Paris and his 19th in grand slams — may present a tougher challenge.

“(Stan) is obviously playing great tennis,” he said. “It is going to be extremely difficult (but) hope-fully I can play my best tennis and reach my first final here.”

Starting his match after Murray on Wednesday, Wawrinka finished while the Scot was still on court, beating Spain’s Albert Ramos Vi-nolas in straight sets.

Easy for StanDefending champion Stan Waw-rinka held off a late charge by Albert Ramos Vinolas to storm into the French Open semifinals with a 6-2, 6-1, 7-6(7) victory on Wednesday.

The third-seeded Swiss, who got off to a slow start in open-ing rounds of the claycourt grand slam, steamrollered through the first two sets and resisted in the third on Court Suzanne Lenglen to set up a meeting with world num-ber two Andy Murray after the Briton saw off Frenchman Richard Gasquet in four sets.

Wawrinka used his single-handed backhand to move Ramos-Vinolas left, right and centre and it took the unseeded left-hander more than two sets to adjust.

After breaking back in the third, he forced a tiebreak and even had a set point but Wawrinka saved it and raised his arms in celebration when Ramos Vinolas’s forehand sailed long on match point.

“By the end Ramos played better and I made mistakes. But I’m very satisfied that I won this in three sets,” he said courtside.

While world number one Novak Djokovic only finished his fourth-round match on Wednesday after the tie was delayed by rain, Wawrin-ka is already through to the last four.

After labouring through the first game, Wawrinka crushed Ramos Vinolas to take the first two sets in less than an hour.

He seemed en route to dish-ing out a drubbing when he broke in the third, but Ramos-Vinolas played longer balls, putting the Swiss on the back foot to send the set into a tiebreak.

A string of unforced errors by Wawrinka meant the Spaniard had a set point at 7-6 but Wawrinka forced a backhand error and won the two remaining points.

Djoko’s $100 millionNovak Djokovic had 100 million reasons to celebrate reaching the French Ope — albeit two days later than expected — as players made a mad dash to clear the fourth-round backlog created by the fickle Parisian weather.

The Serbian world number one became the first tennis player to bank $100 million in prize money after his 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 7-5 win over Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut tipped him over the magic number.

However, the fourth-round win-ner’s cheque is a far cry from the real prize Djokovic has his eyes on this week. What he desperately wants is to get his hands on the Musketeers’ Cup to complete his grand slam collection.

After winning a match that was originally scheduled for Monday, began on Tuesday and was finally completed on Wednesday, the 29-year-old will have to play four days in succession if he is to reach Sunday’s title showdown.

“I have the feeling I played three matches against him,” a grinning Djokovic told the crowd after don-ning a yellow rain hat during his victory speech.

“Yesterday the match was inter-rupted three times and it wasn’t easy coming here at 9 am and leav-ing at 7.30 or 8:00 pm.

“So that’s the reason why we should have the roof here. I’m hoping we’re going to have it very soon,” added the Serb after join-ing athletes such as golfer Tiger Woods and boxer Lennox Lewis in the $100 million club.

Djokovic will be back in action on Thursday to contest his 28th successive major quarterfinal against Czech seventh seed Tomas Berdych, a 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 winner over 2013 runner-up David Ferrer.

In contrast, Austrian tyro Domi-nic Thiem was enjoying his most successful run at a grand slam after beating Spaniard Marcel Granollers 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-1, 6-4 to set up a last-eight clash with Bel-gian David Goffin.

With only two hours of play pos-sible over the previous two days as Parisians were hit by monsoon-like showers, the women in top seed Serena Williams’s half of the draw had also been left bogged

down in the fourth round for 48 hours. Hence it was little surprise they were all in a hurry to play catch-up on Wednesday.

No family reunionWilliams is no stranger to play-ing in front of capacity crowds but barely a couple of hundred spec-tators bothered to turn up at the 15,000-seater Philippe Chatrier Court as she began her tussle against 18th seed Elina Svitolina.

However, one person who was there to witness the champion’s 6-1, 6-1 walloping of Svitolina was her former on-court rival, four-times champion Justine Henin.

What Henin thought of her charge Svitolina’s performance is anyone’s guess but unlike the Belgian’s often prickly encoun-ters with Williams, Wednesday’s match ended with the two players sharing a joke and a warm hand-shake at the net.

However, there will be no Wil-liams family reunion at Roland Garros this year after Timea Bac-sinszky ambushed Serena’s elder sister Venus 6-2, 6-4.

“My first win over Venus is — well, it’s just amazing,” the beam-ing Swiss eighth seed said after reaching the last eight for the sec-ond year running.

Describing herself as “a chame-leon” who can adapt to “every type of court” she will next face Kiki Bertens after the Dutch outsider downed American 15th seed Madi-son Keys 7-6(4), 6-3. — Reuters

F R E N C H O P E N

IN SEMIFINALS: Andy Murray is ecstatic after reaching the last four stage at Roland Garros. – Reuters

EASY GOING: Stan Wawrinka celebrates after booking his place in the semifinals. – Reuters

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India to take on Pakistan in Champions Trophy opener

LONDON: Defending champions India have been seeded second and will take on arch-rivals Pakistan in their opening cricket match of next year’s ICC Champions Tro-phy after the two countries were placed in the same group for the event to be held in England.

The Asian powerhouses will go head to head at Edgbaston, Bir-mingham, on June 4. The 18-day tournament will run from June 1 to 18 and will also see matches

played at the Cardiff Wales Sta-dium in Cardiff and The Oval in London. A couple of days before the all-Asian clash, Australia and New Zealand will lock horns in a repeat of the World Cup 2015 final at Edgbaston.

Event host and 2004 and 2013 finalists England will take on Bangladesh in the tournament-opener at The Oval, which will also

be the venue for a battle between former champions Sri Lanka and South Africa on June 3.

The tournament schedule was announced at The Oval exactly a year before the first ball is to be bowled in the tournament, in which a total of 15 matches — in-cluding three knock-out games — will be played over two and a half weeks.

The top eight sides as on Sep-tember 30, 2015 have qualified for this tournament, with world cham-pions Australia seeded number-one. They head Group A, which also includes fourth seeds New Zealand, sixth seeds England and seventh seeds Bangladesh, who will be returning to this competi-tion for the first time since 2006.

India lead Group B, which also

comprises third seeds South Afri-ca, fifth seeds Sri Lanka and eighth seeds Pakistan.

The top two sides from each group will progress to the semi-finals, which will be played at Cardiff and Edgbaston on June 14 and 15 respectively, with The Oval hosting the final. There will be a reserve day for the final.

Announcing the schedule, ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said: “The ICC Champions Trophy is a short and sharp event, which is followed and enjoyed by the spec-tators and players alike.

“The ICC Champions Trophy 2017 is not just an ODI competi-tion, it carries a great deal of value since it is being played just three months before the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 qualification cut-off date. As such, every point earned here could be crucial.”

In the 2013 event, India defeat-ed Pakistan by eight wickets in a rain-reduced match at Edgbaston and then went on to beat England by five runs at the same venue to win their second ICC Champions Trophy title.

However, in the 2009 event in South Africa, Pakistan beat India by 54 runs at Centurion, which in-terestingly is their only victory over old foes in a major ICC event. - PTI

The 18-day

tournament in 2017

will run from June

1 to 18 and will also

see matches played

at the Cardiff Wales

Stadium in Cardiff

and The Oval in

London

FROM THE FILES: Team India celebrate winning the 2013 Champions Trophy.

Dizzy sends Boof reeling over Australia coaching linkSYDNEY: Former Australia fast bowler Jason Gillespie has made it clear that he is not in-terested in replacing Craig Mc-Dermott as bowling coach of the Australia Test side. The 41-year-old, known universally as “Diz-zy”, was mentioned as a target to join the Australia staff by head coach Darren “Boof” Lehmann after McDermott stepped down the wake of the World Twenty20 earlier this year.

Gillespie, however, said he had no intention of abandoning his job at English county Yorkshire, who he has led to successive County Championship titles, and heading back Down Under.

“Darren had mentioned on radio in Australia that he’d be keen to get me back into the sys-tem over there,” he told the BBC.

“I was always going to catch up with Darren when he was over here because he’s one of my best mates, but I got stuck into him a bit because he didn’t need to mention my name on the radio. “I informed him I wouldn’t be applying for a role so we can end the speculation. I was not offered a job and I have made it very clear that I would not be applying for any role.” - Reuters

C R I C K E T

Kulasekara quits TestsCOLOMBO: Sri Lankan pace bowler Nuwan Kulasekara quit Test cricket on Wednesday in order to focus his attention on the sport’s shorter formats, in which he is considered a greater threat with the ball.

“I would like to retire from playing test cricket with im-mediate effect,” the 33-year-old said in a letter to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).

“After much thought, I believe it is the right time to retire and I hope it will allow me to bet-ter prepare for ODI and T20 cricket, which I would like to continue playing for Sri Lanka subject to good performance and selection.”

Despite lacking express pace, Kulasekara made the most of his ability to swing the new ball to claim 48 Test wickets since his 2005 debut against New Zea-land in Napier.

Kulasekara played the last of his 21 Tests against England at Lord’s two years ago but has been a standout performer in one-dayers, with 186 wickets from 173 matches, and was ranked the top ODI bowler in March 2009. - Reuters

C A L L I N G Q U I T S

Pakistan’s Azhar backs Amir in England returnKARACHI: Pakistan paceman Mohammed Amir, who spent time in jail and served a five-year ban for spot-fixing, will be able to handle the pressure of returning to England if he is granted a visa for their upcoming tour, said team mate Azhar Ali.

Amir was considered one of the most exciting fast bowlers in the world before a 2010 spot-fixing scandal that resulted in bans and jail sentences for him, former Test captain Salman Butt and fast bowler Mohammed Asif.

The trio were cleared to return to the sport by the International Cricket Council (ICC) last Sep-tember after serving suspensions.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has requested a visa for Amir, who has already toured New Zealand for a limited over series, played in the Asia Cup in Bangladesh and fea-tured in the World Twenty20 in India since serving his ban.

Azhar had offered his resigna-tion as one-day captain when Amir was brought back into the Pakistan fold but is now keen to move on and says the team will support the 24-year-old quick if he needs it in England.

“(What happened in) 2010 is in the past and now we need to look forward,” Azhar told reporters on Tuesday.

“It has been a while now since he has been with us. It could

have been tough, had he come in straight on such a tour, but now, after playing with us for a long time, things have settled.

“Even he isn’t under pressure because he has already made his comeback a few months ago and the toughest phase is over for him,” Azhar said. “I know England was

the place where the incident hap-pened but hopefully he can han-dle the pressure like he did on his comeback. But still if anything hap-pens, we, as a team, will handle it.”

Pakistan will play four Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20 Inter-national in England between July 14 and September 7. - Reuters

S O U N D I N G S U P P O R T

It has been a while now since he (Amir) has been with us. It could have been tough, had he come in straight on such a tour, but now, after playing with us, things have settled

Azhar AliPakistan ODI captain

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Saiprem claims U-15 crownMUSCAT: M.V. Saiprem’s fine run at the the Annual Table Ten-nis Tournament organised by the Indian Social Club and sponsored by Muscat Insurance Services LLC and Oman United Insurance Company bore fruit when he cor-nered glory in the boys under-15 singles event.

The final of the boys under-15 singles pitted two of the most talented players at the ISC, M.V. Saiprem and Shounak Kelkar and they did not disappoint. The thrilling final went the distance before Saiprem rallied from two games down to edge to a narrow 12-14, 11-8, 11-9, 11-9, 14-12, 8-11, 13-11 victory over Shounak to lift the title.

Lefthander Shounak, the sec-ond seed showed fluency on both flanks and scored winners before the top seed regained momentum.

Shounak went two games up before Saiprem won the next two games to level the score. He saved four game points in the fifth and held on to win the game for a 3-2 advantage in the best-of-seven-games final.

Shounak fought back bravely from 1-6 down in the sixth game and played some brilliant fore-hand drives to level and take the match to the decider. In a nerve wrecking seventh game, Shounak overcame an early deficit to level at 7-all after which scores went neck-and-neck.

Nerves told on both players as

Shounak gained the first cham-pionship point which Saiprem saved and converted the next to gain match point. A brilliant smash saw Shounak save the match but a back hand that went long gave Saiprem another match point which he converted to win the title.

The top seeded duo of Kenneth Vaz and Suhail khan moved into

the semifinal of the men’s doubles after securing a 11-7, 11-6, 6-11, 11-5 victory over Pranav Vinod and P. Sai Saran.

They were joined in the semis by the second seeds, Armaan Sat-tikar and Subash Pillai who sur-vived anxious moments before outlasting the duo of Karan Negi and Areeb Usman 10, 12, 12-10, 12-10, 11-7 in the quarterfinals.

I S C T A B L E T E N N I S

THE FINALISTS: Boys U-15 winner M.V. Saiprem, right, and

runner-up Shounak Kelkar. – Supplied photo

BOC PREMIER LEAGUE CONCLUDESBosher Olympic Centre (BOC) Cricket, just concluded one and half month long BOC Premier

League 2016 tournament in same line with Indian Premiere League (IPL). Sheikh Hamad

Al Siyabi, Chairman of BOC was the Chief Guest, Sheikh Majid Al Rawahi, Board member

of BOC; Sheikh Suleiman, Board member of Bosher Club and Iqbal Arriwala, senior official

from Oman Cricket were the esteemed Guest of Honors during final ceremony. Total eight

teams participated in the tournament. In the final played between Chennai Super King and

Mumbai Indians, the former emerged champions with an 8-run victory. — Supplied photo

Rooney expects Rashford to make an impact

LONDON: England captain Wayne Rooney has backed teenage Manchester United teammate Mar-cus Rashford to make an impact at the European championship finals starting in France next week.

“The way he’s performed to the end of the season has been incredi-ble, really, for his age,” Rooney told a news conference after a training session on Wednesday.

“He showed what he can do in his first game for England,” added the 30-year-old, who made his England debut at 17 and will lead the side against Portugal in their final Euro 2016 warm-up at Wem-bley on Thursday.

“His attitude is first class ... he could be a real positive for us.”

Rashford, 18, became the young-est player to score on his England debut in the 2-1 win over Australia at the Stadium of Light last Friday.

The forward scored that goal 138 seconds into what was only his 19th professional match.

England manager Roy Hodgson said that in the end it was a ques-tion of whether to take an extra at-tacker or midfielder in his 23-man squad, rather than the “new boy on the block” having to make his case.

“It certainly was never going to be a case of ‘We’ll put Rashford in for this game and if he does well,

we’ll take him. If he does badly, we won’t’,” he said. “It’s always been the balance in the squad ... rather than X v Y who play in the same position.”

Hodgson said the mix in his young squad was good.

“If anything, it’s tilted towards an offensive approach but that’s because we believe we have so many players at the moment in midfield and in attack who are re-ally good-quality players,” he said.

“I didn’t want to sacrifice them to shore up with players who maybe might in some ways cover positions slightly better but maybe

don’t have the qualities of the play-ers I’d be leaving out,” he added.

“We believe that defending is very much a team job ... we think it starts from the front and goes right the way through.”

Hodgson said England needed mobility and great running power to be able to do that and his squad, with its younger players in partic-ular, could offer that.

“I believe that if they perform anything like to the level they are capable of performing, we are go-ing to be a hard team to beat,” he said. - Reuters

Captain Rooney said

young Rashford’s

‘attitude is first class

... he could be a real

positive for us’

‘NEED MOBILITY’: England’s Wayne Rooney, Jordan Henderson,

Adam Lallana and Marcus Rashford pictured during a training

session at Watford Training Ground on Wednesday. – Reuters

Test league system possible by 2019: ICCDUBAI: A two-division league system for Test cricket could be established in three years in a bid to improve standards in the longest form of the game, Inter-national Cricket Council ICC) Chief Executive Dave Richard-son said on Wednesday.

Discussions with full mem-ber nations about a possible competition for Test cricket and its structure have begun and a proposal is expected to on the agenda at the ICC’s annual gen-eral meeting in June.

“If you want to create a real champion Test team, you need a competition that provides the same number of opportunities,” Richardson told reporters at the launch of the 2017 Cham-pions Trophy. That means the same number of fixtures, home and away, so that at the end of a league period you can crown a champion team.

“Realistically, with tours and broadcast agreements in place, we’re perhaps looking at 2019 for it to begin.”

The league system is the lat-est plan to increase diminish-ing attendances at Test matches following the introduction of day-night matches last year in Australia. - Reuters

C R I C K E T

Baseball, surfing among five sports set for Tokyo 2020LAUSANNE: Five sports, in-cluding baseball, skateboarding and surfing, are on track to fea-ture at the 2020 Tokyo Olym-pics after the IOC on Wednesday recommended them to attract a younger audience.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) now needs to rubber stamp the inclusion of skateboarding, surfing, sports climbing and karate plus the joint baseball/softball bid at its session in Rio de Janeiro in August.

The IOC Executive Board voted unanimously in favour of the pro-posal put forward by Tokyo 2020, recommending it as a package, IOC vice-president John Coates told reporters. “This is a very good proposal,” Coates said. “It has a good balance between sports pop-

ular in Japan and those better en-gaging youth like surfing, skate-boarding and sports climbing.”

“We are very excited and very pleased. Tokyo 2020 have done a lot of work in the past two years.”

Under new rules, Olympic host cities can hand-pick sports they want in the Games to join the existing 28 core sports. As part of sweeping reforms initiated by IOC President Thomas Bach in December 2014, future Olympic hosts are being offered the chance to bring in sports that are trendy in their countries to boost ratings and attract greater sponsorship.

Games organisers also wanted sports that were already well es-tablished in Japan so new venues would not need to be built and add to ballooning costs while

also shoring up local support for the Olympics. The decision over which sports will be added to the Olympics is only for one edi-tion of the Games and they would need to bid again for inclusion at the next Olympics.

Baseball and softball, which will have each a competition with six teams, last featured at the Games in Beijing in 2008 before being taken off the programme.

Surfing, with 20 men and 20 women athletes, is expected to take place in the sea, instead of on artifi-cial waves. Skateboarding will have two street and two park events with 40 competitors each (20 male, 20 female), while karate will have two events (one men’s and one women’s) for kata and three weight classes for kumite. - Reuters

O L Y M P I C S

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Cristiano Ronaldo’s hunger for victory is enough to make Portugal a force to be reckoned with in

France 2016, where the current generation of Portuguese players may stand before its last chance.Real Madrid’s superstar striker hopes to close with a major title the cycle of a group of talented players who have so far proved un-able to lead Portugal to their first international title.

“I am missing a title with Por-tugal. That would be the culmi-nation of a great career, and I am hopeful,” the ambitious Ronaldo said ahead of Portugal’s sixth Euro in succession.

“I count on Cristiano to guide us during the tournament. We have to make his ambition, his desire to be the best and to win, our own,” said Portugal manager Fernando Santos.

“We are not coming to the Euro just for the ride, we are here to win,” Santos warned.

Cristiano Ronaldo is Portugal’s captain, a role model for their young players and a reference for their veterans.

He may be 31 by now, but he remains just as voracious and retains his extraordinary ability to compete.

“The new generation is good and has helped us to grow. I think we have a promising future,” the

Portugal star said.Portugal will need to combine

the experience of many pillars of their team with the power of up-and-coming players including 18-year-old gem Renato Sanches, “a wild animal” according to Rui Vitoria, his coach at Benfica.

Veterans like centre-backs Pepe and Ricardo Carvalho and keeper Rui Patricio give confidence to a defence that is increasingly in

need of a fresh approach.Joao Moutinho is the guiding

light in a very able midfield, with youngsters like Danilo Pereira and William Carvalho.

In attack, Cristiano Ronaldo needs to be everywhere to com-pensate for the poor goal scoring capacity of veteran strikers like Helder Postiga, Ricardo Quaresma, Nani and Hugo Almeida, members of a generation that followed on

from the one led by Luis Figo.After their painful defeat

against Greece in Lisbon in the fi-nal of their own Euro in 2004, Por-tugal have struggled to qualify for the continental tournament, but they always performed well: they reached the quarter-finals in 2008 and the semifinals in 2012.

“We may not be the favourites, but we are one of the most danger-ous teams,” Santos said. - dpa

THE STAR: Cristiano Ronaldo is the best Portuguese player of all time, ahead of the “Black Panther” Eusebio. However, the man who won the Ballon d’Or three times and is the top scorer in the history of Real Madrid has never been a prolific scorer with Portugal. Once a very powerful player, age has made Ronaldo a bit too slow to cause trouble on the wing. However, his ample array of options before goal, includ-ing both feet, his head, free kicks, back heels and more acrobatic efforts, make him a formidable striker. THE MANAGER: Fernando Santos managed Portugal’s three biggest teams, Porto, Benfica and Sporting Lisbon, before moving on to the Greece national team, whom he led into the Euro 2012 quarter-finals and the round of 16 at the 2014 World Cup. He then caught the eye of the Portuguese federation, fresh off an unsuccessful period with Paulo Bento as national team manager. Santos got the team back on track, with the usual dose of solidarity among players that he imposes in his sides. EURO SCHEDULE: Portugal-Iceland (June 14 in Saint-Etienne); Portugal-Aus-tria (June 18 in Paris); Portugal-Hungary (June 22 in Lyon) BEST RESULTS: Third place at the 1966 World Cup, finalists at the Euro 2004.

FACTBOX

At Euro 2016, aged 31, Cristiano Ronaldo stands before one of his last chances to lead Portugal to a title and star in a major tournament at the national-team level. - dpa

Portugal will be a force to reckon with in France 2016. - dpa

RONALDO STILL EMBODIES PORTUGAL’S HUNGER FOR VICTORY

REAL MADRID’S SUPERSTAR

STRIKER HOPES TO CLOSE WITH

A MAJOR TITLE THE CYCLE OF A

GROUP OF TALENTED PLAYERS

WHO HAVE SO FAR PROVED UNABLE

TO LEAD PORTUGAL TO THEIR

FIRST INTERNATIONAL TITLE

Coach Fernando Santos

managed Portugal’s three

biggest teams, Porto, Benfica

and Sporting Lisbon. - dpa

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

CultureSECTIONC L I F E S T Y L E T H U R S DAY, J U N E 2 , 2 0 1 6

Story: T.A. AmeerudheenPhotos: Shabin E

Well-known Manga artist from the United Kingdom, Sonia Leong, believes that observation is the key to becoming a successful comic artist.

Continued to C7

FIND-IT-ALLC6 T H U R S DAY, J U N E 2 , 2 0 1 6

Dhuhr 12.10pmAsr 3.29pmMaghrib 6.55pmIsha 8.16pm Fajr (Tomorrow) 3.53am

PRAYER TIMINGS

ROYAL OMAN POLICE

Emergencies and inquiries: 9999

General Directorate of

Passport and Residence 24569603

Directorate General

of Customs 24521109

Traffic violations inquiries 24510228

Public Relations Admin 24560099

EMBASSIES IN OMAN

Afghanistan 24698 791/4

Algeria 24605 593

Bahrain 24 605 074/133

Bangladesh 24 698 660

Brazil 24640100

Brunei 24 603533

China 24 696782

Cyprus 24 699815

Egypt 24 600 982/411

France 24681 800

Germany 24835000

India 24684500

Indonesia 2469 1050

Iran 24 696 944/7

Iraq 24603642

Italy 24693727

Japan 24 601 028

Jordan 24692760/1/3

Kazakhstan 24 692418

Kenya 24 697664

South Korea 24 691490

Kuwait 24 699628

Lebanon 24 693208

Libya 24603466

Malaysia 24698329/643

Morocco 24696152/3

Nepal 24696177

Netherlands 24603706

Pakistan 24603439

Palestine 24601312

Philippines 24605335

Qatar 24 691 153/2/4

Russia 24602894

Saudi Arabia 24601705

Senegal 24694139

Somalia 24697977

South Africa 24647300

Spain 24691101

Sri Lanka 24697841/2

Sudan 24697875

Switzerland 24603267

Syria 24697904

Tanzania 24601 174

Thailand 24 602684/5

Tunisia 24603486

Turkey 24697050/1/2

UAE 24400000

United Kingdom 24609000

United States 24643400

Yemen 24600815

PHARMACIES (ROUND THE CLOCK)

Al Hashar Pharmacy, Ruwi 24783334

Apollo Medical Centre,

Hamriya 24782666

Muscat Pharmacy, Ruwi 24702542

Salalah 23291635;

Atlas Pharmacy, Ghubra 24503585

Muscat Region

Apollo, Al Hamriya 24787766

Muscat, A Seeb Market 24421691

Muscat, Al Khuwair 24485740

Muscat, Al Hail South 24537080

Dhofar Region

Muscat, Al Nahdha Road,

Salalah 23291635

HOSPITALS

Al Amal Medical & Health Care Centre

24485052

Atlas Hospital

Ruwi 24811743/

Ghubra 24504000

Al Musafir Specialised

Medical Clinic 24706453

Hatat Polyclinic LLC,

Ruwi 24563641

Azaiba 24499269

Sohar 2683006

Al Raffah Hospital 24618900/1/2

Al Massaraat Clinic &

Laboratory 24566435

Al Makook Medical

Coordinance Centre 24499434

Apollo Medical Centre,

Hamriya 24787766, 24787780

Capital Polyclinic 24707549

Badr Al Samaa Polyclinic,

Ruwi 24799760/1/2

Capital Clinic, Seeb 24420740

Ceregem National Raak 24485633

Dr Harub’s Clinic 24563217

Elixir Health Centre 24565802

Emirates Medical Centre 24604540

1st Chiropractic Centre 24472274

Lifeline Hospital Salalah 23212340

International Medical

Centre LLC 24794501/2/3/4/5

Kims Oman Hospital 24760100

24 Hrs Emergency 24760123

Lama Polyclinic, Sohar 26751128

MBD 24799077

Al Khuwair 24478818

Magrabi Eye and

Ear Hospital 24568870

Muscat Private Hospital 24583600

Welcare Diagnostic and Treatment

Centre, Al Khuwair 24477666

Al Hayat International Hospital, Al Ghubra

22004000, 94267068/97049520

Al Hayat Clinic, Al Hail 22009455

AIRLINE OFFICES

Muscat Airport Flight information

(24 hours) 24519456/24519223

Aeroflot 24704455

Air Arabia 24700828

Air France 24562153

Air India 24799801

Air New Zealand 24700732

Biman Bangladesh Airlines 24701128

British Airways 24568777

Cathay Pacific 24789818

Egypt Air 24794113

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Ethiopian Airlines 24660313

Gulf Air 80072424

Indian 24791914

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Japan Airlines 24704455

Jazeera Airways 23294848

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LOT Polish Airlines 24796387

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Oman Air 24531111

Pakistan International

Airlines 24792471

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Qantas 24559941

Royal Jordanian 24796693

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Singapore Airlines 24791233

Shaheen Air 24816565

SriLankan Airlines 24784545

Swiss International

Airlines 24796692

Thai Airways 24705934

LISTINGS

LONG DISTANCE BUS TIMINGS (OMAN NATIONAL TRANSPORT COMPANY SAOC) *SUBJECT TO CHANGE

FROM MUSCAT (RUWI)

Dept Destination Arrival Operatingtime time days

QURIYAT - SUR - JAALAN (ROUTE 36)

15:00 Quriyat 16:30 Daily

15:00 Sur 18:00 Daily

15:00 Jaalan 19:30 Daily

TO AL BURAIMI (ROUTE 41)

06:30 Sohar 08:50 Daily

06:30 Buraimi 11:00 Daily

08:00 Buraimi 14:30 Daily via Ibri


13:00 Buraimi 17:40 Daily

16.00 Sohar 18.35 Daily

16.00 Buraimi 20:20 Daily

TO SINAW (ROUTE 52)

17:30 Sinaw 20:50 Daily

TO YANQUL (ROUTE 54)

14:30 Nizwa 16:50 Daily

14:30 Yanqul 19:30 Daily

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (ROUTE 54)


08:00 Al Araqi 12:30 Daily

TO SUR (ROUTE 55)

07:30 Sur 12:00 Daily

14:30 Sur 18:45 Daily

TO FAHUD - YIBAL (ROUTE 62)

06:30 Fahud 10:30 Daily

06:30 Yibal 11:15 Daily

TO MARMUL-SALALAH (ROUTE 100)

07:00 Salalah 20:00 Daily

10:00 Marmul 20:30 Daily



TO MARMUL (ROUTE 101)


SALALAH TO DUBAI (ROUTE 102)

15:00 Dubai 07:00 Daily

TO DUBAI (ROUTE 201)



13:00 Sohar 15:30 Wed,Thur

13:00 Dubai 18:30 Wed,Thur



TO DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (ROUTE 204)

07:00 Fujairah 11.45 Daily

07:00 Sharjah 13.30 Daily

07:00 Dubai 14.00 Daily

TO MUSCAT (RUWI)

Dept Destination Arrival Operatingtime time days

FROM JAALAN-SUR-QURIYAT (ROUTE 36)

05:30 Sur 06:45 Daily

05:30 Quriyat 08:30 Daily

05:30 Ruwi 10:00 Daily

TO AL BURAIMI (ROUTE 41)



13:30 Ruwi 20:20 Daily via Ibri





TO SINAW (ROUTE 52)


TO YANQUL (ROUTE 54)



TO IBRI (ARAQI) (ROUTE 54)



TO SUR (ROUTE 55)



TO YIBAL - FAHUD (ROUTE 62)

12:30 Fahud 13:15 Daily


TO SALALAH -MARMUL (ROUTE 100)





TO MARMUL (ROUTE 101)


DUBAI TO SALALAH (ROUTE 102)


TO DUBAI (ROUTE 201)



13:00 Sohar 16:15 Thur-Fri

13:00 Ruwi 19:10 Thur-Fri



FROM DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH/SHARJAH (ROUTE 204)

16:00 Sharjah 16:30 Daily

16.00 Fujairah 18.15 Daily

16.00 Ruwi 23.00 Daily

CITY CINEMAContact (10 am to 6PM) 24567664 | 68 www.citycinemaoman.netfacebook.com/citycinemaoman

SHATTIMe Before You - (2D) (Drama ) (15+)Cast: Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Janet McTeer3:30 & 7:30PMHigh Strung - (2D) (Drama | Music) (12+)Cast: Keenan Kampa, Nicholas Galitzine, Jane Seymour5:30 & 9:45PMGo With Me - (2D) (Thriller) ((12+)Cast: Julia Stiles, Anthony Hopkins, Alexander Ludwig,3:30, 5:45, 9:45 & 11:30PMElly Ektasho Mato - (2D) (Arabic) (15+)Cast: Ghada Abdelrazek, Abeer Sabry7:30PMHousefull 3 - (2D) (Hindi | Romantic ) (PG12)Cast: Nargis Fakhri, Akshay Kumar, Jacqueline Fernandez, Ritesh Deshmukh, Abhishek Bachchan8:45 & 11:30PMWarcraft - (3D) (Action| Adventure) (PG12)Cast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster3:45, 6:15 & 11:45PM

MUSCAT GRAND MALLWarcraft – 3D (PG12) Action| Adventure Cast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster12:15, 9:15, 11:45 PMGold Class : 6:15 PMMoney Monster – 2D (12+) Crime | Drama | Cast: George Clooney, Julia Roberts4:30, 11:30 PMHousefull 3 – 2D (PG12) Hindi | RomanticCast: Nargis Fakhri, Akshay Kumar, Ritesh Deshmukh, Abhishek Bachchan9:00 PMGold Class : 3:30, 8:45, 11:30 PMX-Men: Apocalypse – 3D (PG12) Action | Adventure |FantasyCast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender2:15, 6:30 PMThe Angry Birds Movie – 3D (U) Animation |

Action |ComedyCast: Peter Dinklage, Tituss Burgess, Jason Sudeikis12:15, 2:30, 5:00, 7:00 PM

PANORAMA MALLMe Before You - (2D) (Drama ) (15+)Cast: Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Janet McTeer5:30 & 9:45PMHigh Strung - (2D) (Drama | Music) (12+)Cast: Keenan Kampa, Nicholas Galitzine, Jane Seymour3:45 & 7:45PMGo With Me - (2D) (Thriller) ((12+)Cast: Julia Stiles, Alexander Ludwig, Anthony Hopkins9:30 & 11:45PMHousefull 3 - (2D) (Hindi | Romantic |Comedy) (PG12) VIP LOUNGECast: Nargis Fakhri, Akshay Kumar8:45PMHousefull 3 - (2D) (Hindi | Romantic) (PG12)Cast: Akshay Kumar,Ritesh Deshmukh, Abhishek Bachchan3:30, 6:15, 9:00 & 11:15PMWarcraft - (3D) (Action| Adventure | Fantasy) (PG12) VIP LOUNGECast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster3:45 & 11:30PM

Warcraft - (4D) (Action| Adventure | Fantasy) (PG12) MX4DCast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster3:45, 6:30, 9:00 & 11:30PMWarcraft - (3D) (Action| Adventure) (PG12)Cast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster7:30 & 11:45PMThe Nice Guys - (2D) (Action | Comedy | Crime) (15+) VIP LOUNGECast: Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling6:15PMThe Nice Guys - (2D) (Action | Comedy) (15+)Cast: Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling3:30PMThe Jungle Book - (3D) Adventure) (PG)Cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley5:45PM

AZAIBA X-Men: Apocalypse (3D) (Action |Adventure | Fantasy) (PG12) Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender3:45, 9:00, 11:45 PMWarcraft (3D) (Action) (PG12) Cast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster3:45, 9:30, 11:45 PMThe Jungle Book (3D) (Family) (PG) Cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley

3:45, 5:45 PMKing Liar (Mal) (2D) (Comedy) (PG12) Cast: Dileep, Madonna Sebastian, Lal6:00 PMHouseful 3 (Hindi) (2D) (Comedy) (PG12) Cast: Akshay Kumar, Jacquline Fernandes3:30, 6:15, 7:45, 8:50, 10:30, 11:30 PMIdhu Namma Aalu (Tamil) (2D) (Romance | Comedy) (PG) Cast: Mahesh Babu, Kajal Aggarwal6:45 PM

RUWIScreen 1Housefull 3 (2D) (Comedy / Drama) –PG12Cast : Akshay Kumar, Ritesh Deshmukh2.30, 5.30, 8.30, 11.30 PMScreen 2Baaghi (2D) (Action) –PGCast : Tiger Shroff, Shraddha Kapoor 3.30 PMHousefull 3 (2D) (Comedy / Drama) –PG12Cast : Akshay Kumar , Ritesh Deshmukh 6.15, 9.00, 11.45 PMScreen 3Warcraft (2D) (Action / Adventure) –PG12Cast : Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton3.30, 6.30, 9.15 PM

Housefull 3 (2D) (Comedy / Drama) –PG12Cast : Akshay Kumar, Ritesh Deshmukh, Nargis Fakhri, Jacqueline Fernandez11.45 PM

SURWarcraft 3D ( Action | Fantasy ) ( PG12 )Cast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster5:30, 9:30 PMBorn to Dance (12+) Cast : Tia Maipi, Stan Walker7:45 PMGo With Me ( Thriller ) ( 12+ ) Cast : Julia Stiles, Alexander Ludwig3:30, 6:45, 11:45 PMHousefull 3 ( Hindi | Comedy ) (PG12) Cast : Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan3:45, 8:30, 11:15 PM

SOHARX-Men: Apocalypse PG12 (2D) (Action)Cast: James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence11:45PMX-Men: Apocalypse PG12 (3D) (Action)Cast: James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence6:15PMWarcraft PG12 (Action| Adventure | Fantasy)

Cast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster3:45, 6:00, 9:00, 11:30PMHousefull 3 PG12(Hindi | Romantic |Comedy)Cast: Nargis Fakhri, Akshay Kumar, Jacqueline Fernandez3:30, 7:15, 8:30, 11:15PMMe Before You (15+) (Drama)Cast: Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Janet McTeer3:15, 7:15PMBorn to Dance (12+) (Action | Sport)Cast : Tia Maipi, Stan Walker, Kherington Payne5:15, 10:00PMA Aa TBC (Telugu | Comedy | Romance)Cast: Nithin K Reddy, Samantha Ruth Prabhu9:00PM ( Only from 3rd June)Iravi TBC (Tamil | Comedy / Drama)Cast: Vijay Sethupati , S J Surya, Kamalinee Mukherjee7:00PM (Only from 3rd June)

BURAIMIHousefull 3 PG12 (Hindi) (Romantic)Cast: Nargis Fakhri, Akshay Kumar, Jacqueline Fernandez, Ritesh Deshmukh3:30, 7:00, 9:15 & 11:15 PMGo With Me 12+ (Thriller)Cast: Julia Stiles, Alexander Ludwig3:30, 10:00 & 11:45 PMWarcraft PG 12 (3D) (Action| Adventure)Cast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster.3:45, 6:30 & 8:45 PMRock the Kasbah 15+ (Comedy | Music)Cast: Bill Murray, Leem Lubany5:15, 7:15 & 11:45 PM

SALALAHRock the Kasbah (15+) (Comedy | Music) Cast: James Bill Murray, Leem Lubany3:45, 6:30PMGo With Me (12+) (Thriller) Cast: Julia Stiles, Alexander Ludwig2:15, 6:15, 10:00, 11:55PMWarcraft (3D)(PG12) (3D) (PG12) (Action) Cast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster1:00, 9:00, 11:30PMHigh Strung (2D) (12+) (Drama | Music) Cast: Keenan Kampa, Nicholas Galitzine1:30, 4:15, 8:00PMHousefull 3 (2D) (PG12)( Hindi ) (Romantic) Cast: Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachan, Ritesh Deshmukh, Jacqueline Fernandez3:45, 6:15, 8:30, 11:15PM

CINEMA SCHEDULE CHILDREN BELOW THE AGE OF 3 YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED IN THE CINEMA | BOX-OFFICE COUNTER OPENS 30-MINUTES PRIOR TO THE SCREENING OF THE FIRST SHOW

@RUWI @ SOHAR @ PANORAMA MALL

Housefull 3 (2D) (Comedy / Drama) –PG12Cast : Akshay Kumar, Ritesh DeshmukhNar-gis Fakhri, Jacqueline Fernandez, Abhishek Bachchan2.30, 5.30, 8.30 & 11.30 PM

Born to Dance (12+) (Action | Sport)Cast : Tia Maipi, Stan Walker, Kherington Payne5:15 & 10:00PM

Go With Me - (2D) (Thriller) ((12+)Cast: Julia Stiles, Alexander Ludwig, Anthony Hopkins9:30 & 11:45PM

BAHJA CINEMAFilm information 24540856 / Advance Booking

24540855

Website: www.albahjacinemaoman.com

Go With Me (Thriller)Cast: Julia Stiles, Alexander Ludwig, Anthony Hopkins2.00, 6.00, 10.00 & 11.55p.m.CP No :1136 (12+)Rock the Kasbah (Comedy / Music)Cast: Bill Murray, Leem Lubany, Zooey Deschanel1.00, 3.00 & 5.00 p.m.CP No : 1137 (15+)Me Before You (Drama)Cast: Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Janet McTeer4.00 & 8.00 p.m.CP No : 1138 (15+)Warcraft (Action / Adventure / Fantasy)Cast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster 7.00, 9.30 & 11.55 p.m.CP No : 1129 (PG12)

STAR CINEMAFilm information 24791641 / 24786776

Website: www.isurf.co.om

King Liar ( Mal) (Comedy) Cast : Dileep ,Siddique & Madonna Sebastian 6-30 PM Cinema-2; 3-30 & 9-30 pm Cinema Main From Friday : 3-45 Pm Cinema -4; 9-30 Pm Cinema-2Housefull-3 (Hindi) (Drama\Comedy ) Cast: Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan 3-45, 6-45 & 9-45 pm Cinema -3 Jacobinte Swargarajyam ( Mal) (Comedy) Cast: Nivin Pauly Renji Panicker3-45, 6-45 & 9-45 pm Cinema-4 From Friday : 6-45 &9-45 pm Cinema -4 Idhu Namma Aalu (Tamil)( Drama) (Only Thursday) Cast : Silambarasan & Nayantara 6-30 pm Cinema Main; 3-30 & 9-30 pm Cinema-2 Iraivi (Tamil) (Comedy\ Drama) (From Friday) Cast: Vijay Sethopathi & Anjali 3-30 pm Cinema- 2; 6-30 & 10-00 pm Cinema MainA.AA (Telugu) (Comedy\\Drama) (From Friday) Cast: Nithin and Samantha 3-00 pm Cinema Main; 6-30 pm Cinema -2

Programmes are subject to change

@SHATTI

High Strung - (2D) (Drama | Music) (12+)Cast: Keenan Kampa, Nicholas Galitzine, Jane Seymour5:30 & 9:45PM

WEATHER

410

Maximum

330

Minimum

TEMPERATURE

60-15%RELATIVE HUMIDITY

Send us a colour photograph of the child (below 17 years) whose birthday you are celebrating, along with his/her full name, date of birth, address, telephone number and parents’/your name to Times of Oman, With Love, PO Box 770, PC 112, Ruwi or through e-mail to [email protected]

WITH LOVE

SRIMAYI ANIL KUMARJune 2, 2003

BHUMIKA GULANIJune 3, 2007

LIFESTYLEC7T H U R S DAY, J U N E 2 , 2 0 1 6

Manga, the com-ics created in Japan in the late 19th century, doesn’t need any

introduction. The big-eyed, tiny-mouthed, and round-headed comic characters have emerged as global favourites, cutting across bounda-ries of age, gender, and nationalities.

The popularity of Manga can be at-tributed to a number of hardworking artists who have given new dimen-sions to the comic series, and Sonia Leong is a leading figure among them.

Leong has carved a niche for herself with her first graphic nov-el, Manga Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet, which scooped many awards besides emerging as the best-selling Manga comic book. The talented artist spoke to Times of Oman during her recent visit to the Sultanate, where she con-ducted workshops for the British School Muscat students.

Excerpts:

How did you fall in love with Manga?My tryst with Manga began in 2003, though I never formally studied art. Instead, I was encouraged to study business and economics, and I hold a Bachelor degree in both the subjects. But my love for Manga remained intact. I had won Tokyo pop’s first UK Rising Stars of Man-ga competition in 2005 and NEO Magazine’s 2005 Manga competi-tion, which helped me establish as a Manga artist.

Why did you create Manga ver-sion of Romeo & Juliet?My publisher was inspired by the Buz Luhrman movie of 1986, Romeo + Juliet, starring Leonardo Dicarpio. The amazing movie version had put things in a modern way. The pub-lisher realised the huge potential for Manga versions of Shake-spearean classics, and I was hired to create Romeo & Juliet.

What is the reason for Manga’s popularity all over the world?I think readers can easily relate Manga characters in their lives. There are plenty of Manga charac-ters in different styles and subjects. For example, there are Manga com-ics that deal with biking, football, and even monsters. It is not just about children’s stuff. There are

millions of adult Manga fans who love drama and politics. People are also struck by the realistic propor-tions of the characters, compared to other comic characters.

How can one learn Manga?A good Manga artist should be good at drawing. They should understand the importance of proportions and anatomy of characters. Observation is the key to success for any Manga artist. You have to observe people’s movements of the eyes, nose and proportion of the legs.

How was your interaction with the Manga fans at British School Muscat?I enjoyed it very much. All students were eager to create their own Manga characters though they didn’t know how to go about it. I explained the process in simple terms. The first thing I told them that creating Manga characters is not a tough task. It is all about making simple shapes and simple format that people would under-

stand easily. I also told them to be extra careful while putting their panel and speech bubbles in the right place. They began to enjoy the task after learning the tips.

What is your advise to upcoming Manga artists? Beginners should try to develop short stories. Once you finish the story, print it, fold it, take it to

your school and show it to your friends. I think artists should mas-ter the basics before breaking them. You have to observe people and their proportions and learn to draw things realistically.

Story or drawing, which one is important in Manga?One should have a good story, and ability to narrate it well. For exam-ple, consider the story of a hero go-ing to an adventure. We have heard many stories like that, but the nar-ration can make the difference. Pub-lishers prefer only good story tellers.

Should a Manga artist read extensively? Yes, if a story has to be told well, one needs to do a lot of research. If you are doing science fiction, you have to fol-low the developments in technology. You have to try and find out a real life equivalent and fantasy characters so that you can make the story believ-able. So a good Manga artist should be a good reader. —[email protected]

KNOW SONIA LEONG

Sonia Leong is a professional

comic artist and illustrator

specialising in Manga. She

is the Company Secretary of

Sweatdrop Studios, a leading

UK comic collaborative

and independent publisher

of Manga. Her works with

Sweatdrop include Once

Upon a Time, Love Stuffing

and Aya Takeo, a full colour

comic originally published

online. Her first graphic novel

was Manga Shakespeare:

Romeo and Juleit (Self Made

Hero). She had won Young

Adult Library Services

Association ‘2008 Quick

Picks for Reluctant Young

Adult Readers’ and ‘Best

Books for Young Adults

2008’ for Romeo & Juliet.

She also won the Tokyopop’s

first UK Rising Stars of

Manga competition and

NEO Magazine’s Manga

Competition, both in 2005.

She had illustrated the

Manga Life series of self-

help comic books (Infinite

Ideas), Find True Love and

Be Creative. Leong works in

other fields such as design,

film/television, fashion

and advertising. She has

also authored numerous

instructional art books, the

latest being Draw Manga:

Complete Skills which

includes 20 instructional

videos.

S T O R Y F R O M C 5

Amid rumours that actor Tom Hiddleston is in talks to replace Daniel

Craig as the next James Bond, Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke has revealed she wants to be the first female to essay the iconic British superspy.

The 29-year-old actress has revealed that one of her biggest professional ambitions is to break new ground by becoming the first woman to star as the iconic secret agent, reports dailystar.co.uk.

“I have a lot of unrealised dreams. I would love to play Jane Bond. My ultimate leading man would be Leonardo DiCaprio. No doubt about it,” Clarke said.

The X Files actress Gillian Anderson hit the headlines last week by suggesting she could re-place Craig as 007 and be called Jane Bond.

Clarke is currently promoting her first major leading role in di-rector Thea Sharrock’s Me Before You, which is an adaptation of a romantic novel of the same name written by Jojo Moyes.

Meanwhile, Oscar-winning filmmaker Sam Mendes, who di-rected the last two James Bond films Spectre and Skyfall, has an-nounced that he will not return to helm another film in the popular franchise.

“It was an incredible adventure, I loved every second of it. But I think it’s time for somebody else,” Mendes said at the Hay Festival

2016 in Wales, reports variety.com.“I’m a storyteller. And at the end

of the day, I want to make stories with new characters,” he added.

According to Radio Times, it ap-pears that Eon Productions may have lined up a director to fill Sam Mendes’ shoes for the next instal-ment in the James Bond franchise. Although it has yet to be confirmed, the report states that Susanne Bier may currently be the frontrunner to step behind the camera and take the suave British agent on his next major adventure. — IANS

Emilia Clarke wants to be first female James Bond

H O L L Y W O O D

Emilia Clarke

LIFESTYLEC8 T H U R S DAY, J U N E 2 , 2 0 1 6

MAYA RUDOLPH calls herself an ‘old bird’ of showbiz and pays no heed to the ongoing flutter over Hollywood’s gender issues. The American star, who has voiced the character of Matilda in The An-gry Birds movie, feels the “major-ity of people in the arts don’t care about gender equality”, adding that she always had the freedom to pick her roles.

Rudolph started her career un-der the arc lights in 1996 with a role in TV series Chicago Hope but rose to fame with her stint in Sat-urday Night Live. The actress says that in the end, each and every ac-tor is only responsible for what he or she opts for.

"I think the majority of peo-ple in the arts don't care about gender equality. Probably (they) all want the same things, but it doesn't change — you can only be responsible for what you can be responsible for and I guess I sort of live in a place where I never felt like I couldn't do anything. So, that never stopped me from anything," Rudolph said.

The actress, with traces of Ja-maican origins, added: "You know what, I'm an old bird — I didn't mean to say that because I'm a bird in the movie — but I'm an old bird and I've been around for a while and I've been doing com-edy for a long time, and I get asked the same questions about women in comedy for a lot of stuff. So cer-tainly I'm aware."

Rudolph left Saturday Night Live in 2007 and thereon appeared in various TV shows and movie projects, including husband Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice.

She has garnered fame for her acting and comic skills, as well as a musician. Some of her famous projects include films like Grown Ups, Bridesmaids, Grown Ups 2 and Sisters.

Of late, she is being heard as a bird named Matilda in The Angry Birds. Taking the basic structure of Rovio Entertainment's eponymous mobile game, the movie brings the game's action to the big screen in a witty manner.

In the game, angry but cute little birds fight it out with hogs which

have stolen their eggs. It vouches to take the audience back in time, tracing the origin of the battle be-tween the birds and hogs.

The film is supported by Jason Sudeikis as Red, Danny McBride as the volatile Bomb, Bill Hader as a hog, Josh Gad as Chuck, and Peter Dinklage as the Mighty Eagle.

Talking about the character, she said: "Matilda is a bubbly lady who really tries hard to find the positive in the fairly difficult students she has to work with... Now reformed, and donning a zen, peaceful exte-rior, she uses her experience to help others by leading an anger manage-ment class.

"However, all of the birds will learn that Matilda still harbours an inner rage that will come out at the worst - or best - possible moment."

Your character in the film will express anger, but what makes her angry?

"Nothing," she said, adding: "I realise it (anger) probably comes from a place of justice and when things aren't fair; things don't feel right; or when I feel like people are selfish or they put you in a position where you have to do something compromising or people being hor-rible to each other or hurting."

She shared that "I think I do what all of us do: I think you ei-ther try to deal with your feel-ings or you explode and lose (your patience) and then you have to be a bigger person and say 'I'm sorry, I was wrong and I shouldn't have raised my voice'." She added: "Those are the things I'm practising in my house all the time in terms of teaching my children." - IANS

Meet Matildaof Angry Birds

As the central fashion platform champion-ing Middle Eastern design talent, Fash-ion Forward Dubai

(FFWD) has propelled the careers of many designers, including Hus-sein Bazaza. The Style.com/Arabia – DDFC Fashion Prize winner de-buted his Fall 2016 ready-to-wear collection on the online shopping platform Moda Operandi, after showcasing his works at recent FFWD S7.

“Thanks to FFWD we had the op-portunity to be in contact with Moda Operandi and we are glad to be avail-able on their platform. I was very pleased with FFWD Season 7, as usu-al, and I was especially happy with the new location and found the event to be very professional and well-or-ganised,” said Hussein Bazaza.

Dubai-based fine jewellery and accessories designer, Madiso, un-veiled a collection of evening box clutches and statement necklaces on the international platform, Moda Operandi. Additionally, the popular online shopping website didn’t miss the chance to exclu-sively launch Middle Eastern fine jewellery brand SeeMee. Founder Catherina Occhio delivered an em-powering talk at FFWD S7 and cre-ated a special collection based on the shape of the heart, which were handcrafted by women who were victims of violence.

Madiha Muzaffar comments, “Madiso has been part of Fashion Forward since Season 2, and the event has always been extremely successful for us. It is a great plat-form for the fashion industry in this region. FFWD Season 7 had international fashion buyers in at-

tendance, which I believe is a great foot forward, and Moda Operandi, one of the biggest retailer names in the fashion industry, selected us for a trunk show. I’m extremely grate-ful to Fashion Forward for giving us this platform where we can in-teract with such huge international names.”

Longtime FFWD participant, Rula Galayini, was picked up by FarFetch during Season 7 and also received an invitation to reveal her signature cuffs at the iconic Galer-ies Lafayette Haussmann in Paris,

among a select group of 10 emerg-ing brands originating from the Mediterranean in 2015.

Speaking of the event’s growing reputation and international re-sponse to participating designers, Bong Guerrero, CEO and co-found-er of FFWD said, “With each sea-son, the event has gained credibility and respect amongst designers and industry professionals. We have witnessed multiple success stories over the past four years of contrib-uting designers gaining global rec-ognition and are now stocked with

some of the world’s leading retail-ers. The accomplishments demon-strate how FFWD acts as a catalyst for international visibility.”

Designer registration for season 8 is now open with limited spaces available.

To participate, designers can register at fashionforward.ae. De-signers are advised to register by the closing date, July 15, 2016. Any late entries will be accepted based on availability. The event is from October 20th - 23rd at D3.

—[email protected]

Fashion Forward Dubai is Back For Its Eighth EditionThe region’s definitive fashion

platform invites designers to present

Spring Summer 2017 collections

W W W.T I M E S O F O M A N . C O MSECTION

CONNECT H E D A I LY G U I D E

D

D4 VACANCY CARGO D7

T H U R S D AY, J U N E 2 , 2 0 1 6

RENT D2

FOR RENT

Contact :9076 5656 / 951 22 666

1. Flat Wadi Kabir /

MBD Area

2. Villa @ Muscat Hills

3. Warehouse Ghala

4,000 Sqm

Email: [email protected] [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

FOR RENT

D2 T H U R S D AY, J U N E 2 , 2 0 1 6

DAILY GUIDE

*Tourist visa arranged

Spacious 4BHK with split A/C’S, 4

bathrooms & storeroom, near Church

roundabout, Mumtaz area.

Rent:R.O 575, Contact:99349672

Office for rent in Al Ansab near

bank Muscat. Contact: 99466173

3 Rooms, 2 Toilets Flat for Rent.

18 November Street. Near Mars

Hypermarket and The Chedi.

Ghobrah -Good for Commercial or

Residential use. OMR 295/- month.

Call 94477222

Athaiba 2 bed, 1 bath room,

sitting, kitchen with split AC

behind Zubair Showroom

rent 310 R.O. Contact: 99879939

Athaiba 2bed, 2 bathroom, sit-

ting, kitchen with Split a/c behind

Zubair show room rent 350/-R.O.

Contact: 99879939

Wadi Kabeer Industrial 80 sm

show rooms for rent 400/- R.O.

Contact: 99879939

Apartment 2 bed room + sitting

room with split A/C at Al Ansab

heights R.O 300 monthly.

Contact: 93993354

3 BHK, 1BHK with A.C new build-

ing behind Muscat Bakery Wadi

Al Kabir. Contact: 99338133 /

92103604

Deluxe 1 & 2 bedroom flats, ideal

for office or residence at Qurum

near PDO. Contact: 97721313 /

95070421

Flat for rent in Ruwi Al Mumtaz

area 300/-R.O 2BHK, sitting room,

hall, 2 bathrooms, kitchen with A/C

Contact: 99268676 / 93294878 /

93294877

Flat for rent in Al Wadi Kabir near

to the Kuwaiti Mosque 225 R.O,

1BHK, sitting room, bathrooms,

kitchen with A.C.

Contact : 93294878 / 93294877

2 BHK available Mumtaz area

Ruwi & Ghubra near Al Maha Hotel.

Contact: 99269751


to the Kuwaiti Mosque 300 R.O,

2 BHK, sitting room, 2 bathrooms,

kitchen with A.C.

Contact: 93294878 / 93294877


to the Kuwaiti Mosque 390/- R.O, 3

BHK , sitting room, three bath-

rooms, kitchen with A.C.

Contact: 93294878 / 93294877

For rent flat in Darsait & Ruwi,

Office CBD. Contact: 95345909 /

92820734

Flat for rent in Ruwi Al Walja near

to the Honda road RO 200/-, 1 BHK,

sitting room, bathrooms, kitchen

with A.C. Contact: 93294878 /

93294877

Flat for rent in Al Qurum, 3 rooms &

hall. Contact: 91763660

Flat for rent in Darsait 1BHK.

Contact: 99357586 / 97500025 /

97500021

Villa in Seeb near Dreams Resort

and close to the sea. Contact:

24182000 / 95250300/ 99110600

House in North Al Hail with 3

rooms, living room, hall, 4 toilets

300 RO. Contact 99738881 /

99439568

Plot at Barka next to Germany Col-

lege & next to Aramex Company,

next to Bahwan Warehouse, next to

Omasco warehouse 37,074 SQM2

required 0.250 Baiza per SQM.

Contact: 99888390

Flats in Al Khuwair, Al Ghubra,

Azaiba, Wadi Kabeer, Darsait, Ham-

riya, Al Hail & Seeb.

Contact: 24182000 / 95250300 /

99110600

Shop for rent at Wadi Kabir Indus-

trial area. Contact: 99888390

Shop in Seeb market. Contact:

24182000 / 95250300/ 99110600

Flats for rent near Indian School

in Wadi Kabir. Contact 99777122

1BHK at Hamriya near Muscat

Pharmacy & 2 BHK at Mawaleh

near Mosque Sadiq Al Amin.

Contact: 99224748 / 99332297

3 Bedroom well maintained flat

(villa Type only 2 flats in villa)

in Al Khuwair, behind Al Akhtam

Restaurant villa No 1841,

Way No 3922--- block no 239.

Contact: 99462980

Flat for rent in Wadi Al Kabeer

including 3 rooms with ACs.

Contact: 99333639

Villa for rent in Al Ghubrah,

5 rooms, hall. Contact: 91763665

Flat for rent 2 bedrooms in Ruwi

Mumtaz area. Contact: 91409667 /

24291500

Flat for rent in Al Khoud, 2 rooms

& hall. Contact: 917633665

1BHK Flats for rent, behind Shera-

ton hotel in Ruwi, rent R.O 250/-

per month. Contact: 96051941

Flat for rent Al Hail North to the

Wave Muscat ground floor with

furniture the price RO 250/-.

Contact: 99353433

For rent New flats at Darsait

Al Sahail. Contact: 99777351

House in Darsait 3 rooms, kitchen,

1 bathroom with A/C.

Contact: 95522405

Flats in Wadi Kabir. Contact 94051789 / 97201688

Flat for rent in Al Khuwair 33.

Contact: 92277419

Fully Furnished apartments in

Boucher (35). Contact 94051789 /

97201688

Villa for rent in Al Khoud, 6 rooms,

hall. Contact: 91763665

3000 Sqr mtrs compound land in

Misfah. Contact 99792181

Flat for rent 2 BHK 2 split A/C,

2 toilets, Wadi Kabir near Kuwaiti

Masjid. Contact: 97007934 /

92629232

5 BHK Villa in Al Khuwair, for Staff

Accommodation. Contact 99792181

2 & 3 BHK Flat in Al Khuwair &

Ghubra. Contact 99792181

Flats, shops & store for rent in

MBD area Ruwi, Mumtaz area.

Contact: 97293708 / 92433127

Offices and Flats in Ghala.

Contact 94051789 / 97201688

Four bedroom two floors luxurious

and spacious residential villa in

Al Hail North, near to the sea and

Oman oil. Each room has its own

bathroom. It has splits A/C’s and

shaded car park. OMR 750 month-

ly. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 or

97509955

Villa in Al Khoud consists of

6 bedrooms, 1 sitting & living

room. Contact: 91153933

1700 sqr mtrs open Land + small

store + garage for Rent in Ruwi.

Contact 99792181

2BHK split A/C 200/- Monthly

& 1BHK spilt A/C 150/- monthly

new building good location Barka

Market. contact 99342661

Shop for rent good location main

road behind wholesale hyper mar-

ket Amerat space 11 MT long, 4 MT

Width. Contact: 92877449

Two bedrooms flat in Al Ghobrah

near Oman Oil of 18 November

Street. OMR 330 Monthly.

Contact 99333479 or 95215360 or

97509955.

4 BHK Villa in Bowsher Heights.

Contact 99792181

Flat for Rent 2 bed room Near ISM

muscat Indian Scoole Dar sate

Tel : 00 968 95158570

Flats in Darsait. Contact

94051789 / 97201688

02 BHK residential flat opposite

to Al Nahdha hospital.

Contact: 99342733 /99795241

Brand new villas in Al Ansab.

Contact 94051789 / 97201688

Flats in Ghobrah. Contact

94051789 / 97201688

Flats in Muttrah. Contact

94051789 / 97201688

Warehouse at Wadikabir - total

area 3500 sqm - covered ware-

house (500sqm), office, ac-

commodation (1000sqm), open

area (2000sqm) please contact:

99273774 - 99202278

1 BHK and 2BHK Flats available

near Lulu Darsait (Main road, Opp. to

Min. of Defense). Contact : 93202733

Furnished office (61M2) for sale

/ rent Al Khuwair near Zawawi

Mosque. Contact: 95611569

1 Bed room, sharing K& T, R.O 100,

2 bedrooms , sharing K& T R.O

200/- in AL Khuwair.

Contact: 95154331

Flat in Al Khuwair opp grand mall

4 room 3 toilet + hall kitchen in

3 floor 400. Contact 99420346

Flat for rent in South AlGhubrah

3 rooms, hall and 3 toilets, kitchen

rent 450/-. Contact: 99335580

2 BHK flat at Ruwi Mumtaz area

RO 320/-. Contact: 99358589 /

97079146 / 95570288

Offices & Showrooms in Al Khood.

Contact 94051789 / 97201688

Villa in Bousher consists of 5

rooms, 1 hall & living room.

Contact: 91153933

Villa in Al Ghubra consists of

5 bedrooms, 1 hall and living room.

Contact: 91153933

Room with 9 bathrooms in Boush-

er for rent. Contact: 91153933

2 bed rooms flat with hall,

2 bathrooms in Darsait near

Muscat Municipality.

Contact: 92584715/ 24700120

Azaiba Service Road (Previously Onear Al Turky and Mazda showroom.

95215289, 99229263, 93221054

FURNISHED OFFICES FOR RENT

95215289, 99229263, 93221054

azaiba service road

Just 2 OMR / Sqm, Showroom /

store for rent Ground floor & base-

ment, area - 1100 Sqm, location

Seh Al Ahmer, 20 km to Rusayl.

Contact: 97714433 / 93437982

Flats for rent at Just RO 160/- 2 Bed

room, hall, kitchen , 2 toilets, loca-

tion Seh Al Ahmer, 20 KM to Rusayl,

including AC & roof Garden.

Contact: 97714433 / 93437982

Villa for rent in South Mabellah,

3 bedrooms, sitting room, family

Lounge, kitchen, three Toilets Contact

92212212 between 10 AM to 5 PM.

Office 55SQ.Mtrs & 2B/R at Bausher

directly from owner.

Contact: 92158031

Ruwi office space for rent,

Saravana Bhava Building.

Contact: 95729549

DAILY GUIDET H U R S D AY, J U N E 2 , 2 0 1 6 D3

FOR SALE

FOR SALE

FOR RENT

2BHK Big Size Flat Behind Bank

Muscat, Wadi Kabir. Near ISWK.

97826454, 24815012.

Apartment in Al Khoudh consists

of 2 room & hall. Contact: 91153933

Flats In Qurum. Contact 94051789 / 97201688

2BHK split A/C for rent Muttrah

near Oman House.

Contact: 97007934 / 92629232

1BHK Studio flat near Star Cinema

RO 180/-. Contact: 99358589 /

97079146 / 95570288

BUYING

Bobcat available for rent.

Contact 97623299

Used office house furniture

& electronic items.

Contact: 99834373 / 96642500

Buying cars for cash.

Contact: 90202090

Furnished sharing accommoda-

tion available at Walja family / Ex

bachelor. Contact: 93223278

Bachelor sharing accommodation

available at Misfa.

Contact: 99215560

ACC. AVAILABLE

ACC. AVAILABLE

ACC. AVAILABLE

Shop for sale, Honda road build-

ing materials beside NBO, Ruwi.

Contact: 99018075

Company for sale service& main-

tenance LLC installation & main-

tenance of fire fighting systems

include ROP license.

Contact: 99433540

Running clinic for sale at Samail.

Contact [email protected] /

95498105

Shop for sale at Ruwi high street.

Contact: 98787853

Used & Refurbished Porta

cabins, Toilets unit available for

sales. Contact: 99215560 Email:

[email protected]

Working beauty parlor for sale

Al Ghubra. Contact: 98178135

Running pharmacy for sale on

main road in Barka with Pharma-

cist. Contact: 99452755

603 sq mtrs residential land in

Al Hail North Block 45 NE near

Radio station. OMR 95 Thousand.

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 or

97509955

Ladies fashion boutique for sale

in Al Khuwair. Contact: 24702870

Villa for sale in Mabela 6 rooms,

living room & hall.

Contact: 91763665

Dental chairs for sale sparingly

used dental units for sale.

Contact Mr. Ansari 92616343.

Kumar 99570284

Dental clinic for immediate sale

doctor going abroad. Contact:

92882209 / 96373097

2 Shops for sale at prime location

in Ghobra. Contact: 96381294

Bozlur

6 Villas of six bedrooms each un-

der construction in one compound

in Bausher near Muscat Private

hospital. Prices range from 165

thousand to 179 thousand for each

villa. Each villa has three floors

and 369 sq mtrs build up area.

Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 or

97509955

2 Nos brand new sea water reverse

osmosis plants 500m3/ day, con-

tainerized in knock down condition

with American PD pumps & process

pumps for immediate sale. Serious

buyers may Contact: 99445367

400 sq mtrs Commercial/Resi-

dential land in Mabela Phase 5

Block 2. OMR 165 Thousand.

Contact 99333479 or 95215360

or 97509955

Luxury Apartments in Boucher

(35). Contact 95056808 /

97201688

Double Shutter 80 sq mtrs corner

textile shop in Seeb Souq for sale.

Contact 99326339

1No brand new containerized

package type STP 100 m3/ day

with blower equipments (suitable

for camps). Serious Buyers may.

Contact: 99445367

Steel Scrap materials for im-

mediate sale. Contact 99273774/

99202278

Shop for sale near Oman House,

Muttrah. Contact 99024362.

Space for printing press available

at wadikabir with or without

machinery. Contact 99328430

HD Scaffoldings, Shuttering

Jacks, Wooden Planks, Shuttering

wood assorted, Tower hoist (lift),

Concrete Mixer, Bending Machine,

Steel Fabrication Machinery

(Searing/Cutting, lathe & Welding)

including tools for immediate sale:

Contact 99273774/ 99202278

Single colorful Bed and Sofa

for Sale at Al Khuwair. Con-

tact 92881849 /What`s up No

97290565

Urgent sale of steel scrap only

serious buyers kindly contact +968

96725423 for viewing the items.

Almost new beach/ garden

lounge chairs /bar stools/ counter.

Photos can be sent 95865457

Sharing Accomodation avaiable

for a working lady near indian

school wadikabir.

Contact 99652740

Fully furnished room with access

to kitchen is ideal for a bachelor or

couple situated in Al Bustan vil-

lage, and is close to the beach and

the hotel.Plz contact 99378964 /

96607448

Room available for family / bach-

elor opposite to o.K. Center, Ruwi.

Gsm 942-888-63

Furnished accommodation

available at Walja with bath &

sharing, kitchen for family.

Contact: 99725804

Fully furnished showroom space

available at Al Qurum near Sabco

Center. 100 sq. m ideal for travel

office, money exchange, jewellery,

foot wear, perfume shop, Computer

Shop etc. Contact: 96108593

Furnished single / sharing room

for Exec. bachelor at Rex Road

(Kannada, Telugu, Tamil).

Contact: 92873832

Accommodation for Ladies or cou-

ple in Ruwi. Contact: 91450718

Room with attached bathroom for

a family in Wadi Kabir.

Contact: 97167857

Executive lady room & Bathroom

in Wadi Kabir. Contact: 99336206

Room available with attached

bath & balcony for an Executive

bachelor near MBD area.

Contact: 95779616

MV SALEMV SALE

Mazda 2 Sedan, 2014 model, me-

tallic silver, automatic, expat lady

driven, 44,000 km RO 3,000, nego-

tiable, for sale. Contact: 94619163

Audi A3 2003 automatic gear

138,000 kms, Expat driven for

RO 600/-. Serious buyers can

Contact 96248179

WANTED

Description - used 80 mm UNI in-

terlocking, Quantity 5000 Sq . Mtr.

Contact person Mr. Farook Shaikh .

Contact: 00968- 99899724

Email: [email protected]

Urgently required looking to

immediately buy used Grit blast-

ing & airless spray equipment 1

No each. Contact: 968 24810930 /

93203772 / 93203773 / 93203778

IELTS Coaching (academic)

required nearby wadi Kabir area.

Please call on mobile or msg on

Whats up. Mobile no: 92927880/

99012165

NRI

CHANGE OF NAME

910 sq ft furnished flat at Qupem -

Goa. Contact: 97094797

NRI selling his properties : Bangalore (Sobha Garnet, 4 bed

room apartment), Hosur (25 cents)

Cochin (20 cents), Trivandrum (11

cents, opposite to KIMS Hospital),

Shertala (20 cents), Kanyakumari

(175 cents along National High-

way), Nagercoil (3 plots of 11 cents,

100 cents and 20 cents). Send

e mail to [email protected] or

call Pradeep 94194071

Two properties at Bangalore for sale

(1) 3 BHK Senior living apartment

with full fledged facilities & services

in Ozone Urbana Serene project for

the cost price of Irene project. Hand-

over by August 2016. (2) 4 B/R villa

(BUA 3600sq.ft, 4 floors, 3 Livings, 5

bathrooms, maid’s room & car park)

for sale at JP Nagar. Contact Mrs.

Mangala Ph: 97903127, Email:

[email protected]

MATRIMONIAL

Muscat based Ezhava girl, MCA

seeking alliance for Ezhava girl,

25 years working in MNC Muscat,

staying with family from parents of

professionals in Muscat / UAE.

(Preferably from Kannur Distt).

Contact: 99665200

Indian male Roman Catholic 40yrs divorcee working in Muscat.

Seeks suitable alliance from

widow/ divorcee/ single.

Contact 96059801.

Parent of Thrissur based Hindu

Ezhava girl aged 20, Slim,Atham

star, Studying for B. Pharm seek-

ing alliance from well employed

Graduates, preferably in Engineer-

ing Contact :96425102

Malankara Catholic Male Nurse (28) from Thiruvalla working in

Nizwa Private Co. Alliance invites

parents/nurses working in Oman.

Contact 968 98267338,

0091 9287215726

I Sheikh Mahamed Husain (holder

of Indian passport No. G 5151274)

Son of Sheikh Abdul Karim having

permanent residence in H/M 373

Baina (1) Vasco-DA- Gama, Goa

(complete postal address in India)

and presently residing in Villa No.

480 , Way No. 5106, Al Khuliah

Street A Khuwair, Muscat (complete

postal address in Oman) intend

to change my name from Sheikh

Mahamed Husain (old name) to

Mahamed Husain (new name) for all

practical purpose. Any objection to-

wards my name change may please

be communicated to Embassy of

India, Muscat, Diplomatic Quarters,

Al Khuwair, P. Box No. 1727, Postal

Code 112, Ruwi, Sultanate of Oman.

Room, bathroom for Executives in

Wadi Kabir. Contact: 99336206

Furnish bedroom with attach

bathroom for executive bachelor.

Contact: 97704794

1 big room with attached bath-

room with sharing kitchen avail-

able for small Muslim Family, Near

Spar, Mumtaz area, Ruwi, Muscat.

Contact 99662698.

1 BHK appartment for rent in Al

Khoud Shabiya near mazoon mosque

for rent (next to alkhoud medical

center and squ) MOB: 93913224

Small old house for rent in

Ghobra. Contact: 97165972

Room with attached bathroom

and sharing kitchen available for

Executive bachelor or small family

at wadikabir Contact 93049849

Furnished apartment for rent,

two rooms, majlis, hall, kitchen.

Near Carrefour al-mawalah.

Contact 99336776

Sharing accommodation

near ISD. Contact: 99657340

Sharing Accommodation avail-

able for working ladies opposite

Al Nadhah Hospital. Preferably

Indians. Room with seperate toilet

and sharing kitchen.RO.90.

Contact 96524717

Furnished room attached bath

for Indian bachelor, Al-Falaj

Ruwi & lady Wadi Kabir near

Mars hypermarket. CONTACT

96202458/96761960

Room available in Mumtaz area

1 room, 1 Bathroom, Kitchen & 1

room, common bathroom. Interested

pleasecontact 92680041 Mr. Altaf

Room available for Executive

bachelor at Al Hail.

Contact 96234708

Mitsubishi Pajero model 2006,

full option, 6 cylinders, 3800 CC in

a very good condition.

Contact 99376567

DAILY GUIDED4 T H U R S D AY, J U N E 2 , 2 0 1 6

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION VACANT SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

SITUATION WANTEDSIT. WANTED

Email: [email protected] [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624

DRIVER

TOURS & TRAVEL

MISCELLANEOUS

ENGINEER/MECHANIC.

ARCHITECT

ACCOUNTS

CATERING

EDUCATION/TRAINING

SKILLED / UNSKILLED

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

DESIGNER/DRAUGHTSMAN

DESIGNER/DRAUGHTSMAN

ENGG. / TECH./MECH.

Civil Engineer, B.Tech, 6 yrs expe-

rience with Omani driving license,

local release available.

Contact: 91693008

B.E Mechanical Engineer, age 24

with almost 1 year experience as

Production Shift Engineer, has

achieved training on HVAC En-

gineering design and has good

hands on software like AutoCAD

and HAP.Currently in Oman on a

visit visa, looking for a suitable

placement.Contact: 95065955

email: [email protected]

Project Manager Electrical with 6

years experience with EHV & MV

substation projects. NOC available.

Contact 91398559

Civil Engineer fresh Graduate with

Omani driving license looking

for job in any company. Contact:

91745797 / 99190898


Quantity Surveyor (QS)- Srilankan,

6 years of experience (4 years Oil &

Gas in Oman), Contact- 98142760

Procurement Coordinator Indian

male 30 yrs B.Com (Computers)

4 years experience in Saudi Arabia

Construction Company looking for

any suitable position on visit visa

till 18 June 2016.

Contact: 0968 98590811 Email:

[email protected]

HSE Officer more than 10 yrs ex-

perience in Construction, oil & gas

looking for suitable job,

NOC available. Contact: 99626821

Instrumentation Engineer, Indian

male 25 years having over 2 years

experience in calibration, testing

and maintenance of field instru-

ments, looking for a suitable posi-

tion, available in Oman for visit.

Contact: 91228010

Mechanical Engineer (B.Tech)

Indian male with 1 year experience

looking for job, qualifications in

QA – QC, HVAC & Piping Engineer-

ing. Contact: 90510800 Email:

[email protected]

B Tech Electronics and communi-

cation,1.5 years experience in India

as site engineer in automation

system of Reliance, Looking for

a suitable job. Currently in India,

Contact:-95657292

Civil Engineer (Indian male)

5 years experience in Oman with

valid Omani driving license & NOC

looking for suitable opportunity.

Contact: 93101283

DOMESTIC HELPER

MEDICAL

IT

DRAFTSMAN

Urgently required Offset Printer (5 years experience in the same

and well versed in any related

jobs. Contact: 93218176 /


Required Indian Mason – 5 nos., eligibility (minimum 5 yrs experi-

ence in road construction field).

Contact: 99882127


Part time Accountant Indian Sen-

ior Accountant up to finalization

Tally 9. Contact: 93064975

Indian female 28 yrs B.Com 4 yrs

experience in MNC’s currently in

Muscat seeking suitable place-

ment in Finance / Admin.

Contact: 94743790

Indian female, M.Com, DCA having

10+ years experience as Senior Ac-

countant in leading Construction

& Trading L.L.C in Muscat seeking

suitable job, Oman driving license

NOC available. Contact : 91609799

Fresher 24, ACCA Affiliate, Ad-

vanced diploma in Accounting and

Business seeking suitable place-

ment in Accounts, Finance or Audit

with Oman driving license.

Contact - 92430152

Email - [email protected]

Required Shop Sales man + Hard-ware Technician for IT Company

with minimum 2 years experience.

Contact: 98825806 / 98825806,


DRIVER

ADMIN

Wanted experienced Philipino Housemaid with visa release.

Contact: 99466062

House maid for Omani family.

Contact: 99773100

A full time living Housemaid required for an Indian family in

Ghobrah. Contact: 97335255

26 years Gulf experience Indian Fi-

nance Manager B.Com, MBA English,

Arabic speaking driving license, NOC

available. Contact: 99811679

5 Years experienced front office &

Banking, Indian male 28 yrs, hotel

management Graduate. Searching

for suitable position, English, Hindi,

Malayalam & Arabic fluent. NOC

available. Contact - 91383167

Indian (Male) having 17+years

Experience in Trading & Healthcare

seeking senior Position in Accounts

(11 years GCC Experience )

currently on Resident Visa (NOC

Available ) and has a valid Omani

Driving Licence. Contact: 91335026;

[email protected]

Indian male age 26, Accountant one

year experience in accounts

looking for suitable job. Contact -


Mobile: +968 9565 9415

The following vacancies are

urgently required for a printing

press in Wadi Kabir General Man-ager & Sales Representatives with

well knowledge and experience in

printing press, holding valid Omani

driving license. Please send your CV

to: [email protected]

Urgently required a Painter and a Denter for workshop (Garage).

Contact: 96042322

Required candidates for following

posts: Accountant, Storekeeper, Foreman Building Maintenance, Van-salesman (water), Helpers. Candidates with Omani driving

license preferred.

Contact 99273774/99202278

Wanted Steward / Deckhand for

Yacht in Muscat, Housekeeping

& Guest service duties. Contact:

Whatsapp 95887572


Filipino Cabin steward / Linen

vallet is looking for suitable job in

Oman. Contact: +968 91065438 or


CATERING

Wanted Indian light driver with

visa salary R.O 200/.

Contact: 99215560


Driver required for a leading Cou-rier company. Send CV to

[email protected] Contact:

00968-97461515 Salary: Negotiable.

Required Omani Driver for a restau-

rant. Contact 95929911

Wanted a experience Driver for Capital and Interior work.

Gsm : 942-888-63

Wanted driver. Contact: 97165972

Urgently required for Construc-tion in Muscat Civil Engineer & Architect with 5-10 years experi-

ence with bachelors degree or

diploma, good knowledge & a valid

Omani driving license. Send your

CV to [email protected]

Air Conditioning Company re-quired experienced A/C Techni-cian Send CV to nationalhvac.

[email protected] Fax: 24799442

Required female Office Assistant with good computer knowledge.

Send CV to Fax: 24799442 [email protected]

Wanted Indian Engineer & Mar-keting person for steel workshop

in Saham. Contact 91339401

Wanted Marine Engineer for yacht

in Muscat. # Whatsapp 95887572


Civil Engineer, Masons, Helpers, Shuttering, Carpenters, Steel fixers with 5 yrs experience in Oman.

Contact: 97491117

Urgently Required: MEP Man-ager Engineer- minimum 10years

experience with NOC in Oman

for immediately join. Interested

candidates may call us to our of-

fice telephone: 00968- 24696584/

24696585 or fax: 00968-

24605955 or email us to

[email protected],

[email protected]

Required Electrical Engineer with minimum 5 years Gulf exp. &

Electrician with ITI - Industrial &

MEDC license. Contact: 99454425

Chief Accountant well experi-

enced with reputed group.

Contact : 98803439 / 97413784.

SENIOR ACCOUNTANT/Ast.

Finance Manager-M. Com Finance-

Indian with 7 years experience in

Finance & Accounts up to Finaliza-

tion. Experienced in facilitations &

banking. Having D/L & NOC.

Mob: 94122464,


Accountant 2.5 years exp in

Oman, NOC available with valid

D/L. Contact: 98870112


American Certified Manager (6 sigma, CPPM) with MBA, PMP

trained having 10 years, UAE cross

functional experience in procure-

ment, projects management, sup-

ply chain, facilities & Administra-

tion with UAE D/L seeking suitable

placement. Contact: 90772927


28/male/MBA - finance/B.Com -

Accountant with 4 years of Dubai/

India experience looking for a suit-

able placement.Contact 90187483

[email protected]

Architect female 5 years experi-

ence seeking job.

Contact: 96146645


Senior Architect or Designer

looking for suitable job, Nationality

Syrian. Contact: 94698508

Architect Engineer seeking for

suitable job, 8 years experience.

GSM : 96075000, Email :

[email protected]

Indian female diploma architect

6 years exp in Oman Engineering

consultancy, valid Oman driving

license. Contact: 96683293 /

97750870

Indian Female, 3yrs exp. In Au-

toCAD draftsman with 3ds max &

rivet,. Looking for suitable place-

ment in Muscat now in visit visa

.Contact:95601266

Architectural Draftsmen diploma

in construction technology with 6

years experience in drafting and

detailing as per British standard

in Oman with valid Omani license

looking for suitable opportunity

Noc available. Call 94375897.

Urgently required GP Doctor, Gynecologist, Female Nurses with MOH license & NOC for a

reputed specialized center based

in Muscat. Please forward your CV

to [email protected]

Urgently required Physiothera-pist & Pharmacist for a reputed

polyclinic. Send CV to

[email protected]

or call 97706453

Urgently required Pharmacist & MOH licensed female Dentist

for a reputed polyclinic. Send CV :

[email protected]

or call 96721709.

Care Medical Centre Al Seeb requires

Gynecologist and General Practition-er. Mail CV to:[email protected]

Wanted Staff Nurse for

a dermatology clinic in Muscat .

Must have MOH license and NOC.

Attractive salary offered. Email:

[email protected]

GP doctor needed for reputed clin-

ic. Preferably with MOH license or

with Dataflow & Paramatics pass

Contact: 95388934

Require a qualified Nurse to take

care of an elderly female.

Contact: 99425200

Driver light license looking for

job. Contact: 94035746

Looking for driving job.

Contact: 98219182

Looking for driving job 6 months

experience. Contact: 93782260

Looking for driving job with

Toyota Camry car, driver available

with car or without car.

Contact: 97224035

Looking for driving job.

Contact: 99518533

Bangladeshi male looking for

driving job. Contact: 98140379

Light driver looking for job Gulf exp.

Contact: 91929556

Driver Pakistani exp 4 years, look-

ing for job. Contact: 94356465

Driver looking for job, 3 years

experience. Contact: 97468646

Bangladeshi driver looking for job.

Contact: 97418036

Looking for driving job light

2 years exp. Contact: 91625977

Looking for driving job with G.C.C

experience 6 years with car,

without car. Contact: 94085449

For light vehicles. Contact: 92789805

Light vehicle driver. Contact:

95891087

SECRETARIAL & OFFICE

Required gynecologist GEN: practitioner lady lab Technician and pharmacologist immediately for

a clinic in Suwaiq. Contact: 95081010


MAINTENANCE

MANAGER

For a reputed company

Well experienced in

building & villas -

all type of maintenance.

Please send your C V to

[email protected]

SALES / MARKETING

Required smart, young, dynamic Sales & Marketing Executive having 2-3 years sales experi-

ence for a reputed manufacturing

company in Oman, having its

Head Office in Ruwi. Experience

in building materials is an added

advantage. Omani Driving License

and NOC is a must. Attractive re-

muneration package. Apply with

photograph to

E-mail: [email protected]

Well reputed Kitchen fabrication company required the staff for

showrooms as follow.

(1) Sales Manager with valid driv-

ing license. (2) Sales Executive (Male) with valid driving license.

(3) Sales Executive (Female)

Philippine Secretary (Female) Send

the CV’s at “[email protected]

Required marketing / PR manager

for a modern restaurant group in

Oman , proficient in illustrator &

Photoshop charismatic , proactive ,

creative & flexible excellent writing

/ Editing skills degree in relevant

area fluent in English. Send CV to

[email protected]

Urgently required looking to im-

mediately buy used Grit blasting

& airless spray equipment 1 No

each. Contact: 968 24810930

/ 93203772 / 93203773 /

93203778

Qualified and experienced MBA

post graduate with proven work

exposure in Middle East & India,

having more than 5.5 years of rich

experience in accounts , project

coordination and administration in

(3.5 years UAE experience) oil and

gas projects is currently looking for

suitable job. Contact 93953613,

[email protected]

Indian male 25 yrs, Graduate in

commerce, overall 5 yrs exp in ac-

counts/ finance field. On visit visa.

Immediately available.

Contact 92836216 /

[email protected]

Indian Female, MBA-HR having 8+

experience in Administration/HR,

Customer Support, Office Coordina-

tor with good Computer skill, Now

on Visit Visa,looking for suitable

position. Contact: 90196235

Indian, 20 years experience in

Oman as Personal Assistant / Of-

fice Manager / Executive Secretary

/ Senior Administrator / Busi-

ness Development Asst. seeks job

change. Release available.

Contact 99168054.

Filipino HRD especialist / material

controller supervisor with

18 yrs experience looking for

suitable job in Oman. Contact: (+968)

98037142 / (+968) 92659817

Young Omani male have experi-

ence 12 years as P.R.O, CLERK

Helper Supervisor Admin Supervi-

sor, H.R Manager have diploma in

H.S.E, IT and P.D.O license, looking

for H.R position or P.R.O part time

or full time. Contact: 95933288

R E Q U I R E DSales mechanical

executive For industrial trading

company With minimum

5 years’ experience.

Omani Driving licenseKindly forward your CV to

[email protected] Cooks urgently

for a Coffee shop, visa ready.

Email : [email protected],

GSM : 97158376

Indian male 34 yrs, M.Com –

Finance with 5 yrs experience in

Accounts in India, presently in

visiting visa looking for a suitable



Part Time Accountant, up to fina-

lization of accounts, looking for job

after 5 PM (location prefer MSQ to

Al Hail). Contact: 90935099

Accounts part time services,

available to handle all accounts up

to finalization on monthly basis.

Finalization and audit works.

Contact: 96247295

Accountant available with NOC,

7 years experience in Oman.

Ready to join immediately.

Contact 98263394

ACCA member with 6 yrs of experi-

ence in Oman looking for a suitable

job in finance. Contact: 99284193

Indian male 34 Yrs, Dual MBA

Finance and marketing with IT

skills, 7+ yrs of experience,

Looking for suitable placement.

contact 94879615,Email-

[email protected]

Sudanese Accountant, Alexandria

University Graduate bachelor of

commerce Diploma of Marketing

professional photographer worked

in PR and social media for 2 years

looking for a job in public relations

media, social media or marketing.

Contact: 96976240

Indian, Kerala Male B.COM & B.PE,

Currently on Visit Visa. Looking for a

suitable job in Accounts, Store Keep-

er, Sales etc. Ready to join as early

as possible. Contact: 96988923

email:- [email protected]

Accountant 8Years Experience

with D/L and NOC.

Contact 97712084

WANTED Female Gynaecologist,

Female GP- Two Female Staff Nurse

(From India or Pilipino)and One

Female Dental Assist and

Female Lab Technician. With MOH Licence and Data Flow for

Al Saadi Specilised Medical Centre, Musanna.

Contact # 92025033, Email : [email protected]

Omani Female required as Asst. Accountant cum Secretary. Eng-

lish communication and writing,

typing skills required. Email CV to:

[email protected], 24613371.

MEP CAD Draftsmen required, with

experience in Pipeline and Electrical

drawing for a reputed water treat-

ment company in UAE. Email CV to :

[email protected], 24613371

Required Office Assistant with

driving license present in Oman.

Salary + food+ accommodation.

Contact: 99454425

Medical/Engineering Entrance coaching: Teachers for Chemistry,

Physics, Maths & Biology required

urgently call 91396893 or

email :[email protected]

Urgently required Printing & Sta-tionary Salesman (minimum

3 years experience in field.

Contact: 93218176 /


Required female person to work at

the retail shop/Marketing. Please

send your CV on e mail:

[email protected]

WANTED

Interested Candidates send CV to below [email protected]

Excellent Grade Construction Company

Requires the following. Site Manager,

Project Engineer,

Civil Site Engineer,

QS/QC Engineer, HSE Offi cer,

Civil Foreman

Urgently required Travel agent (1 position) with 5yrs experience

& command on Sabre and IATA.

Applicant must be professional

and have expertise in Hajj, Umra &

Tourism packages. Sound commu-

nication skills in English & Arabic

will be given preference. Send CVs

: [email protected]

Revit, Autocad D/man,

expected salary 200 OMR

PH :92279784

Filipino Senior Revit/AutoCAD

Draftsman with 20 years profes-

sional experience is looking for

suitable job in Oman. Please Con-

tact: 96489798, (+974) 66653780.


SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

EDUCATION/TRAINING

HOSPITALITYENGG. / TECH./MECH.

ENGG. / TECH./MECH. IT

B.Tech Mechanical Engineer steel

fabrication & erection 6 years

experience with Oman D/L seeks

placement. Contact 97917250

B.Tech Civil Indian, 4 years expe-

rience in Oman with D/L.

Contact: 90902809,


Indian B.E Civil Engineer 1 year

Indian 5 months Oman experience

seeking Site Engineer position,


Contact: 96411591

Indian Diploma Civil Engg 3 years

Indian exp 6 months Oman exp

seeking Site Engineer position,


Contact 96411950

Indian female on family visa

having M. Ttech degree in Biotech

seeking suitable placement in any

field. Contact: 91287047

Computer Hardware Technician,

experienced Indian Male on visit

visa seeking for suitable place-

ment as hardware technician and

Store Incharge. Contact: 95711667

Civil Engineer, young Indian

having almost 2 years experience

looking for a challenging position

seeks suitable position in Oman/

GCC. Please contact 92718490,

Email ID: [email protected]

Electrical Engineer Indian male

30 years having 5 years of experi-

ence in industrial automation &

utility maintenance in India,

holding valid Oman D/L.

Contact: 92789995 mail:

[email protected]

B.Tech Mechanical Engineer having 8 years exp having Oman

driving license seeking suitable


Electrical Engineer with 16 years

experience in switchgear / trans-

former / over head lines & trading,

looking for sales / procurement &

project planning & Execution with

NOC & D/L. Contact: 95994727


Pakistani male Diploma Civil

Engineer 4yrs exp in Oman bull-

ing & mega projects, valid license

Oman.Contact:98921022

B.E Mechanical Engineer, age

33 with 6+ years experience in

GCC in MEP building construc-

tion field (execution and design

of HVAC,firefighting,plumbing),

with D/L, NOC available

96978380;[email protected]

Sr. Electrical Engineer with17+

yrs of exceptional exp in spear

heading strategic planning and

project management initiatives &

executing various high rise resi-

dential & commercial building as

well as roads and highway project

with proficiency in installation,

seeking a challenging position in

a dynamic organization.

Contact 96570891

Civil Engineer diploma, 4 yrsexp

seeks suitable position ina reputed

company. NOC available.

Contact 96789711

Civil Engineer 8 years experience

Structural buildings marine.

Available NOC release.

Contact: 92451323.


Indian male Electrical Engineer, having 6 years gulf experience in

designing, assembling, commission-

ing execution etc having valid GCC

license too looking for a suitable.

Contact: 00968-98052942 Email:

[email protected]

HSE Engineer (B.E Mech+Diploma

Safety+NEBOSH+OSHA) over

10yrs. Exp, (Visa Release Letter

(NOC) available), seeking suit-

able placement, Mob:97061817,

Email:[email protected]

Civil Engineer (B.Tech), Indian

male 24 years with 1+years Indian

experience,(Certified in Staad

Pro/ Quantity Survey/ Auto Cad).

Looking for a Suitable position.

Available In Sultanate of Oman

(Muscat) on Visit Visa.

Contact 92835952. E-mail:

[email protected]

An Iraqi civil with more than

30 years experience in (Iraq and

G.C.C) looking for a job, (N.O.C)

available. Contact: 96561306


Indian male, Mechanical

Engineer having 1year experi-

ence, on visit visa looking for

suitable job. Contact:97416564,


Civil Engineer 8 years experience

in Oman as a project engineer for

governmental & private projects.

Contact – 90164912

Young Indian, Engineering in

Bio-technology, Bio-chemical and

Chemical, looking for a challenging

placement in Oman.

Contact 97607000. Email:

[email protected]

With over 25 years in varied

industries, presently working with a reputed group in Muscat,

looking out for a suitable change.

, CIPD HR With 13 years experience in GCC and Oman. Competent in Sales,

Interested employer please call 97728418

Sr. Sales & Marketing SpecialistIndian male, Diploma Engineer with BBA

& 16 yrs experience in Oman, worked with

MNC in retail (Telecom/ Lubricant sales)

and with construction industry handling

various products & subcontract projects.

Holding valid Oman D/L, NOC available.

Contact 96960991,

Email : [email protected]

Electrical & Electronics Engr,

knows autocad & revit.

PH: 93837973

Construction Machinery repairs

Engineer, 5 years, driving license,

Contact - 94001961

B.Sc Civil Engineer, MBA experi-

ence 5 years (15 months in Oman)

English & Arabic, driving license

looking for a suitable job.

Contact: 94162443

Indian 24 yrs exp SR civil Engg

with NOC, searching suitable job,

in any project Supervision.

Contact: 96602718

[email protected]

Site Supervisor, Diploma in

Civil Engg (cert attested) knows

autocad revit, salary exp: 250

Ph : 92279784

Indian male, Structural Engineer

looking for job in structural design

field. Having 6 years of experience

in design field. Residing in Muscat.

Contact: 91176187

[email protected]

Automobile Mechanic ITI 3 years

experience marine mechanical

fitter 2 yrs experience.

Contact: 93674847

Indian 14 yrs exp SR MEP – Elect

Engg with NOC, searching suitable

job, in field PMC, Fire consultants ,

Testing & com, project supervision.

Contact: 92437865


Indian male B-tech 8 years expe-

rience as senior electrical project

engineer / QC engineer on visit

visa seeks suitable placement.

Contact 94094543


Indian 25 years BCA Graduate with

3 years IT experience

(Desktop Support) seeking suitable

job. Contact: 94170892

4 years as Network Engineer (CCNA- MCTIP) very good in Arabic

& English, having valid license.

Contact: 99813988

Indian male 40 years BSc & diploma

in logistics, 16 yrs experience (6 yrs in

GCC) in logistics, storekeeping & spare

parts, seeking suitable placement.

NOC available.Contact: 98966849

Indian male 4 years experience in

IT as Programmer / Web Support /

CCNA/ Network on visit visa seek-

ing placement. Contact: 93069694


IT Support Engineer, Exp 3 years

in Oman 2 years in India.

Contact: 94672759

System IT Engineer with Linux &

UNIX System Administration skills

transferable visa. Contact: 99109332

Omani 26(m) seeks placement

6 yrs experience IT specialist.

Contact: 99025044

Indian female M.Sc Computer

Science seeking suitable place-

ment in Muscat area.

Contact: 98660672

Indian Male, MCA Graduate, 15 yrs

exp in ERP, CSM Certified, seeking

suitable role.NOC Available.

Contact : GSM : 90189284


MANAGER

Workshop Manager having 30

years gulf and abroad experience

in plants & machineries, heavy

duty trucks, readymix batching

plants & crushers, water well drill

rigs, rock blasting machineries etc.

kindly contact @ 97145088.

Indian male Graduate 10 years

experience in Oman seeks mid

management position with trading

/ automobile organization.

Contact: 92133277


Operations Manager – Interior

designing, Indian male, 20 years

experience in Interior Decora-

tion, Joinery, Gypsum Works, MEP

Works, BOQ preparation, costing,

looking for suitable placement.

Contact: 97608867

Staff Nurse seeking job for nurse

with 2 years experience in India

with visit visa, passed with 51%

Oman prometric. Contact: 91451935

D- Pharm Pharmacist 17 years

experience Ayurvedic Panchakar-

ma Masseur’s 3 years experience.

Contact: 93672452

Indian female Dentist specialized

Endodontist looking for suitable

placement, prometric completed.

Contact: 96410448

MEDICAL

MISCELLANEOUS

Nithin Issac (Indian male)

bachelor degree & MSW Medical

& Psychiatry Hospital experience

for 4 years in public relations and

one year experience as Psychiatric

Social Worker.

Contact 98937662 / 90188131


Indian B.Tech 37 years Project

Engineer , 12 + years experience in

construction, maintenance of STP,

Pumping stations, sewer lines,

drinking water distribution and

service reservoirs & pipe lines.

Contact: 99364007 /

+91-887422635


Indian male, 16 years experi-

ence in Telecom vas industry on

different Vas products, services &

Enterprise solutions, looking for

managerial position in relevant

field, visit visa on hand for three

months. Contact: 99744870 /

0091-9959171939,


BS in Electrical Engineering, Experience: 5 years(Power Plants).

Contact: 92475206 Email:

[email protected]

Indian male, 28, post graduate,

6+ yrs exp in Oman in sales (back

office) & credit control with valid

Oman D/L looking for suitable

lacements. NOC available.

Contact: 92066 523

Lady Secretary / Sales Co-co-

ordinator 12 years experience in

Oman in reputed companies,

seek immediate Employment.

Call: 95244761

Looking for part time job Secre-tarial / Data Entry / Documenta-

tion available every day after 5:00

pm Friday / Saturday full day area

preferred Ruwi/ CBD/ MBD /

Al Khuwair. Contact: 90414827

Indian male MBA Finance & Marketing 25 yrs

having 1.9 years of experience

Finance & Marketing

Contact: 95206140/ 96992013 Email:

[email protected]

With 2 years exp in Telecom sector, currently on visit visa, looking for suitable placement.

with 11 yrs. Experience in Gov/Private.

services management.

Female B. Ed English teacher, 7 yrs exp seeking suitable

placement. Contact : 99739415 /

92091528

Teacher available in Seeb,

Al-Mwalah, Al-Hail and Al-Khod

Areas. Contact: 93848364

Indian male, M.Tech Graduate in

Chemical Process Control Engineer-

ing looking for lecturing jobs, cur-

rently in Oman. Contact : 98352288

Experienced Indian female

Teacher, B.Sc (Botany) & B.Ed on

visit seeks suitable placement.

Cont: 98312255 / 94495305


Indian male in English, M.Phill,

B.Ed with 5 years experience in

College teaching & good admin-

istrative skill is looking for a

suitable placement in Education

Institutions or offices. Contact:

98260529 / 97297939 Email:

[email protected]

Diploma Engineering Instrumenta-

tion Technician, 2 years experience

skills calibration & installation etc.

Contact: 98963344 / 96946408


Indian Female, 25 Years - MSc

Biotechnology, 1yr exp. in Micro-

biology, Looking for suitable job.

Mobile: 92619048,


SALES / MARKETING

SKILLED LABOR

Plumber / Electrician 10 years

experienced, NOC available.

Contact: 91636185

20 years experience in Oman S.T.P

Operator. Contact: 93089468

Indian male good experience in

Sales, Marketing, Admin & Accounts

looking for suitable job.

Contact: 96199690

35 years male, Lebanese holding

British passport, 10 years of expe-

rience in procurement, Omani Gov-

ernment tenders, setup marketing

plans & strategies, importing,

Organizing events, management,

have car, NOC available.

Contact 94123939


Indian male more than 10 years

experience in Sales and

Administration with NOC & D/L

seeks suitable placement.

Contact: 97205114

Indian Male, MBA marketing 5

yrs exp. in sales & 4 yrs in FMCG

sector, looking for best opportu-

nity. NOC available.

Contact: 96001877

Indian male 24 years B.com

2 years of experience in Sales

& Office Admin knowledge of

Tally ERP 9 & MS Office. Contact:

98613373 / 97359814, Email:

[email protected]

Indian Male, 26 M.Com with

4 yrs of Experience in Accounting

& Administration in a Financial

Company in India, seeks suitable

job, Currently in India.

Contact: India:-+918907212253

Akhil:-93626288, Email:

[email protected]

Indian male Graduate with 18

years of Marketing experience

presently in Oman on family visit

visa, looking for best opportunity.

Contact: 96168687


Indian male 37 years MBA

graduate in marketing with 9yrs of

experience in UAE in field of brand

promotions & marketing with UAE

D/L on a visit seeking suitable

position. Conatct 95792820

Pakistani Male, Land Surveyor

with work experience in Dubai

Seeks suitable job in Oman.

Contact: 94347288

Indian Male, Post graduate with

10yrs experience in gulf & 4.6yrs

in Oil & Gas experience with SAP

and ERP exposure. Finalisation,

MIS, Auditing, Budgeting, AP &AR,

Tax, etc., with Oman D/L seeking

suitable placement. NOC available.

Contact: 91743376

Indian male diploma in automo-

biles & MBA in insurance motor

claim surveyor and processor,

looking for a suitable placement

in Insurance company 15 years of

experience working in Middle East,

Dubai & Saudi Arabia.

Contact : 95467981

Indian Male, 23, BBA graduate,

fresher on visit visa, looking for

a job in sales. Contact: 94032041

Mail: [email protected]

IT professional, B.E. in IT, CCNA,

MCSA, MCSE, 3yrs exp. in IT,

valid Omani D/L seeking suitable

placement in IT/Network/Server

support/Retail sales.

Contact 91496939

Indian male, 25 yrs, more than

5 years experience in Dubai, Look-

ing for a suitable placement for jobs

related to sales, marketing,

coordination and support.

Contact: 95140445,

[email protected]

Indian female, B.Tech Computer

Science, 5 years experience in

teaching in India currently on visit

visa seeking for a suitable position

in teaching, IT or administration.

E mail: [email protected]

Indian Male 47 years MBA-

Operations Management with total

25 Yrs exp inclusive of 9 yrs in Oil

& Gas sector in Oman, having valid

Omani D/L & NOC available , seeks

challenging position in SCM/ Lo-

gistics/ Procurement in any Sector.

GSM-94236414.

Mail id – [email protected]

Accountant male Indian, 2 years

experience, doing accounts in tally

& excel seeks suitable job.

EMAIL – [email protected],

Contact +91 7373387282

B.E (Mechanical) 12 years

industrial sales, 1 year Muscat

experience, presently in India ,

immediately ready to join. Contact

:917338899372 , email id :

[email protected]

Indian female B.Com, 1 year

experience in Oman, experience in

wings account package and knowl-

edge of tally. Looking for Account-

ing job. Presently in Family visa.

Contact: 93491124 & 92054531

Indian male, M.Com, 7 years

Oman experience in the field of

accounts and valid oman driving

license & NOC. Good knowledge in

SAP, Tally, Oracle, MS office and

Excel seeks suitable placement.

Contact 92859733

ACCA affiliate, B.Sc Degree holder,

3 years experience in audit and

finance at Big 6, Male, Looking for

suitable placement. NOC release

available. Contact:95140445,

[email protected]

Indian Male, 23, BBA graduate

with approx. 2 years experience in

India and UAE is looking for job in

sales / marketing.

Contact: 94032041; Mail:

[email protected]

Indian male electrician(EEE ).

Two years good working experi-

ence searching for suitable job.

Gmail ; antonyajin15@gmail.

com. Antony Ajin.G, Contact: 91

8148336160 / 91 8300136160

Indian Male, 23, BBA graduate,

fresher, looking for a job in sales

(indoor). No driving license.

Contact: 94032041 Mail:

[email protected]

Male Indian, 8 years of experience

doing desktop engineer, software

implementation, system admin,

searching for suitable job. Email:

thiruvazhimarban.ciet@gmail.

com, mobile: +919171447997 /

+919894357260

MISCELLANEOUS

SECRETARIAL & OFFICE

Indian male 31yrs old with hotel

management degree, 3 yrs experi-

ence in F&B services at 5 star hotel

Dubai, 05 yrs in American 06 star

cruiseliner has butler. Has Oman

driving license. Contact 99859150

Filipino I.T. with 5 years experience

looking for suitable job in Oman.

Contact: +968 91183514 or email

[email protected] om

Indian male 33 years, B.Com, hav-

ing 6 years experience in Oman.

Tally & ERP looking for suitable

placement. Mobile no :98492921

Looking for a part time accounting

job, additional experience in admin

& store - purchase. #99196621

Indian male with 5 year Oman

Sales Experience with valid

Oman D/L, looking for suit-

able position. Mobile:97221624,


B.E. (Mechanical) 12years indus-

trial sales one year Muscat experi-

ence, Presently in India,

Immediately ready to join.

Contact :917338899372 , email id :

[email protected]

Male, Indian, 25, 5 years experi-

ence in Dubai; looking for perma-

nent placement in Oman for jobs

related to sales, coordination and

marketing. Contact: +971563664701

[email protected]

Male, 23, with experience in UAE

& India, looking for job in sales /

marketing. Contact: 94032041

Sr. Accountant, WITH Oman D/L

& 8.5 yrs exp, 7.5 yrs Oman & 1 yr

India in manufacturing, trading

& contracting Cos, independently

handling all accounting, finance,

banking, L/C, import, export & fina-

lization seeks placement,

[email protected]

Procurement/Tender & Contract

Procurement /logistics & freight

Specialist /Oil Field / petrochemi-

cal/Engineer /MBA /SAP certify

/ 15yrs Rich Experience/ Import

&export Specialist / Oil Field expe-

rience/ coordinator / World Wide

supplier network /Noc available

Looking for challenging Position

Contact: 97813849,

Email Id:[email protected]

Male, 23, with experience in UAE

& India, looking for job in sales /

marketing. Contact: 94032041

Indian Male Accountant. Com-

pleted MBA with 1 year experience,

good working knowledge in Tally

& Excel. Searching for suitable

job. Email : jovin8910@gmail.

com, Contact : 919715874548 ,

918015907437

Indian male electrician(EEE ).

Two years good working experi-

ence searching for suitable job.

Gmail antonyajin15@gmail.

com, : Contact; 918148336160 /

918300136160

Electrical & Electronics diploma

Engineer Indian male 23 years,

2 years experience in Electrical

field/good experience in Electron-

ics MCU projects currently in

visit visa please do not hesitate to

Contact; 93047707


Indian male 30 yrs, holding valid

driving license, having 5 years of

experience in sales, looking for

suitable position.

Contact # 90552942/94355626

Indian male Diploma in Electron-

ics, having 3 years of experience

in the hardware and networking

field, also worked in construction

company Mabela for 6 months

as supervisor, trying to get driving

license. Contact: - +96897017866.

Business Management Gradu-

ate with 12 years of experience

in Oman, Worked with catering,

medical, IT groups seeks suitable

placement in Finance/purchase/

insurance sector, NOC Available.

Email, saima.gangawali@gmail.

com, Mob 94258301

Mechanical Engineer, Indian,

Male,5 years experience in GCC &

India, looking for permanent place-

ment in Oman. NOC Release Avail-

able. Contact: 00968-95140445;

[email protected]

Indian male Network Cabling Tech-

nician (19-years gulf experience)

seeking for suitable placement. mo-

bile no: 0091-8089909265 (India),


DAILY GUIDED6 T H U R S D AY, J U N E 2 , 2 0 1 6

Email: [email protected] [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

MISCELLANEOUS

Indian female (27 yrs) MBA(IT),

BCA,CCNA.2year experience in IT

operations in Oman. Graduated from

Oman with good analytical, com-

municating & programming skills,

presented in international confer-

ence, seeking suitable positions.

contact:93672143.e-mail id:fathima.

[email protected]

Part- Time Accountant, well experi-

enced senior accountant ,capable of

doing all type of accounting works

up to finalization, Budgeting, Bank fi-

nancing requirements, taxation work

etc available. Contact : : 98803439

Indian Female seeking a job in

Back Office and Accountancy,

8+ years proven experience as a

dynamic candidate with excellent

Excel & Communication skills.

Quick learner and Team player.

Currently on Family Visa.

Contact 94093154, 91746890,


Sri Lankan Male, 31 years. 6 years

experience as an Accounts Execu-

tive, (Languages can speak Urdu/

Arabic, English written & spoken) .

Contacts: 99782930/

[email protected]

HSE Engineer, Indian male, 5.5

Plus years experience in Oil & Gas.

Working in Shclumberger.NEBOSH,

IOSH, & NDT Certified, M Tech in

HSE. CONTACT-krish.569@gmail.

com Mobile- +91 9867016808

Sri Lankan Male, 31 years. 6 years

experience as an Accounts Execu-

tive, (Languages can speak Urdu/

Arabic, English written & spoken).

#99782930/ [email protected]

Indian male, M. Com with 3 yr

Oman Exp in Accounts with valid

NOC & D/L on Visit Visa, available to

join immediately . GSM :94744575

BS in Electrical engineering, expe-

rience : 6 years in electrical installa-

tion and maintenance #99817032,

Email : [email protected]

Senior accountant ,NOC avail-

able, more than 5 years exp., born

& bought up in Oman, Account-

ing upto finalization, computer

skills tally9, Sage ERP accpac

500(6.0A), Vcams , Audit ,valid

Oman D/L, languages known

English ,Arabic, Hindi. can join im-

mediately. Tel: 96339599, mail-

[email protected]

MANPOWER

SITUATION WANTEDSERVICES

SITUATION WANTEDSERVICES

SERVICES

A/C Maintenance & Servicing,

Fridge, Washing machine & Dish

washer repairing, Painting & Clean-

ing services, Electrical & plumbing.

Contact 99447257 / 97014234 /

24504281

Regular container transportation

from Sohar sport to anywhere in

Muscat area OMR 100 per con-

tainer. Contact: 93731363

Marble crystallization & grinding, Ocean center LLC

Contact: 99344723

Y 0

MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of

your marble. Contact 24793614/

99314807

Pest control treatments, Ocean center LLC

Contact 99344723

House shifting. Contact 99708138

Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles

polishing, carpet shampooing,

maintenance. Contact ABU QABAS-

99320217 /24788722

GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet & sofa shampooing,

Contact 99314807/24792998

House shifting & transporting.

Contact 92490422

Split & window A/C servicing, re-

pairing, installation ducted, package

etc. Contact Abbas : 98667326

A/C servicing maintenance.

Contact: 92279370

Window & split unit A.C servicing

& repairing. Contact: 99557080

Split unit A/C & window unit A.C

servicing & maintenance. Contact:

96236476

Split unit & window unit A.C

servicing & maintenance. Contact:

93769089 / 95323517

CAD drawings Archi/ MEP CAD –

comply BIM. Contact: 91233975

Carpet Shampoo, marble & tile

polishing, pest control &

anti-termite treatment, general

cleaning painting,Plumbing,

Electrical, shifting. Contact Mun-

dhir Al-Rizaiqi trading. L.L.C.

Contact: 24810137, 99450130

Marble crystallization & grinding, cleaning & carpet shampooing.

Ocean center LLC. # 99344723

Cleaning services, Sofa, carpet,

shampoo old house or new house.

Contact: 92179395

Water proofing ABUQABAS-

Contact 99320217/24788722

Al farzdaq Al Fedi Trad and Cont

Maintenance services electric,

plumbing and A/C. Contact:

96524904 /94285064

House Shifting Packing. Contact: 99657644 / 98518013

SITUATION WANTEDCOMPUTER/WEB./ EDUCATION/CLASSES

Spoken Arabic class for Non Arabic Speakers & English

class for Malayalam Speakers in Azaiba and Ruwi

earn in two monthstion guaranteed

Tel: 95244310

Karate and self defense classes at Azaiba 18 Nov Street. RO 10 per month

twice a week Monday and Tuesday 6. 30 TO 7. 30. PM. Contact: 98294551

Indian male with 10+ years of

working experience (security solu-

tions, event management) on visit

visa seeks suitable placement.

Contact 97945269,

[email protected]

Petrochemicals Specialist, Chemi-

cal, MBA 18 YEARS EXPERIENC IN

OIL FIELDS COM, RAW MATERIAL ,

polymer, SPACIALISED IN Procure-

ment /COMMECIAL/ PURCHASE

/ LOGISTICS / SCM/Planning &

sound knowledge of technical

requirement for any manufacture

plant Forecasting, Distribution,

Vendors Development, LC opening/

establishment coordination with

NOC available. Contact:97813849

SCM / LOGISTICS/ PROCURE-

MENT - 25 Yrs exp - Indian Male

- Oil & Gas, Manufacturing Sector

- Having valid Oman D/L & NOC

available. Seeks Challenging sen-

ior position. GSM-94236414,

Email ID - [email protected]

33 year old Filipina with experi-

ence in Tele performance, Manila

call centre, now working as Wait-

ress in Qatar seeking suitable post.

Local contact 99022484

Indian Male 28 years, Mechani-

cal Engineer (Diploma) with 2

years’ exp., Automobile ITI NCVT,

CSWIP-BGAS Painting QC Grade-2,

NDT Level-2, ISO Lead Auditor

QA (IRCA), Piping QC & Isometric

Drawings, WPS & WPQR, available

on Visit Visa, seeks suitable job.

Contact: 90653733,

[email protected]

Light Duty Driver, Fluent in

English, Arabic. Well knowledge of

Oman Areas looking for suitable

placement. Contact 97950869

IT Administrator with 6 yrs of GCC

experience, now in Dubai (visit

visa).seeking suitable placement in

UAE. Contact :00971-565598176,

email:[email protected]

Indian Male, 24 yrs, looking for

any type of job, qualification is

Diploma in Electronics with 3 years

of experience in the hardware an

networking field an also worked

in construction company Mabelah

for 6 months as supervisor, having

valid D/L. Contact : - +96897017866.

Indian Male: 23yrs, MBA in Market-

ing from UK (United Kingdom), look-

ing for a job, currently in Muscat in

visit. No: 97210361 / 95357513,


Highly experienced mechanical/

steel structural fabrication engi-

neer looking for suitable place-

ment. NOC available.

Contact 99860714,

[email protected].

Architect Engineer seeking for

suitable job, 8 years experience.

GSM : 96075000, Email :

[email protected]

B.E(Mechanical) 12years in-

dustrial sales one year Muscat

experience ,Presently in India

,Immediately ready to join ,Mobile

no :917338899372 , email id :

[email protected]

Electrical & Electronics diploma

engineer Indian male 22 years,

2 years experience currently in

visit visa. Contact 93047707

[email protected]

Fresh B.Com Graduate in visit

visa looking for a job. Contact:

93518923 / 99075027.


Planning Engineer, BE Mech Engg.

Indian Female having total 11 yrs

exp in oil & gas projects (8+ yrs in

Gulf) with valid Oman D/L, Seeks a

Suitable job. Contact: 92456003

Indian Male 48 Yrs with over 25

Years Oman experience in Sales &

Marketing with NOC & valid Oman

D/L Also Fluency in Arabic, seeks

suitable placement. Contact no.:

92210661/99224057

B.S.C in Electrical Engineering,

Experience: 5 Years (Power Plant).

Contact: 92475206


Indian male,B.Com + Dip. Logistic

2year experience looking for a job

in Accounts/Logistics Field. Pres-

ently on Visit Visa # 93884951,


Admin Assistant. Having 5 years

experience in admin department in

reputed companies, presently work-

ing in Muscat (NOC Available).

GSM. 00968-98404122, mail -

[email protected]

Looking for a part time accounting

& admin job. Contact 99196621.


TOURS

TOURS

RENT A CAR

25 - 50 seater bus with PDO &

BP specification for monthly rent

& small car with driver. Contact

99839898

Al Ibtisama rent & leasing. Contact: 91374879 / 96627562/

99382001/ 24751177/ 24751188

SITUATION WANTEDCARGO

Dolphin Watch, Dhow Cruise with

Buffet, & Land Tours Al- Ainain

Marine Tours contact 98029602,

92808636

We arrange tours & accommoda-

tion at all the beautiful places in

Oman. Contact 99839898

RENT A CARBest Rates for Saloon

Contact: 97869042 / 95730550

[email protected]

DRIVING TRANSPORTATION

AVAILABLE

Party & Wedding equipment rentals. Full line, from Tables, Linen & Skirt-

ing, Chairs & Chair covers, Cutlery, Crockery, Glassware, Chafing Dishes,

Ice Sculptures, to Large Sound Systems and spectacular lighting.

Call Andrea 9606 2222 for Catering and Croyden 9623 5555 for Sound &

Light. ww.tunesoman.com, E-mail: [email protected]

GOOD NEWS

GOOD NEWS

Ayurvedic treatment for joint

pain, backache, paralysis, mas-

sage, steambath, obesity, Spondy-

litis, Ideal Care Ayurvedic Clinic,

18 November Street, Azaiba.

Contact: 99639695 / 97397320

FREE INFORMATION ABOUT ISLAM. If you would like to

know more about Islam, please

call: 99425598, 99250777,

99353988, 99253818, 99341395,

and 99379133. For ladies:

99415818, 99321360, 99730723

Orvisit:www.islamfact.com

Transportation available Ruwi to

Al Khuwair, Ghubra & Azaiba.

Contact: 91103909

Transportation. Contact:

96538078

Transportation. Contact:

94510847

Transportation. Contact 9508282

Transportation. Contact

92015894

Transportation required from Qu-

rum to WadiKabir at afternoon only

1 PM. Contact - 99012165

Ayurvedic treatment for back-

ache, paralysis, arthritis etc

& massage, All Season (Vaid-

yaratnam). Contact:24475280 /

95371664 / 92504980

www.siddhayur.com

SITUATION WANTEDBUSINESS

Omani investor has a real estate

company in Shatti Al Qurum, looking

for a financial investor to participate

in the real estate company. For more

details contact me by

00968 96225852


INVESTOR PARTNER REQUIRED

Please contact – 95213273Email:

muscatcoff [email protected]

For a successfully Catering Restaurant

Investor cum Partner is required.

Investor with fi xed returns also welcome.

ONE STOP SHOP BUSINESS

SERVICES

Public Relation Service (PRO)

Document Clearance,

Business setup,

Formation new Companies,

LLC Companies,

Investor Visa, Legal Services.

Contact Saleh:

96723485

WEB, ERP and Business Intel-

ligence (BI) creation and manage-

ment at rock bottom price.

Contact: http//webviewoman

Coffee shop for sale 7 visa avail-

able at Al Khuwair.

Contact: 98826793

*Classified Advertisement space booking with text,

should be done till 12.00 noon for next day’s publication.

* Subject to space availability

D8 T H U R S D AY, J U N E 2 , 2 0 1 6

DAILY GUIDE Email: [email protected] [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624

Times of Oman - June 2, 2016

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Transcript of Times of Oman - June 2, 2016