times of oman - june 26, 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 26, 2016 20 Ramadan 1437 AH

SUNDAY

40107

RAMADAN PRAYER TIMINGS

Dhuhr 12.15pm

Asr 3.33pm

Maghrib 7.02pm

Isha 8.25pm Fajr (Tomorrow) 3.55am

IFTAR

7.02PM

FAJR

3.55AM

FROM THE WORDS OF HIS MAJESTYTHE SULTAN

On the occasion of the 9th National Day, 1979

Oman will co-operate to the full to ensure the preservation of the peace and freedom of the states and peoples of the area and to help them resist the forces of oppression.

‘His Majesty’s Wisdom’

MORNING MINUTE A7

Amazingly alive Ras Al Shajar Sanctuary

OMANOman least polluted country in Arab world

2The Sultanate of Oman has bagged the first place at the Arab countries’

level in the world least polluted countries index 2016 issued by Website “numbeo.com”. >A7

SPORTSSufyan to play with top world cricketers

3As some of the Oman cricketers are plying their trade in the UK, one

more from the Sultanate will make a short appearance there next month. >C5

OMANMeteorologists predict thunderstorms in Oman

1Global meteorologists have predicted thunderstorms in Oman next week. “Spotty thunderstorms can break out across Oman around the middle of next week,” said Jason Nicholls, senior meteorologist. >A3

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

HM sends greetings

False papers a nightmare for embassies

MUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has sent a ca-ble of greetings to President Hery Rajaonarimampianina of Madagascar on his country’s Independence Day anniversary.

In his cable, His Majesty the Sultan has expressed his sin-cere greetings and wishes to the president and his country’s people. —ONA

REJIMON [email protected]

MUSCAT: Absconding and ‘free visa’ workers are ‘haunt-ing’ embassy officials and social workers after death, because of the difficulties involved in trac-ing their relatives.

Due to the lack of proper documents, embassy officials and social workers struggle to repatriate bodies when the ab-sconding and ‘free visa’ workers die here.

In one case, the Bangladesh embassy has been trying for the last six months to identify a dead Bangladeshi housemaid. Her remains are still unclaimed and, as her papers were not cor-rect, identification has become a major hurdle.

Embassy officials and so-cial workers confirm that they have come across several cases of bodies of ‘free visa’ and ‘ab-sconding’ workers lying here in Oman for months in the mortu-ary as they struggle to find the deceased’s family details back in the home country.

“We come across several cases of ‘free visa’ and ‘abscond-ing’ expats lying in Oman for months. Due to lack of proper documents, we find it hard to track their families back in Bangladesh,” a senior Bangla-desh embassy said. >A6

M A D A G A S C A R

‘ F R E E V I S A ’ W O R K E R S

Brexit a boon as real estate prices plummetREJIMON [email protected]

MUSCAT: With Britain waking up to a new and uncertain dawn, Cluttons, the leading international real-estate consultancy has said those investing in the UK property market can now get their hands on investments for 30 per cent less than Thursday’s price.

In a historic referendum on Thursday, Britain voted to exit from the European Union with 52 per cent of the voters backing the deci-sion to leave the European bloc. This move has been labelled as “Brexit.” It sent shockwaves through financial markets across the globe.

The deterioration in the value of the sterling will have erased any gains reported in recent years for Omani investors and buyers from the Gulf, whose currencies retain a fixed peg to the US dollar.

“Any US dollar investors will find the price of an average prime Central London residential asset $96,000 less than it was on June 22. Conversely of course, the Lon-don residential property is now $96,000 cheaper for international

buyers looking to enter the mar-ket,” Faisal Durrani, head of Re-search at Cluttons, said.

According to Durrani, this will be beneficial for those from the Gulf eyeing a London residen-tial asset, who will find it 31 per

cent cheaper than it was during the last market peak in the third quarter of 2007.

“The longer term implications are too early to assess, but we may start to see the unlocking of London’s stalled residential property market, with inves-tors both exiting and entering the market as we head towards a period of demand volatility,” Durrani added.

A recent survey by Cluttons also revealed that 25 per cent of Gulf investors intend to buy homes abroad this year, purely for capital gains.

Of all the 127 High Net Worth Individuals, who responded to the research survey, 55 per cent already have an international property portfolio and 17 per cent named London as their most pre-ferred city of choice from among 196 global destinations. >A6

C O N S U L T A N C Y F I R M

DEEBA [email protected]

MUSCAT: People as young as 24 are suffering neurological strokes and heart attacks in Oman, a condition earlier prevalent only among those above 50, a fact sen-ior medics underlined with con-

cern. New, plugged in, sedentary lifestyles are becoming a ticking health time-bomb for the young, as various life threatening condi-tions previously known to occur from middle age are striking the younger generation.

Dr. R.R. Sharma, senior consult-ant and neurosurgeon at the Atlas Hospital in Oman, said while the phenomenon is global, it is more prevalent in the Gulf countries.

Dr. Sharma, who has been working in Oman for almost three decades now, and has expe-rience of both public and private sector, noted that the change in lifestyle from healthy to seden-tary, is increasingly contributing to the situation.

“It is true that younger peo-ple are suffering strokes and it is happening not only in the Middle East, but globally. Only the rate

varies. In the Middle East and South East Asia, it is far higher than in many other places in the world and there definitely is a rea-son for that,” he said.

Along with better documen-tation of stroke cases over the years, and with the help of mod-ern techniques, Dr. Sharma says lifestyle factors such as unhealthy food habits, increasing stress lev-els, diabetes and cholesterol are contributing to the prevalence of strokes in the region.

Junk food“People are resorting to eating at restaurants and junk food joints and are ignoring healthy home cooked food. Salads and fruits have been taken over by fried foods,” he added.

Another important factor is stress, Dr. Sharma said.

“Performance on the job has become a criterion for progress and people are increasingly trying to better that to achieve success. This also leads to a habit of smok-ing, which is another contributing factor. We see people having heart attacks at 25 or 30 years of age.”

“All these factors give rise to di-abetes, high blood pressure, cho-lesterol, obesity, and all of these have implications for the body,” he added.

Dr Sharma also mentioned that Oman and the region experience intense heat, especially in the summer months. So when one is on the move, even normal dehy-dration makes one’s blood thick, because people are not taking pure water.

“People mostly consume soft drinks and energy drinks, which might give immediate relief from

the heat but their long term impli-cations are bad. Heavy consump-tion of alcohol is bad, too,” he said.

Dr Sharma came to Oman in 1988 and has worked for several hospitals in the country. He said since his initial years in Oman, trends have changed to an over-whelming extent.

“There are now more nuclear families, sometimes patients don’t have anyone to look after, food habits have gone astray, physi-cal exercise is not happening and stress levels have increased. All these factors have an enormous impact on the population.

“Although there is greater awareness, people are developing more risk factors, too. Previously, when I worked here, the stroke levels were very low but now you hear people having strokes quite often.” >A6

Diseases once known

to occur in middle

age are afflicting

current youth due to

sedentary lifestyles

YOUNG FACE TICKING HEALTH TIME-BOMBUnhealthy food habits, increased stress levels, diabetes and cholesterol are adding to the prevalence of strokes in the region

MUSCAT: An official spokes-person of the Ministry of For-eign Affairs said that Oman respects the decision of Brit-ish people to exit from the Eu-ropean Union.

The Sultanate expresses its trust that Britain will contin-ue its international construc-

tive role to support founda-tions of safety and security, and boost the economic de-velopment. At the same time, Oman stresses on the historic ties between the two coun-tries and nations, and on their bilateral relations in different fields. -ONA

Oman respects UK decision

DIVERGENCE: A person holds European country flags in one hand and a United Kingdom flag in another in Lille, northern France. European Commission Chief Jean-Claude Juncker said Britain’s planned departure from the European Union was “not an amicable divorce” but called for it to be quick. -AFP

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

OMAN

Indonesian maid ban is not being defied: Embassy

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Indonesia’s Embassy in Muscat has refuted reports that Indonesian women are defying a government ban on travelling to Oman to work as maids.

“In the last one year, no Indo-nesian housemaids have come to Oman,” Virgino Rikaryanto, Socio-Culture Affairs official at the Indonesian Embassy in Muscat, said.

‘Not true’He also clarified that the Omani government has not legalised any contract ever since Indone-sia stopped sending its domestic workers to Oman.

“The report is not true in (rela-tion to) Oman. It may be happen-ing in other countries,” he said.

His comment came after a survey revealed that Indonesian women are still pouring into the Middle East, including in Oman to work as maids.

Indonesia had announced in May 2015 a permanent ban on sending women to the Middle East as domestic workers, follow-ing reports of widespread abuse in the Middle East.

To regulate“This was done to regulate the recruitment process, and to protect Indonesian workers in Oman. It will also end certain malpractices, which agencies in Indonesia indulge in, while re-cruiting domestic workers from various regions in Indonesia,” of-ficials had stressed, when the ban was announced.

However, the survey released by an advocacy group Migrant Care found that hundreds of In-donesian women are still taking up jobs in the Middle East.

Survey’s findingsA total of 1,020 women inter-viewed between March 2015 and last month at Jakarta’s main airport said they were travelling abroad for the first time to seek jobs as maids.

“About 90 per cent of them were bound for Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait,” the poll showed.

The rest were going to Malay-sia, which is not part of the ban.

Embassy officials said they are keen on bringing skilled workers to Oman at the moment. “Our fo-cus today is to reduce the number of Indonesia housemaids and, in-stead, increase the number of pro-fessionals in other sectors.”

According to the National Cen-tre for Statistics and Informa-tion, the number of Indonesian nationals working in the private sector in Oman was 28,323 in May 2016, including 27,681 fe-males and 642 males.

In the last one year, no Indonesian

housemaids have come to Oman, embassy

officials said

Our focus today is to reduce the number of Indonesia housemaids and, instead, increase the number of professionals in other sectorsOfficials, Indonesian embassy in Muscat

Budget spending down: NCSI reportMUSCAT: General spend-ing in the state budget during the first quarter of this year has decreased by 1.9 per cent to OMR2,395,500,000 compared to the first quarter of last year, said the Ministry of Finance.

The National Statistics and In-formation Centre in its monthly statistics said the above statis-

tics received from the Ministry of Finance showed that the cur-rent expenditures for the sectors of defence and national security, ministries and interests on loans and expenses of production of oil and gas have decreased to OMR1,628,700,000 during the first quarter of this year against the same period last year.

The current expenses for the defence and national security sector increased by 3 per cent to reach OMR584, 500,000.

The contributions and support during the first quarter of this year decreased by 47, 8 per cent to OMR98,600,000 compared to OMR189,000,000 during the same period of 2015. -ONA

ECONOMY

A3

OMANS U N DAY, J U N E 2 6, 2 0 1 6

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Thunderstorms forecast next weekREJIMON K [email protected]

MUSCAT: Global meteorologists have predicted thunderstorms in Oman next week.

“Spotty thunderstorms can break out across Oman around the middle of next week,” Jason Nicholls, senior meteorologist and international forecasting manager at AccuWeather.com said.

Last week, residents in different areas of Oman witnessed rain, es-pecially in Salalah. It rained heav-ily in Bahla and in many areas in the Dhofar Governorate.

“For the last one week, we are

experiencing rain in Salalah. A few days ago it rained heavily. Roads were flooded,” Basil Peter, a resi-dent of Salalah, said. “It rained on Friday too,” Basil added.

Dust stormMeanwhile, dust storm has been predicted by Oman meteorol-ogy department in Buraimi, Fahud, Ibra, Qarn_Alam, Adam, Yanqual, Shinas, Saham, Liwa and Al Khabu-rah. The department has also pre-dicted thunderstorm in Salalah. “Skies over Dhofar, Al Wusta and south Al Sharqiyah governorates will be cloudy with chance of iso-lated rain,” the forecast adds.

W E A T H E R

Decision to postpone medicines price cut draws mixed reactionMOBIN MATHEW [email protected]

MUSCAT: Ministry of Health’s (MoH’s) decision to postpone a drugs’ price reduction in Oman has received a mixed response from residents and distributors.

Many residents in Oman are of the opinion that the government’s move is not good as the drug pric-es in Oman are considered one of the highest in the Gulf Coopera-tion Council (GCC) region.

“I usually buy medicines from my country (India) because of the high prices here. When I heard the ministry is going to reduce the price I thought it will avoid my burden of bringing medicines from India and also save the time I spend at the airport to get the clearance, but the new report im-plies that my trouble will contin-ue” said Mathew John, a diabetic patient, who has been residing in Oman for the past decade.

‘Hard to believe’“When the decision to reduce the medicine prices was taken last year, we welcomed the move because it will benefit the com-mon man like us, but the decision to postpone it is hard to believe,” Raju Bhaskar, told the Times of Oman (TOO).

“The government’s decision reflects some sense because if the drugs prices drop drastically, there is a likelihood of a medi-cine shortage in the country as private pharmacies might stop buying medicines in large quan-tities,” Appu John, a resident of Oman said.

“But when we compare the price with other GCC countries, it is much higher; so the govern-ment should take some steps to control the price,” John added.

Temporary reliefThe decision to postpone the re-vision in drug prices has come as a temporary relief for pharmacies in the Sultanate.

“It is a welcome step and quite wise of the Ministry of Health to hold their decision and study this project a bit more deeply, or else

many small players in the sector will be in trouble,” Mohammad Osama Rawat, general manager of Oriental Pharmacy, told TOO.

“Oman is a much different market than other GCC coun-tries. The cost of operation is much higher due to a big area and comparatively smaller market in terms of turnover,” Rawat added.

A good wayUnifying the price in the GCC countries is a good way to tackle the price issue, he said.

“I would always honour the MoH’s decision, but do not under-stand how we can manage it when all other related overheads and the turnover are not the same in all GCC countries,” Rawat stated.

“Government’s decision to re-duce the price is good for retail-ers, but it will be a nightmare for the wholesalers,” another official at a pharmacy in Muscat said.

“Service costs are higher in Oman than in any other place and reducing the profit margin will affect distributors badly and this had made us approach the minis-try, and to request a further study of the details of the impact of the

price revision before implement-ing the decision,” he added.

MoH had decided to postpone the implementation of the medi-cine price revision in May too, which was aimed at cutting the profit margin of a large number of medicine sellers in the Sultanate.

In November 2015, the min-istry said prices of 4,246 drugs registered in the Sultanate will be reduced from January 2016, but later postponed it to June 2016.

According to a latest circular is-sued to all private pharmacies and stores, the new prices would come into effect after the enforcement of the Pharmacy Practice Law.

Not the firstThe ministry’s decision to reduce the prices of medicines is not the first of its kind in the Omani mar-ket in the recent past. This was the third time such a decision was made, which covers the largest number of drugs.

Such a decision was first taken in October 2014 when prices of 1,400 drugs were reduced. The second time was in June last year, when prices of around 1,180 drugs were slashed.

M I N I S T R Y O F H E A L T H

According to a latest circular issued to all private pharmacies and stores, the new prices would come into effect after enforcement of the Pharmacy Practice Law

‘Child labour prevalent in low-income families’

BABA UMARTARIQ AL [email protected]@timesofoman.com

MUSCAT: An estimated 331 children aged 7 to 18 years are working in the Sultanate, with over a third of them residing in the capital Muscat itself, a new study has revealed.

According to the report, com-missioned by the Ministry of So-cial Development, 94 per cent of child labourers in Oman are boys. All the children come from low-income Omani families.

Researchers said 37.5 per cent of these children are based in Mus-cat, while 26.9 per cent are con-centrated in the North and South Batinah province. Some 10.3 per cent of these child workers are in the Al Dhahira Governorate.

Musandam accounted for 10 per cent of these child labourers, while the percentage of working children in the north and south province of Al Sharqiyah was pegged at 9.6 per cent. About 6.3 per cent of child workers are present in the Dhofar governorate. The remaining 2.1 per cent were found working in the central provinces of the country.

Educational status“Some 56.8 per cent of these chil-dren have passed or are studying in Class 10 to 12,” the study said, adding “some 41 per cent have not studied beyond class nine.”

The children are exposed to

exploitation and there is a high proportion of them dropping out of school, according to the study, which also states that 36.3 per cent of these children had only ‘acceptable’ or ‘weak’ academic records. The survey further stated that most of the children belong to families where parents have low education levels and monthly incomes are of around OMR300. About 40.8 per cent of these families earn less than OMR250 a month.

The majority of these child workers are working in traditional family industries, such as fishing, agriculture or livestock and other minor professions, usually near home and with their families.

About 48.3 per cent of the chil-dren have found work in the fish-ing industry, while 23.6 per cent are working as salesmen, and 10.6 per cent sell grilled meat.

First studyThe study is being billed as one of the first to discuss the level of child labour in the governorates of the Sultanate.

The Times of Oman spoke with a prominent lawyer in the Sul-tanate who said she and her firm have never received a complaint about child labour. She added that it may be the culture and tradi-tions of the country that expect children to help their parents at such a young age. According to the Labour Law, it is legal for children above 15 years to work.

Chapter Five: “Employment of Juveniles and Women,” Article 75 states: “The employment of juveniles from either sex or per-mission thereto to enter the place of work before they attain the age of 15 is prohibited. The aforesaid age may be raised through a deci-sion of the minister in respect of certain industries and works that so require.”

Article 76 of the Labour Law also stated: “Juvenile employees, who are less than 18 years of age shall not be required to work be-tween 6 pm and 6 am nor shall they be required to do actual work for a period exceeding six hours a day.”

PenaltyA penalty for this is explained in Article 118, which states: “Viola-tors of Chapter Five shall be pun-ished by a fine of OMR500. The fine may be doubled according to the number of women juveniles employed in violation of the pro-visions. If the same incident is repeated after one year, the em-ployer may be subject to a maxi-mum of one month imprisonment in addition to the fine.”

The Child Law also has a simi-lar rule pertaining to working children. According to the Child Law’s Article 45, “Children shall not work in areas or industries that can harm their nature, or in an environment that harms their health, safety and behav-iour and those workplaces shall be underlined by the Minister of Manpower in coordination with responsible authorities.”

Article 46 expands this by stating that, “Children shall not work if they have not completed 15 years of age in the areas men-tioned in Article 45 of the law. The Minister of Manpower may raise the age limit in some areas and in-dustries if necessary.”

Article 71 of the Child Law cites the penalties for making children work where it states,

“A jail sentence of not less than one month and not more than six months, and a fine of not less than OMR500 and not more than OMR5,000, or either of these two punishments are handed to those who violate Articles 45, 46, 48 and 49 of this law.”

“The study aims to recognise the magnitude of the problem of child labour and its geographical spread in the Omani society and to identi-fy the social, educational and eco-nomic characteristics of Omani child labourers,” the survey read.

The survey also identified the health risks, psychological, famil-ial, and economic aspects affect-ing child labourers.

About 72.5 per cent of these children are aged 16 to 18 years, while some 23.5 per cent are aged 10 to 15 years old. About 90.9 per cent of this workforce is healthy though, the study said.

Family sizeThe results have also found that 42 per cent of working children live in families consisting of nine of more members, while 34.7 per cent live in families consisting of five to eight members forcing these youngsters to raise the fam-ily’s income. In its recommenda-tions, the survey called for the formation of a committee in each province to ensure that child la-bour laws are not violated.

The study also urged families to join awareness programmes to learn about the importance of cohesion and education, as well as be awarded a monthly stipend to overcome economic difficul-ties, along with raising aware-ness about child labour in order to solve the issue.

It has also recommended step-ping up Corporate Social Respon-sibility activities in the private sector and creating programmes that can contribute to improving efficiency of those under social in-surance and low-income families.

According to a survey commissioned by the

Ministry of Social Development, 94% of child

labourers in Oman are boys. All the children

come from low-income Omani families

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

TODAY’S VERSE

Indeed, prayer prohibits immortality and wrongdoing.

(Al ‘Ankabut, 29:45)

WORD

By this time, most people’s bodies have adjusted to the new eating and sleeping schedule of Ramadan, so if you want to increase your activity try adding 15-30 minutes of moderate exercise just before you break your fast at Iftar, again just before going to bed, and again right be-

fore Suhoor. Try push-ups, sit-ups, and squats pre-Iftar; yoga before bed; and a brisk walk just before Suhoor.

FASTING FITNESS TIP

The literal meaning of Zakat is ‘to cleanse’. In the Islamic faith, Zakat means purifying your wealth for the will of Allah by acknowledging that everything we own belongs to Him and as a means of working towards the betterment of the Muslim Ummah (community). Though Zakat is not always financial, and can include everything from volunteering your time to giving an encouraging word to your fellow man, according to Islamic regulations, Zakat is 2.5% of one year’s total cumulative wealth (there are various ways of calculating what should be counted), and when it comes to these financial donations to the less fortunate, it can be difficult to decide which causes speak most to your heart. We hope these charitable spotlights will help you decide.

WHERE TO SPEND YOUR ZAKAT

PLACE OF WORSHIP

Ramadan presents a great opportunity to go pray in beautiful houses of worship that you might not otherwise see. Whether for Taraweeh

prayers or Dhuhr, pay a visit to one of Muscat’s architectural monuments of faith.

{ Masjid Salem Bin Said Al Rawahi }

One of the prettiest places of worship in the city can be found in a posh neighbourhood of Qurum at the Masjid Salem Bin Said Al Rawahi, which opened in 2006. The

cheerful exterior sports a combination of pink and peachy orange tiles with classic Omani details adorning the roof, traditional Islamic carvings along the walls and strikingly

contemporary window design. The white and gold accented blue dome breaks-up the otherwise soft colour palette of the

exterior, making it even more inviting.

Islam, the name of the Muslim faith, finds its linguistic roots in the Arabic word for “peace”

and “submission” and those who follow Islam (Muslims) are “those who submit to Allah”. Based on the message from God as

revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and written as the Holy Quran, the religion

builds on the Abrahamic religions of Judaism and Christianity, recognising all Prophets from Adam to Jesus, up through Prophet

Muhammad (PBUH). The faith is based on the words of Allah via the Holy Quran and

the teaching and sayings of the Prophet via the Sunnah (passed down accounts of his teachings and lifestyle) and five essential

pillars including: Shahada, faith that there is one true God and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is his messenger; Salat, the five

daily prayers; Zakat, annual charity based on accumulated wealth; Sawm, fasting during the

month of Ramadan; and Haj, the once-per-lifetime pilgrimage to Mecca.

{ Islam }

IFTAR

{ Spotlight: Manah Charitable Organisation }W H AT T H E Y D O

Manah Charitable Organisation is one of the leading civil society

organisations (non-governmental) offering social services like orphan care, school supplies, and lunches

for needy children and general social welfare for the elderly in

Manah and the surrounding cities and villages.

W H E R EManah, Dakhiliyah, Oman

F I N D O U T M O R EA N D D O N AT E+968 9671 9630

[email protected]

facebook.com/manahteam1 Give zakat via donate.om

633-643CE After the death of the first Caliph, Abu Bakr, the Prophet’s (PBUH)

companion Umar Al Khattab was elected as the second Caliph. He brought Syria,

Iraq, Egypt, and Palestine under Muslim rule, and when Jerusalem was captured,

he declared that Christians would be protected. After these successful

conquests, he introduced the 12-month, lunar Islamic calendar still in use today.

MOMENTSIN MUSLIM HISTORY

{ Conquests and Calendars }

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Ensure proper disposal of garbage.

Don’t litter a beautiful country like OMAN.

Oman and its five economic partners in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

must remove obstacles for expatriate workers and allow them to move freely to transfer their skills and boost business growth.

At the moment, expat work-ers face problems when they want to move from one GCC state to another. Each country has its own laws and restric-tions imposed on migration. One of the biggest obstacles is for expats, who wish to transfer their business investments or open a branch in another GCC country. Expat workers also face barriers when their spon-sors want to transfer them to another GCC country because labour rules are not compatible.

Oman and its GCC partners need to encourage workers to move to where they can find jobs or set up trade. Expats also find it baffling when their qual-ifications are only recognised in some GCC countries, but rejected by the rest. For Oman and the GCC to become a true single market, labour require-ments must be standardised for non-nationals.

GCC nationals enjoy all the job and investment facili-ties available in each other’s countries. However, the same facilities are out of reach for resident expatriates.

With oil prices showing no signs of recovering from their former levels, mobility within GCC countries will boost inter-trade growth. Labour mobil-ity will also stop illegal and abusive treatment of expatri-ate workers. It will improve the human rights record of the six GCC countries when a unified standard is used throughout the region to protect them.

A free movement of workers across the borders will also reduce exploitation when workers have a choice.

Skills gapLabour mobility will help ad-dress shortages and plug in the skills gap within GCC. For ex-ample, some countries in GCC face a huge challenge to find nationals to fill up vacancies in the retail sectors. Expats within the region can plug in these holes more quickly and economically. Regional knowl-edge is also important since it takes a long time for someone with no GCC experience to familiarise with the local ways. Expats help widen the scope of services and improve competi-tiveness when they move freely in the regional countries.

From the economic point of view, it will help solve labour shortages within GCC member states and contribute to a more efficient distribution of human resources. All GCC countries have one thing in common. They need foreign workers in important sectors, such as construction, manufacturing, retail, oil and gas.

GCC policies aim to find a match between the needs of employers and job seekers.

They find it difficult to get nationals to work on certain jobs, even with the current high unemployment rate. Finding the right experience to fulfil certain positions has always been a priority for employers since GCC has a youthful population. Matching experience and the pool of job seekers has been a challenge and an obstacle for business improvement. Making expats move within the GCC bloc much more easily will address this inherent problem.

True pictureThere are critics who would say GCC needs to safeguard the jobs of its nationals by restrict-ing inter-migration of expats. However, the true picture is that, in situations where many nationals are choosy what they pick for employment, em-ployers can easily plug in the holes by getting expats from neighbouring countries. GCC can put in place safeguards to reserve job allocations for their nationals in some positions, mainly office-based. Histori-cally, GCC countries have had trouble convincing their nationals to work as plumbers, electricians or carpenters.

The regional states have always argued for greater closure of their borders and greater control over entry and participation within their soci-eties. This perhaps was true in the past, but current economic hardships require greater par-ticipation with global societies. For free trade and economic development, the labour movement can work well to increase foreign investments and inter-change of trade with the GCC bloc.

In conclusion, the open border theory needs to be implemented, not just for GCC nationals, but for residents as well, for greater economic integration.

GCC countries stand to gain by promoting labour mobility

C O M M E N T A R Y

SALEH AL SHAIBANY

SUNDAYBEAT

H AV E YOU R SAY AT T W I T T E R.CO M /T I M ES O F O M A N O R S CA N T H E CO D E TO I N STA N T LY P O ST YOU R T H O U G H TS .

For Oman and the GCC to become a true single market, labour requirements must be standardised for non-nationals

Salalah, Muscat airports get more flyers

MUSCAT: Passenger traffic at the Muscat International Air-port grew 18.9 per cent during the first five months of 2016 to 4,808,563 passengers, against 4,043,865 during the same pe-riod of last year.

The number of flights at the airport also rose 10.1 per cent to 41,436, compared with 37,641 flights last year, according to the latest report by the National Centre for Statistics and Infor-mation (NCSI).

International flights were up 13.5 per cent to 37,767 flights, while domestic flights fell 15.9 per cent to 3,699 during the pe-riod, compared with a year ago.

Meanwhile, the international passenger count at the airport reflected a growth of 19.7 per cent to 4,433,315 passengers, while domestic passengers rose 9.9 per cent to 375,248 passen-gers during the period.

Salalah AirportPassenger traffic at the Sala-lah airport grew 16 per cent to 419,150 passengers, up from 361,273 during the same pe-riod of last year. The number of flights at the airport, on the other hand, fell 5.5 per cent to 3,555, compared with 3,763 flights last year. International flights increased 8.9 per cent to 1,544 flights, while domestic flights dropped 14.2 per cent to 2,011 during the period, com-pared with 2015.

Meanwhile, the international passenger traffic at the airport reported a growth of 26.8 per cent to 155,421 passengers, while domestic passengers increased by 10.5 per cent to 263,729 passengers during the same period. -ONA

N C S I D A T A

A6


Like all women, I am also interested in fashion.

I was running a small beauty parlour alongside

my daily job as a network engineer

Aya Al Siyabi, the 34-year-old network engineer

turned fashion entrepreneur

Loss of speech, paralysisDr Sharma added, “Stroke is a sudden seizure of a function relat-ed to the nervous system. ‘Stroke’ is not a scientific word, but it is understood in daily practice that something has struck you badly, a function has been lost due to cer-tain acute condition.

“Symptoms are loss of speech and paralysis of the right side, so you know something is wrong in that area of brain.”

The youngest patients that Dr Sharma saw were in their teens. “We have seen cases even among those in their early teens or late teens. These could be due to ge-netic issues or vascular problems, meaning that the blood supply to a part of the brain has stopped, and the brain has lost control on your body parts.”

According to the latest WHO data published in May 2014, deaths due to strokes reached 950 or 10.94 percent of the total deaths in Oman.

According to Dr. Srijithesh P. Rajendran, a neurologist at Badr Al Samaa hospital, when com-pared to the western world, more young people in the Middle East-ern and South Asian population suffer strokes.

“In Western countries, usu-ally stroke cases are common in the age group of 50s and 60s. However,in the South Asian or Middle Eastern population,

people are having strokes even when they are in their 30s or 40s. Risk factors include hyper-tension, diabetes and stress.”

According to Dr. Rajendran, if risk factors are controlled, it can reduce the risk of stroke by 90 per cent, but there are undetected or uncorrected risk factors which give rise to the condition. He ad-vises patients to act FAST in case of a stroke.

“FAST is an acronym used to help detect and enhance respon-siveness to stroke victim needs. FAST stands for ‘Facial droop-ing, Arm weakness, Speech dif-ficulties and Time factor’. If you feel any of these things, you must rush to a hospital within four to four and a half hours of developing or noticing the stroke condition,” he added.

Dr. Sivakumar, neurologist at

Aster al Raffah hospital, said, “Oman is the second or third country in the Middle East where diabetes is being detected at a very young age.”

“This, coupled with the type of food, smoking, and no physical ex-ercise, elevates their cholesterol levels, and contributes to strokes in younger people.”

Dr Sreenivas advised that peo-ple should get screened for diabe-tes and hypertension after leaving school. “It should be a compulsory thing. Health awareness is also very important. The youngest case I have seen was of a 24 year old Omani male and the contrib-uting factor was hypertension.”

In the UAE, which is across the border, it was reported that annu-ally 7,000 to 8,000 patients suffer a stroke, which means every hour, a person is hit by a stroke.

S Y M P T O M S

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Women-only Turkish bath set to open soon

REJIMON [email protected]

MUSCAT: A women-only Turk-ish bath is set to open in Oman – and it’s all thanks to the vision of one Omani, who gave up a lucra-tive IT career to prove that sisters can do it for themselves.

Aya Al Siyabi, the 34-year-old network engineer turned fashion entrepreneur, is a perfect example for women in the Gulf.

After working with many lead-ing companies as a network en-gineer in vital projects in Oman, Aya has changed her course of ca-reer and is set to open a first one of its kind integrated women centre in Oman.

Aya’s integrated centre will

have beauty spa, boutique, café, party hall, studio and a library too equipped with advanced technol-ogy, only for women.

First time in Oman“Only for women, that too under one roof, is for the first time in Oman,” Aya told Times of Oman.

Slated to be opened officially in September, Aya’s centre Julosia

will also have an only for women Turkish bath in Oman for the first time.

“Like all women, I am also in-terested in fashion. I was running a small beauty parlour alongside my daily job as a network engi-neer. However, I wanted to be dif-ferent and unique. I want to leave my mark on whatever I do. So, I thought of changing my course of

career and focusing more on what I love,” Aya told Times of Oman.

To learn more on fashion and understand the global trends, Aya flew to Hollywood and pursued a course for six months.

Fashion arena“There I learned the latest trends and new things in the fashion in-dustry. It has instilled confidence in me. I am sure that I can bring a change in Oman fashion arena through my learning and centre,” Aya added.

According to Aya, the fashion scene in Oman is changing a lot.

“Omani women are more open now. They know the latest trends. They want it too. Their need for more instils confidence in me,” Aya said while thanking her hus-band to be supportive for helping her to move forward. Aya’s Julosia will have a soft opening for the customers in mid of next month.

Aya Al Siyabi, the

34-year-old network

engineer turned

fashion entrepreneur,

is a perfect example

for women in the Gulf

Money exchange houses in Oman register rush at counters

Interestingly, the majority of re-spondents (63 per cent) said they are likely to invest in their preferred location during 2016.

Meanwhile, money remittance houses in Oman are witnessing a huge rush at their counters as the Brexit vote has had a cascading ef-fect on Asian country currencies.

Conversion rates for the Indian rupee, Pakistani rupee and Bangla-

desh taka are going up as the ster-ling fell to a 31-year low, following the Brexit vote.

According to remittance houses, since Friday, OMR1 became equiv-alent to Indian Rs 176.45, Pakistan Rs 272.00 and Bangladesh Taka 203.50.

India’s rupee plunged 72 paise against the US dollar when the trade ended on Friday evening in

India. “We have seen a 30 per cent volume increase in transactions due to the Indian rupee’s fall on Fri-day,” Philip Koshy, general manager of Modern Exchange in Oman, told the Times of Oman.

“This may continue until Mon-day and then it is expected to fall again. However, we also expect the Indian government to adopt some corrective measures to avoid a fur-

ther fall,” Koshy said, adding that a majority of the transactions were made by high volume customers.

Following Brexit, as the markets opened on Friday, all sectors saw heavy selling, including realty, met-als, auto, banking, finance, capital goods and power.

This led to the weakening of the Indian rupee. Sustained bouts of dollar demand from im-

porters amidst weakness in other Asian currencies also weighed on the rupee.

Meanwhile, Tonny George Alex-ander, director of Oman UAE Ex-change, said conversion rates have gone up due to Brexit, however, it is too early to say how much the vol-ume of transactions have increased.

“India and Britain have invest-ment relations. So the anxiety of

investors in both countries has led to the rupee’s fall,” Alexander said, adding that the slump in the rupee may continue for a few more days.

Meanwhile, there are reports that Brexit panic wiped $2 trillion off world markets—as it happened. Markets have slumped in Europe, America and Asia, as economists predicted that the Brexit vote will push the UK into recession.

B R E X I T V O T E

Staff Reporter

MUSCAT: One of the young-est patients suffering a stroke in the country was a 24-year -old national. Hypertension

was the prime cause behind his problem, and undetected blood pressure was the cul-prit. The stroke had resulted in brain haemorrhage. Fortu-nately, he survived.

Hypertension was the culprit

‘Difficult to track their family’

“In some cases, it even takes months to find the family,” he told Times of Oman.

For the last six months, the em-bassy officials have been coordi-nating with local authorities and those in Bangladesh to repatriate the housemaid’s body.

“As she was an ‘absconding’ housemaid, we got the informa-tion quite late when she passed away. In addition to that, as some papers were missing, it was quite hard to find her home contacts. However, we finally tracked down her home address and contacts. Now, the hurdle we face is how to

fund the repatriation process as her employer has failed to turn up,” the embassy official added.

It’s the responsibility of the employer to repatriate the body of the worker to the home coun-try, but many fail to do so and the onus falls on the embassy and social workers.

“In the case of bodies of ab-sconding and ‘free visa’ workers, first it is quite difficult to track the family back in Bangladesh. We do it through our network and with the help of media in Bangladesh. The second hurdle we face is of raising money to repatriate a body.

Nearly OMR500 is needed to re-patriate a single body,” Mohd San-aulla, a Bangladeshi social worker, said. “As employers won’t turn up, we struggle a lot,” Sanaulla said adding that from a humanitar-ian point of view, action should be taken to settle the issue.

Recently, a Times of Oman in-vestigation found that nine out of every 10 Bangladeshi workers in Hamriya are ‘free visa’ workers who don’t work under their spon-sor - a violation of the labour law.

Without proper documents, job and protection, they struggle daily just to find food and survive.

O N U S O N E M B A S S Y

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EXCLUSIVELY FOR WOMEN: Slated to be opened officially in

September, Aya’s centre Julosia will also have an only-for-women

Turkish bath in Oman for the first time.– Supplied photo

A7


Amazingly alive Ras Al Shajar Sanctuary

QURIYAT: Ras Al Shajar Sanctu-ary is one of the unique areas in Oman, known for its rich biodi-versity, animals, plants and geo-logical elements.

The sanctuary is located in the eastern villages of the Wilayat of Quriyat in the Governorate of Muscat. It is about 93.7 square kilometres in area. It is also con-sidered unique for its large and dense vegetation cover, especially Acacia Tortilis, thus it is called Ras Al Shajar.

The sanctuary was founded in 1985 under the umbrella of the Of-fice for Conservation of Environ-ment at the Diwan of Royal Court. It contains many mammals, no-tably the Arabian Gazelle, which lives in the coastal part of the sanctuary, as well as the Arabian

Tahar (Arabitragus Jayakari), which lives in the rugged moun-tainous areas of the sanctuary.

The Red Fox, Arabian Lynx also lives in the sanctuary, which is a safe haven for many migratory and endemic birds, such as Hoopoe, Indian Roller, Pipit, Bee, Egyptian Vulture, Eagle, the See-See Par-tridge, Owls, and Crowned Sand-grouse, along with Wild Pigeon, Falcon, Curlew, and Seagulls.

The Arabian Gazelle is one of the most prominent animals that abound in the sanctuary, as well as the Arabian Tahar, whose pres-ence in the Arabian Peninsula is limited to this sanctuary.

It spreads along the western and eastern Al Hajar Mountains and Mount Qahwan, which is lo-cated between the Wilayat of Sur, Ja’alan Bani Bu Ali and Al Kamil Wa Al Wafi in the Governorate of South A’Sharqiyah.

The sanctuary is characterised by several significant wild plants, which are useful to humans, animals and nature, such as the Acacia Tortilis, Ziziphus Spina-Christi, Moringa Peregrina, Acri-docarpus Orientallis, Fagonia Indica, Ficus cordata, Euphorbia Larcia, Dodonaea, Acacia Nilot-ica, Maerua Crassifolia, Ptero-

pyrum Scoprium, and Caralluma Arabica, used by villagers for medical purposes until today.

The sanctuary has a unique tourist and environmental loca-tion that combines the sea and the mountains. There are old houses in the sanctuary, in addition to tourist attractions located around the sanctuary, such as the Majlis Al Jin Cave, the Wadi Shab, Haw-yat Najm Park, and several caves, such as the Mahafir Cave.

Active communityThe local community residing in the sanctuary is an active one. It is conscious of the importance of maintaining the sanctuary; most of them work in grazing, as well as make handicrafts that use raw materials taken from the surrounding environment, such as date palm fronds. Locals also collect leaves of mountain thyme

that grows in the mountains of the sanctuary. They dry them and sell them in the local markets. They also produce honey.

Talking about the efforts made by the Office for Conservation of Environment at the Diwan of Royal Court in taking care of the sanctuary, Dr. Sheikh Abdul Majid bin Saleh Al Darmaki, assistant director general of the Office said: “The Ras Al Shajar Sanctuary is one of the natural habitats that is taken care of by the Office for Conservation of Environment for its natural potential.”

He added that the office is keen to conduct many awareness-rais-ing activities in the sanctuary, and engage with the local community in implementing those activities in order to familiarise them with the importance of environmental resources in the sanctuary, and the need to join hands to protect them and keep them safe.

He said to the ONA that 300 seedlings of wild Ghaf trees: Pros-opis Cineteria, Acacaia Tortilis and Ziziphus Spina Christi have been planted in a suitable area in the sanctuary. The office also clearly demarcated the bounda-ries of the sanctuary, resulting in reduced poaching. -ONA

The sanctuary is

located in the eastern

villages of the

Wilayat of Quriyat

RAS AL SHAJAR.: The sanctuary was founded in 1985 under the umbrella of the Office for Conservation of Environment at the Diwan of

Royal Court. – ONA

Sultanate least polluted country in Arab worldBELGRADE(SERBIA): Oman has bagged the first place at the Arab countries’ level in the world least polluted countries index 2016 issued by Website “numbeo.com”.

Muscat got the 69th place in the least polluted countries list and 142nd place in the most polluted cities at the world level.

Sixth in AsiaMuscat got the sixth place at the Asian level in the least polluted cities. The index also indicated the

reduction in polluted potable water in the Sultanate.

The noise and light pollution in Muscat was low ( at 35.42 degrees).The level of inconvenience for staying in Muscat for a while was low (32.69 degrees) and the level of inconvenience in terms of land-scaping was also low ( at 34. 04 de-grees), according to the index.

Abu Dhabi came second in the least polluted cities at the Arab countries’ level followed by Dubai, Amman and Doha, respectively. —ONA

N U M B E O . C O M

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REGIONS U N DAY, J U N E 2 6, 2 0 1 6

Air strikes kill 47 in eastern Syria village

BEIRUT: Air strikes carried out by Syrian or Russian warplanes killed dozens of people in eastern Syria on Saturday, the Syrian Ob-servatory for Human Rights mon-itoring group reported.

It said the strikes hit the vil-lage of Al Quria in the eastern countryside of Deir Al Zor prov-ince, killing 47 people including 31 civilians.

The militant group IS controls most of Deir Al Zor province and has laid siege since March last year to the remaining govern-ment-held areas in the city of the same name, which is close to Syr-ia’s eastern border with Iraq.

Deir Al Zor province links IS’ de facto capital in the Syrian city of Raqqa with territory it con-trols in Iraq.

The Syrian army and its allies recently made advances against IS in Raqqa province, but were driven back from some of those areas by a counter-attack.

Both Syrian or Russian war-planes have been carrying out air strikes against the militants.

US-backed forces are separately advancing against the extremists militants in another stronghold city further north near the Turkish border. - Reuters

The militant group IS controls most of Deir

Al Zor province

BLEAK FUTURE: A young Syrian Kurdish fighter attends the funeral of eight members of Syrian Democratic Forces who died during an

assault against the IS group in the town of Manbij on Friday. — AFP

DEFIANT: A Syrian Kurdish woman flashes the sign of victory

during the funeral of eight members of Syrian Democratic Forces

(SDF) who died during an assault against the IS group in the town

of Manbij on Friday. — AFP

LIBYAN CONFLICT A fighter from the pro-government forces loyal to Libya’s

Government of National Unity fires a machine gun during

an operation to recapture the costal city of Sirte from IS

on Saturday. They overran the city some 450 kilometres

east of Tripoli in June last year. — AFP

Saudi Arabia warns recruitment agentsRIYADH: The Saudi Interior Ministry on Saturday warned of human trafficking charges against recruitment agents in Tanzania and Burundi.

The Public Relations Director of the Interior Ministry, Major-Gen-eral Mohammed Al Marool, urged agents to wait until legal steps between Saudi Arabia, Tanzania and Burundi are finalised and the opening of an office for hiring their citizens.

Human traffickingThe warning came after informa-tion was received from the Saudi Foreign Ministry that the two countries were investigating hu-man trafficking and illegal recruit-

ment of local manpower charges against some Saudis, Xinhua re-ported.

He said that besides those, the agents might face other labour vio-lations charges as they entered the countries with tourist visas.

Female domestic workersThe recruitment agencies in Saudi Arabia has been badly hit by the decisions of some countries to ban their female domestic workers in Saudi Arabia, including Indonesia.

The government has been ne-gotiating with various countries to reach agreements to find alter-natives for domestic workers for Saudis who are highly dependent on domestic workforce. — IANS

T A N Z A N I A , B U R U N D I

Ties with Britain remain consistent after Brexit: IranTEHRAN: Relations between Iran and Britain will not change after the latter voted to leave the European Union, Iran’s Foreign Ministry has said.

Iran respects the decision of British people and deems it con-sistent with the will of the major-ity of Britons in determining their own foreign relations, Xinhua news agency quoted the ministry

as saying in a statement.“Iran has always sought expan-

sion of relations with the Euro-pean countries based on mutual respect and non-interference in one another’s internal affairs, and Britain’s exit from the EU will not cause any changes in Iran’s poli-cy,” it said. Britain’s “Leave” camp won the historic referendum on Thursday by obtaining nearly 52

per cent of the ballots, pulling the country out of the 28-nation bloc after it joined the EU in January 1973. — IANS

M U T U A L R E S P E C T

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INDIAS U N DAY, J U N E 2 6, 2 0 1 6

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Swamy will dent Modi’s image, spook foreign investorsAMULYA GANGULY

Narendra Modi’s Alpha-male im-age of a domineering individual, a la Barabara Cartland’s romantic fiction, has been severely dented by the antics of Subramanian Swamy, a seemingly out-of-control saffron gadfly.

Initially presumed to have been elevated to the ranks of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs to needle the Nehru-Gandhis in parliament, Swamy has veered off the desig-nated course, like an authentic maverick, and is now picking off one target after another -- Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan first and Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian next.

Swamy has succeeded in dis-comfiting Rajan sufficiently with his charges of the banker not be-ing fully an Indian, as he is a Green Card holder, and also acting at the behest of the US multinationals to damage the Indian small and me-dium industries. There is not an iota of proof in what Swamy has been saying, but that is the way loose cannons operate.

However, the unsubstantiated allegations were sharp enough to get under Rajan’s skin, making him

decide not to seek a second term.Evidently, an economist of his

stature was not going to allow a common or garden-variety med-dler to make insulting insinua-tions for long.

Rajan’s expectation may have been for the government to come to the defence of an “employee”, as Swamy calls the governor of a widely respected autonomous in-stitution. But, apart from Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s disapprov-al of personal attacks, there was not a squeak from the others.

The prime minister even told the Wall Street Journal that it wasn’t the media’s business to be interested in the tenures of central bankers. If anything, the dismiss-ive remark suggested that he was on Swamy’s side, although the fact that Modi does not hold press con-ferences probably means that he believes that nothing should be of interest to the media any way.

However, it is when Swamy trained his guns on Arvind Subra-manian that Jaitley jumped to the latter’s defence by asserting how valuable the adviser is.

A BJP spokesman also said that the party does not agree with Swamy’s views and that they

were “completely his personal opinion”.A parallel can be drawn with what happened earlier.

Soon after Modi’s takeover in 2014, the saffron hotheads started shooting from the hip, calling Na-thuram Godse a patriot (Sakshi Maharaj, MP) and those not asso-ciated with the BJP were illegiti-mate children (Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, a union minister).But they were quickly reined in.

So were those like Yogi Adity-

anath, MP, who were campaigning in favour of ghar wapsi for Mus-lims and a devious love jihad di-rected at Hindu girls.

The next few days will show whether similar disciplinary steps will be taken against Swamy.

But, irrespective of whether his exuberance is checked, what the events of the recent past has shown is that neither is the BJP as disciplined as it claims to be, nor is Modi in full control of his party

and the saffron brotherhood as is believed. While Swamy’s provoca-tive conduct may have pleased himself and the extremists around him, probably in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), they cannot he unaware that his antics have damaged Modi’s reputation more than any of the opposition’s attacks have done.

Moreover, Swamy is no longer seen as a court jester who likes to entertain the audience with his political frolics, but as an activist who is unafraid of pursuing his own line even if it contradicts the government’s.

As long as he was targeting the Nehru-Gandhis, he was perceived as someone serving the BJP’s cause.But no longer.

Now it is suspected, as the Con-gress has pointed out, that his real target is Arun Jaitley who, the grapevines suggest, is not a favour-ite of the genuine saffronites.

If this is indeed the case, then it is obvious that Swamy has power-ful backers who are not as mindful of the reputation of God’s gift to the nation, which is how parlia-mentary affairs minister Venkaiah Naidu describes Modi.

Considering how there are vis-

ible signs of progress in fields like science and technology with the launch of 20 satellites in one go, the possibility of a bullet-train ride in five hours between Delhi and Kolkata, the government’s energetic pursuit of a seat in the Nuclear Suppliers Group and so on, the totally unnecessary con-troversies created by allowing Swamy to run amok can seem odd to the average person.

Whatever be the subterranean political manoeuvres, they are bound to harm Modi’s image inter-nally and spook the foreign inves-tors notwithstanding the opening of new doors for them since the move is seen more as a measure to calm the markets after Rajan’s de-cision to quit than a genuine desire to open up the economy.

The government has spent too much time dithering about the economy with the result that doubts are being raised about the claims of a seven percent growth rate - the Congress plus the cow, as Arun Shourie mockingly calls the economic policy. The govern-ment now has to show that its hands are firmly on the wheel and that it cannot be pushed around by a busybody. - IANS

C O M M E N T A R Y

Subramanian Swamy

Urbanisation can mitigate poverty, says prime ministerPUNE: Making a strong pitch to consider urbanisation as an oppor-tunity to mitigate poverty and not as a problem, Prime Minister Nar-endra Modi on Saturday said cities have to be strengthened through comprehensive and inter-con-nected approach combined with increased public participation.

Addressing a gathering here after the launch of projects under gov-ernment’s flagship Smart City mis-sion in 20 cities across the country, he said, “There was a time in our country when urbanisation was considered a big problem. But, I feel differently. We should not consider urbanisation as a problem, but con-sider it as an opportunity.”

“People in the economic field consider cities as a growth cen-tre.... If anything has the potential to mitigate poverty it is our cities. That is why people from poor plac-es migrate to cities, as they find op-portunities there.

“It is now our responsibility to provide strength to cities so that it can mitigate the maximum pov-erty, in the shortest time, and adds new avenues for development. It is possible as it is not a difficult task,” he said.

As the prime minister launched 14 smart city projects in Pune, and initiated 69 other works in other smart cities in the country, he

made a plea for working in a com-prehensive, inter-connected and vision-oriented manner and not in piece-meal.

“There cannot be a transforma-tion as long as we take things in bits and pieces. We need to adopt a comprehensive, inter-connect-ed and vision-oriented approach,” he said.

DevelopmentModi added that every city has a distinct identity and the country’s people “who are the smartest” should decide on how to develop urban spaces. Stressing that the spirit of participative governance is vital, he said people of the cities have to decide about the devel-opment of their urban spaces as these decisions cannot be taken by people sitting in Delhi. He stressed on increased public par-ticipation in deciding the course of development of smart cities and called for intense competi-tion among cities to develop them as modern centres of growth.

“If we consider it as a problem, our approach to address it would be the same, but if we consider it an an opportunity we would start thinking differently,” he said.

Modi also took a veiled dig at the previous Congress governments, alleging that while they took the

country on the reverse path, his government was finding new av-enues to move forward.

Modi said smart cities should not be seen as a fancy concept since the mission is meant for en-suring availability of basic services to people though infrastructure in-cluding houses for urban poor in a comprehensive manner.

He referred to extensive use of digital technology in the smart city plans for improving the quality of governance and public services. Expressing satisfaction over citi-

zen participation in preparation of smart city plans, he said, over 2.5 million people have given serious suggestions to the government, which need to be taken seriously.

“Earlier competition was being run on who was left behind and who are poor. Ways were being found to move backwards. This is a government which is running a competition for finding ways to move forward,” Modi said.

The prime minister said it was not as if no work was done ear-lier or governments did not spend

budgets, but wondered how some countries surpassed India in a short period despite attaining in-dependence after it.

“I keep asking this question to myself and wonder. I discuss this with people and analyse old expe-riences.... if anyone is the smartest it is the citizen of the country. “If the strength of 125 crore citizens is put to good use and their skills har-nessed, they can do wonders. Then one does not require governments, the world will move faster on its own,” he said.

Modi said that is the reason why this smart city concept was evolved through public participa-tion and stressed that if people are empowered and involved in par-ticipatory development the coun-try would develop faster. He urged people to rise to the challenge for improving urban areas and said the era of competition among cit-ies and towns has come to stay.

In his 35-minute address at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, the prime minister while referring to the “changing” attitudes said gone are the days when the cen-tral government was looked as a giver of funds, as it was now being looked at as a source of ideas.

Elaborating, he said that in all the recent surveys, Swachh Bharat Mission was ranked as the most

popular of government’s initia-tives since the idea of sanitation appealed to people.

Modi launched the flagship Smart City Mission into imple-mentation mode with the launch of 14 projects of Pune’s Smart City Plan, a year after he set off the programme by releasing its guidelines. He said urban spaces have to focus on solid and liquid waste management.

The prime minister also launched “Make Your City Smart” contest inviting people to come out with designs for street, junc-tions and open spaces and a “Smart Net Portal” which is a net based platform for sharing of ideas and sourcing of solutions for smart city development.

Minister of Urban Development M. Venkaiah Naidu said that the smart city projects launched on Saturday were the first shoots of urban renaissance taking place in the country as a result of paradigm shift in the approaches to urban development ushered in by the government. He said what is hap-pening in Pune on Saturday was “historic”. “It is a turning point in the country’s history. We have heard about cultural renaissance, but under Prime Minister Naren-dra Modi an urban renaissance is taking place,” he said. - PTI

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

SPELLING OUT: Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivering his

address at the launch of the projects, Smart Cities Mission, in

Pune on Saturday. - PTI

Eight CRPF personnel, two militants killed in ambush

SRINAGAR/ NEW DELHI: In the deadliest attack on security forces in three years, eight Cen-tral Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed and 21 others critically wounded when terrorists rained bullets on a bus carrying them in Indian-admin-istered- Kashmir’s Pulwama dis-trict on Saturday.

The suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba(LeT) terrorists sprayed a bus carrying the personnel of 161 battalion of CRPF with bullets at

Frestbal, 14km from here, officials said. The CRPF’s Road Opening Party (ROP) engaged the terror-ists and killed two of them.

According come accounts, two more militants were involved in the attack but there was no of-ficial confirmation. The area has been sealed and message flashed about the possibility of two ter-rorists having fled the spot in a

car towards Srinagar. The injured were rushed to the hospital where doctors declared five of them hav-ing been brought dead, while the condition of four of the 21 person-nel was stated to be critical. After the encounter was over, bodies of three more CRPF personnel were found on the back seats of the bus raising the death toll to eight.

The terrorists appeared to have

carefully chosen the spot for the ambush as every vehicle has to slow down there because of a sharp curve on the road.

Security agencies suspect a re-connaisance might have preceded the assault. This is the third ter-ror strike in three weeks target-ing security personnel and the deadliest after the June 24, 2013 attack on Army personnel at Hy-

derpora on the outskirts of Srina-gar in which nine armymen were gunned down.

Inspector General of CRPF Nalin Prabhat rushed to the spot and was leading the combing op-erations. “We have eliminated two terrorists who are believed to be from Lashkar-e-Taiba,” he said.

Jammu and Kashmir Direc-tor General of Police K. Rajendra, who visited the spot, said the two terrorists had been neutralized but “unfortunately we have suf-fered some causalities too”.

Asked whether the slain terror-ists were from across the border, Rajendra said, “In all probability they seem to be from Pakistan.” Director General of CRPF Durga Prasad will visit the scene of en-counter on Sunday.

In Delhi, Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh expressed deep an-guish over the killing of the CRPF personnel. “My heart goes out to the families of the CRPF men who lost their lives in Pampore. I also pray for the speedy recovery of the injured,” he said in a tweet. This is the second attack on a bus car-rying security personnel within three weeks.

On June 3, terrorists had fired at a bus carrying BSF personnel in Bijbehara, killing two of them. On June four, terrorists had gunned down three policemen at general bus stand. - PTI

Officials said the

suspected LeT

terrorists sprayed

a bus carrying the

personnel of 161

battalion of CRPF

with bullets at

Frestbal in Pulwama

district of Jammu

and Kashmir

SITE OF ATTACK: Security forces inspecting the CRPF bus which was attacked by militants on

Srinagar-Jammu National High Way at Pampore on the out skirts of Srinagar on Saturday. - PTI

BJP leaders attack Congress on Emergencyanniversary

NEW DELHI: On the 41st an-niversary of the Emergency, BJP leaders on Saturday attacked Con-gress, saying its design to bring “authoritarianism” was defeated by the then united opposition and asked it to “repent”.

In a series of tweets, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the erstwhile Jansangh and oppo-sition parties fought the battle to-gether and the people supported it.

“41 years ago, Congress de-clared emergency and brought authoritarianism and tried to end democracy. Sangh, Jansangh and opposition parties together fought the battle and people supported it. That is why the danger to the democracy was finished and in-tentions of authoritarianism was destroyed,” he tweeted.

Javadekar, who was among the imprisoned leaders during the Emergency, said that Yervada jail had then turned into a“political university”. The “Emergency” refers to a 21-month period in 1975-77 when Prime Minister In-dira Gandhi had declared a state of emergency across the country.

Union Minister Giriraj Singh tweeted “On June 25, 1975, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed emergency. A day for Congress to repent and realise that the coun-try belongs to common (man) not Congress.” - PTI

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Mehbooba wins Anantnag bypolls in popularity test

ANANTNAG: Making mince-meat of her electoral rivals, Indi-an-administered-Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday won the Anantnag as-sembly bypoll by a margin of over 12,000 votes — in what is seen as a first popularity test of the over year-old PDP-BJP government in the state.

Mehbooba Mufti polled 17,701 votes while her closest rival Hi-

lal Ahmad Shah of the Congress managed just 5,616 of the over 28,500 polled on June 22, an of-ficial of the election commission said here.

Low turnoutNational Conference’s Iftikhar Hussain Misghar came a distant third with a little over 2,800 votes in the low turnout polling — 34 per cent — amid a boycott call by Kashmiri separatists and mili-tants. In Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home

Minister Rajnath Singh congrat-ulated Mehbooba Mufti on her electoral victory. Modi termed it a “phenomenal victory”.

The decisive victory margin for the first woman Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir is seen as a public endorsement of her Peo-ples Democratic Party’s (PDP) de-cision to continue its alliance with the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Her rivals in the National Con-ference and the Congress had made Mehbooba Mufti’s decision

to continue the alliance with BJP a hallmark of their electoral cam-paign in Anantnag.

The by-election was necessi-tated because of the death of her father, then chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. The late chief minister represented the seat in the assembly that has an effective strength of 87.

Mehbooba Mufti’s victory mar-gin is double that of her father. In 2014, Sayeed won the assembly seat defeating Congress’ Shah by a margin of 6,000 votes. But the vot-er turnout then was 40 per cent.

“She has won people’s endorse-ment for the vision of Mufti Mu-hammad Sayeed,” a senior PDP minister said.

Opposition candidates alleged that the chief minister “engi-neered” her victory by using the government machinery in her fa-vour. The Congress’ Shah alleged discrepancies in some Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) as they were “not sealed properly” and that postal ballots were counted as “bogus votes”.

“They have changed the voting machines. This is a murder of de-mocracy. The election observers acted as dead wood,” Shah said.

Congress and National Con-ference supporters earlier cre-ated a ruckus inside the counting

hall, Government Degree College, Anantnag, by shouting anti-gov-ernment slogans that briefly dis-rupted the vote count.

As election officials refused to entertain the protests, the op-position supporters led by Shah walked out and refused to be part of the counting. The PDP has termed the protest as a frustration over defeat. PDP legislator Abdul Raheem Rather said that the Con-gress had lost from “places where they had a good support”.

“This is expected from them,” Rather said, refuting the allega-tions of bogus votes.

Eight candidates contested from the constituency that has over 84,000 eligible voters.

Sayeed passed away in New Delhi on January 7 after a brief illness. Mehbooba Mufti assumed power after being sworn in as the chief minister of the PDP-BJP coalition government on April 4.

It is mandatory for a chief min-ister or any other minister in the state to become a member of ei-ther house of the state’s bicameral legislature within six months of being sworn in. Mehbooba Mufti represents the south Kashmir Anantnag Lok Sabha constitu-ency in parliament. She will now give up the Lok Sabha seat with her election as legislator. - IANS

The decisive victory

margin for Chief

Minister Mehbooba

Mufti is seen as a

public endorsement

of her Peoples

Democratic Party’s

(PDP) decision to

continue its alliance

with the BJP

Su-30 flies with BrahMos missile for first timeNASHIK: For the first time, a Sukhoi fighter jet flew with the su-personic BrahMos missile, moving it closer to trials for launching the missiles from the air.

The demonstration flight, car-ried out at the Hindustan Aero-nautics Ltd (HAL) here, involved carriage of BrahMos missile on the Su-30MKI fighter.

BrahMos Aerospace is a joint venture between India’s Defence Research and Development Or-ganisation (DRDO) and Russia’s Federal State Unitary Enterprise NPO Mashinostroyenia (NPOM).

This is the first time the BrahMos missile was “married” to a fighter jet.

IAF’s fight test crew Wing Com-mander Prashant Nair and Wing Commander M.S. Raju flew the BrahMos carrying fighter for 45 minutes under a cloudy sky.

“With today’s successful flight, the BrahMos air version pro-gramme now inches closer to-wards actual test firing when a 2.5-ton BrahMos air-to-ground missile will be fired from the Suk-hoi-30 in the coming months,” a BrahMos official said. Chief man-aging director HAL, T. Suvarna Raju and CEO and MD BrahMos Aerospace Sudhir Kumar Mishra were present at the trial. - IANS

D E M O N S T R A T I O N F L I G H T

ELATED: Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti,

right, talks with newsmen after she won Anantnag bypoll election,

at Womens College MA Road in Srinagar on Saturday. - PTI

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Indian economy radically liberalisedDr S. Yerrabati

Putting aside security implications of allow-ing foreign investors into crucial sectors, the Government of India has announced

one of the biggest reform push, allowing 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in most sectors of the economy.

Triggering the Indian stock markets, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has an-nounced its intention to radically liberalise norms in single brand retail, airports, civil aviation, food products, pharmaceuticals and animal husbandry sectors. While the announcement about the FDI policy was very stimulating, especially in the wake of the exit of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Chief Dr Raghuram Rajan, the easing up on the FDI pol-icy is likely to provide new avenues for business and employment opportunities. The move is also expected to benefit much awaited foreign compa-nies, such as Apple, IKEA and a few more in the civil aviation and defence sectors.

While the Modi government’s major reforms have the potential to bring about an incredible transformation in the Indian economy, enthusi-asm for FDI has to be tempered with caution and paramount attention must be paid to its effect on domestic investment. While economic theory gives some guidance on what to expect from FDI, empirical studies present unsettled views on the relationship between FDI and domestic invest-ment. It will be therefore interesting to see how lo-cal investors perceive and actually respond to this move over time. In the long run, we have to see if the domestic firms will be able to sustain the pressure generated by FDI. On the one hand, an increase in FDI can have a positive spill-over effect and lead to higher amounts of domestic investment.

This is termed as the ‘crowding in’ effect. Let us take a hypothetical example to understand this scenario. Let us imagine that we welcome a new foreign friend to our family, hoping that the new foreign friend will help the family prosper.

So our foreign friend arrives and of course, in the long run, we would expect our friend to sup-port the existing members of the family and let them grow. There are two critical aspects to note here. First, the way the remaining family mem-bers respond to or rather react to the foreign friend will be interesting to watch. Secondly, not

just their pre-arrival perception, but post-arrival perception will also matter.

On the other hand, an increase in FDI has the potential to either drive down or even eliminate domestic investment. This is referred to as the ‘crowding out’ effect. Going back to our foreign friend example, crowding out is where the foreign friend drives out either few or most of the existing members of the family. In such an event, the for-eign friend is merely replacing or substituting the existing ones. If this happens, is it really essential to replace family members?

In real life, while there can be numerous reasons for this to happen, let me share a couple of them. Having access to both global and local markets, multinational firms are usually more efficient than the domestic ones. Foreign players, which enter the market, might perhaps come with more bar-gaining power. They might borrow money from the domestic market and can eventually raise the interest rates. Given these circumstances and given the fact that India has many small and in-digenous businesses, it is possible that domestic firms will perhaps struggle to compete with more efficient and technologically more superior play-ers and hence might be driven out of the market. Of course, this is just a scenario and we wish this may never happen or even if it does, we should aim to discount its impact.

Simply put, few important matters that have to be evaluated carefully are: will the foreign capi-tal flows in the form of FDI stimulate or displace Indian domestic capital? To what extent will FDI crowd out Indian domestic investment and the projects that were previously planned? What will be the effect of FDI on the productivity of domestic firms and through what channels? Will the domes-tic investors adopt similar production technolo-gies as those used by foreign investors or produce different products to avoid direct competition?

Should the new policy changes not bring the expected gains, not only will India lose its control to build domestic expertise, but the benefits of the policy, in the long run, can seriously be challenged. I believe and hope that through appropriate and timely policy changes, the Modi government is able to successfully steer the economy in such a way that it utilise the full benefits of the new FDI policy, but not at the cost of domestic investors. - Exclusive to Times of OmanShorter holidays is good for economy

This refers to the report Do we need a three-day Eid holiday in Oman? (June 25). Good question to ask about restricting the holidays, especially in this time of austerity. In order to keep

everyone stay in, it is always better a shorter holiday attached to the weekend. Celebrations like Eid attract people from other countries in the region to Oman and this adds up creating more colourful oc-casions for both Omanis and expatriates when shorter term of holiday is planned.Having shorter holidays prompt people to stay within the country and it helps boost the economy as well as retailers and holidays spots to make their best in offe-ring the services. A short holiday, after a month’s Ramadan work timing, can also support companies and organisations to quickly revert back to its routine and employees are expected to be refreshed to take over their responsibilities. At the same time, Oman had already fine-tuned its holiday plans from a longer five days plus two weekends adding up a nine days

break to a shorter version in the recent past. From the commer-cial point of view having a shorter holiday is always to consider as a preferred choice. — Ramachandran Nair, Ruwi

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Sultanate to host AGCC investment forumMUSCAT: The Sultanate is hosting an international forum to promote a selection of investment projects for the Gulf region in August. The conference will be held at Hotel Hilton Salalah on August 28 and 29, and has been arranged by the Omani Centre for Investment Promotion and Export Development (Ociped) and the Bahrain-based Gulf Organisation for Industrial Consulting (GOIC). “The forum will highlight at least 14 industrial projects which Oman and its neighbouring countries have already expressed notable interest in establishing,” said an Ociped spokesperson.

1951: The Soviet Union proposes a cease-fire in the Korean War.

1961: A Kuwaiti vote opposes Iraq’s annexation plans.

1975: Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is convicted of election fraud.

1993: Roy Campanella, legendary catcher for the Negro Leagues and the Los Angeles Dodgers, dies.

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Britain isn’t the only country which held a referendum this

month. On June 5, Swiss voters overwhelmingly rejected, by 77 per cent to 23 per cent, the proposition

that every citizen should be guaranteed an unconditional basic

income (UBI). But that lopsided outcome doesn’t mean the issue is

going away anytime soon

ROBERT SKIDELSKY

It is said there are no permanent friends in politics, just interests.

The same is true of many bilaterals spawning international geo-politics.

US-Pakistan ties have always had this definitive element no matter

how much spin has been imparted about enduring strategic interests

over decades.

KAMRAN REHMAT

Thursday night is said to have been momentous for those who

campaigned to leave the European Union and turn Britain’s back on

the twenty-first century. On that, at least, I can agree. As Cicero wrote:

“O wretched and unhappy was that day.” The decision to leave the EU will dominate British national life for the next decade, if not longer.

CHRIS PATTEN

F R O M O U R A R C H I V E S

T O D A Y I N H I S T O R Y

Amid heavy rain in Salalah the Ministry of Transport and Communication has confirmed that rainwater breached Salalah Airport.

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PAKISTANS U N DAY, J U N E 2 6, 2 0 1 6

Islamabad becomes full member of Shanghai organisation

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan became a full member of Shanghai Coop-eration Organisation (SCO) after signing Memorandum of Obliga-tions (MoOs), on Friday.

The memorandum was signed by Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sar-taj Aziz at SCO’s Heads of State Summit at Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Radio Pakistan reported.

The document was jointly signed by the Foreign Ministers of Six SCO member states, Secretary General SCO and the Adviser on Foreign Affairs.

“Pakistan has been an observer at SCO since 2005. It has been a regular participant in the meet-ings of SCO and was the first SCO observer to apply for full member-ship in 2010,” a statement issued by Pakistan’s Foreign Office said.

Pakistan’s request for member-ship was approved in principle at the SCO heads of state summit in Ufa, Russia last July.

The SCO Heads of State Coun-cil had ‘agreed to launch the pro-cedure’ of accepting Pakistan as a member state of SCO.

India also signed the SCO mem-orandum of obligations on Friday, commencing the process of its membership into the organisation.

Kazakhstan meet“We expect that our partners will be able to accede as quickly as possible, by our next meeting in Kazakhstan” next year, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said af-ter Pakistan and India signed the memorandums on joining, the Kremlin website said.

He added that it was time to ‘work closely’ on ensuring Paki-stan and India are integrated into the organisation’s cooperation mechanisms, which include regu-lar meetings between member states’ foreign ministers and heads of government.

Putin told Chinese state news agency Xinhua ahead of the sum-mit that the accession of Pakistan and India would increase SCO’s “relevance, both in the region and worldwide.”

Uzbek president Islam Karim sid that the accession negotiations for Pakistan and India had been ‘difficult’ but that organisation members had managed to reach a compromise. - Express Tribune

M E M B E R S T A T E Britain’s EU exit to affect Pakistan’s textile exports

KARACHI: In another sign that Pakistan’s exports will continue to tumble, some analysts as well as stakeholders are fretting over UK’s decision to exit the Euro-pean Union, saying that the devel-opment is more negative than it is neutral for the economy.

Pakistan’s stock market tum-bled over 1,400 points in the after-math of UK’s historical referen-dum, with textile and auto sectors bearing the brunt of the decision.

The plunge came amid expecta-tions that Pakistan’s exports, ma-jority of which are textile-related, will plummet to the European Union (EU) after UK exits the 28-nation trading bloc.

However, at a time when world’s markets are reeling with uncertainty, some analysts say the negative impact emanating from Brexit will be comparatively less for Pakistan’s economy as it is rel-atively insulated from global mar-kets. The reason is that Pakistan’s exports are only 7 per cent of the country’s total Gross Domestic product (GDP).

However, since the EU is the largest trading partner of Paki-stan, exporters are concerned that political uncertainty in Eu-rope, depreciation of the euro and the pound sterling may slow down their exports even further in the coming months. A weaker euro and pound sterling makes Pakistan’s exports relatively ex-pensive, causing demand to drop, while a slowdown in foreign econ-

omies is also likely to result in de-clining imports.

TextilesMeanwhile, the Pakistani textile community is looking to pause, take a deep breath before jumping on conclusions for the long term.

“I don’t know what to say at this moment, pound sterling and the euro have taken a big hit and this will certainly hurt my exports in the short term as well as long term,” said Multinational Export chief executive officer M. Babar Khan, whose company exports most of its knitwear to the EU.

Khan, who has two textile facto-ries in Karachi, said that a lot will depend up on how the UK and Pa-kistan negotiate over duties once the UK leaves the EU.

The EU awarded the General-ised System of Preferences (GSP) Plus status to Pakistan in Decem-ber 2013 for the next 10 years, which has already helped the country in adding over $1 billion per year in its exports since Janu-

ary 2014. Exporters are worried whether Pakistan will receive the same benefits once Britain exits the EU.

However, since Pakistan has good political relations with the UK and the country also support-ed Pakistan’s case within the EU in gaining GSP Plus status, some exporters believe Pakistan will succeed in getting the same duty concessions from the UK.

The textile sector will be af-fected as a weaker pound sterling and the euro (down 2.3 per cent in a single day) will render Pakistan’s exports more expensive, Topline Securities reported on Friday.

Out of total Pakistan’s textile exports of $11.6 billion during the first 11 months (Jul-May) of cur-rent fiscal year 2015-16, textile exports’ share to the UK was $1.2 billion (10 per cent).

Over 10 per cent of Pakistan’s total exports to the EU come from its leather sector. There are some concerns of slowdown in the EU markets, but there is no panic.

“We have some concerns be-cause we believe political upheav-al in Europe may hit Pakistan’s leather exports in the EU. But it may not be that severe because there is already a slowdown in EU’s leading markets,” Paki-stan Tanners Association (PTA) Chairman Gulzar Feroz told said.

“Now that Pakistan will have to negotiate duty concessions with the UK, we would urge the UK authorities to consider Pakistan’s interests and allow it to export its products comparable to the GSP Plus arrangements,” said Feroz.

AutoThe Brexit resulted in global mar-kets coming crashing down with pound sterling and the euro taking a massive hit. On the other hand, safe havens like the yen and gold appreciated significantly. The ap-preciated yen was trading at 101.9 against the dollar, up by 3 per cent as of yesterday.

The yen also appreciated about 3 per cent against the Pakistan

rupee on Friday.“This will be negative for lo-

cal auto sector as portion of their costs are denominated in the yen,” according to the Topline Secu-rities report. Invest & Finance Securities chief executive officer CEO Muzammil Aslam comment-ed that Pakistan will face some impact of the Brexit in terms of imports and exports.

“There is uncertainty every-where and this is expected to continue. The very fact that the pound sterling and the euro are depreciating is enough to know that Pakistani exports to the UK and the EU will take a hit in com-ing months,” he added.

The price of the precious metal increased 3 per cent overnight in the local market. - Express Tribune

Since the EU is

the largest trading

partner of Pakistan,

exporters are

concerned that

political uncertainty

in Europe,

depreciation of euro

and pound may slow

down their exports

Increased taxes on beverages, mobile phones come into forceISLAMABAD: The agriculture relief package and increase in taxes on mobile phones, bever-ages and cement were scheduled to come into effect on Saturday as acting President Mian Raza Rab-bani has given his assent to the budget for the new fiscal year.

“The president is pleased to grant assent to the Finance Act 2016,” said the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Friday. Except for certain provisions, the new tax laws would come into effect from July 1, it added.

The important measures that will be taken from the new fiscal year include powers to open up to 10-year-old accounts of companies and individuals, linking the tax-free cash withdrawal and banking transactions of Rs50,000 with a single CNIC, increase in tax rates on insurance business and with-drawal of group tax relief facility.

The FBR said according to the Finance Act 2016 certain provi-sions would come into force from the next day following the assent of the President.

Tax on pesticidesThe sales tax on pesticides and their active ingredients will be abolished compared to earlier 7 per cent tax. Similarly, locally manufactured and imported agri-culture tractors that were subject to 10 per cent sales tax will now be taxed at the rate of 5 per cent.

The FBR said the sales tax on urea fertiliser had been reduced to 5 per cent from the standard 17 per cent. The tax reduction along with subsidy will bring down urea prices by Rs390 per 50kg bag.

However, the federal govern-ment has given its share of sub-

sidy in the shape of reduction in sales tax. It will not provide cash, unlike provinces that will give a cash subsidy.

The manufacturers will also take a hit of Rs50 on their profit, which many believe are charging far higher prices from farmers than the prevailing internation-al prices.In his budget windup speech, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had announced that the ag-riculture relief package would come into force before the start of July in order to facilitate the farmers in purchasing inputs be-fore Eid holidays.

The government’s decision to immediately implement the agri-culture package will also thwart plans of the fertiliser manufactur-ers, who had started misusing the opportunity.

Some of the manufacturers

were getting draft orders from the fertiliser dealers at prevailing prices and would supply the prod-uct in July. Thus, the stock they were selling at 17 per cent sales tax would be shown to the govern-ment as supplied at 5 per cent tax.

This will reduce intended ben-efits for the farmers besides ad-versely affecting government’s revenues. Some of the leading manufacturers were involved in this game, said sources in the FBR.

Sales tax on sugarThese companies were sending cargoes directly from the factory to the dealers and the in charge of warehouse was giving an informal invoice. In the accounts of compa-nies, the containers were shown in transit.

The FBR has also enforced 8 per cent sales tax on sugar from

Saturday. Until Friday, the gov-ernment was charging 8 per cent federal excise duty on sugar, which has now been replaced with 8 per cent sales tax.

More revenueThe move will increase revenue collection and slightly push up prices of the commodity, as sales tax is charged by including all inci-dences and taxes in the base price.

The government has also in-creased sales tax on mobile phones with effect from Satur-day. The tax on category-B mobile has been doubled to Rs1,000 per phone and it has been increased to Rs1,500 per set for high-end smartphones, up from Rs1,000.

Similarly, federal excise duty on aerated waters and beverages has been increased from 10.5 per cent to 11.5 per cent. - Express Tribune

N E W F I S C A L Y E A R

New kidney, liver centre on the cardsFAISALABAD: “An amount of Rs4 billion has been allocated for the establishment of a new kid-ney and liver centre in Faisalabad. This decision is in line with the government’s policy to provide comprehensive health cover to the citizens,” Provincial Assembly Member (MPA) Madiha Rana said.

She was addressing an Eid gifts distribution ceremony at the Fais-alabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI). Gifts were pre-sented to orphans at the ceremony. Thanking the Rehman Foundation for providing free dialysis facilities to the poor, she said more non gov-ernment organiations (NGOs) in Faisalabad should step up to pro-vide health and education.

She also thanked Khalid Pervaiz Sheikh of Anjuman-i-Islamia for managing the orphanage and pro-viding lodging, education, sports and co-curricular facilities to the children. The minister con-demned the killing of Amjad Sabri. “A great man was taken away from us. Such acts of terror are attempts to demoralise the nation that it is fighting extremism.”

Earlier, FCCI president Chaud-hary Muhammad Nawaz said his responsibility was limited to re-solving problems confronted by the business community. Howev-er, he said he had personally fixed two high priority areas for himself – health and education. He said he was proud of his collaboration with various NGOs in this regard.

He also presented a cheque for Rs96,000 to Rehman Founda-tion and said that more donations would be arranged for the NGO. Pervaiz Khalid Sheikh of Apna Ghar also addressed the function. He said the Anjuman-i-Islamia had been providing social ser-vices to inhabitants of the city for

nearly a century.“Last year, we gave out small

loans amounting to Rs20 million to 564 families of Guru nanakpu-ra,” he said. He said he had adopted 100 schools under a scheme an-nounced by the chief minister. “These neglected public sector schools did not have teachers and lacked basic facilities,” he said.

“As many as 6,000 students of a primary girls school did not have uniforms, but we managed to raise funds to provide for them.”

Waqar Ahmed Niaz of the Reh-man Foundation also briefed the participants. —Express Tribune

F A I S A L A B A D

SLOWDOWN: The Pakistani textile community is looking to pause, take a deep breath before jumping on conclusions for the long term.

Pakistan’s exports are only 7 per cent of the country’s total Gross Domestic product. – Bloomberg News

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

HIGH TAXES: Federal excise duty on aerated waters and beverages has been increased from 10.5 per

cent to 11.5 per cent. The tax on category-B mobile has been doubled to Rs1,000 per phone and it has

been increased to Rs1,500 per set for high-end smartphones, up from Rs1,000. – Bloomberg news

Rs4 billion has been

allocated for the

establishment of a

new kidney and liver

centre in Faisalabad.

This decision is in line

with the government’s

policy to provide

comprehensive health

cover to the citizens

Madiha Rana Member, Provincial Assembly

A14

GLOBAL EYES U N DAY, J U N E 2 6, 2 0 1 6

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AUSTRALIA: A group of kayakers, including members of Australia’s Pacific islander community, hold up letters spelling out ‘Stand up for the Pacific’ after they paddled to a tiny beach outside Australia’s Prime

Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s Point Piper mansion (not in picture) in Sydney, on Saturday, protesting against what they say is government inaction on global warming. Among protesters were members of the

Tokelau community, some dressed in woven skirts, who sang about the ocean around their homeland which is at risk of disappearing under the waves if climate change continues unabated. – AFP

FRENCH POLYNESIA: From left, Miss Heiva Mehealani Tepou, second placed Vaita Buisson, Miss

Tahiti 2016 Vaea Ferrand and third placed Vanille Guyot-Sionnest smiles during the Miss Tahiti 2016

beauty contest on Saturday in at the city hall of Papeete, French Polynesia. – AFP

SPAIN: A horse rears up in the crowd during the traditional San Juan (Saint John) festival in the town of Ciutadella, on the Balearic Island

of Menorca on the eve of San Juan day. During the island’s San Juan festival, held each year on June 23 and 24, Minorcan race horses

gallop and prance on their hind legs through the streets of Ciutadella to honour of the town’s patron saint. As the ‘caixers’ (horse riders)

ride together in a parade, spectators attempt to pat the horses’ chests to get good luck. – AFP

ITALY: People walk on the installation ‘The Floating Piers’ by Bul-

garian-born artist Christo Vladimirov Yavachev, known as Christo,

on the Lake Iseo, northern Italy, on Friday. - Reuters

UNITED STATES: Icky, owned by Jon Adler, is shown during the World’s Ugliest Dog Competition in

Petaluma, California in United States on Friday. – AFP

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China, Taiwan ties in meltdown as tensions rise

BEIJING: The Chinese gov-ernment said on Saturday it had stopped a communication mechanism with Taiwan be-cause of the refusal of the self-ruled island’s new government to recognise the “one China” principle, in the latest show of tension between the two.

China, which regards Taiwan as wayward province, is deeply suspicious of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, who took office last month, as they suspect she will push for formal independ-ence. Tsai, who heads the pro-independence Democratic Pro-gressive Party, says she wants to maintain the status quo with China and is committed to ensur-ing peace. But China has insisted she recognise something called

the “1992 consensus” reached between China’s Communists and Taiwan’s then-ruling Nation-alists, under which both agreed there is only one China, with each having their own interpretation of what that means.

In a brief statement carried by the official Xinhua news agency, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said that since May 20, when Tsai took office, Taiwan has not affirmed this consensus. “Because the Tai-wan side has not acknowledged the 1992 consensus, this joint po-litical basis for showing the one China principle, the cross Tai-wan Strait contact and commu-nication mechanism has already stopped,” spokesman An Feng-shan said. The announcement came as Taiwan expressed anger at Cambodia’s deportation of 25 Taiwanese nationals wanted on fraud charges to China on Friday, ignoring attempts by Taiwanese officials to have them returned to the island. Taipei has accused Beijing of kidnapping when other countries such as Kenya and Ma-laysia have deported Taiwanese

to China, also in fraud cases.Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs

Council said on Friday it had expressed its concerns to the Taiwan Affairs Office about the Cambodia case using the commu-nication system. In a statement on Saturday, the council said both sides of the Taiwan Strait had a responsibility to maintain peace and stability.

“The government will con-tinue to keep open the door to communication and dialogue,” it said. The regular communication mechanism had been ushered in following a rapid improvement of ties under the rule of Taiwan’s then-president Ma Ying-jeou, who took office in 2008 and signed a series of landmark trade and tourism deals with China.

Tsai is currently on her first trip overseas as president, visit-ing diplomatic allies Panama and Paraguay, with transit stops both ways in the United States. De-feated Nationalist forces fled to Taiwan after a civil war with the Communists in 1949, which has never formally ended. — Reuters

China has insisted

Taiwan President

Tsai Ing-wen

recognise something

called the ‘1992

consensus’ reached

between China’s

Communists and

Taiwan’s then-ruling

Nationalists, under

which both agreed

there is only one

China

FRAUDSTERS: Taiwan’s and China’s suspects are surrounded

by China police SWAT team and Cambodia police before being

deported at the International Airport of Phnom Penh, on Friday.

— Reuters

28 detained over Gulen linksISTANBUL: Turkish police de-tained 28 people on Saturday over allegations of funding the move-ment of US-based cleric Fethul-lah Gulen, a foe of President Tayy-ip Erdogan, the privately-owned Dogan News Agency reported.

The investigation included the head of a prominent business confederation TUSKON and fi-

nancial police were searching for 23 other people in Istanbul and s provinces of Konya, Kayseri and Mugla, it said. Police was not im-mediately available for comment.The raids were the latest po-lice operations targeting thou-sands of supporters of the cleric, accused of leading what authorities describe as a “Gu-

lenist Terror Group” trying to overthrow Erdogan. Gulen de-nies the accusations.

Thousands of police officers, prosecutors and judges were sacked or reassigned for alleged links to the cleric while several media outlets with ties to Gulen have been seized or shut down.— Reuters

T U R K E Y

10 killed in Shabaab attackMOGADISHU: Somalia’s Al Shabaab extremist group launched a suicide bomb attack on a hotel in the centre of Mogadishu on Satur-day before fighters stormed inside, police and the militant group said.

Police said at least seven peo-ple had died and 10 others were wounded. Gunfire echoed round the seaside city after the blast and

ambulances raced to the scene.“We attacked the hotel which

was frequented by the apostate government members,” al Shabaab military operations spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab told Reuters, adding that the group’s fighters were inside the building.

Al Shabaab frequently carries out attacks in the capital in its

bid to topple the Western-backed government.

“Those who died included civil-ians and hotel guards,” police ma-jor Ali Hassan said. “We have res-cued many people from the back door. No one can enter the building from the front or near the front. There are snipers there,” he said as fighting continued. — Reuters

S O M A L I C A P I T A L

Debris found in Tanzania may be of MH370 KUALA LUMPUR: A new piece of debris found in Tanzania will be examined for a possible link to the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, Malaysian state news agency Bernama cited the country’s transport minister as saying on Saturday.

“This debris is quite large... only if it is confirmed to be that of Boeing 777 will we send an investigation team there to study whether it really belonged to MH370 or not,” Malaysian transport minister Liow Tiong Lai was quoted as saying.

MadagascarLiow said recent discoveries of bags and other personal items found in Madagascar were not connected to MH370.

Flight MH370 disappeared in March 2014 with 239 passen-gers and crew on board shortly after taking off from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing.

Deliberately switched offInvestigators believe some-one may have deliberately switched off the plane’s tran-sponder before diverting it thousands of miles off course over the Indian Ocean.

A piece of the plane washed up on the French island of Re-union in July 2015. — Reuters

P R O B E

LONDON/BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel sought on Saturday to temper pressure from Paris, Brussels and her own government to force Britain into negotiating a quick divorce from the EU, despite warnings that hesitation will let populism take hold.

Eurosceptics in other member states applauded Britons’ deci-sion to leave the European Union in a referendum that sent shock-waves around the world, with far-right demands for a similar vote in Slovakia underlining the risk of a domino effect. With the ref-erendum decision finally made on Thursday and Prime Minister Da-vid Cameron having announced his resignation, European politi-cians and institutions felt free to shower demands on Britain over its future outside the world’s largest trading bloc.

The European Central Bank said Britain’s financial industry, which employs 2.2 million peo-ple, would lose the right to serve clients in the EU unless the coun-try signed up to its single market - anathema to “leave” campaign-ers who are set to lead the next government in London.

Almost alone in continental Europe, Merkel tried to slow the rush to get Britain out of the EU door.

Europe’s most powerful leader made clear she would not press Cameron after he indicated Brit-ain would not seek formal exit ne-gotiations until October at least.

“Quite honestly, it should not take ages, that is true, but I would not fight now for a short time frame,” Merkel told a news conference.

“The negotiations must take place in a businesslike, good cli-mate,” she said.”Britain will re-main a close partner, with which we are linked economically.”

Britain’s decision to leave the EU is the biggest blow since World War Two to the European project of forging greater unity.

But Merkel appeared more conciliatory than others within

her coalition government and elsewhere in Europe.

The chief executive of Britain’s “Vote Leave” campaign called for informal talks before London notifies the EU it wants to leave under the Lisbon Treaty, which provides for two years of divorce proceedings.

But German Foreign Minis-ter Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a member of Merkel’s Social Dem-ocrat coalition partners, showed a greater sense of urgency on get-ting talks going.

“This process should get un-derway as soon as possible so that we are not left in limbo but rather can concentrate on the future of Europe,” he said after hosting a meeting of his col-leagues from the six founding members of the EU - Germany,

France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault warned of the dan-gers of delay.”We have to give a new sense to Europe, otherwise populism will fill the gap,” he said.

Petition for another voteIn Britain itself, divisions wid-ened after the relatively close vote.

Almost 1.9 million Britons have signed a petition on par-liament’s website calling for a second EU referendum because Thursday’s 52-48 per cent re-sult in favour of “Brexit” was not decisive enough.

The petition will have to be discussed by lawmakers, but it has no legal force and its back-ers compare with the 17.4 million Britons who voted “leave”. — Reuters

EDINBURGH: Scotland’s de-volved government will start a drive to protect its European Un-ion membership and will prepare for a possible fresh independence vote after Britain voted to exit the bloc, First Minister Nicola Stur-geon said on Saturday.

“We are determined to act de-cisively in a way that builds unity across Scotland,” Sturgeon told reporters, adding that might in-clude a vote on Scottish secession from the United Kingdom.

Scots rejected independence in a 2014 referendum by 55-45 per cent and at the time the vote was considered a decisive verdict for a generation. Since then support for independence has not shifted sig-nificantly, according to polls.

Remain in EUOn Thursday Britain as a whole voted to leave the EU, but Scot-land voted by 62 to 38 per cent to remain.

The SNP argues that many Scots opted to remain part of the United Kingdom in 2014 because they believed that was the only way to guarantee EU member-ship. The SNP argues Thursday’s

outcome changes the case for in-dependence, and many Scots may reassess their 2014 vote.

Sturgeon on Friday said a new referendum was “highly likely”.

After meeting ministers in her devolved government on Satur-day, Sturgeon said Scotland would not allow its EU membership to be taken away without exploring all the possibilities and would seek to build broad-based support at home and abroad to maintain it.

“We will seek to enter into im-mediate discussions with the EU institutions and with other EU member states to explore all possible options to protect

Scotland’s place in the EU,” said Sturgeon, speaking outside her official residence.

She reiterated that an inde-pendence vote could be offered.

Second referendum“A second (Scottish) independ-ence referendum is clearly an option that requires to be on the table, and it is very much on the table,” she said. She would also es-tablish a panel of experts to advise the Scottish government on legal, financial and diplomatic matters concerning EU membership.

Any new vote should be decided by “clear public appetite”, but the

independence option should be there, said a spokesman for the Scottish Greens, the kingmaker for Sturgeon’s SNP.

Her party is two seats shy of a ma-jority in the devolved parliament.

“It is too soon to say whether and when a further referendum on Scottish independence will take place, but in the wake of the EU referendum result few people will doubt that it must be on the table,” a spokesman for the party told Reuters.

Wille Rennie, leader of Scot-land’s pro-EU Liberal Democrats said in a statement he had com-mitted his party to backing Stur-geon’s EU negotiation process, but had received a guarantee this was not a ruse for a new inde-pendence drive.

Splitting Scotland from the UK would end three centuries of shared history, upending another successful economic relation-ship shortly after the now-im-pending divorce between Britain and the EU. — Reuters

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Scotland keeps plans to secede from UK openThe SNP argues that

many Scots opted

to remain part of

the United Kingdom

in 2014 because

they believed that

was the only way

to guarantee EU

membership

CRISIS OVER EU MEMBERSHIP: Scotland’s First Minister and Leader of the Scottish National Party,

Nicola Sturgeon, fifth left, chairs an emergency Cabinet meeting at Bute House in Edinburgh, Scot-

land on Saturday, following the pro-Brexit result of the UK’s EU referendum vote. — AFP/POOL/Jane Barlow

Britain’s European

Union commissioner

Jonathan Hill resigns

BRUSSELS: The British mem-ber of the EU executive, Financial Services Commissioner Jonathan Hill, resigned on Saturday after having campaigned against Brit-ain leaving the European Union.

Following the referendum vote for Brexit on Thursday, few ex-pected a Briton to retain oversight of the EU banking and finance market that will be a key battle-ground in negotiations between London and Brussels on dissolving British membership.

European Commission Presi-dent Jean-Claude Juncker said he was handing the portfolio to Valdis Dombrovskis, who will take it into his brief as vice president for the euro from July 16.

An EU official said the move made it clear that plans for an EU capital markets union would now focus on the euro zone after Hill had worked to ensure new EU rules would not disadvantage Lon-don’s huge finance industry based outside the currency area.

“It’s clear there will be a less clear division between the capital markets union and the euro zone,” the official said.

London-based banks and other financial firms are concerned about access to the EU once Brit-ain leaves the single market.

Hill said in a statement a day after British voters backed Brexit in a referendum called by Prime Minister David Cameron: “I don’t believe it is right that I should car-ry on as the British commissioner as though nothing had happened.”

Financial stabilityDombrovskis, who as prime min-ister took Latvia into the euro, and whose current role already oversees Hill’s portfolio, said his priority was to maintain financial stability in markets.

Cameron, who will be replaced once his Conservative party elects a new leader, will leave it to his successor to discuss what to do with Britain’s seat on the Commis-

sion, a British spokesperson said. It retains the right to a seat, along with the 27 other EU states, until it finally leaves the Union.

Hill, 54, a lobbyist and former Conservative leader in the upper house of parliament who has be-come a popular figure among EU colleagues in 18 months in Brus-sels, was described by Juncker as a “true European” whom he had tried to persuade to stay on.

Hill, a close ally of Cameron, said: “I came to Brussels as some-one who had campaigned against Britain joining the euro and who was sceptical about Europe. I will leave it certain that, despite its frustrations, our membership was good for our place in the world and good for our economy.” — Reuters

F I N A N C I A L C H I E F O F E U

I don’t believe it is right that I should carry on as the British commissioner as though nothing had happened

Jonathan HillBritish member of the EU executive

Merkel against calls to force Britain out of bloc quickly

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

END GAME: (Left to right) Luxembourg’s Foreign minister Jean

Asselborn, Italy’s Foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni, Germany’s

Foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Belgium’s Foreign

minister Didier Reynders, France’s Foreign minister Jean-Marc

Ayrault and Netherlands’ Foreign minister Bert Koenders address

a press conference after talks at the Villa Borsig in Berlin on

Saturday. — AFP

MARKEWWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COMS U N DAY, J U N E 2 6, 2 0 1 6B

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Commercial banks assets rise by 7.7%

MUSCAT: The total assets of conventional commercial banks increased by 7.7 per cent to OMR28.6 billion in April 2016 from OMR26.5 billion a year ago. Of the total assets, credit dis-bursement accounted for 67.2 per cent and increased by 9.4 per cent at the of end April 2016 to OMR19.2 billion, according to sta-tistics issued by the Central Bank of Oman (CBO).

Credit to the private sector in-creased by 12.1 per cent to reach OMR16.9 billion as at the end of April 2016. Conventional banks’ overall investments in securities stood at OMR2.7 billion as at the end of April 2016.

Investment in Government Development Bonds and Govern-

ment Sukuk increased by 37.7 per cent over the year to OMR923.1 million at the end of April 2016. Banks also invested OMR368.6 million in Government Treasury Bills as at the end of April 2016.

Commercial banks’ invest-ments in foreign securities stood at OMR853.1 million in April 2016, registering an increase of 61.3 per cent over the year. Ag-gregate deposits held with con-ventional banks registered a modest increase of 2.8 per cent to OMR18.3 billion in April 2016 from OMR17.8 billion a year ago.

Government depositsGovernment deposits with con-ventional banks declined by 8.4 per cent to OMR4.7 billion. Depos-its of public enterprises increased by 45.9 per cent to OMR1.2 billion during the same period.

Private sector deposits, which constituted 66 per cent of to-tal deposits with conventional banks, increased by 4.7 per cent

to OMR12.1 billion in April 2016 from OMR11.5 billion a year ago. The core capital and reserves of conventional banks stood at OMR3.7 billion as at the end of the April 2016, a rise of 17.7 per cent over the previous year.

Islamic banking entities pro-vided financing to the extent of OMR1.95 billion as at the end of April 2016 when compared to OMR1.3 billion a year ago.

Total deposits held with Is-lamic banks and windows also registered a significant increase to OMR1.72 billion in April 2016 from OMR0.8 billion outstanding as at the end of April 2015. The total assets of Islamic banks and windows combined, amounted to OMR2.5 billion at the end of April 2016 which constituted about 8.3 per cent of the banking system assets.

The combined balance sheet of conventional and Islamic banks (other depository corporations) taken together, provides a com-

plete overview of the financial intermediation taking place in the banking system in Oman. The to-tal outstanding credit extended by the other depository corporations stood at OMR21.1 billion as at the end of April 2016, a rise of 12.4 per cent over the level witnessed a year ago. Credit to the private sector increased by 15.1 per cent to OMR18.8 billion as at the end of April 2016. Of the total credit to the private sector, the share of the household sector (mainly un-der personal loans) stood at 46 per cent, closely followed by the non-financial corporate sector at 45.8 per cent, financial corporations at 5.3 per cent and other sectors the remaining 2.9 per cent.

Total deposits also registered a significant growth of 7.4 per cent to OMR20 billion at the end of April 2016. Private sector depos-its of the banking system regis-tered a growth of 7.8 per cent to OMR13 billion at the end of April 2016. — ONA

Credit to the private

sector increased by

12.1 per cent to reach

OMR16.9 billion as at

the end of April 2016.

Conventional banks’

overall investments

in securities stood at

OMR2.7 billion as at

the end of April 2016.

Central Bank of Oman. – Times file picture

Costly divorce for UK Inc.LONDON: As executives digest the news of the UK’s vote to leave the European Union, they’re cau-tioning that business will suffer — affecting everything from beach vacations to wristwatch ads to ini-tial public offerings of stocks.

Companies exposed to the UK economy warned that the decision could slow growth and prompt them to cut their investments in

the country, and the pound and stocks plunged in response to the so-called Brexit vote.

Ryanair said airfares will rise, Swiss watchmaker H. Moser & Cie. said it’s considering reducing ad spending and people familiar with the matter said Telefonica is considering delaying plans for IPOs of two units, including UK mobile operator O2. - Bloomberg News

U K ’ S V O T E T O L E A V E E U

AIIB OFFERS FIRST LOANSAsian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB announced its first loans for projects from a slum upgrade in Indonesia to a highway in Pakistan. The loans total $509 million, a statement by the bank said on Friday. - Bloomebrg News

B2

MARKETS U N DAY, J U N E 2 6, 2 0 1 6

Is technology still

the best sector for

investment in 2016?

JESSICA FOREMAN*

When investing in stocks you would be forgiven for thinking the only certainty is uncertainty. Ana-lysing stocks against the backdrop of the global factors that affect stock values, such as economic conditions and world events — for example how chaos in the Mid-dle East can suddenly send oil prices spiralling at short notice — is an imprecise art. That said, certain categories of stocks may offer a better chance than others for a steady return on investment. Technology is likely to be a win-ner in 2016, simply because tech generally is moving on at a rapid rate, with commensurate growth for the companies involved. Care-ful decision making as to what type of tech and which companies to in-vest in is required. Research needs to be thorough; a useful source of market intelligence can be found on the IG Dubai website.

Internet of ThingsTechnology is growing at a rapid pace in this area. As devices, rang-ing from household appliances, cars, road infrastructure and in-dustrial equipment, ‘talk’ to each other, so companies involved in this field are growing. It is not nec-essarily new tech companies, how-ever. Established corporations in other fields, such as Sony, Cable and Wireless (C&W) and General Electric, are experiencing, or ex-pect to experience growth, as they are involved in supplying equip-ment. For example, Sony manu-factures sensors that are used ex-tensively to enable cars to ‘talk’ to each other, the driver, roads and building infrastructure.

The CloudThis is well established for provid-ing third party data storage and is a tech area likely to enjoy contin-ued growth, as demand for storage grows with the increasing amount

of data being generated. Here, tech giants, such as Google and Micro-soft, have a strong presence. In-deed, this is an area of great ben-efit to Microsoftwith their Azure platform, since their core software business is actually declining, in terms of turnover.

Artificial IntelligenceThis is concerned with develop-ments in computers and other tech ‘talking’ to us and being able to work things out for themselves. This is an area of strong growth, and — like Microsoft— is an area where an established company in a declining tech field can ben-efit from another. IBM has ex-perienced a general decline over recent years, but its involvement with artificial intelligence, with its Watson project, is a major growth area for the blue chip organisation.

Big DataThe rise in data generation and capture is rapidly accelerating, and it is mainly newer software companies that are providing the means for all this data to be ana-lysed and processed. Here, some careful analysis is required before investing, as many of these compa-nies are experiencing huge growth, but are investing heavily in their businesses, so profits are presently less easy to find.

Old and new techTech household names provide a mixed bag of investment potential. With Google and Microsoft be-coming involved in newer growth developments, such as the Cloud, they could provide a safe pair of hands, investment-wise, as they carefully diversify to embrace ‘new tech’. The same could be said of IBM, concerning its involve-ment in artificial intelligence.

New tech is a potentially high growth and exciting field to invest in, but care needs to be taken inex-actly choosing its whereabouts.

M A R K E T I N T E L L I G E N C E US investors eye low rates, earnings data

NEW YORK: With markets reel-ing after Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, some on Wall Street expect cooler heads to pre-vail over the next several sessions as investors focus domestically on the outlook for the US economy and company earnings.

The unexpected decision by Britons to break away from the world’s biggest trade bloc raised the specter of a slower global economy and sent stocks and currencies plunging by historic amounts on Friday.

Friday’s 3.6 per cent slump erased the S&P 500’s gains for 2016. But even as the index suf-fered its worst one-day drop in 10 months, some US investors looked for reasons to expect more upbeat trading next week.

They pointed to expectations that US interest rates would re-main low, that upcoming reports

would show US corporate earn-ings had recently improved and that Britain’s breakup with the EU would be gradual, and not econo-my-wrecking.

“I don’t think this is a catalyst that’s going to cause a bear mar-ket in this country at all. People should not be going ‘the world is coming to an end.’ It’s not,” said Ken Polcari, director of the NYSE floor division at O’Neil Securities in New York.

US companies do stand to lose from Britain’s divorce from the EU, a process expected to take two years to negotiate.

Britain was the fifth-largest buyer of US exports last year, with $56 billion in purchases, ac-cording to US Census Bureau es-timates. A stronger dollar versus the pound and other currencies would inevitably hurt US compa-nies selling abroad.

“There’s going to be a lot of re-consideration, pausing, certain deals that were contemplated are going to change,” said Steve Mas-socca, chief investment officer at Wedbush Equity Management. “But ultimately, this is not going to have a fundamental impact on how the world goes about doing business.” Fed Chair Janet Yellen is scheduled to speak at an event in Portugal on Wednesday and in-vestors will want to know how she sees the so-called Brexit changing the outlook for the US economy and interest rates.

Traders have completely priced out any chance of a Fed rate hike this year and are even weighing the possibility of a rate cut, federal funds rate futures suggest.

“This event pretty much en-sures that unless something dramatic changes, interest rates in this country are going no-

where for the foreseeable future, and that is at the end of the day a positive scenario for the stock market,” said Ted Weisberg, a trader with Seaport Securities in New York.

On Tuesday, the US Commerce Department plans to release its final gross domestic product esti-mate for the first quarter of 2016. That and a slew of other economic data, including the Conference Board’s read on June consumer confidence, could sway investor sentiment at a time when the health of the US economy has become a more critical question for investors.

The second-quarter earnings season hits full force in mid-July. Improved earnings reports from US companies could be good news for stocks, as they would make higher share prices justifiable on a price-earnings basis. — Reuters

They pointed to

expectations that US

interest rates would

remain low, that

upcoming reports

would show US

corporate earnings

had recently

improved and that

Britain’s breakup

with the EU would

be gradual, and not

economy-wrecking.

GCC states fuel $100 billion in airport construction projectsTimes News Service

MUSCAT: With the Interna-tional Air Transport Association (IATA) projecting Middle East passengers to grow by 4.9 per cent per year to 2034, the GCC is fuel-ling $100 billion in airport expan-sion and construction projects in Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and UAE, according to Deloitte.

“As Middle East airports ex-pand, aesthetic and acoustic con-siderations are vital for growing passenger numbers, and provid-ing a high-quality traveller expe-rience, whether waiting, dining, or shopping.

Good acoustics are essential for a serene airport atmosphere, such as by reducing loudspeaker sound, and perforated ceilings to minimise the noise of people talking or walking,” said Mo-hamed Nawarah, Country Man-ager – Kingdom of Saudi Arabiaat Hunter Douglas, the international airport consultancy based in The Netherlands.

Dubai International Airport is the world’s busiest international airport, and Al Maktoum Inter-national Airport is set to have one of the world’s largest capacities at 160 million annual passengers. Abu Dhabi International Airport is set to reach 40 million pas-

sengers by 2017. Hunter Douglas has advised many of the world’s leading airports.

Brussels AirportAt Brussels Airport, the Connec-tor is an above-ground building connecting Piers A and B, which replaced a dark route through stairs, escalators, and elevators.

The Connector allows depart-ing passengers to walk straight from the check-in desk to their gate, and arriving passengers to easily walk to the baggage reclaim hall and exit.

Connector also hosts Europe’s largest screening platform with 25 lanes.

A I R P O R T S

TURBULENT TIMES: Friday’s 3.6 per cent slump erased the S&P 500’s gains for 2016. But even as

the index suffered its worst one-day drop in 10 months, some US investors looked for reasons to

expect more upbeat trading next week. — Bloomberg News

B3S U N DAY, J U N E 2 6, 2 0 1 6

MARKET

Vehicle sales in region to reach 4.4m in 2020

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Total light vehicle sales in the Middle East is es-timated to reach 4.4 million by 2020 as compared to the 2015 total of 3,2 million, according to Frost & Sullivan.

At the same time, the num-ber of vehicles in operation on the region’s roads will rise from 34.8 million in 2015 to 44.5 mil-lion in 2020.

This burgeoning growth is ex-pected to drive up demand for parts and accessories, for which sales in 2020 is expected to reach

$17.2 billion as compared to the 2015 total of $12.98 billion. This represents a projected pan-re-gional compound average growth rate 9CAGR0 of 5.9 per cent.

Surge in demandThis surge in demand is being driven by a variety of factors, chief among which are rapid ur-banisation and growing infra-structural and industrial devel-opment in the surging economies across the region.

As the automotive aftermarket in the Middle East and Africa con-tinues to post impressive growth

rates, international auto after-market players are keen to be a part of this growth by increasing their footprint across the region.

Automechanika Dubai 2016Automechanika Dubai 2016, the Middle East and Africa’s largest automotive aftermarket exhi-bition, proved to be among the most successful editions yet, with hectic business deal making and networking as well as a series of product launches being among the main features of the show.

The 14th edition of the trade and networking mega event that

draws in the who’s who of the au-tomotive industry from around the wider region and its hinter-land, featured as many as 2,017 exhibitors from 58 countries, and attracted 30,018 visitors from 119 countries. The robust participa-tion by the international trade underlines the continued high interest in the region from global automotive players, who see the region as a key driver in their fu-ture business plans.

Targeting the fast-growing re-gional markets were a majority of the world’s leading brands who showcased their innovative au-tomotive technologies across six product groups of Parts & Com-ponents; Electronics & Systems; Repair & Maintenance; Tyres & Batteries; Accessories & Tuning; and Service Station & Car Wash.

“The Middle East is now one of the world’s most significant auto-motive markets, thanks to higher income levels and a penchant for quality automobiles,” said Ahmed Pauwels, CEO of Messe Frankfurt Middle East, organiser of Auto-mechanika Dubai.

“The advantages of maintain-ing a base in the region gives com-panies the ability to better access and meet the needs of their re-gional customers,” he added.

At the same time, the

number of vehicles

in operation on

the region’s roads

will rise from 34.8

million in 2015 to

44.5 million in 2020. READY FOR THE ROAD: This surge in demand is being driven by a

variety of factors. — Supplied picture

India expected to benefit from Brexit: YES Bank CEOSINGAPORE: India could ben-efit from Brexit and delay in hike in the US interest rate over the next six months, YES Bank Chief Executive Officer Rana Kapoor has said.

“In the next 1-6 months, India could very well be a significant beneficiary of this extraordi-nary event, given Eurozone pain points, delayed hike in US inter-est rates and with India increas-ingly standing out as the must in-vest destination for strategic and financial investors. Therefore this is good news in the bad news, for India,” Kapoor said on Friday night.

Extreme volatilityWith Britain opting to repudiate its European Union membership, global markets are facing extreme volatility, noted Kapoor.

“In the very near term, there could be some adverse spillover on India through financial link-ages with rest of the world. How-ever, I expect the dust to settle down soon as our policymakers have enough ammunition to ward off unwarranted volatility,” he said, echoing views of the Indian business community.

Despite regular bouts of eco-nomic, financial, and political crises globally over the last two years, India has proved its eco-

nomic mettle by boosting struc-tural and institutional factors of growth while adequately ring fencing its vulnerabilities, ob-served Kapoor.

“The Government’s persis-tence with Foreign Direct In-vestment liberalisation, passage of critical reforms like the Bank-ruptcy Bill along with the antici-pated Goods Services Tax Bill will help India,” said Kapoor, largely reflecting the Indian financial sector’s growing confidence in the government and its reforms.

is leading YES Bank’s $1 billion fund raising on the global market and its confident of winning new stakeholders for the bank and in-vestors for India.

“We believe the steadfast In-

dian market will continue to be the world’s best performer with high yields,” he said, noting that the global financial institutions lost $2.1 trillion within hours of learning British pullout of the Eu-ropean Union.

Kapoor expects the global economies to spend this weekend calculating the risk factors from Brexit, and hope for a sobering Monday (27 June 2016). “Hope-fully, all the shocks would be ab-sorbed over the weekend for the narrow vote on Brexit was not completely unexpected,” said Ka-poor who also noted the increas-ing discord within EU with more and more opposition viewing their wish to be out of more than six-decade old union. — PTI

E U R E F E R E N D U M I M P A C T

– Bloomberg file picture

‘Britain at risk of credit downgrade’LONDON: Ratings agency Moody’s said Britain’s creditwor-thiness was now at greater risk after voting to leave the European Union (EU), as the country would face substantial challenges to suc-cessfully negotiate its exit from the bloc. Moody’s assigned a nega-tive outlook to its ‘Aa1’ rating for British government debt after a Thursday referendum showed that a clear majority of Britons wanted to leave the EU, prompting Prime Minister David Cameron to an-nounce he would resign.

“During the several years in which the UK will have to rene-gotiate its trade relations with the EU, Moody’s expects heightened uncertainty, diminished confi-dence and lower spending and investment to result in weaker growth,” the agency said.

Britain’s finance ministry and central bank had warned voters the country would face a major economic hit if it left the EU af-ter more than 40 years as a mem-ber, and sterling on Friday fell to its lowest against the dollar since 1985.

Rival credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s — the only ma-jor body one to still assign Britain a top-notch triple-A grade — said before Thursday’s referendum that Britain was likely to face a down-grade if it voted to leave, and Fitch

Ratings said on Friday that the vote would be “moderately negative”.

But Moody’s was the first to take concrete action after the vote, just as it was in 2013 when it was the first to strip Britain of its ‘AAA’ credit rating due to slow growth and rising public indebtedness.

The decision to leave the EU raised questions over Britain’s hitherto high-quality economic policymaking, Moody’s said.

“Policy predictability and effec-tiveness of economic policymak-ing ... might be somewhat dimin-ished,” Moody’s said.

“The challenges for policymak-ers and officials will be substan-tial.” Protracted trade talks, slow growth or heightened pressures on sterling could all trigger a down-grade, Moody’s said.

Supporters of Britain leaving the EU have largely dismissed warnings about the economic con-sequences as scaremongering, and are confident Britain will negotiate trade deals and immigration con-trols superior to those it already has.

But Moody’s said leaving the EU was likely to leave Britain with less money to spend on public services.

“The negative effect from lower economic growth will outweigh the fiscal savings from the UK no longer having to contribute to the EU budget,” it said. — Bloomberg News

R A T I N G S A G E N C Y M O O D Y ’ S

B4

FEATURES U N DAY, J U N E 2 6, 2 0 1 6

CRACKED BULL

MARKET

The Wall Street deal-making machine that powered 2015 to one of the biggest years ever for mergers and acquisitions has slowed, and that means the pop

to stock prices that investors could count on from corporate transac-tions has been reduced. While there are still seven months left in 2016, the volume of takeovers shows few signs of picking up.

Take the knee-jerk jump in ac-quired companies on the first trading session after a takeover is announced. Those gains alone added $192 bil-lion to equity values in 2015, accord-ing to data compiled by Bloomberg. This year, single-day moves following M&A are on pace to add $70 billion — the least since 2009.

Seldom since stocks began their ascent in March 2009 has the outlook been more bleak than now. Econo-mists are cutting forecasts for global growth and the Federal Reserve is warning more interest rate increases are coming as soon as next month. Announced buybacks, the biggest source of equity demand in the seven-year bull market, dropped 38 per cent in the last four months, the number of dividend boosts is the lowest since 2009 and earnings are in free fall.

“M&A, buybacks, flows into equi-ties — they’ve been like safety nets for the market, and if something goes wrong, it’s likely to be more exag-gerated in their absence,” Thomas Melcher, the Philadelphia-based chief investment officer at PNC Asset Management Group, said by phone. “It doesn’t mean the market can’t sus-tain these levels, but it does mean it’s walking on a tightrope.”

Companies are putting on the brakes at a time when most inves-tors are nursing losses. The S&P 500 is down 3.5 per cent in 12 months and has gone a full year without setting an all-time high, a fallow period that has just two precedents in past bull mar-kets. Declines of comparable length have usually been the start of bear markets, defined by a 20 per cent re-treat in prices.

Other sources of corporate largess are slowing down. In the first quar-ter, capital spending at US compa-nies dropped by the most since 2009. That’s against the backdrop of the fourth straight quarter of declining profits and the fifth quarter of shrink-ing revenue.

Near-zero interest rates and a del-uge of so-called mega deals valued at $20 billion or above pushed merger activity to $5 trillion in 2015 — a re-cord-setting level, before a handful of terminated transactions. Scrutiny by antitrust enforcers and the US Treas-ury’s stand against corporate tax in-versions were to blame.

Deal-making remains stalled, with just over $300 billion in the first quar-ter, the least since the first quarter of 2014, according to Bloomberg data. The S&P 500 gained less than one per

cent in that period, as one of the fast-est rebounds in history erased an 11 per cent loss.

“It’s about economic, regulatory and capital market uncertainty,” said Marc Zenner, co-head of corporate fi-nance advisory at JPMorgan Chase’s investment banking unit in New York. “The high-yield market is virtu-ally shut down and the equity market is not lending itself to as many deals, so companies are not as willing to en-gage in M&A if the money is not going to be there.”

Executives are dimming the out-look for cash handouts that investors have become accustomed to through-out the bull market.

Planned buybacks fell $147 billion from a year ago last quarter and the number of firms cutting dividends rose to a seven-year high.

While determining the direct price impact of a drop in M&A activity isn’t a precise science, measuring the jump in target companies’ shares when a deal is announced is useful as a rough gauge of how stock prices are aided by deals in the aggregate.

At this time last year, the one-day share price moves of US-listed target companies in deals of any size trans-lated into $73 billion in new market cap, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That compares with just $27 billion in 2016. To put the statis-tic in perspective, the market value created by target price reactions equated to roughly three months worth of executed buybacks, which occurred on a scale of roughly $150 billion per quarter last year.

“Taking away that demand compo-nent is adding pressure to valuations with everything else held equal and given disappointing growth domesti-cally and across the globe,” said Mark Heppenstall, the Horsham, Pennsyl-vania-based chief investment officer of Penn Mutual Asset Management. His firm oversees about $20 billion. “Less financial engineering has got to put pressure on prices here.”

The dearth in M&A in 2016 may be a temporary phenomenon that’s an effect of market volatility and a regu-latory crackdown. The most common impetus for deals — need for growth, cash hoards, low interest rates, and shareholder activism — are still there.

In fact, the reduction in sharehold-er-friendly corporate activity like buybacks, dividends and buyouts may be more an effect of a weak equity market instead of a contributor to it, according to JPMorgan’s Zenner.

“It’s hard to separate whether M&A and buybacks drive the stock market or if the stock market drives buy-backs and M&A,” he said. “You could say yes, the decline in M&A and buy-backs is going to create weakness in the stock market, but you need to look at the root cause, which is that volatil-ity and uncertainty about the future cause companies to be less confi-dent.” — Bloomberg News

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Porsche 718 Boxster available with newly developed engines

MUSCAT: Twenty years after the first Boxster made its debut, Porsche is restructuring its mid-engine roadsters.

With the introduction of new versions of its two-seater convert-ible, Porsche continues the tradi-tion of four-cylinder flat engines used in the 718 mid-engine sports cars that won numerous races back in the 1950s and 1960s, says a press release.

The newly developed engine with turbocharging result in the 718 Boxster developing 300 hp

(220 kW) from 2.0 litres of engine displacement. The 718 Boxster S, on the other hand, now produces 350hp (257 kW) from 2.5 litres of displacement, using a turbo-charger with variable turbine ge-ometry (VTG). Porsche is the only manufacturer to offer VTG tech-nology in production cars with petrol-driven engines, both in the 911 Turbo and in the 718 Boxster S. The two Boxster models fea-ture a considerable power gain of 35 hp (26 kW) compared to their predecessors. Thanks to the new

turbo engines, efficiency has been improved, resulting in up to 13 per cent lower fuel consumption.

The new chassis tuning and stronger brakes facilitate passion-ate and sporty driving. The exte-rior design of the new 718 Boxster was also completely revised. The interior now houses a newly de-signed dash panel that includes the latest generation of Porsche Communication Management (PCM), with a state-of-the-art touchscreen as standard as well as the optional navigation module.

The launch of the new 718 Box-ster generation represents the first time since the late 1960s that

Porsche is again implementing sports cars with four-cylinder flat engines, which combined with tur-bocharging results in torque being significantly boosted. The 2.0-li-tre engine of the 718 Boxster has a maximum torque of 380 Nm (+ 100 Nm), available from 1,950 rpm to 4,500 rpm. The 2.5-litre engine of the 718 Boxster S produces 420 Nm (+ 60 Nm) over a speed range of 1,900 rpm to 4,500 rpm.

The Porsche turbo concept boosts driving performance whilst improving fuel economy at the same time. With the optional PDK, the NEDC fuel consumption value for the 718 Boxster is 6.9 l/100 km

(- 1.0 l/100 km) and 7.3 l/100 km (- 0.9 l/100 km) for the 718 Box-ster S. Both models come with a six-speed manual transmission as standard. PDK now features fuel-saving virtual gears.

For both models, the Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), with a 10 millimetre lower ride height, is now available as an option. In addition, the S-version can be equipped with the PASM sport chassis, resulting in a 20 mil-limetre lower ride height. The ac-tive chassis, which has also been retuned, offers a broader spread be-tween long-distance touring com-fort and dynamic sporty stiffness.

Awaiting the driver in the cock-pit of the 718 Boxster is the up-graded interior with new elements, such as the instrument panel and all-new PCM unit, featuring mo-bile phone and audio interfaces, as well as Sound Package Plus with 110 watts of audio power. As an op-tion, PCM can be extended further with the navigation module, oper-ated with voice control.

The new Porsche 718 Boxster models are now available for order in Oman.

The newly developed engine with

turbocharging result in the 718 Boxster

developing 300hp from 2.0 litres of engine

displacement. The 718 Boxster S, on the other

hand, now produces 350hp from 2.5 litres of

displacement, using a turbocharger with VTG

VLCC offers advanced, best summer skin care treatmentsMUSCAT: VLCC, a trusted pre-mier wellness brand in scientific weight management solutions, skin and hair care treatments, beauty services, and personal care in the Middle East, South Asia, and South-east Asia, has introduced its latest, effective and best summer skin care treatments at all its centres.

Just in time for summer, VLCC Group has introduced its new Ad-vanced Rejuve treatments, the lat-est solution for face rejuvenation. What sets Advanced Rejuve apart is that it utilises radio frequency, a non-surgical, non-invasive, pain-free procedure with an instant and visible effect, says a press release.

It comes in two variations, Ad-vanced Rejuve Hydra and Ad-

vanced Rejuve White, and is de-signed to tighten sagging skin, reduce lines and wrinkles, and improve skin laxity and skin tone. The solution is perfect to achieve a younger and healthier looking skin.

Aside from Advanced Rejuve, VLCC also offers other effective skin treatments such as Melano-White, designed to lighten stub-born pigmentation, brown spots and acne scar marks; H20smo-tique, which seals moisture into skin; and EyeEnergy, a highly rec-ommended solution to address wrinkles and fine lines. EyeEnergy eliminates puffiness and eye bags and lightens dark circles.

Further, the leading wellness brand helps address a wide array of

lip concerns, from sensitive, wrin-kled lips to dark, pigmented ones. Its Lip Peel treatment returns your lips to its natural plumpness with improved texture and softness. Heed the advice of experts. Go the extra mile to make everyday a good skin day.

‘‘We all know that overexposure to the sun is damaging to one’s skin. It has been an oft-repeated remind-er especially during summer when the sun is at its hottest. Prolonged exposure to ultraviolet radiation can lead to sunburn, premature ageing, wrinkles, discolouration, uneven skin pigmentation, and hosts of oth-er major skin problems including skin cancer,” said Monique Lange, regional head of Beauty, VLCC.

W E L L N E S S B R A N D

Sohar Aluminium fights heat stressMUSCAT: During the month of May, Sohar Aluminium (SA) launched its annual Heat Stress Management Campaign in line with its continuous efforts to build and maintain a culture of high safety standards among its employees and contractors, while sharing its values and ini-tiatives with the community.

This yearly campaign focuses on raising awareness among SA’s employees and the general public on heat stress and heat illnesses and ways to prevent Heat illness-es during the peak summer sea-son which stretches from May to September, says a press release.

The campaign started off with a ‘Meet and Greet’ activity that was led by SA’s executive com-mittee and management team in various departments. They greet-ed all employees and contrac-tors coming and leaving the site, offering them fruits, water and information leaflets to remind them to stay hydrated.

Regular reminders and at-tractive visuals across the plant ensure all personnel at SA are continually informed and en-

couraged to avoid heat stress. One of the unique aspects of this campaign is a specially branded van known as the ‘Quench Squad’ that travels to different Opera-tion areas distributing nutritious snacks and hydration fluids to SA employees and contractors. SA medical team conducts a robust physiological and environmen-tal monitoring in the field every summer to raise awareness of employees and contractors and alert them on possible impending heat illnesses.

The medical team makes use of advanced technology that in-cludes heart rate monitoring and core body temperature moni-toring. In order to maximise the positive impact of this campaign, this year, SA also broadcast awareness messages through the local radio channels both in Arabic and English. This initia-tive, supported by the Ministry of Health, consisted of giving gener-al heat stress advice to the gener-al public on a daily basis with the intention to contribute in reduc-ing heat illnesses during summer season across the Sultanate.

C A M P A I G N

IHG Oman bags coveted awards

MUSCAT: During the 2016 IMEA (India, Middle East & Africa) Fi-nance Learning Event that was held recently in India, Adla Ha-chem, area director of Finance & Business Support – IHG Oman, won the Best Finance Leader of the Year award while IHG Oman Procurement Team bagged the IMEA Special Award.

The IHG also recently held its annual Commercial Workshop (Learn, Lead, Win) for the India, Middle East and Africa region in Amman Jordan. A total of 124 prop-

erties attended this prestigious event that involved revenue, sales and marketing sessions. Several important awards were presented across the region. IHG Oman re-

ceived two distinguished awards; Hanibal Michael won the Best Area Revenue Leader of the Year and IHG Oman won the Best Com-mercial Team for the entire region.

A C C O L A D E S

Hilal Mart set to provide quality products at lower prices MUSCAT: Hilal Mart, a new brand in food sector, is entering the Oman mar-ket with the aim of provid-ing good quality products at lower prices.

Khalid Al Wahaibi, the chairman of the group said, “With effective net-work of overseas partner we will be able to provide best quality products with affordable price. We are confident that Hilal Mart with more than 50 branches will grab big share in the market. Pro-moting local products is very important and in our outlet local products will be available along with the imported products. Our customers will be able to choose from a diverse va-riety of products available to them.”

Al Basma opens outlet in Jifnain

MUSCAT: Al Basma Electronics opened its 14th outlet in Jifnain. Speaking on the occasion Mohammed Musthafa, general manager of Al Basma, said that the new branch in the labour camp area is the part of expan-sion plans to serve the la-bour camp staffs of Oman. He stressed the company’s policy of best price and better service. Basma Care, the service centre is also opened along with new showroom. Company will open new outlets soon in Bidiyah and Sohar..

VRSS hosts Iftar

MUSCAT: Vanguard Reservoir Surveillance Services (VRSS) recently organised an Iftar gather-ing for its customers, suppliers and business partners at the Al Bandar Hotel, Shangri-la Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa, Muscat.

Attended by over 75 people which included government officials, bankers, private sector business leaders and other PDO dignitaries as well as VRSS senior management team along with its share-holders, the dazzling event enabled VRSS team to fos-ter stronger relationship with its clients in a unique Ramadan Iftar setting.

B R I E F S

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

ROUND-UPBig savings on Kia Sorento

MUSCAT: Meant for customers with active lifestyles, Sorento is the perfect getaway vehicle for ad-venturers and families on the go.

Now, the best-selling Sorento is available with a limited period offer on SUV (7-Seater) Sorento 3.3L EX SPL during the ‘Waffer Ma Kia’ offer, says a press release.

The offer includes a cash gift of OMR1,200 and 0% interest on EMI (2 years) or 2.99% interest on EMI for up to five years. Cus-tomers also enter into a grand raffle of OMR5,000 and four raf-fles of draws of OMR1,000 each. There also is an assured Scratch & Win coupon ‘Cash for Fuel’ up

to OMR100.The third generation Kia Soren-

to 7-seater SUV is a unique blend of style, confidence and practical technology. Its smoother, swept-back profile and deeply sculpted surfaces introduce a greater level of sophistication.

The cabin has a ‘Premium’ feel with space for up to seven occu-

pants and numerous innovative features. A best-seller, the Kia Sorento has notched up sales of more than 100,000 units in each of the past five years, and offers a long list of features.

Reliable International Auto-motive, the distributor for Kia in Oman provides a rewarding own-ership experience for customers.

The best-selling Sorento is available with

a limited period offer on SUV (7-Seater)

Sorento 3.3L EX SPL during the ‘Waffer Ma

Kia’ offer

Benefits on fuel efficient

Renault Fluence this

Ramadan till July 21

MUSCAT: Prompt acceleration, fluid driving, fuel economy - the Renault Fluence stands out for these reasons and many more. The comfortable and lively Re-nault Fluence is not only graced with a great engine but also offers an excellent mileage of 19.6km/l (extra urban condition) and 149 g/km of CO2.

With Renault Oman, from the house of Suhail Bahwan Automo-biles, announcing an unlimited Ramadan offer on this special car, now is the right time to own a Re-nault Fluence. As part of its stra-tegic focus to enhance ownership experience, Renault Oman has put together unlimited offers for the customers of Renault Fluence till July 21, says a press release.

A senior official for SBA said, “Fuel efficiency remains one of the main criteria for buyers when they are looking around for a new car. If customers are looking for a fuel efficient car, Renault Flu-ence would be the right choice. To make the ownership experience attractive, we are pleased to offer unlimited benefits to the custom-ers who want to own a Renault Fluence (1.6 litre and 2.0 litre).”

Those looking to purchase Re-nault Fluence during the scheme period are assured of a cash gift of OMR1,000.

All customers purchasing Re-nault Fluence are entitled to a scratch and win card through which they can win any one of the

products comprising of Apple iP-hone 6s, Dell Laptop-Intel Core i5 or LG 32-inch LED TV.

Customers of Renault Fluence are entitled to a scratch and win card through which they can win an assured service package. Cus-tomers will be eligible to win an assured service package gift up to 100,000km Periodic Maintenance Service with minimum assured service package of 30,000km Pe-riodic Maintenance Service. The other service package they are eligible to are 80,000km PMS, 60,000km PMS, 50,000km PMS or 40,000km PMS.

Renault Fluence customers will be eligible to receive free reg-istration for first year for Oman only and free extended warranty period of up to six years / unlim-ited mileage. Customers of Re-nault Fluence will also get a AAA Roadside Assistance card for the first year and as supported by AAA Oman.

Customers purchasing any of the Renault models during the scheme period will be eligible to participate in a raffle draw and stand a chance to win five Re-nault Symbols throughout the of-fer period.

Suhail Bahwan Automobiles has designed the Ramadan scheme in such a way that buy-ers can avail easy financing op-tion with attractive interest rates which in turn offers hassle free way to own a Renault Fluence.

P R O M O T I O N

Al Hashar Electronics holds HVAC seminarMUSCAT: Al Hashar Electronics, the Sultanate’s leading distributor of global brands in the consumer electronics, appliances, HVAC, modular kitchens and storage units, recently held a seminar on the latest global developments in the HVAC sector at the Golden Tu-lip Hotel, Muscat, recently.

HVAC experts and senior execu-tives representing top brands in-cluding Mitsubishi Electric, Rin-nai, Lennox, Onida and Voltas gave presentations on the advance-ments in HVAC technology and design at the seminar, which was attended by contractors, consult-ants, developers, project managers and senior officials from leading business houses in the Sultanate.

The Al Hashar HVAC team pre-sented brand detailing on Mitsubi-shi Electric, Lennox and Voltas brand of products. Brand detail-ing of Onida air-conditioners was done by Nagaraj Murarishetty (Business Head – MRC Electron-ics), while Richard Ford (VP-Commercial Business Develop-ment at Rinnai Middle East) gave a presentation on Rinnai range of

gas water heaters.The participants were intro-

duced to Mitsubishi’s City Multi range of eco-friendly cooling sys-tems - which can be used for mul-tiple applications across hotels, offices, malls and homes - that are noted for their high cooling effi-ciency even in extremely adverse weather conditions of up to 54 de-grees Celsius; the Voltas air-cons

with auto-restart and active car-bon filter/hydrophilic aluminium fins; and the super-slim Lennox precision cooling solutions featur-ing silver ion filters.

Ford highlighted the cutting edge technological features of the Japanese top brand Rinnai gas water heaters, with special focus on the highly efficient Blue Flame technology, while Murarishetty

projected the state-of-the-art fea-tures of Onida air-cons such as one-touch-auto climate control and advanced five-speed cooling options that make them highly ef-ficient and user-friendly.

A Q&A session was arranged fol-lowing the brand detailing sessions, where customers were able to in-teract with brand experts to gain deeper understanding of the vari-ous HVAC products and features.

Rajeev Sharma, GM of Al Hashar Electronics, in his speech ex-pressed thanks to the brand experts as well as the project managers for their presence, and said: “It’s been the corporate philosophy of Al Hashar Electronics to provide the best HVAC solutions to the peo-ple of Oman, and the company has partnered with some of the lead-ing global HVAC brands to achieve this objective. The seminar is yet another initiative from Al Hashar Electronics to engage its esteemed customers with top international brands so as to enhance awareness about their outstanding features that make it highly sensible for businesses to invest in them.”

I N F O R M A T I V E S E S S I O N

Bridgestone, TAC promote tyre safetyMUSCAT: Bridgestone Tyres - Towell Auto Centre (TAC) par-ticipated in a consumer fair held in Nizwa to enhance awareness on proper tyre maintenance to the visiting public.

As a sole distributor of the world leader Bridgestone Tyres, TAC considers these initiatives as its corporate social responsibility. The event was organised by the Public Authority for SME Devel-

opment, says a press release.

Safety campaigns“Tyres are a crucial component of vehicles and are exposed to tough conditions like different terrains, changing weather conditions, friction and high temperature at high speed driving. Hence proper tyre maintenance is important for the safety of motorists. We want to reach as many people as we can

through safety campaigns. Part-nering with government bodies, we are able to take part in major events like this.

Set in a more relaxed atmos-phere where people come to shop, unwind and spend some good time with family allow us to reach out to the visitors and explain the need of proper maintenance of tyres,” said Oommen John, AGM - Bridgestone Division of TAC.

“At TAC, we focus on delivering world-renowned tyres that focus on safety, reliability and durabil-ity. To complement these, we have excellent quality tyres, expert team of professionals who take all measures to ensure that the after sales and service procedures are carried out diligently. Our pri-mary focus remains on the safety of motorists and we take all initia-tives towards safety aspect.”

N I Z W A C O N S U M E R F A I R

Geepas hands over keys of Toyota Corolla to

3 lucky winners of ‘Shop & Win’ promotion

MUSCAT: Geepas, leading con-sumer electronics brand, suc-cessfully ended the 3-month long mega ‘Shop & Win’ promotion that ran all across Oman.

The final raffle draw took place recently at Nesto Hypermarket, Mabelah, Oman. Three lucky win-ners were handed over with keys of three brand new Toyota Corol-las, says a press release.

The lucky winners of the Toy-ota Corollas are: Ibrahim Salih Al Balushi, Coupon number: 15044, Rashis Al Habsi, Coupon number: 185616 and Jameela Al Balushi, Coupon number: 37712

The prize distribution cer-emony took place in the presence

of all the winners along with key officials from all participating brands. More than 60 winners were handed over with brand new Geepas washing machines, televi-

sions, refrigerators, cooking rang-es and much more exciting prizes. Group brands, Royalford, provid-ing premium tableware & kitch-enware, and Clarkford, exclusive

brand of fashionable watches also teamed up together to be a part of the mega ‘Shop &Win’ promo-tion. Keys of Toyota Corollas were handed over to three the winners.

Customers entered the promo-tion by purchasing products from ranges across all three brands i.e. Geepas, Royalford and Clarkford. With every spend of OMR10, cus-tomers got a chance to get one coupon to enter the ‘Shop & Win’ promotion raffle draw, and stand chances to winning three brand new Toyota Corollas along with top-of-the-line range of Geepas refrigerators, televisions, wash-ing machines, cookers, vacuum cleaners, etc.

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Bank Muscat organises unique Qaranqasho celebration in Samail

MUSCAT: Bank Muscat organ-ised a unique Qaranqasho celebra-tion in Alden village in the wilayat of Samail as part of its Ramadan Al Khair programme.

The village’s children enjoyed the night, singing with joy while the bank’s employees took part in the occasion, presenting lots of gifts and sweets to the children. In the first-of-its-kind event from Bank Muscat children with their families moved around the village, celebrating Qaranqasho, says a press release.

In addition, Bank Muscat cel-ebrated Qaranqasho at Oman Ave-nues Mall on June 14. The celebra-tion included a variety of exciting activities and games as well as presenting gifts and sweets to the children in a fun and joyful atmos-phere. Bank Muscat’s staff enjoyed the celebration as well who partic-ipated in distributing these sweets to the children. The bank utilised the occasion to present Al Mazyo-na and encouraged saving habits among the participants.

Bank Muscat continues to or-ganise and sponsor activities of Ramadan Al Khair initiative

which aims to strengthen the re-lationship between the bank, local communities as well as public and private institutions.

The bank’s executive manage-ment and staff participated in the initiative, taking place in Bank Muscat headquarters and Oman’s governorates and regions, invit-ing clients and officials from the government and private sectors. Bank Muscat plans to launch and sponsor several programmes and events across the Sultanate espe-cially in Ramadan that contribute in supporting the society.

As part of its Ramadan Al Khair initiative Bank Muscat conducted

several Iftar gatherings to thank all partners concerned for their efforts and services, build strong relationships with the institu-tions’ officials and sharing the jpy of breaking fast together.

Recently, the bank invited Mus-cat Municipality’s call centre staff, Royal Hospital employees, journalists and media representa-tives as well as board members of Oman Journalist Association to enjoy the Iftar.

Further, Bank Muscat lined up month-long celebrations across the Sultanate to create a platform for customers and the public to en-joy Ramadan nights.

The children of Alden

village’ in the wilayat

of Samail enjoyed the

night, singing with

joy while the bank’s

employees took

part in the occasion,

presenting lots of

gifts and sweets to

the children

Bank Sohar distributes ration packs in SoharMUSCAT: As part of its ongoing partnership with Dar Al Atta’a for the holy month of Ramadan, Bank Sohar staff in partnership with Dar Al Atta’a volunteered and participated in the distribu-tion of Ramadan ration packs to families in the Wilayat of Sohar.

This is the third in a series of dis-tributions that took place in vari-ous wilayats of the Sultanate, with the first two distribution having taken place in wilayats of Quriyat and Bidbid, says a press release.

Commenting on the bank’s par-ticipation in the charity initiative, Munira Abdulnabi Macki, GM of HR and Corporate Support at Bank Sohar said, “Bank Sohar has always been a community-orient-ed organisation where commu-nity investment and volunteering has become a part of our operating culture. We believe that while it

is important to do business, plan growth and build market share, it is just as important to uphold hu-manitarian values and extend a helping hand to those in need. Op-erating hand-in-hand with chari-table organisations such as Dar Al Atta’a, is the best way to connect with the community while en-suring our contributions have the widest reach.”

The charity drive provided an opportunity for staff to directly connect with the community and with low-income families; al-lowing them to understand first-hand the challenges they face in their day-to-day lives and espe-cially during the holy month. It also enables them to understand just how rewarding charitable work can be while also strength-ening their commitment to fu-ture volunteering projects.

R E A C H I N G O U T

MGM launches ‘Shop and Win’ promotion

MUSCAT: In celebration of the holy month of Ramadan, Oman’s favourite lifestyle and shopping destination Muscat Grand Mall has launched a ‘Shop and Win’ promotion which gives shoppers the chance to win an exciting grand prize of a Lexus LX 570.

Under the promotion, which runs till July 5, customers are eli-gible for the ‘Shop & Win’ coupon

with every OMR20 purchase at any store within Muscat Grand Mall. With every coupon shop-pers go into the draw to win the grand prize of a Lexus LX 570 luxury SUV. Throughout the holy month, MGM will also be hosting a range of fun-filled family ac-tivities such as the Al Hakawati (the story teller), henna, and face painting for children.

MGM aims at surprising cus-tomers with campaigns such as this, as delighting customers is at the very core of its business. The ‘Shop and Win’ comes as part of the mall’s big programme of fam-ily entertainment and fun activi-ties planned throughout the holy month. The mall also aims at giving its visitors a range of activities that enrich the shopping experience.

E X C I T I N G P R I Z E

Till July 5 customers are

eligible for the ‘Shop & Win’

coupon with every OMR20

purchase at any store within

Muscat Grand Mall

B8

ROUND-UPS U N DAY, J U N E 2 6, 2 0 1 6

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Toyota picks lucky winner

MUSCAT: Toyota, one of the most trusted and well-known brands in Oman, is currently running a thrilling offer building up into ‘The Biggest Excitement Ever’.

The range of popular Toyota mod-els is now available with a host of benefits, making this the best time to visit a Toyota showroom, choosing a new Toyota and adding even more joy and excitement to life.

Now the excitement has been redoubled with the announcement of the first winner - The 25-year-old Salam Al Abd Ali Al Musallami from Masirah. He purchased a Hi-lux S/C 2.7 GL-S for personal use from the Toyota Sinaw branch. He is happy with the purchase and de-lighted to have won the first raffle. Such is the excitement generated by the Toyota offer and adding to it are the thrilling Toyota models - having already won over many hearts with their style, quality and value.

Indeed, the Toyota offer is truly exciting in its scope and ambit, as

the spokesperson explained, “The offer is about 2016 YM Toyota ve-hicles now being available with a host of exciting model-specific benefits like 0% interest rate, upto two years of comprehensive insur-ance, service package for up to 3 years / 30,000km service (which-ever is earlier) and even assured cash back upto OMR1,100. In ad-dition, a customer can choose to avail of the cash gift in lieu of benefits like insurance and service package. To top it all, every Toyota customer gets a gift voucher to spend at a prominent shopping

mall and a chance to take part in an amazing raffle, with 16YM model of Prius Hybrid to be won. (Condi-tions apply) “The earlier one buys and enters the raffle, the more are the chances of winning,” the spokesperson added.

The campaign will end on July 21. It has been greeted with an enthusiastic, unbridled response, which is evident from the footfalls in the showrooms spanning Oman. An enthusiast added, “I am very excited about the offer and going to make the most of it. It is truly worth it.”

The benefits are applicable for all purchases except those made by government organisations and ministries. 0% Interest rate for up to two Years is applicable only on 2016 YM models of Yaris Hatchback, Yaris Sedan, Corolla and Camry through select finance companies for short term tenure, up to 24 months, for individual purchases only. For all deals ex-ceeding 24 months, normal inter-est rates will be applicable for full tenure of the loan. All deals are subject to finance company/ credit approval.

Assured cash gift is applicable on 2016YM models of Yaris hatch-back, all Toyota sedans, Avanza, RAV4, Prado, Innova and Hilux 4x2(2.7L) only and the amount varies between model, model vari-ants and model year. There is also cash gift given in lieu of the service and insurance only as applicable for respective models. In case the customer chooses service, insur-ance (as applicable), he/ she will not be eligible for cash gift offer. Cash gift can also be used as part of down payment.

Customers will be eligible for the raffle only upon taking de-livery of the vehicle during this campaign period after complet-ing necessary formalities and not against booking. In Oman, the nationwide parts and service net-work of Saud Bahwan Automotive supports Toyota’s outstanding product quality.

Salam Al Abd Ali

Al Musallami from

Masirah won the first

raffle draw

Sohar Islamic hosts finals of 4th Quran memorisation contestMUSCAT: With its focus on ac-tively supporting community initiatives, Sohar Islamic - Bank Sohar’s dedicated Islamic Banking window, sponsored the 4th Annual Quran Memorisation Competition.

The competition, which began registrations in December last year and started its semi-final phase at the end of February, re-cently held its finals at the Seeb Wali’s Office, under the auspices of Sheikh Ibrahim Yahya Ab-dullah Al Rawahi, Wali of Seeb wilayat, says a press release.

The finals, held on June 22, were attended by students and teachers from various schools across Seeb, together with sev-eral dignitaries and government officials. Representing the bank at the event was Haifer Juma Al Zedjali, chief relationship man-ager – Corporate Banking at So-har Islamic.

Commenting on the spon-sorship, Salim Khamis Saif Al Maskari, DGM and head of Sohar Islamic said, “Sohar Islamic has always been a steadfast support-er of developing cultural values and promoting young talent in our beloved country.

As a result we place great em-phasis on supporting contests like these which not only seek to recognise and reward outstand-ing youngsters who have learned to memorise the Holy Quran, but also aims to spread the Islamic values of peace and harmony across the country.

Furthermore, our involvement in such events also helps bring us

closer to our community.”The sponsorship marks the

second time Sohar Islamic has sponsored the competition; hav-ing previously supported it in 2014. Organised by Kaab bin Zayed School, this year’s compe-tition was split into two separate contests. The first was an open competition for students of all ages, both male and female; test-ing their knowledge and memory of the entire Holy Quran.

Taking top honours in this contest was Salah Al Anbouri, who won OMR1,000. Coming in a close second and third were Moosa Al Kharousi and Moham-med Ahmed, who were presented with prizes worth OMR500 and OMR300 respectively.

The second contest was of a much larger scale, with students from 56 schools in the Wilayat of Seeb vying for top honours in four categories based on their grade. Students from Grades I to IV, V to VII, VIII and IX, and X to XII, showcased their skill of memorising several Quran verses of their choice respectively. The winners of each category re-ceived OMR1,000 each.

“On behalf of the management, I would like to congratulate each of the winners of the contest. I sincerely hope their success serves as a source of encourage-ment to other youngsters to read and understand the messages of the Holy Quran and to em-brace, implement and spread its religious values,” added Salim Khamis Al Maskari.

S P O N S O R

Admissions start at MECMUSCAT: Registration and ad-missions are going on at the Mid-dle East College (MEC) for fall semester 2016, for the different programmes offered by MEC in Engineering, Science & Technol-ogy and Business Studies.

Admissions for the new intake in the coming fall semester for the General Foundation Programme (GFP), various undergraduate programmes and the postgradu-ate programmes will continue during June till the beginning of October, says a press release.

MEC offers 19 different pro-grammes at the undergraduate level such as Civil Engineering, Multimedia Technology, Sup-ply Chain and Logistics Man-agement, Electronics and Tel-ecommunication and Computer Science,to name a few, in both full time and part time courses. It also

offers different programmes for the postgraduate degree namely MSc Electronic Engineering, MSc IT and MBA IT.

These programmes are pro-vided by MEC in academic part-nership with the University of Wolverhampton and Coventry University, UK, a university which is ranked number 15 in the list of the best UK universities.

In addition, MEC organises various student exchange pro-grammes with different educa-tional institutions from around the world such as Hanyang Uni-versity, South Korea, Asian Insti-tute for Gaming and Animations, India, University of Barcelona, Spain and Lappeenranta Univer-sity of Technology, Finland, in order to provide its students with ample opportunities to enhance their skills and talent.

M I D D L E E A S T C O L L E G E

MJEC organises IftarSOHAR: As part of its celebra-tion to mark the holy month of Ramadan, Majan Electric-ity Company (MJEC), member of Nama Group, organised an If-tar gathering for its employees at Radisson Blu in Sohar.

ThE gathering witnessed the presence of executive manage-ment, a number of managers and section heads which aimed to consolidate and strengthen the bonds of communication and connection among all employees.

Adil Al Raisi, CEO of MJEC, emphasised on the importance of such gatherings which would rise the spirit of teamwork and mutu-al understanding and interaction away from work environment.

MJEC is eager to ensure the continuity of such gatherings in order to build a bridge of com-munication among its employ-ees as this comes from its firm belief in the big contribution of human resources in developing the company.

M A J A N E L E C T R I C I T Y C O M P A N Y

S U N DAY, J U N E 2 6, 2 0 1 6SECTIONC SPORTS LIFESTYLEWWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

AHMAD’S OMAN RACING TEAM STAY POSITIVE AT PAUL RICARD >C4

> C3

Poland shoot Swiss down

ST ETIENNE: Poland beat Swit-zerland 5-4 in a shootout to reach their first European Champion-ship quarterfinal as a riveting clash ended 1-1 after extra time on Satur-day following a brilliant late equal-iser by Swiss Xherdan Shaqiri.

Grezgorz Krychowiak drilled in the winning spot-kick after Granit Xhaka had missed Swit-zerland’s second penalty to send the Polish fans at the Geoffroy Guichard stadium into raptures.

The Poles will meet Croatia or Portugal for a berth in the semis.

Jakub Blaszczykowski had given Poland a 39th-minute lead before Shaqiri levelled with a spectacular bicycle kick in the 82nd to send the contest into a dramatic climax.

“We were prepared for this kind of battle,” Poland coach

Adam Nawalka said. “The Swiss are a world class

side and it was no surprise that they came storming back in the second half. But the important thing is that my team showed po-tential after conceding the equal-iser. We are mentally prepared for the quarterfinal match in Mar-seille on Thursday.”

Man of the match Shaqiri, who was superb in the second half and extra time, said the goal meant lit-tle after a painful loss.

“It’s a great disappointment, we could have achieved something very big,” the 24-year old forward told a news conference.

“It was a beautiful goal and I am always proud to score for my country, but we are out.”

Gaping goalPoland dominated the first half and should have gone ahead in-side the first minute when Arka-diusz Milik sent his shot over a gaping goal following a calami-tous defensive mix-up.

With striker Robert Lewan-dowski subdued, the Poles cre-ated had to rely on chances created by livewire left winger Kamil Grosicki and the impres-sive Blaszczykowski on the other flank. Switzerland captain Ste-phan Lichsteiner could not keep up with Grosicki, who fired over the bar from 18 metres after a

clever run through the middle.Blaszczykowski broke the

deadlock with a composed finish from 10 metres after a darting run by Grosicki and a dummy from Milik gave the winger time and space to pick his spot.

With Shaqiri and striker Haris Seferovic stifled by Poland’s rock-solid defence, the Swiss created little in the opening period de-spite roaring “Go Suisse” chants by their supporters.

They came out with renewed purpose in the second half and Shaqiri finally showed a glimpse of his talent with a dazzling solo run and a stinging shot which Lu-kasz Fabianski parried.

Blaszczykowski had Yann Sommer at full stretch as the pace increased with Switzerland throwing men forward. Shaqiri produced a moment of magic with one of the best goals of the tourna-ment in the 82nd minute, twist-ing his body in the air to unleash a fierce shot which gave Fabianski no chance as it went in off the post.

Galvanised by the goal, Swit-zerland took the upper hand and dominated extra time, forcing several desperate clearances by a defence which had conceded in only one other match in 2016.

Substitute Eren Derdiyok missed a sitter for the Swiss as a rattled Poland held on to force the shootout. - Reuters

Blaszczykowski had

given Poland a 39th-

minute lead before

Shaqiri levelled with

a spectacular bicycle

kick in the 82nd to

send the contest into

a dramatic climax

POLAND 5 SWITZERLAND 4

Wales enter quarterfinals PARIS: Wales reached the Euro 2016 quarterfinals with a 1-0 win over Northern Ireland thanks to an own goal by Gareth McAuley in a poor encounter at the Parc des Princes on Saturday.

Centre back McAuley turned a Gareth Bale cross into his own net 15 minutes from time in the all British last-16 clash. The Irish had their best chance in the first half when Stuart Dallas’s fierce strike was parried away by goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey. Wales will play Belgium or Hungary, who meet on Sunday, for a place in the semifi-nals next Friday in Lille.

With no former major tourna-ment winners in Wales’s half of the draw, they will advance with belief intact that they can create a sensation. And in an ironic touch,

it was Wales, whose inhabitants voted to leave the European Union in Thursday’s British referendum, who remained in Europe, and

Northern Ireland, whose people voted to stay, who departed.

Coleman named the same team that had trounced Russia 3-0 last Monday, but Northern Ireland provided vastly more disciplined opposition, sitting in a low bloc and looking to attack on the break.

It obliged Bale, the tournament’s joint-top scorer, to move out to the right in search of the ball and aside from a mishit shot that flew well wide, he scarcely offered a threat in the first half. Instead it was Northern Ireland who procured the few sights of goal, Stuart Dallas testing Wayne Hennessey at his near post. — Agencies

R O U N D O F 1 6

N. IRELAND 0WALES 1

JUBILANT: Wales’ Gareth Bale cel-ebrates with teammates. – Reuters

KEEP TRACK OF YOUR DIGESTIVE TRACKS >C6

CELEBRATION: Poland’s players celebrate their team’s win in the Euro 2016 round of sixteen football match between Switzerland and Poland at the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium. – AFP

C2 S U N DAY, J U N E 2 6, 2 0 1 6

GERMANY’S BOATENG BACK IN TRAINING FOR SLOVAKIA GAME

Germany rely on all defensive prowess to keep Slovakia at bay

EVIAN: Germany will have to de-cide on the eve of their Euro 2016 round of 16 match against Slova-kia on Sunday whether defender Jerome Boateng can help them to another clean sheet en route to what they hope is their fourth con-tinental crown.

Boateng returned to training on Saturday after overcoming a mus-cle injury and appeared fit for Sun-day’s Euro 2016 round of 16 clash against Slovakia.

Boateng picked up a calf muscle injury towards the end of their 1-0 victory over Northern Ireland this week and his participation on Sun-day was in doubt.

He did not train with the team on Friday, undergoing an individ-ual session involving cycling and jogging, and seemed fit on Satur-day, as Germany prepare for their departure to Lille later in the day.

The 27-year-old, who has re-sumed his World-Cup winning partnership in central defence with Mats Hummels, has helped the world champions keep a clean sheet in all three of their group stage matches in the tournament so far.

Boateng has been crucial for the German defence which has yet to concede a goal in this tourna-ment. He had renewed his World Cup-winning partnership in the central defence with Mats Hum-mels, with both players only re-

cently back from injury.They will need all the defensive

prowess they can muster if they are not to replicate the mistakes that led to their 3-1 loss to the Slo-vaks in their friendly international on a rain-drenched pitch in May.

A new pitch has been laid in Lille after heavy rain and frequent play had damaged it irreparably. Germa-ny, who won the tournament in 1972, 1980 and 1996, are prepared for the game, keeper Manuel Neuer said.

“We have to keep a clean sheet,” Neuer told reporters on Friday. “We know that we can concede goals as well. But so far we have de-fended well and in knockout games we want to keep a clean sheet.”

Slovakia’s Marek Hamsik and Vladimir Weiss will have their

work cut out against the solid Ger-man backline, with full backs Jo-nas Hector and Joshua Kimmich in fine form.

Hamsik has been in equally stel-lar form, drilling in one goal and setting up another in their 2-1 vic-tory over Russia in the group.

He had scored a similarly spec-tacular long-range effort against the Germans in their friendly vic-tory last month but it is unlikely the world champions will give him so much space again.

“You just have to look at a You-tube video with his goals,” said Neuer of Hamsik. “It will be im-portant that our holding midfield-ers stop him early and he does not get a chance to shoot.”

Slovakia’s much bigger task,

however, will be to somehow slow down their opponents’ quick pass-ing game that on a good day can rip any defensive plan to shreds.

Despite having yet to find their perfect mix in attack, Germany have more than double the efforts on goal than their opponents in the entire tournament.

With average possession of 65 percent and passing accuracy at a staggering 91 percent, Germany are expected to maintain their pressure throughout the game as they look for a last eight spot.

“The huge euphoria is maybe not there yet (in Germany) but if we beat Slovakia and then play against a big opponent then we can say we have arrived at the tourna-ment,” Neuer said. - Reuters

Slovakia’s much

bigger task, however,

will be to somehow

slow down their

opponents’ quick

passing game that

on a good day can rip

any defensive plan to

shreds

TRAINING SESSION: Germany players, top, warming up, ahead of their training session.

Below, Slovakian players jogging during their training session. – AFP

Henry handball gives Irish extra motivation against FrancePARIS: Thierry Henry’s hand-ball sent such shockwaves that barely anyone remembers it was actually William Gallas who scored the infamous goal France that ruined Ireland’s chances of a World Cup appearance more than six years ago.

On Sunday, Les Bleus face the Irish in Lyon in a Euro 2016 last-16 clash in which the host nation will start as heavy favourites.

In the stands, there is little doubt the Irish fans, who are enjoying growing popularity in France thanks to their good-natured presence in the streets across the country, will outsing the local supporters.

Qualification for a quarterfinal against Iceland or England, how-ever, will be decided on the field, where the Irish will take extra motivation from the drama at the Stade de France in 2009.

“It is absolutely (extra motiva-tion), but we’ve got all the motiva-tion in the world here regardless of that, we’ve got a side that are prepared and actually love play-ing for their country and that’s very, very important. It’s a driving force,” Ireland manager Martin O’Neill told reporters.

His assistant Roy Keane be-lieves the team have the quali-ties to trouble the French, who have been remarkably quiet on the Henry incident. “It’s massive game against France who will be red-hot favourites,” he said, add-

ing that Ireland’s goal was to cre-ate another bit of history. Keane hopes Ireland will make the most of their set pieces.

“I’d like to think every time we get the ball in the box their fans will be nervous wrecks,” he said.

France, who have yet to play a full match at their best in the tournament, have only conceded one goal in three matches, a pen-alty, but the back four have not been really tested.

Coach Didier Deschamps is likely to field the team who beat Romania in the tournament’s curtain-raiser, with striker Olivi-er Giroud supported by Antoine Griezmann and Dimitri Payet — himself a lethal weapon on set pieces. France played their last group game on Sunday and will have had three more days to pre-pare than Ireland, who clinched their qualification with a last-gasp 1-0 win over a depleted Italy team on Wednesday.

“In the past, some teams have had a lot of time to get ready and they were knocked out,” France assistant coach Guy Stephan said. “You have to find the bal-ance between recovery, prepara-tion and training. It was difficult because at the beginning of the week we did not know who we would face.”

Giroud and defender Adil Rami missed a training session each to nurse minor problems but will be fit for Sunday. - Reuters

I R E L A N D V S F R A N C E

READY FOR KNOCKOT: This combination shows Ireland’s forward

Robbie Keane and France’s goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. – AFP

C3S U N DAY, J U N E 2 6, 2 0 1 6

‘LAUGHING’ DE BRUYNE CAN BE BELGIUM’S KEY MAN: WILMOTS

Round of 165pm: France vs Ireland8pm: Germany vs Slovakia11pm: Belgium vs Hungary (All Oman time)

T O D A Y ’ S M A T C H E S Hungarians await as Belgium yet to prove their credentials

TOULOUSE: The Euro 2016 draw has opened up for Belgium, but Marc Wilmots’ side are still to con-firm their title credentials before their round of 16 match against undefeated Hungary on Sunday.

Belgium finished second in Group E after an opening defeat by

Italy, but Wilmots refuses to see it as a blessing in disguise, even if the draw means they will avoid Spain, Germany, France, England and the Italians until the final. Concerned about the pressure on his team, the coach hinted that he would rather face one of the heavyweights.

“These are games in which you have nothing to lose,” he told re-porters. “Matches like we played

against Brazil in the 2002 World Cup are nicer.

“In this Euro there are no easy games, no small teams,” he added. “They criticised us for losing to Wales (during qualification) and look where they are now.”

Belgium’s prospects have im-proved with the draw - bookmak-er William Hill has slash their championship odds from 11/1 to

11/2 - but Wilmots is yet to prove he can make the most of his tal-ented squad.

They were outworked and out-thought against Italy, but romped to victory against Ireland in per-haps the best performance yet by this collection of talented players.

Despite Wilmots’ bullish re-sponse to critics after this match, hopes Belgium had turned the cor-

ner were deflated when they again lacked fluency against Sweden.

Wilmots insisted Belgium had grown since their opener, but conceded that there was still much to improve.

Euro 2016 joint top scorers Hungary may have a taste for blood after giving Portugal an almighty scare in a 3-3 draw on Wednesday, but they will face a sterner test from a Belgium defence eyeing a third straight clean sheet.

That thrilling game also exposed Hungary’s defensive deficiencies and they should provide Belgium with ample opportunity to redis-cover the attacking coherency they demonstrated against Ireland.

For that match, the introduction of Mousa Dembele was decisive in providing midfield mobility that had previously been lacking, al-though an ankle knock picked up in that match may mean Radja Naing-golan again partners Axel Witsel.

Hungary coach Bernd Storck has demonstrated an admirable tactical flexibility, giving all of his 20 outfield players some action and has hinted at more changes for Sunday’s match.

Adam Lang will likely continue at right back with Attila Fiola in-jured and attacking midfielder Zol-tan Gera should return after being injured against Portugal. - Reuters

Belgium finished

second in Group E

after an opening

defeat by Italy, but

Wilmots refuses to

see it as a blessing

in disguise, even if

the draw means they

will avoid Spain,

Germany, France,

England and the

Italians until the final

STAYING FOCUSSED: Belgium players warm-up during a training session at Le Haillan. – AFP

Payet turns sharp corner from nowhere to the top

PARIS: Plenty of reasons have been propounded for Dimitri Payet’s meteoric rise from in-ternational underachiever to France’s outstanding player at Euro 2016 — but the best words to explain it probably came from Didier Deschamps.

“Football becomes simple when you can fire the ball into the top corner,” the France coach said, referring to his at-tacking midfielder’s newly-dis-covered habit of scoring sensa-tional goals. What Deschamps meant is that Payet, whose unique vision and skills are nothing new, now also has dis-covered the confidence needed to turn a match around.

Splendid goalsThe 29-year-old has illustrated just that with two splendid goals in France’s victories over Roma-nia and Albania before narrowly missing what could have been the goal of the tournament, if not the year, with a magnificent volley that rattled the crossbar against Switzerland.

Payet’s international career had never really taken off and he had not played for France for nearly a year when Deschamps, having watched his convincing Premier League performances with West Ham United, recalled him for friendlies against the Netherlands and Russia in March.

His return was a success as he was instrumental in two comfortable victories, scoring from a free kick against Russia.

Another dazzling free kick strike to snatch victory in a Euro 2016 warm-up against Came-roon convinced Deschamps that Payet had at last shaken off his tag as a gifted but erratic player.

“I have come a long way,” Pay-et said after the France coach picked him in his squad for this tournament.

“I certainly couldn’t imagine this would happen to me when the season started.”

The rest of the story is still be-ing written and featured an emo-tional moment when Payet left the pitch with tears of joy run-ning from his eyes after his stun-ning winner against Romania.

It probably made Payet recall the day he cried after leaving an-other pitch 12 years earlier.

The teenager had just won a domestic competition on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion, where he was born.

He had returned to Reunion after hearing he would never be-come a professional player and being kicked out the Le Havre academy that has produced a string of brilliant players over the years, including Dimitri Payet’s international team mate Paul Pogba. — Reuters

D I S C O V E R I N G C O N F I D E N C E

Dimitri Payet

Ticket allocation unfair, says Ireland manager

LYON: Ireland manager Martin O’Neill said on Saturday it was unfair that fewer than 5,000 tick-ets had been allocated to Ireland supporters for their game against France in the round of 16 of Euro 2016. Hosts found out three days before Ireland that they would be playing in Lyon for a place in the quarterfinals. “Ticket allocation

is something I do have a gripe about”, O’Neill said at the brand new Parc OL stadium, which has around 59,000 seats.

“It’s totally disproportionate. For a stadium this size and this brilliance, for us or any team play-ing in the round of 16 to be allo-cated under 5,000 tickets is pretty unfair, really,” he added. - Reuters

F E W E R S E A T S F O R I R I S H F A N S

SUNDAY, JUNE 26, 2016

SPOR S

Oman Racing Team stay positive at Paul Ricard

MUSCAT: Front-running Blanc-pain Endurance Cup Pro-Am driver Ahmad Al Harthy says he is quietly confident of building on the great momentum achieved during the first two events of the season when final qualifying for round three takes places place at Paul Ricard in France.

The Aston Martin V12 Van-tage GT3 driver and team-mates Jonny Adam and Devon Modell go into the all-important grid-de-termining session for six-hour Paul Ricard 1000km race off the back of a positive, if not entirely straightforward, start to the weekend on Friday.

Despite an engine issue in the ‘Bronze’ test ruling the trio out of almost the entire session on a par-ticularly hot first day, a new pow-erplant was rapidly fitted to the No.44 Oman Ministry of Sports Affairs, Oman Air, National Bank of Oman (NBO), Barr Al Jissah and Omantel liveried car.

Getting preparations properly underway during the second track session, although on the back-

foot compared to rival squads the Oman Racing Team powered by Motorbase entry made good progress and went on to post the eighth fastest time in Pro-Am dur-ing pre-qualifying – within just 0.5 seconds of the top two in class.

“Paul Ricard six-hour is always a tough weekend, but we’re ready mentally for qualifying and the race”, said Aston Martin Middle East and North Africa ambassa-dor Ahmad, “We had an unfortu-nate engine issue in the Bronze test, which took away the majority of the first session for us, but the team did a fantastic job to change the engine so quickly.

“We were a bit on the back-foot from there but learnt a lot during the next two sessions, and we were hap-py with the pace in pre-qualifying.

It’s going to be tough to get that perfect lap in qualifying with so many cars out there, but we know

what Jonny [Adam] is capable of.”Heading into the biggest event

of the season to date second in the Pro-Am championship, within just three points of the top of the standings, the Aston Martin trio arrived in France this week off the back of a magnificent second place Pro-Am finish during the previous race at Silverstone in the UK.

“We’re expecting another very hot day but the race should be a lot cooler with it starting in the even-ing”, added Ahmad, “It’s going to be a big challenge, but we’re hope-ful of a strong race and looking forward to trying to build on our Silverstone podium.”

Standings (after Rd2): 2nd Ah-mad Al Harthy/Jonny Adam/Dev-on Modell, 30pts

2016 Blancpain Endurance Cup Pro-Am Team Standings (after Rd2): 2nd Oman Racing Team powered by Motorbase, 30pts.

Oman Racing

Team powered by

Motorbase entry

made good progress

and went on to post

the eighth fastest

time in Pro-Am

during pre-qualifying

– within just 0.5

seconds of the top

two in class

READY FOR THE CHALLENGE: Oman Racing Team’s Ahmad Al Harthy in action during the qualifying

rounds at Paul Ricard in France. – Supplied photo

It’s going to be a big

challenge, but we’re hopeful

of a strong race and looking

forward to trying to build on

our Silverstone podium. We

are expecting another very

hot day but the race should

be a lot cooler

Ahmad Al HarthyOman Racing Team

Oman Air revel in Cardiff breezeCARDIFF: Oman Air kept up a steady pace despite high winds and sudden gusts to extend their lead on the second day of the Ex-treme Sailing Series in Cardiff.

Morgan Larson’s team fared well in the challenging conditions where some gusts were clocked at 22 knots, their trademark con-sistency underpinning another strong performance with four po-dium places in six races, including victory in the final race of the day.

The GC32 catamarans came into their own in the Cardiff Bay conditions, popping up on their foils and skimming above the wa-ter at high speeds, some of the rac-es finishing in just seven – rather than the normal 12 – minutes.

“These boats are incredible and the competition is really tight,” said skipper Larson. “It was all on. Sometimes, you are feeling good and are right up the front and one little shift later you are right out the back. That’s when you know things are really competitive.

“Anyone can win a race and I’m thinking this will come down to the wire. In these conditions, it is

about sailing the boat well. If you can do that, the points will look af-ter themselves.”

By the end of the day, Oman Air had strengthened their posi-tion at the top of the leaderboard by jumping six points ahead of second placed SAP Extreme and seven in front of Alinghi.

But it was the ‘new kids on the block’ ChinaOne, skippered by Taylor Canfield that stole the show with two outright wins in the opening two races to finish in fifth place overall.

Their performance showed that all the teams are making gains in the new GC32s, said Oman Air’s Nasser Al Mashari, racing as ever with his powerhouse crew of Pete Greenhalgh, Ed Smyth and James Wierzbowski.

“ChinaOne did really well and it just shows that you have to work hard and keep your focus to avoid making mistakes and stay ahead of the game,” said Al Mashari. Oman Air, who also lead the 2016 overall leaderboard by two points, continue racing through to Sunday June 26.

S A I L I N G

TOUGH JOB: Oman Air crew in thick of action on Day 2 of stadium

racing close to Cardiff city. – Supplied photo

Naman Ojha to lead India A team in AustraliaNEW DELHI: Wicketkeeper-batsman Naman Ojha was on Saturday named captain of the India A team, which will take part in the two unofficial ‘Tests’ and a four-nation One-day tournament, in Australia, start-ing August 14.

Ojha had a memorable Aus-tralia tour with India A team in 2014 when he had struck a double hundred and a hundred in a four-day match. As many as nine players from the Mahen-dra Singh Dhoni-led squad are part of the ‘A’ team.

The tour will begin with a match against Australia A in the four-team One-day event opener on August 14.

The other two teams being South Africa A and National Performance Squad.

The two Test matches against Australia A are scheduled for September 8 to 11 and Septem-ber 15 to 18 in Brisbane.

India A squad : Naman Ojha (C), Faiz Fazal, Akhil Herwadkar, Shreyas Iyer, Karun Nair, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Vijay Shankar, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jaydev Unad-kat, Barinder Sran, Shahbaz Nadeem and Sanju Samson. - PTI

O N E - D A Y T O U R N E Y

Anderson doubtfulLONDON: England fast bowler James Anderson is doubtful for the first Test against Pakistan, the ECB said. He sustained a stress fracture in his right shoul-der blade during the third Test against Sri Lanka this month. “(His) availability for the Paki-stan Test series, commencing on July 14, will be determined following ongoing management and review,” ECB said.— Reuters

C R I C K E T

C5

SPORTSS U N DAY, J U N E 2 6, 2 0 1 6

Sufyan to brush shoulders with world’s top cricketers in England

T.K. MOHANDOSS [email protected]

MUSCAT: As some of the Oman national cricketers are plying their trade in the United Kingdom, one more from the Sultanate will make a short appearance there next month end.

The only Omani cricketer in the national squad, Sufyan Mahmood, has received a special invitation from International Cricketers As-sociation (ICA) to attend a charity dinner and also two charity cricket matches in the United Kingdom.

After having received the offi-cial nod from Oman Cricket, Su-fyan Mahmood who performed well in the recently concluded ICC World Cricket League Division 5 in Jersey recently, is thrilled about the opportunity.

Speaking to Times Sport Sufyan Mahmood thanked Oman Cricket for allowing him to take part in such a big event and incidentally, he is the only one invited to be part of the charity event, which will be held between July 27 and August 1.

According to the Omani all-rounder the first match will be held in Manchester and the second in Luton.

Big opportunity“It’s a big opportunity for me to brush shoulders with the biggest names of world cricket and I thank ICA for the invite,” said Sufyan, who has always stood out when-ever he got the chance to be part of the Oman playing eleven.

“It’s a dream come true for me,” said Sufyan, who has proved many-a-time that hard work breeds success.

According to 1991-born Sufyan, the top names who are likely to be there for the charity event are Inzamam Ul-Haq (Pakistan), Cor-rey Collymore (West Indies), Niel O’Brien (Ireland), Saeed Ajmal (Pa-kistan), Abdur Razzaq (Pakistan), Wahab Riaz (Pakistan - subject to availability due to the England-Pakistan series), Monty Panesar (England), Rana Naved (Pakistan), Fawad Alam (Pakistan), Simon Jones (England), Mushtaq Ahmed (Pakistan), Taufeeq Umar (Paki-stan), Ryan Sidebottam (England), Waseem Jaffer (India) and Shahid Afridi (Pakistan).

Apart from playing in the WCL, Sufyan Mahmood had made his Twenty20 International debut for Oman against Hong Kong on November 26.

Sufyan has been an inspiring factor for Omani cricketers and he has been working hard to lure more national cricketers into the main fold.

Being a team man, Sufyan not only wants to play along side top cricketing personalities, he also wants to learn more from his expe-rienced counterparts.

“More than opportunity this trip will be more of education for me, which I will share with all cricketers in Oman,” he said.

Omani all-rounder Sufyan Mahmood will be

taking part in the International Cricketers

Association organised charity matches and

dinner in the United Kingdom next month

It’s a big opportunity for me to brush shoulders with the biggest names of world cricket and I thank ICA for the invite. It’s dream come true for me

Sufyan MahmoodOman all-rounder

Klair XI, Waseem XI, Muscat Livestock advanceMUSCAT: Klair XI, Muscat Live-stock and Waseem XI advanced to the next round o the Omantel Ramadan Tape Ball Cricket Tour-nament organisted by the Paki-stan Social Club at the Pakistan School Muscat ground on Friday night. In the first match, Klair XI beat Sialkot Stallions by seven wickets, while Muscat Livestock ousted Al Nafeesa by seven wick-ets in the second match.

In the third match of the night, Waseem XI edged out Sher XI by 9 runs.

Brief scores:Sialkot Stallion 68 for 9 in 8

overs (Shahid 4 for 17) lost to Klair 71 for 3 in 5 overs (Shams 25 run) by 7 wickets. Man of the match: Shahi of Klair XI.

Al Nafeesa 128 for 6 in 8 overs (Aqib 57, Saeed 32, Sherbaz 2 for 23, Amir Khan 2 for 38) lost to Muscat Livestock 132 for 3 in 7.2 overs (Imran 86 not out, Sherbaz 27) by 7 wickets. Man of the match: Imran of Muscat Livestock.

Waseem XI: 84 for 4in 8 overs (Tanveer 44) beat to Sher XI 75 for 7 in 8 overs (Ijaz 27, Tanveer 2 for 14, Waseem 2 for 14) by 9 runs. Man of the match: Tanveer of Waseem XI.

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

NATIONAL GAS TO FACE OEC IN NMC INDEPENDENCE CUP SEMIFINALSNational Gas defeated Star CC by 50

runs in the NMC Independence Cup 2016

organised by the Oman Indo-Pak Friends

at the Acaiba Clutural Sports ground.Bat-

ting first National Gas scored 86 for 4 in

8 overs with Waseem (52) top scoring. In

reply, Star CC were restricted to 36 for 9

in 8 overs with Rehan (3 for 5), Martin (3

for 18) and Omkar (2 for 1) bowling well.

Waseem was adjudged the man of the

match. The victory ensured a semifinal

berth for National Gas along side OEC,

who they face next. The other semifinal

will be played between Asfandyar XI and

Sialkot XI. — Supplied photo

WWW.TIMESOFOMAN.COM

HealthSECTIONC L I F E S T Y L E S U N DAY, J U N E 2 6, 2 0 1 6

Functional gastrointes-tinal (GI) and motility disorders are frequent problems in today’s time. These are groups

of diseases where structural and biochemical abnormalities aren’t detected when an endoscopy and other investigations are performed. Patient readings are normal but the patient still feels symptoms like discomfort, change in bowel move-ments, and dyspepsia.

Stress is not a principal factor but contributes to gastrointestinal problems especially in functional GI. These can be treated by diet, ex-ercise, stress reduction techniques, and change in lifestyle habits. Many patients also suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) due to the rising consumption of fast foods, red meats, foods with preservatives and high chemical content and less consumption of foods that are high in vitamins and minerals.

Consumption of natural food de-creases the risk of gastrointestinal problems. 30 per cent of the popu-lation cannot tolerate dairy prod-ucts because of the changing levels of their gut microbiota (complex community of over more than 100 trillion microbial cells in our gut) which increases their intolerance. When you consume healthy and natural food it conserves micro-biota but when you eat unhealthy food it disturbs the composition of microbiota, leading to gastrointes-tinal problems.

GCC countries, Oman included, are also prone to a rising number of liver diseases. Viral hepatitis, an early stage of liver disease, is very common in the GCC and if left un-diagnosed it could lead to liver cir-rhosis, the final stage of liver disease.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver diseas-es (NAFLD), the build-up of extra fat in liver cells that is not caused by alcohol, is now a major global prob-

lem with 25-30 per cent of liver cirrhosis patients found with the condition. Since liver diseases pre-sent no symptoms to patients in the early stages, a patient must opt for a liver function test in their routine blood tests to rule out liver diseases.

Changing food habits have also led to high frequencies of cancer in the GI tract, of which colorectal cancer is one of the most recurrent.

If detected early, colorectal cancer is one of the most curable cancer. A full colonoscopy screen-ing after 50 years for all patients even if there are no symptoms is needed. However, if a patient has a family member with colon cancer, then sigmoidoscopy screening is recommended especially for peo-ple in the age group of 25-30 years. Nevertheless patients with no ge-netic ties can also be susceptible to colon cancer.

New studies suggest that chil-dren with autism are more likely

to have gastrointestinal problems early in life, compared to children who don’t have the condition. Re-search is still being done in this area, but there is a hypothetical theory that autism may be related to a microbiota dysregulation.

Another study related to paedi-atric gastroenterology found that the administration of three or more courses of antibiotics before chil-dren reach an age of 2 years is as-sociated with an increased risk of early childhood obesity. Adminis-tration of antibiotics in children is recommended only if there is proof of infection. Using large amounts of antibiotics can disturb the mi-crobyte composition in children and lead to functional GI problems. There is a hypothetical theory that the disturbance of the microbyte composition can lead to obesity. Capsule endoscopy is a procedure where patients consume capsules containing tiny wireless cameras

that inspect the digestive tract. The capsules transfer images to a software through a device and is highly useful for detecting unex-plained anaemia or bleeding from the GI tract or pathology of the gut or bowel when an upper and lower endoscopy didn’t find any abnormalities. Another techno-logical advancement in the field of colonoscopy is the fuse full spec-trum. Endoscopy with system of multiple cameras, which gives you a 330 degree visualisation of the GI system and reduces the adenoma miss rate from 40 per cent to 7 per cent. This is not cov-ered by a standard colonoscopy that only gives you a 170 degree visual aid; the lateral angle is not shown which is why the scope has to be moved a lot to detect the lesions.

Dr Yahia Said is gastroenterologist at Apollo Hospital Muscat.

Contact +968 9647 8181

Rising consumption of fast foods, the ones with preservatives and high chemical content, and less consumption of vitamins and minerals

are causing a significant rise in gastrointestinal (GI) problems. Time to watch what you eat.

GCC countries, Oman included, are also prone to a rising number of liver diseases. Viral hepatitis, an early stage of liver disease is very common in the GCC and if left undiagnosed it could lead to liver cirrhosis, the final stage of liver disease

Story Dr Yahia Said

FIND-IT-ALLC7 S U N DAY, J U N E 2 6, 2 0 1 6

ROYAL OMAN POLICE

Emergencies and inquiries: 9999

General Directorate of

Passport and Residence 24569603

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of Customs 24521109

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UAE 24400000

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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

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Biman Bangladesh Airlines 24701128

British Airways 24568777

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Oman Air 24531111

Pakistan International

Airlines 24792471

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Royal Jordanian 24796693

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Singapore Airlines 24791233

Shaheen Air 24816565

SriLankan Airlines 24784545

Swiss International

Airlines 24796692

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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

SHATTINow You See Me 2 (2D) (Action | Comedy | Thriller) (PG12) Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson11:30 PMThe Crew (2D) (Action | Adventure | Drama) (PG12) Cast: Vladimir Mashkov, Agne Grudyte, Sergey Shakurov9:00, 11:45 PMThe Call Up (Action | Sci-Fi) (12+) Cast: Morfydd Clark, Chris Obi, Parker Sawyers9:45 PMThe Asian Connection (Action) (15+) Cast: Michael Jai White, Steven Seagal, Pim Bubear11:30 PMThe Code of Cain (2D) (Action) (12+) Cast: Sally Kirkland, Natasha Alam, Eric Roberts9:30 PM

MUSCAT GRAND MALLUdta Punjab - (2D) (Crime | Thriller) (PG12)Cast: Alia Bhatt, Shahid Kapoor, Diljit Dosanjh9:00PMThe Call Up - (2D) (Action | Sci-Fi) (PG12)Cast: Morfydd Clark, Chris Obi, Parker Sawyers11:45PMThe Crew - (2D) (Action | Adventure | Drama) (PG12) GOLD CLASSCast: Vladimir Mashkov, Agne Grudyte, Sergey Shakurov9:00 & 11:30PMThe Crew - (2D) (Action | Adventure | Drama) (PG12)Cast: Vladimir Mashkov, Agne Grudyte, Sergey

Shakurov9:15PMThe Asian Connection - (2D) (Action) (15+)Cast: Steven Seagal, Michael Jai White, Pim Bubear11:45PM

PANORAMA MALLThe Jungle Book - (3D) Adventure | Drama| Family) (PG) MX4DCast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley10:00PMThe Crew - (2D) (Action | Adventure | Drama) (PG12) VIP LOUNGECast: Vladimir Mashkov, Agne Grudyte, Sergey Shakurov10:30PMThe Crew - (2D) (Action | Adventure | Drama) (PG12)Cast: Vladimir Mashkov, Agne Grudyte, Sergey Shakurov9:15 & 11:45PMNow You See Me 2 - (2D) (Action | Comedy |Thriller ) (PG12)Cast: Michael Jai White, Steven Seagal, Pim Bubear11:30PM

The Asian Connection - (2D) (Action) (15+)Cast:Steven Seagal, Michael Jai White, Pim Bubear9:45 & 11:45PMUdta Punjab - (2D) (Crime | Thriller) (PG12)Cast: Alia Bhatt, Shahid Kapoor, Diljit Dosanjh9:00PMWarcraft - (4D) (Action| Adventure | Fantasy) (PG12)Cast: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster9:15PM

AZAIBA Albert (Eng) (2D) (Animation) (PG) Voice Overs: Alfred Bjerre Larsen, Oscar Dietz, Asta Nordby10:45 PMKammati Padaam (Mal) (2D) (Crime | Drama) (12+) Cast: Dulquer Salmaan, Vinayakan Tk, Shine Tom Chacko10:45 PM7 Hours To Go (Hindi) (2D) (Thriller) (12+) Cast: Sandeepa Dhar, Shiv Pandit, Vipin Sharma9:15, 11:30 PM

Udta Punjab (Hindi) (2D) (Crime | Thriller) Cast: Alia Bhatt, Shahid Kapoor, Diljit Dosanjh, Kareena Kapoor Khan9:00, 11:35 PM (PG12) Houseful 3 (Hindi) (2D) (Romance | Comedy) (PG12) Cast: Akshay Kumar, Jacquline Fernandes, Ritesh Deshmukh, Abhishek Bacchan11:45 PMOka Manasu (Telugu) (2D) (Romance | Comedy) (TBC) Cast: Niharika Konidela, Naga Shourya, Niharika Konidela9:00 PM

RUWIScreen 1Udta Punjab - (2D) (Crime | Thriller) (PG12)Cast: Alia Bhatt, Shahid Kapoor, Diljit Dosanjh10:00PM

Screen 2Housefull 3 (2D) (Comedy / Drama) –PG12Cast : Akshay Kumar, Ritesh Deshmukh, Nargis Fakhri, Jacqueline Fernandez10.00 PM

Screen 3Te3n (2D) (Hindi | Thriller ) (PG12)Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Vidya Balan10:30PM

SURThe Crew ( Action | Adventure | Drama) Cast : Vladimir Mashkov, Agne Grudute, Sergey Shakurov9:15, 11:45 PM (PG12)The Asian Connection ( Action ) ( 15+ ) Cast: Steven Seagal, Michael Jai White, Pim Bubear9:45 PMUdta Panjab ( Hindi | Crime | Thriller) (PG12)Cast : Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Diljit Dosanjh, Kareena Kapoor Khan11:30 PM

SOHARThe Crew - (2D) (Action | Drama) (PG12)Cast: Vladimir Mashkov, Agne Grudyte, Sergey9:00 & 11:45PMThe Asian Connection - (2D) (Action) (15+)Cast:Steven Seagal, Michael Jai White, Pim

11:45PMUdta Punjab - (2D) (Crime | Thriller) (PG12)Cast: Alia Bhatt, Shahid Kapoor, Diljit Dosanjh11:15PMThe Call Up - (2D) (Action | Sci-Fi) (PG12)Cast: Morfydd Clark, Chris Obi9:30PMKammati Paadam - (2D) (Mal| Crime) (12+)Cast: Dulquer Salman, Shaun Romy10:00PMOka Manasu - Telugu (2D) (Romance | Comedy) (TBC)Cast: Niharika Konidela, Naga Shourya, Niharika Konidela9:00 PM

BURAIMIThe Crew PG12 (Action | Adventure | Drama)Cast: Vladimir Mashkov, Agne Grudyte, Sergey Shakurov9:15 & 11:45 PMThe Call Up PG12 (Action | Sci-Fi)Cast: Morfydd Clark, Chris Obi, Parker Sawyers9:30 PM Udta Punjab PG12 (Crime | Thriller)Cast: Alia Bhatt, Shahid Kapoor, Diljit Dosanjh11:15 PMThe Code of Cain 12+ (Action)Cast: Sally Kirkland, Natasha Alam, Eric Roberts9:30 PMThe Asian Connection 15+ (Action)Cast: Michael Jai White, Steven Seagal, Pim Bubear11:30 PM

SALALAHThe Call Up (PG12) (Action | Sci-Fi) Cast: Morfydd Clark, Chris Obi, Parker Sawyers9:30 PMThe Asian Connection (15+) (Action) Cast: Michael Jai White, Steven Seagal9:15 PMUdta Punjab (PG12) (Thriller | Crime) Cast: Shaid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt11:15 PMKammati Paadam (12+) (Mal| Crime) Cast: Dulquer Salman, Shaun Romy11:00 PMThe Crew (PG12) (Action |Drama) Cast: Vladimir Mashkov, Agne Grudyte, Sergey9:00, 11:45 PM

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

BAHJA CINEMAFilm information 24540856 / Advance Booking

24540855

Website: www.albahjacinemaoman.com

The Asian Connection (Action)

Cast: Steven Seagal, Michael Jai White, Pim

Bubear

9.30 & 11.45 p.m

CP No: 1265 (15+)

The Call Up (Action/Sci:Fic)

Cast: Morfydd Clark, Chris Obi, Parker Sawyers

11.45 p.m.

CP No: 1266 (PG12)

Albert (Animation)

Voice Overs: Alfred Bjerra Larsen, Oscar Diets,

Asta Norbdy

9.30 p.m.

CP No: 1267 (U)

STAR CINEMAFilm information 24791641 / 24786776

Website: www.isurf.co.om

Kammati Paadam (Mal) (Act\Drama)

Cast : Dulquer Salmaan & Vinayakan

9:30 Pm Cinema Main

Udta Punjab (Hindi) (Act)

Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor & Alia Bhatt

9-30 PM Cinema-2

Oka Manasu ( Telugu) ( Drama\ Comedy)

Cast: Naga Shourya & Niharika

9-45 pm Cinema-3

Jacobinte Swargarajyam (Mal) (Drama)

Cast: Nivin Pauly & Renji Panicker

9-45 pm Cinema-4

Next Change: School Bus ( Mal); Jackson

Durai ( Tamil)

Programmes are subject to change

@ SHATTI

The Crew (2D) (Action | Adventure | Drama) (PG12) Cast: Vladimir Mashkov, Agne Grudyte, Sergey Shakurov9:00, 11:45 PM

@ MGM

The Asian Connection - (2D) (Action) (15+)Cast: Steven Seagal, Michael Jai White, Pim Bubear11:45PM

@ PANORAMA MALL

Udta Punjab - (2D) (Crime | Thriller) (PG12)Cast: Alia Bhatt, Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Diljit Dosanjh9:00 PM

@ SALALAH

The Call Up - (2D) (Action | Sci-Fi) (PG12)Cast: Morfydd Clark, Chris Obi, Parker Sawyers9:30PM

WEATHER

350

Maximum

310

Minimum

TEMPERATURE

85-50%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]

AINSLEY BEVAN MARTIS June 26, 2005

HARSHITA GULANIJune 26, 2006

SAGAR SATHEESHJune 26, 2003

WITH LOVE

LIFESTYLEC8 S U N DAY, J U N E 2 6, 2 0 1 6

“It is never impossible to keep your skin and body healthy during Ram-adan, whether you are fasting or not. It is our duty to ourselves and our environment to have a clean body and mind all the time,” says Wafa Yahya, fashion blogger based in the UAE. “When our skin and body is nourished, we tend to be more productive with our work and we become more joyful with our relationship and interaction with people” Wafa added.

“I have enlisted seven easy steps below on how to stay well and glow-ing during the Holy Month. These steps can be easily summed up with an acronym of R.A.M.A.D.A.N.”

Rehydrate When you are fasting for long hours, it is advisable to drink more water than your usual habit. Water doesn’t just refresh you from inside but it also cleanses the toxins in your body. Our skin will also benefit from water as it is scientifically proven that a hy-drated skin is a nourished skin.

ActivateRamadan should not be an excuse for you to become lazy and forget about exercise, you can definitely do that before you go to sleep or when you wake up in the morning. Two to three hours after Iftar, you can try some stretching, run on a treadmill or even jog around your home with your family or friends. It is your responsibility to have an active lifestyle as part of your daily habit. You can start with little exercise and increase gradually.

Meditate Meditation is sometimes mistaken for exercise but it is a completely differ-ent thing. From the old French word ‘meditacion’, it literally means thought or reflection. To meditate for even 10-15 minutes a day is healthy for our body, mind, and soul. Try to assimilate silence and cherish that moment every day. You can say a prayer and thank God for all the blessing that we have. You will definitely feel much better afterwards. Do not forget that real beauty originates from the inside out.

Analyse your FoodYou need to stop eating junk food or limit it for once or twice a month. Indulging on French fries filled with salt and many chemi-cals that you cannot even pronounce or doughnuts and artificial juices drowning in sugar will never give you a beautiful skin. Too much salt will absorb more water in your body and can cause high blood pressure and excessive sugar as we all know, is the cause of many diseases, such as diabetes. Care for your body and it will take care of you.

Detoxify Instead of buying boxed, artificial juices from the grocery, re-place it with nutritious fresh juice. You can even do your own and mix your favourite fruits, shake it up and enjoy it at home, perhaps after an exercise. It is also much cheaper and it will surely detoxify your body. You can also replace junk food with almonds, spinach, carrots, and green leafy veggies as snacks. Fruits and vegetables will detoxify your body more naturally than any medicine or capsules sold in the pharmacy.

Armoured with a SmileSmiling is free and it is proven to change even a bad morning, be-lieve that everything will be better. As you smile, you are actually exercising muscles in the face that will help wrinkles go away. Be kind as some people may be facing a hard battle and they just need sunshine of contagious happiness. Be that radiant fairy and grant everybody the gift of positivity. Remember that when you smile, you have the power to break the ice.

Nap and Sleep It sounds so simple but having an ample time of sleeping is sometimes taken for granted. The right amount of sleep will improve your memory, concentration and immunity. It will also make you glow naturally as you feel re-energised and recharged. Many offices during Ramadan have short timings and you can actually take advantage of that to go home and take a power nap after 5pm and wake up before Iftar. If you do not have time to nap during the day, be sure to get those 7-8 hours of sleep every night. Always remember that health is wealth and following the mentioned steps are the only way for you to keep that glowing skin, no matter what season it is. — Courtesy of Infinity 8

Wafa Yahya

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

S U N D AY, J U N E 2 6 , 2 0 1 6

RENT D2

FORRENTContact

96177505

In MSQ. Near ABA school one villa for rent 6 rooms

+ 4 bathrooms+ house maid room +AC split unit + swimming pool

One fl at in CBD 2 bedrooms + sitting room + 2 bathrooms + Kitchen

One fl at in Qurum 29 – two rooms + AC split unit + 2 bathrooms + Kitchen

In Al Hail one offi ce space – (Near Main Road) one room attach with bathroom and kitchen.

Email: [email protected] [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

FOR RENT

D2 S U N D AY, J U N E 2 6 , 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

One bed room flat for rent near

Indian School Darsait. Contact:

99322363/95453813/95806611

1BHK Darsait 200/- R.O.

Contact: 99342661

Store in Mabela industrial area

100m2. Contact: 99342661

2 BHK near Oman House Muttrah.

Contact: 99233116

10 studio apartments & 12 fully

furnished executive apartments

ready for occupation - location at

Falaj Al Qabail -

Contact 22092638 /94532131;

Email: [email protected]

Room for rent one bed room with

separate toilet Qurum, Mars hyper

market building.

Content: 96570147

I BHK Flat -3 Nos at Hamriya – R.O.

175/-3 Bed Room/ 3 Bath room/

Very big sitting area/ kitchen

- Villa 1st floor with A/C at Al

Khuwair Near Rayyan Residence.

R.O 360/-For families. Contact:

94934353 - 9 am to 7 Pm.

Email – [email protected]

1 BHK near Oman house Muttrah.

Contact: 99233116

Shop for good location on main

road behind whole sale Al Amerat

Space 11 MT long, 4 MT wide.

Contact: 92877449

Room with attached bathroom,

sharing, kitchen for executive

bachelor / lady or couple in Wadi

Kabir near Kuwaiti Masjid, Please

Contact: 96510226/98404827

2 BHK flat at Darsait behind KIMS

hospital. Contact: 92141514

2 bed rooms flat in Wattaya

OMR 300/-. Contact: 99202602

Villa for rent at Azaiba, near al

Meera hypermarket. 4 Bedrooms,

3 toilets, kitchen, sitting room and

dining room. This will include

curtains and air conditioners.

Sharing is allowed ro.500/-.

Please call 99469203

2 Bed room, 2 bath room, 1 hall and

kitchen behind Bank Muscat for

rent. Contact: 99313533

New flats for rent Muscat

Al Zafarania, split units AC , all

rooms & bed room R.O 200/-,

3 bedroom R.O 300/- negotiable.

Contact: 93393755

House in Darsait, 3 rooms,

1 bathroom, kitchen with A/C.

Contact: 95522405

Rooms for rent single rooms with

A/C & bath attached available at

Rex Road Indian bachelor and

family (couple) from 1st July 2016.

Contact: 99116286

Large building with 14 rooms &

big open shed in a compound in

Ghobrah near Mars hypermarket.

Good for staff accommodation and

stores. Please call 98048207 /

99261773

1 BHK fully furnish flat in Hamriya

for short terms. Contact – 99792181

1 BHK flat in Al Khuwair for

2 months. Contact – 99792181

1 Room for sharing accommoda-

tion in Al Khuwair.

Contact - 99792181

3 & 5 BHK villa staff accommoda-

tion in Al Khuwair.

Contact - 99792181

Flats, shops & store for rent in

MBD area Ruwi, Mumtaz area.

Contact: 97293708 / 92433127

New villa for rent Al Hail north

neat to Ramez near to Main road

open sitting room with washing

area 3 family hall, dining room

, kitchen with store , laundry

5 BR with bathrooms. Contact:

93387732 / 99259977

Single room flat near Jibroo

roundabout on Road Muttrah:

99373290, 24815012

2 BHK sea view flat Darsait.

Contact: 95311488

2 BHK specious flat behind Bank

Muscat Wadi Kabir near Indian

School: 99373290, 24815012

Flats in Darsait. Contact 94051789 / 97201688

Ghubra & Al Khuwair, 1 bed room,

hall. Contact: 90991079

Flats in Muttrah. Contact

94051789 / 97201688

Flats for rent in Mumtaz,

2 bedrooms , hall Way no 3352

building no. 3447 & 3668.

Contact: 90991079

Two bedrooms flat behind Ger-

man Embassy near to Al Nahda

Hospital. Contact: 99209354

Wadi Kabeer Industrial 80 sm

show rooms for rent 400/- R.O.

Contact: 99879939

Fully Furnished apartments in

Boucher (35). Contact 94051789 /

97201688

Offices and flats in Ghala.

Contact 94051789 / 97201688

2000 sqft land with p/cabin,

toilets at YETI. Contact 99221683

/ 92830110

Offices & Showrooms in Al Khood.

Contact 94051789 / 97201688

Flats in Qurum. Contact 94051789

/ 97201688

Flats in Ghobrah. Contact

94051789 / 97201688

Brand new villas in Al Ansab.

Contact 94051789-97201688

Flats in Al khuwair. Contact 94051789-97201688

Villa in Al Khuwair, 6 rooms,

living room & hall.

Contact: 91153933

Flat for rent in Darsait 1BHK.

Contact: 99357586 / 97500025 /

97500021

Villa for rent at Azaiba, near Al

Meera hypermarket, 4 bedrooms,

3 toilets, kitchen, sitting room

and dining room, this will include

curtains and air conditioners.

RO 520/-. Contact 99469203

Flat for rent 2 BHK in Darsait

North near Indian School about

200 mtrs, rent RO 300/-.

Contact: 94101134

3 BHK flat at Azaiba, Opp. Sultan

Centre. Contact 99261522

Shop for rent at Wadi Kabir Indus-

trial area. Contact: 99888390

Flat for rent in South AlGhubrah

3 rooms, hall and 3 toilets, kitchen

rent 450/-. Contact: 99335580

1 B/R Fully Furnished Luxury

Apartment @ Al Khuwair 33, 2

B/R Fully Furnished Luxury

Apartment @ Al Khuwair 33, 4

B/R Unfurnished Apartment with

attached Split A/C @ Azaiba. For

Short Term or Long Term lease.

Contact: Atlas Real Estate & Rent A

Car LLC : 99249069 / 94617563/

99436312/ 92888376,


2BHK split A/C 200/- Monthly

& 1BHK spilt A/C 150/- monthly

new building good location Barka

Market. contact 99342661

Flat in Al Khuwair opp grand mall

4 room 3 toilet + hall kitchen in 3

floor 400. Contact 99420346

2 BHK flat at Wadi Kabir behind

Pioneer Hotel apartment.

Contact: 99857332 /99261522

Rent flat near Ruwi Badar Al

Sama, 2 bed rooms, attach bath-

room, big hall, and big kitchen.

Contact - 99345137

Rent flat in Wada Adai, one bed

room with toilet, big kitchen, hall

with A/C. Contact 99345137

3000 Sqr mtrs compound land in

Misfah. Contact 99792181

1700 sqr mtrs open Land + small

store + garage for Rent in Ruwi.

Contact 99792181

Deluxe two bedroom flat at

Mumtaz area, two bathrooms, good

size living/dining room, modern

kitchen and a guest bathroom.

Contact 99310375

3BHK, 2BHK and 1BHK flats with

split air conditioners are available

for rent in new building in AL Qurum,

near Rose garden. Interested persons

may content on Phone Nos. 95133331

/ 96722449

1 BHK near medical Darsait, Mut-

trah house R.O 180/-

. Contact: 95076261

Villa for rent in South Mabellah,

3 bedrooms, sitting room, family

Lounge, kitchen, three Toilets Contact

92212212 between 10 AM to 5 PM.

Ruwi office space for rent,

Saravana Bhava Building.

Contact: 95729549

2 BHK with Split A/C in MSQ, Bareeq

Al Shatti, Al Ghobrah near Indian

school. Content: 96708000

1 BHK Flats are available near Lulu

Darsait (Opp. to Min. of Defense)

Contact: 93202733 / 94771769

DAILY GUIDES U N D AY, J U N E 2 6 , 2 0 1 6 D3

2 bed rooms flat with hall,

2 bathrooms in Darsait near

Muscat Municipality.

Contact: 92584715/ 24700120

Flat for rent 2 BHK 2 split A/C,

2 toilets, Wadi Kabir near Kuwaiti

Masjid. Contact: 97007934 /

92629232

2BHK Big Size Flat Behind Bank

Muscat, Wadi Kabir. Near ISWK.

97826454, 24815012.

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

Flat for rent in Al Khoud, 2 rooms

& hall. Contact: 91763665

2BHK split A/C for rent Muttrah

near Oman House.

Contact: 97007934 / 92629232

Warehouse at Wadikabir - total

area 3500 sqm - covered ware-

house (500sqm), office, ac-

commodation (1000sqm), open

area (2000sqm) please contact:

99273774 - 99202278

1BHK at Hamriya near Muscat

Pharmacy & 2 BHK at Mawaleh

near Mosque Sadiq Al Amin.

Contact: 99224748 / 99332297

1 Bed room, sharing K& T, R.O 100,

2 bedrooms , sharing K& T

R.O 200/- in AL Khuwair.

Contact 95154331

Flats in Wadi Kabir. Contact

94051789 / 97201688

02 BHK residential flat opposite

to Al Nahdha hospital.

Contact: 99342733 /99795241

Flat for Rent 2 bed room Near ISM

muscat Indian Scoole Dar sate

Tel : 00 968 95158570

Labor Camp available with all

facilities near Sohar Port.

Contact: 98050654 / 99015826

5 BHK Villa in Al Khuwair,

for Staff Accommodation.

Contact 99792181

2 & 3 BHK Flat in Al Khuwair &

Ghubra. Contact 99792181

FOR SALE

FOR SALE

Dental chairs for sale sparingly

used dental units for sale.

Contact Mr. Ansari 92616343.

Kumar 99570284

Shop for sale and electronic Ruwi

high street main road side shop

exit in good reputed building.

Contact: 95238577 / 95178297

Well running computer shop for

sale in Al Seeb Souq near Ooredoo

showroom 30Sqm, 2 shutters.

Contact: 92501276

Dental chair for sale in Salalah.

Contact – 99082092

Laundry / empty shop near

Camellia Café, CBD, Ruwi.

Contact: 92868123 /92841089

Tender Board Construction

Company for lease / Run.

Contact: 92868123 / 92841089

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

4 BHK Villa in Bowsher Heights.

Contact 99792181

Furnished office (61M2) for sale

/ rent Al Khuwair near Zawawi

Mosque. Contact: 95611569

FOR SALESHUTTERING

PLYWOOD

SIZE : 4’ X 8’ X 18MM

GSM:92835445,93205253,93205423

NRI

Ready to occupy just completed

3 BHK in Chennai -Pallikkaranai

:1600sqft ,builders lcs city makers

,high quality construction ,

woodwork done, part of 64 apts all

3bhk in 4 blocks gated community

with swimming pool/gym/com-

mon hall/2 car parking. Genuine

buyers call rag @99235815 or

email: [email protected]

NRI Property for Sale: 774Sq .

2 BHK flat with OC ready at Palava

City Casa Rio, Dombivili, Mumbai

Contact : 97003326, 96791085

MV SALE

FOR RENT

Nissan Pathfinder 2013 No-2 lady

driven KM 50.000 power sterns

auto transmission power window

R.O 6500/- Contact: 99157377

Mitsubishi Outlander 2008 model

4 cylinder, 2.4lt, Metallic grey ,

135000km , excellent condition ,

expat driven , single owner Price R.O

3.500/- Neg. Contact: 99330486

Toyota Corolla 1.8xli Automatic

2007 July 113000Kms Expat driv-

en excellent condition RO.2750

Contact: 98924106

Mazda 6, model 2005, company

maintained excellent condition.

Price RO 1250/- Mazda 2, model 2014, 45,000km, for sale.

Price RO 2950/- Call: 95244761

Mazda6, 2.5L (classic model,

2014) expat driven, excellent

condition , 80.000km , mulkiya till

march 2017, RO 5.700 ( Negotia-

ble). Contact: 99415861

Toyota Prado, 2009 model,

6 cylinder, single expat owner

used, white pearl color, km 287k

Contact- 99318152

Nissan Qashqai 2013 Kms 30,000 VGC comprehensive

Insurance UAE / Oman.

Contact: 96995430

Luxury Apartments in Boucher

(35) / Ghala / Qurum. Contact

95056808 / 97201688

Shop for sale opp Towell Service

Center, Wadi Kabir.

Contact 99221683

1No brand new containerized

package type STP 100 m3/ day

with blower equipments (suitable

for camps). Serious Buyers may.

Contact: 99445367

Book Shop in a busy shopping

mall for sale, interested parties

please contact 99851255

Single colorful Bed and Sofa for

Sale at Al Khuwair.

Contact 92881849 /

What`s up No 97290565

Steel Scrap materials for im-

mediate sale. Contact: 99273774/

99202278

Space for printing press available

at wadikabir with or without

machinery. Contact 99328430

Almost new beach/ garden

lounge chairs /bar stools/ counter.

Photos can be sent 95865457

ACC. WANTED

ACC. WANTED Urgently required Villa with 8

rooms near Bausher/Ghala/Al

Ansab area for accommodation of

Staff from a reputed company in

Oman. Interested party may

contact - Mr. Pramith 99694150

ACC. AVAILABLE

WANTED

Partner / investor 20% - 30%

share transfer running building

construction company.

Contact 93163157

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 # 92927880/99012165

AVAILABLE

Party & Wedding equipment rent-

als. Full line, from Tables, Linen

& Skirting, Chairs & Chair covers,

Cutlery, Crockery, Glassware,

Chafing Dishes, Ice Sculptures, to

Large Sound Systems and spec-

tacular lighting. Call Andrea 9606

2222 for Catering and Croyden

9623 5555 for Sound & Light.

ww.tunesoman.com,

E-mail: [email protected]

Furnished apartment for rent,

two rooms, majlis, hall, kitchen.

Near Carrefour al-mawalah.

Contact 99336776

Accommodation available in a

villa for south Indian family, one

bedroom, hall, kitchen north Ghob-

rah. Contact: 99209160

2 Rooms (furnished) toilet, kitch-

en for small family or bachelor,

Hamriya. Contact: 98335050

Room for rent with sharing, kitch-

en in Al Khuwair behind Burger

King. Contact: 92994415

2 BHK available Mumtaz area

Ruwi. Contact: 99269751

Fully furnished room available

for executive bachelors opp. Star

Cinema. Contact 92886715

Independent room in Qurum /

Hail. Contact: 96229522

Room, bath room for executives in

Wadi kabir. Contact 99336206

One room available in 2BHK in Al

Falaj area for Executive bachelor

only. Contact 99131742.

Furnished room attached bath

for Indian bachelor, Al-Falaj

Ruwi & lady Wadi Kabir near

Mars hypermarket. Contact:

96202458/96761960

Furnish bedroom with attach

bathroom for executive bachelor.

Contact: 97704794

1 BHK appartment for rent in Al

Khoud Shabiya near mazoon mosque

for rent (next to alkhoud medical

center and squ) MOB: 93913224

Room with attached bathroom

and sharing kitchen available for

Executive bachelor or small family

at wadikabir. Contact 93049849

Sharing Accommodation avail-

able for working ladies opposite

Al Nadhah Hospital. Preferably

Indians. Room with seperate toilet

and sharing kitchen.RO.90.

Contact 96524717

Sharing accommodation

near ISD. Contact: 99657340

Room available in Mumtaz area

1 room, 1 Bathroom, Kitchen &

1 room, common bathroom. Interested

please contact 92680041 Mr. Altaf

Room with attached bathroom for

a family in Wadi Kabir. #97167857

Room available for Executive

bachelor at Al Hail. #96234708

Shop for sale at Ruwi high street.

Contact: 98787853

Urgent sale of steel scrap only

serious buyers kindly contact

+968 96725423 for viewing the

items.

Shop for sale near Oman House,

Muttrah. Contact 99024362.

FOR RENT

Accommodation Wanted for an

Executive Bachelor, Single Flat /

Sharing Room @ Wadi Kabir. Pls call:

93883674 / 98103169

DAILY GUIDED4 S U N D AY, J U N E 2 6 , 2 0 1 6

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION VACANT SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

Email: [email protected] [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624

DRIVER

DRIVER

MANAGER/ SUPERVI-

DESIGNER

MISCELLANEOUS

ENGI./TECH./MECH.

ACCOUNTS

CATERING

BEAUTICIAN

SKILLED / UNSKILLED

SECRETARIAL & OFFICE

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

DOMESTIC HELPER

ARCHITECT

MEDICAL

MEDICAL

IT

Required Indian Mason – 5 nos., eligibility (minimum 5 yrs experi-

ence in road construction field).

Contact: 99882127


Required Shop Sales man + Hard-ware Technician for IT Company

with minimum 2 years experience.

Contact: 98825806 / 98825806,


House maid cooking cleaning

experienced with babies required

immediately. Contact: 95584060 /

98920399

IMMEDIATE - Housemaid wanted for an Indian Family - husband, wife

and 2 girls. Visa, accommodation and

all other requirements will be pro-

vided. Please call me on 92725141.

House maid for Omani family.

Contact: 99773100

Required candidates for following

posts: Accountant, Storekeeper, Foreman Building Maintenance, Van-salesman (water), Helpers. Candidates with Omani driving

license preferred.

Contact 99273774/99202278

Urgently Require BE civil Engi-neer with 2+ years experience and

Omani driving license must , Salary

R.O300/- Send CV to

[email protected] or

Contact: 24565337

Testing / Protection Engineer with minimum 05 years of experi-

ence and should have Oman DCRP

license, Interested candidates send

resume to [email protected]

Qualified and experience Technician required for the kitch-

en restaurant equipments. Who

can repair hot and cold equip-

ments will be preferred. Contact:

Email: [email protected] /

Fax: 24727481

Electrician with qualification and

experience. Contact: Fax: 24727481


CCTV & Burglar alarm Techni-cian. Urgently looking for an

Expatriate with minimum 5 years

experience with NOC. Email your

CV with recent Photograph to:

[email protected]

Urgently required Pharmacist for a Pharmacy in Barka.

Contact: 99452755

Care Medical Centre Al Seeb

requires Gynecologist and General Practitioner. Mail CV to:

[email protected]

Urgently required experienced female Lab Technician, with knowl-

edge of histopathology & cytology,

with MOH release, for a well-known

laboratory in Al Khuwair.

Contact: 95271561/98893034

Wanted Staff Nurse for

a dermatology clinic in Muscat .

Must have MOH license and NOC.

Attractive salary offered. Email:

[email protected]

Required outdoor Sales/ Market-ing Executive with experience

in selling Technical- Mechanical

products/ building materials &

hardware/ auto parts. Graduate

with Oman license preferred.

Apply to: [email protected] or

fax to: 24799615

Advertising & interior company required Sales Executive with

driving /L send CV to

[email protected]

Require Salesman with D/L for

construction, Ind materials,

hydraulic hoses & fittings.

Contact 99221683 / 92830110

Required smart, young, dynamic Sales & Marketing Executive hav-

ing 2-3 years sales experience for

a reputed manufacturing company

in Oman, having its Head Office in

Ruwi. Experience in building mate-

rials is an added advantage. Omani

Driving License and NOC is a must.

Attractive remuneration package.

Apply with photograph to

E-mail: [email protected]

Required female person to work

at the retail shop/Marketing.

Please send your CV on e mail:

[email protected]

Urgently required south Indian cooks with NOC, having suitable

experienced. Contact: 94268319

/97408945


Shawarma / grill / Salad / Chi-nese, Cook. Contact: 96229522

Shawarma / grill / Salad / Asian Cook. Contact: 95529970

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]

A leading cosmetic company in

Muscat is looking for an

Accountant – Email: us on

[email protected]

An Omani Audit firm is seeking audit partner to join the firm, the

candidate should be completed any

certificate course CIA,CPA, CA, ACC,

and 4 years’ experience, interested

candidates to submit their CVs to :

[email protected]

Part time Accountant available to

handle all accounts up to finaliza-

tion and audit work.

Contact: 95804210

Indian male B.Com graduate

looking for suitable placement in

accounts, office Administration &

marketing, 12 years experience,

NOC available Oman D/L.

Contact: 95804210

Part time Accountant up to finali-

zation auditing available after

4 pm. Contact: 91126314

Sudanese GIS Analyst hold mas-

ter in RS & GIS Resident have an

experience in accounting & store

management. Contact: 97943738

Indian 20 years well experienced

accounts & finance professional

looking for immediate placement

NOC available. Contact: 94546455


Young Indian male (25) with

B.Com degree on visit visa with

D/L and N.O.C for simple opportu-

nities preferably in accounting.

Contact : 96324484

7 Years experience as Financial

Analyst, MBA in finance. Respon-

sibilities- research contributor,

financial statement analysis,

generating MIS & efficiency report,

managing TAT, business & clients.

On visit visa in Muscat.

Contact- 90191628 / 96175780

Part Time Accounting, Audit

Preparation, Internal Audit, Monthly

Reports, Accounting set up for new

companies, GSM: 96975454,


Chief Accountant, well experienced available.

Contact: 95598477

Indian male 43 yrs accountant

presently on tourist visa looking

for suitable placement in a com-

pany 18yrs experience in manag-

ing finance in Indian and abroad.

Contact: 90190648

Part time accounting workers up

to finalization, on monthly basis &

yearly finalization works.

Contact : 96247295

ACCA qualified professional lady with 5 years experience in finance

management accounts is looking

for a suitable placement NOC can

be Contact: 94521899

Accountant Indian male, 6 years

experience up to finalization in tally

with reporting knowledge & good

knowledge of payroll, having Oman

D/L, NOC. Contact: 92540313

Accountant , female , 1 &half

years experience up to finalization

in tally, good knowledge in report-

ing, pursuing ACCA, valid D/L.

Contact: 95373751

28/male/MBA - finance/B.Com -

Accountant with 4 years of Dubai/

India experience looking for a

suitable placement.

Contact 90187483

[email protected]

Indian female 28 yrs B.Com 4 yrs

experience in MNC’s currently in

Muscat seeking suitable place-

ment in Finance / Admin.

Contact: 94743790

Construction Company looking for Architect with experience in

Oman. Contact 97192707

Required Beautician for Beauty

Saloon at Ghobrah. Clearance /

visa available.

Contact no. 95924910

Urgently required a Gulf experi-enced professional hair dresser cum beautician (lady) for a

reputed beauty salon.

Immediate appointment.

Contact: 99816262 / 98557585

Fax: 24796211 Email:

[email protected]

Beauty salon needs lady for

henna. Contact: 93336061

Indian male B.COM, MBA 4 years in

Larsen & Toubro total 26 years gulf

experience English, Arabic speaking

driving license NOC available.

Contact: 95588565

Indian male Accountant 2.5 years

exp in Oman with valid D/L NOC

available. Contact: 98870112

Accountant Having 5 Years expe-

rience in reputed companies.

Currently working in Muscat

(NOC AVAILABLE) GSM.91367217

Email [email protected]

Indian/MBA/male Chief Accountant 18Yrs Experi-

ence, MIS, C.Flow, Budgeting,

ERP, Cost accounting &Liasing

with auditors. NOC available.

Contact: 92254691/97826674


Indian male 27 yrs, MBA finance

with 4 years experience currently

in Muscat on visit visa seeking

suitable placement in finance /

admin. Contact: 90921724

Indian (Male) having 17+years

Experience in Trading & Health-

care seeking senior Position in

Accounts (11 years GCC Experi-

ence)currently on Resident Visa

(NOC Available) and has a valid

Omani Driving Licence. Contact:

91335026; [email protected]

ADMIN

Indian male age 26, Accountant

one year experience in accounts

looking for suitable job. Contact -

Email: Anishkhan991867@gmail.

Com Mobile: +968 9565 9415

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

accounts/ finance field. On visit

visa. Immediately available.

Contact 92836216 /

[email protected]

Indian male 31 chartered Accountant having 2 years Oman

experience looking for suitable

placement in finance and audit

field NOC available.

Contact: 96357827 Email:

[email protected]

Urgently required a Graphic designer with 2 years experience

in graphic designing, Photoshop,

illustrator. Send CV to


Advertising and signboard mak-

ing company required fresh or

experience Graphic designer send

CV to [email protected]

Wanted staff nurse with MOH

license, immediate appointment, to

work in a private clinic. Permanent

post or locum. All Nationals can ap-

ply. Salary negotiable, free accom-

modation available.

Contact – 99048170/ 94870029

Wanted for Ibra clinic lab Techni-cians gynecologist physician lady medical officer MOH license

and NOC needed or prometric with

high score and dataflow.

Contact - 99373493

[email protected]

GP doctor needed for reputed clin-

ic. Preferably with MOH license or

with Dataflow & Paramatics pass

Contact: 95388934

Required GP Doctors, gynecology, X ray tech staff nurses. Contact: 99681325 Email:

[email protected]

Required gynecologist GEN: practitioner lady lab Technician and pharmacologist immediately

for a clinic in Suwaiq.

Contact 95081010


Accountant available with NOC,

7 years experience in Oman.

Ready to join immediately.

Contact 98263394

Well experienced Account M.Com

available with NOC, Tally & ERP.

Contact : 99035707

Indian male 34 yrs, M.Com –

Finance with 5 yrs experience in

Accounts in India, presently in

visiting visa looking for a suitable

placement. Contact: 93671785


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

ACCA member with 6 yrs of experi-

ence in Oman looking for a suitable

job in finance. Contact: 99284193

Accountant 8Years Experience

with D/L and NOC.

Contact 97712084

Indian, Kerala Male B.COM & B.PE,

Currently on Visit Visa. Looking for

a suitable job in Accounts, Store

Keeper, Sales etc. Ready to join as

early as possible.

Contact: 96988923

email:- [email protected]

Branch Manger required to

manage entire Business.

[email protected] 99110080

Urgently required a Purchase Manager to handle all the procure-

ments for a reputed Ready-mix

concrete Company, having its

branches all over Oman. The

candidate should possess required

experience, product knowledge

and excellent communication

skills. Interested candidates may

send their CV to sndakshin@gmail.

com / Contact: 99256757

Looking for a full time driver with

valid Omani license.

Contact: 95454033

Required urgently driver, experience Omani or expat drivers

with P.D.O. license.

Contact: 98242478

Required marketing / PR manag-

er for a modern restaurant group

in Oman , proficient in illustrator &

Photoshop charismatic , proac-

tive , creative & flexible excellent

writing / Editing skills degree in

relevant area fluent in English.

Send CV to

[email protected]

URGENTLY REQUIREDBuildings construction

qualifi ed & experienced male Projects Manager

with Civil Engineering B.SC & quantity survey knowledge 10- 15 years experience. For a Muscat based well known

construction company. Email - [email protected]

Fax - 24479675

Indian Female, MBA-HR having

8+ experience in Administration/

HR, Customer Support, Office Coor-

dinator with good Computer skill,

Now on Visit Visa,looking for suit-

able position. Contact: 90196235

Indian male 21 yrs Graduate in

business administration (BBA)

with computer knowledge (hard-

ware & software) seeks suitable

employment immediately.

Contact: 98085633 / 98898504

Indian female, MSC more than 6

years Oman experience in office

coordination, administration &

managerial, clerical jobs looking

for a suitable position.

Contact: 91303124

Indian female MBA fin & HR now

on visit visa looking for suitable


Indian female, 27, MCA, 2 yrs

experience in Administration and

HR in India & Oman. Currently in

family visa seeking suitable jobs

preferably in Muscat.

Contact.99417993

Indian/ 23yrs female/ 5yrs GCC

experience with NOC looking for a

suitable position in HR/Admin

/ Accounts/ BD.

Contact +96890656997

Indian female with nearly 10

years of Oman experience in

Administration & HR, seeking suit-

able placement. NOC available.

Contact: 99242841

Filipino HRD especialist /

material controller supervisor

with 18 yrs experience looking

for suitable job in Oman.

Contact: (+968) 98037142 /

(+968) 92659817

Required Omani Driver

for a restaurant. Contact 95929911

Wanted a experience Driver for Capital and Interior work.

Gsm : 942-888-63

URGENT REQUIREMENT

EVENT COORDINATOR For a reputed Company

Event Management.

Send CV with current picture.


Indian Male MBA (UK), 9 years experience in Dubai/London/Mumbai in Management Consulting,

Sales & Marketing, Business Development for Real Estate/Banking

seeks similar placement with D/L.

Contact: 95168205


SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

ARCHITECT

DESIGNER/DRAUGHTSMAN

ENGG. / TECH./MECH.

HOSPITALITY

IT

MISCELLANEOUS

Mechanical Engineer with one

year’s experience as Asst. Piping

Engineer having good knowledge of

PIPING DESIGNS, PDMS, SP3D, AU-

TOCAD, PRO-ENGINEER WILDFIRE,

DS CATIA, JAVA SCRIPTS etc, look-

ing for suitable opportunity. Contact:

+968-99200724/24496072.

Civil Engineer B.Tech with 6+

years in supervision designing

planning and QC expert in Mech,

civil software. Contact: 90719263

Project co-odinater & AutoCAD

draftsman Indian male, 8 yrs exp

in Oman in civil, interior, precast-

ing with D/L & NOC.

Contact: 92188496, Email:

[email protected]

Quantity surveyor (B.E Civil) 5+

years experience in buildings

and mosque N.O.C available ready

to join immediately. Contact:

+97826597 / +919171430681


For preparing Civil / MEP Auto CAD drawings.

Contact -93480346.


Civil Engineer 7 years experience,

Driving license, NOC available.

Contact- 98078095

Electrical Engineer B.Tech, Indian

available in Oman, 2+ years Oman

exp (MEP) Light D/L.

Contact - 93832935

Diploma Civil Engineering (certifi-

cate attested) 6 years Oman experi-

ence as interior work site in charge

/ quantity surveyor NOC/ Release

available.Contact: 93120433

Civil Engr. Diploma 8 yrs exp in

construction & consultancy with

auto cad. D/L.Contact: 93060770


Civil Engineer, Indian male 4

Years experience in Oman & India.

Looking for Permanent Placement

in Oman. NOC Available, Contact:

+96895984661,+96891455949

Civil Quantity Surveyor with 3yr

UAE experience seeking job.

UAE driving license holder.


+96895641991; +971557969671

Electrical Engineer 5 years

experience substations oil & Gas

water projects fluency in Arabic &

English & English driving license


Chemical Engineer with MBA &

experience looking for job.

Contact: 94908977

Mechanical Engineer 7 years

experience plumbing firefighting

water pipeline projects fluency in

Arabic and English driving license


Diploma in Mechanical Engg, 10 years exp in steel fabrication

site work with valid Oman driving

license. Contact: 94434293

B.Sc Civil Engineer 7 years gulf

experience total experience 9 years

having GCC D/L seeking for suitable

replacement local release available.

Contact: 98628515/ 98289234


B.E Electrical Engineer, Age 28 yrs.

5.5 yrs experience. 2 yrs in OMAN

as site supervisor/ site engineer,

with valid GCC license. NOC avail-

able. Contact: 95527936


Civil Engineer diploma, 4 yrsexp

seeks suitable position ina reputed

company. NOC available.

Contact 96789711

Indian male 24 years dynamic &

professional B.Tech (Mech. Engg)

with 1 year experience working

on BPCL project in India seeks

opening for suitable post, currently

in Oman. Contact: 93672286 /

97772272

B.E Mechanical Engineer, age 24

with almost 1 year experience as

Production Shift Engineer, has

achieved training on HVAC

Engineering 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


Mechanical diploma, Indian male

26, 4 years experienced MEP

supervisor seeks suitable openings

NOC / Release available.

Contact: 97901559

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, com-

missioning execution etc having

valid GCC license too looking for a

suitable. Contact: 00968-98052942


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]

ADMIN

Architect Engineer seeking for

suitable job 4 years experience

currently working in Muscat, NOC


B.Tech Civil Engineer 2 years

experience on visit seeks urgent


Electronics & telecommunication

BE Indian male having skills in

electronics communication, net-

working , embedded having 2 years

experience looking for suitable po-

sition available in Oman on family

visit visa. Contact: 93051918 Email:

[email protected]

Civil Engineer (QS) 2 yrs exp

seeking job UAE D/L.

Contact: +96895641991

Indian male, Structural Engineer

looking for job in structural design

field. Having 6 years of experi-

ence in design field. Residing in

Muscat. Contact: 91176187


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


Indian mechanical supervisor (diploma) 17 yrs experience in pet-

rochemical construction (fabrica-

tion erection) in all steel structural

and mechanical jobs, on visit visa

seeks suitable placement.

Contact: 90924467


Indian male 24 ,B.E ( E.C.E ) grad-

uate with 3 years of experience in

the fields of BMS and Low current

systems and has good knowledge

about Electronic Security Systems,

currently working in Oman, NOC

Available. Contact:-94737033/

[email protected]

Mechanical Engineer, B.Tech

(Post Graduate) looking for suita-

ble placement. Contact: 99576846

mail: [email protected]

Indian male Civil Engg. 11 years

experience having Omani driving

license, NOC available.

Contact: 95797286


Mechanical Engineer (B.Tech)

Indian male with 1 year experience

on visit visa looking for job,

qualification in QA-QC, HVAC&

piping engineering.


[email protected]

Indian male MBA Finance & Marketing 25 yrs

having 1.9 years of experience Finance & Marketing

Contact: 95206140/ 96992013 Email:

[email protected]

ENGINEER With 2 years exp in Telecom sector, currently on visit visa, looking for suitable placement.

Contact : 93919943 [email protected]

Sudanese Male 35 yrs B.Sc Electronic System Engineering

with 11 yrs. Experience in Gov/Private. CISCO (CCNP-R&S) and Ethical hacking

services management.

Email: [email protected]:+97450475034

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

Contact 96978380,


Construction Machinery repairs

Engineer, 5 years, driving license,

Contact - 94001961

Agriculture Engineer 2 8rs, with

5 yrsexp in the field of agriculture,

landscaping & irrigation. Since 2

yrs working in different projects.

Having valid UAE driving license.

Currently in Oman (Salalah) on

visit visa. Contact – 94120190 /

[email protected]

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.

Autocad works freelance, MEP, Civil

works, Interior, 2d/3d, BOQ etc.

Contact 97103168

Revit, Autocad D/man, expected

salary 200 OMR PH :92279784

Filipino Senior Revit/AutoCAD

Draftsman with 20 years profes-

sional experience is looking for suit-

able job in Oman. Please Contact:

96489798, (+974) 66653780.

An MBA (M Finance)With SAP erp and accounts

Standards (IAAP-UK), peach tree

experience seeks suitable placement

Gsm: +968 98103247

A O G

diploma in I

experience seeks suitable placement.

Gsm:+958 98103250

An MBA (M Finance)

SAP Business Objects / Data

Warehousing professional. 10

years experience with top IT

global companies (HP and Accen-

ture) in team leading roles. Oman

Family visa. Looking for jobs in

Muscat.

Contact: 91487199

Female, 31, B.Tech- ECE/CCNA/

GSM, 5 yrs Oman experience in IT

support (AD, exchange, TMG, UNIS

Server admin, In-house apps sup-

port, project placement, Transfer

NOC available.

Contact: 95742398

Indian female MCA having 3 yrs

experience in teaching looking

for any suitable job in reputed

organic station on visit skilled in

programming language VB, JAVA

,C,C,TT & also WEB development.

Contact 90595322

Indian Male, MCA Graduate, 15

yrs exp in ERP, CSM Certified,

seeking suitable role.NOC Avail-

able. Contact : GSM : 90189284


Indian female M.Sc Computer

Science seeking suitable place-

ment in Muscat area. Contact

98660672

SAP Business Objects / Data

Warehousing professional. 10

years experience with top 5 IT

global companies (HP and Accen-

ture) in team leading roles. Oman

family visa. Looking for jobs in

Muscat. Phone: 91487199

IT Support Engineer, Exp 3 years

in Oman 2 years in India.

Contact: 94672759

Indian male 4 years experience in

IT as Programmer / Web Support/

CCNA/ Network on visit visa

seeking placement.


[email protected]

3 years experience in IT Software

field, seeking suitable jobs.

Contact: 96350234, Email :

[email protected]

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 cruise liner has butler.

Has Oman driving license.

Contact- 99859150.

Automobile Mechanic ITI 3 years

experience marine mechanical

fitter 2 yrs experience.

Contact 93674847

Mechanical Engineer 2 years

experience as HVAC design &

drafting, CAD, MEP Engg.

Contact: 90150913

Pakistani male Diploma Civil

Engineer 4yrs exp in Oman bull-

ing & mega projects, valid license

Oman. Contact: 98921022

Sr. Electrical Engineer with17+ yrs

of exceptional exp in spear head-

ing strategic planning and project

management initiatives & execut-

ing various high rise residential

& commercial building as well as

roads and highway project with

proficiency in installation, seeking

a challenging position in a dynamic

organization. Contact 96570891

Quantity Surveyor / Site Engineer

6 years experience in Omani have

valid driving license release avail-

able looking for immediate place-

ment. Contact: 96394948

Indian female 25years M.E (power

electronics) 3years experience in

teaching profession looking for

suitable job. Contact no 97003267

& 94214909


Sr. Quantity surveyor B.Tech (Civil

Tech) above 8 years (7 years in

Oman) having driving license NOC


Mechanical Engineer experience

maintenance of pumping stations

production line machinery turbine

for power plant good communica-

tions skills, planning follow up

Engineer projects HSE awareness

trained multiple design software

looking for job. Contact 949064473

/ 96654019

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]

Civil Engineer with 6+ years in

Supervision designing & Q.C expert

in much civil softwares,


Mechanical Engineer (Sudanese)

3 years experience : Fire fighting,

HSE, Design, Production.

Contact: 93642704


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 92157694. 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)



Indian male, Mechanical

Engineer having 1year experi-

ence, on visit visa looking for

suitable job. Contact:97416564,

Email:[email protected]

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]

Mech. Engineer 10 years GCC

exp automobile / oil & gas / const

project / plant, equip machinery in

charge with driving license NOC.

Contact: 95774585

Driver light duty (house or com-

pany) valid Gulf D/L looking job.

Contact- 95175192

Pakistani driver with car Subaru

2004 model. Contact: 99667817

Driver with Electrician 4 years

experience looking for job.

Contact: 97456062

Pakistani driver with 3 years

experience, seeking for placement

familiar with Batinah & Sharqiyah

regions. Contact 99832706

Looking for driver job.

Contact: 99035942 /97383016

Looking for job driver. Contact: 94158238

Six years experienced light duty

vehicle driver looking for a suit-

able placement. Contact: 96362871

Driver with light duty license 10

yrs exp. Contact: 94566432

Driver with car. Contact:93346085

13 years experience driver.

Contact 95068976

Bangladeshi driver looking for job.

Contact: 97418036

Experience driver 12 years experi-

ence in GCC, seeks suitable place-


ENGG. / TECH./MECH.

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

DRIVER

DESIGNER

DIETICIAN

Indian male B.com MBA 4 years in

L &T total 26 years gulf experienced

English & Arabic speaking driving li-

cense with NOC. Contact: 95588565

Sudanese 27 yrs BSC in IT having

Omani driving in resident visa

experience in Administration P.R.O

general account and tourism

language Arabic and English.

Contact: 94907717


Indian looking for a job in the

trade 27 years of age for a friendly

college degree. Contact: 96424192

Sudanese male bachelor geology

and mining with 3 years experience

in MUD logging and training in soil

investigation. Contact: 92956848

Indian male 28yrs Bcom 3yrs

exp. in warehouse operations

(including pharmaceutical). Well

knowledge in WMS & ERP, looking

for suitable job. Ph. 95576686,

E: [email protected] (UAE visa

holder, currently in Oman)

BS in Electrical Engineering, Experience: 5 years(Power Plants).


[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 lace-

ments. NOC available. #92066 523

Interior design supervisor 6 yrs

experience valid Oman license NOC

/ release available.

Contact: 92508926

Indian Female, 25 Years - MSc

Biotechnology, 1yr exp. in Clinical Mi-

crobiology & 6 months working exp.

in international crop reserch

institute of semi arid crops (ICRISAT)

Looking for suitable job. #92619048,


MEDICAL

Indian Male with 13 Years Oman

Experience as Assistant Pharma-

cist with Valid MOH License and

Oman D/L is looking for a Suitable

Job in Muscat Area. NOC available.

Please Contact: 92121414

Sri Lankan female qualified in UK

with BSC (Hons) pharmacology and

MSC pharmaceutical science with

management studies having one

year experience in Sir Lanka, look-

ing suitable placement in regulatory

affairs, clinical research / trials,

Pharmacologist, pharmacovigilance

and research. #99550318

Indian female dentist specialized

Endodontist, looking for suitable

placement. Parametric completed.

Contact: 96410448

MANAGER/SUPER.

Chief Accountant/Finance Manager

– Indian male, CA Finalist, having

20 years’ experience in Finance,

Accounts, Audit, Finalization of Ac-

counts, preparation of Project Reports

etc., looking for immediate placement.

12 yrs. in Oman in Construction and

Consultancy co., have Omani D/L,

knows Tally. Contact 94041048,


Indian male - 8 yrs exp as HSE of-

fice/supervisor -on visit visa- seeks

suitable opening in Sohar - Contact

94532131 / 98317698;


8 Years experienced camp boss

worked in SAOG CO. Looking for

suitable position. NOC available.

Contact - 94298945

Electrical & Electronics Engr,

knows autocad & revit.

PH: 93837973

Senior Land Surveyor 23 yrs

Oman, UAE & Egypt GPS, T.S

Construction roads infrastructure

oil feed electric works OHL, UGC

grid , primary substation process-

ing data. Contact: 95326927 /

92928981


Civil Engineer (Indian male)

5 years experience in Oman with

valid Omani driving license & NOC

looking for suitable opportunity.

Contact: 93101283

Indian male B-tech 8 years expe-

rience as senior electrical project

engineer / QC engineer on visit

visa seeks suitable placement.

Contact 94094543


Indian female dietician with 3

years experience in India seeking

a suitable placement preferable in

Muscat. Contact: 99104209

Indian female MBA / HR, 2.5

experience seeking suitable job.

Contact: 99257214

EDUCATION/TRAINING

ENGG. / SUPERVISOR

Female B. Ed English teacher, 7 yrs exp seeking suitable

placement. Contact 99739415 /

92091528

Indian male, M.Tech Graduate in

Chemical Process Control Engineer-

ing looking for lecturing jobs, cur-

rently in Oman. Contact : 98352288

Site Supervisor, Diploma in

Civil Engg (cert attested) knows

autocad revit, salary exp: 250

Ph : 92279784

SECRETARIAL & OFFICE

Lady Secretary / Sales Co-coordi-

nator 12 years experience in Oman

in reputed companies, seek imme-

diate 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 female BE, 3 years office

assistant experience, seeking

placement.Contact-90655903

DAILY GUIDED6 S U N D AY, J U N E 2 6 , 2 0 1 6

Email: [email protected] [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624

SITUATION WANTEDSITUATION WANTED

SITUATION WANT-SIT. WANTED

Indian male 26 years of experi-

ence of sales & marketing in surgi-

cal and laboratory equipments.

Looking for good replacement.

Contact – 92015894 / 95774854

Indian female, MBA Marketing

with 4 years experience with

4 years experience with Oman

experience, NOC and D/L looking

for suitable opening with visa.

Contact: 92460623

Indian female having D/L with 12

years experience in corporate / re-

tail sales & B/D. Looking for a suit-

able job in training / IT / Education

companies. Contact: 91751077


Indian male 3.5 yr experience in

Oman sales and purchase having

valid Oman driving license seeking

for suitable job. Contact 91076676

Sales representative with 7 years

experience and valid Oman driving

license, NOC or release avail-

able-99695780

Sales 2 years B.Com male 24 yrs,

Indian. Contact: 00968 94212636

[email protected]

Indian female, BSC, Bed, MBA

(Marketing) 3years experience,

seeks suitable in the marketing

section. Contact: 95041134


Indian Male, Experienced in FMCG

& other kind of Sales, looking for

suitable placement in Foodstuff/

FMCG Industry with valid GCC

license. Immediately available. Con-

tact: 94625495.

Indian Male, MBA marketing 5 yrs

exp. in sales & 4 yrs in FMCG

sector, looking for best opportunity.


Indian male 33 having 6 yrs exp in

Oman & 4 yes exp in Qatar having

valid Oman D/L seeks opportunity

in sales & business development.

Contact: 98260607

Email: amrish.sukumar@gmail.

com

Indian male 1.5 yrs exp a sales &

merchandising in Oman looking

for best opportunity NOC available.

Contact: 93039342

Sales & Marketing Executive In-

dian national with valid Omani D/L

with good command of languages,

18 yrs exp in Middle East. Looking

for suitable placement.

Contact - 98103829

SALES / MARKETING

SALES / MARKETING

Filipino Male, 28 years Old. Looking

for job, Have experience in Rent

a Car/ Cargo & Logistics / Real

Estate/ Customer Care Executive /

Sale Executive & Marketing/ Shop

In- Charge. Hard working w/ good

computer and communication skill.

GSM: 97761075

Indian male 24 B.com, 2years of

experience in sales & admin &

proficient in M.S Office, Excel.

Contact: 98613373


Indian male MBA 5 yrs experi-

ence in Oman and India seeking

suitable position in marketing &

sales NOC available.


[email protected]

35 years male, Lebanese holding

British passport, 10 years of experi-

ence in procurement, Omani Govern-

ment tenders, setup marketing plans

& strategies, importing, Organizing

events, management, have car, NOC

available. Contact 94123939


Indian male 37 years MBA gradu-

ate 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

Indian Male MBA, 5 years Build-

ing Materials Project Sales experi-

ence in Oman, NOC available,

seeking for placement.

Contact - 90655903,99325544

Indian female 29 years Post Grad-

uate with computer Knowledge 2

years of Oman experience in coor-

dinator & 5 years of experience in

customer service, client relation

officer with excellent communica-

tion skill seeks suitable place-


Oil &gas experienced Indian lady

with 6 years in sales & market-

ing to PDO and having valid

Omani driving license. Contact

96143430/99875919

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


Sales & Marketing executive

MBA with 3 years exp , 6 months

exp in Oman with NOC ,

ooking for suitable placement.

Contact: 91345727

B. Com 2 years experience in

Sales Marketing Logistics

Accounts and Front office

Contact 95506048

Indian male 5+ years of experi-

ence as a sales & marketing execu-

tive with valid Oman D/L.

Contact 95434902

Indian male 1 yr exp in sales

automotive (TBL) looking for best

opportunity , NOC available.

Contact: 97793879


Indian, 20 years experience in

Oman as personal assistant / office

manager / executive secretary /

administrator / business develop-

ment asst. seeks job change. Release

available. Contact 99168054.

Indian Female, 25 Years - MSc

Looking for suitable job.

Mobile: 92619048,


MISCELLANEOUS

MISCELLANEOUS

Master in Aeronautical engineer-

ing (PhD) having 4 years experi-

ence. Seeking job in universities,

colleges, schools and industries.

Contact 98259462

[email protected]

Mechanical Engineer 3 years of

experience in HVAC mechanical

engineer one year experience in

Auto Cad B.E (mechanical engi-

neering) revit mep, auto cad, stcw,

huet.mobile: +97430384909 email:

[email protected]

Indian male 21, Graduate in com-

merce (B.com ) having 2 years of

experience in cash counter (Na-

tional trading & spare parts)look-

ing for a suitable placement on a

visit visa. Contact:+968 95919647

/+968 94245753/ uzairzain786@

gmail.com

Indian candidate with 15 years ex-

perience in Facility Management

(Soft Service) looking for part time

assignments / Consultancy Oppor-

tunities. Contact- 98469311

Indian Male, 23, BBA Graduate,

fresher, no D/L, looking for a suit-

able job. Contact: 94032041; Email:

[email protected]

25, Indian female (BCA- Com-

puter Application). 1yr experience

as teacher and graphic designer.

Knowledge in Photoshop, illustra-

tor, in design. Looking for suitable

job in office administration, teach-

ing and graphic designing.

Contact - 98426509

Part- Time Accountant, well expe-

rience senior accountant, doing all

type of accounting works, Finaliza-

tion, Budgeting available.

Contact: 98803439

Qualified banking & Accounts

management profesional seeking

suitable job opportunities. Current-

ly working in India with ICIC Bank.

Email: sheemoljohn@rediffmail.

com Contact# 919755550181

Filipino Male: 35 yrs, with 3yrs

Technical & Customer Service,

2yrs Online Ad Serving, 1yr dmin-

istrative work experiences looking

for suitable job.

Contact 97852816

Project Engineer, Mechanical In-

dian Male, 26 years 3 Years experi-

ence in Projects of Tanks, Boilers

and Steel structures Aware of int.

Standards B.Tech in Mech engg

Contact-rahulkunnath23@gmail.

com Mob-00917350860889

Filipino Cabin steward / Linen

vallet is looking for suitable job in

Oman. Contact: +968 91065438 or


SITUATION WANTEDCOMPUTER/WEB./ EDUCATION/CLASSES

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

Spoken Arabic class for Non Arabic Speakers & English

class for Malayalam Speakers in Azaiba and Ruwi

earn in two monthstion guaranteed

Tel: 95244310

SECRETARIAL & OFFICE SKILLED / UNSKILLED

Electrician, plumber, helper, In-

dian & gulf exp looking job.

Contact - 95175192

Mason, sh/carpenter, steel fitter,

with medical.

Contact- 95175192 or mail,

[email protected]

Indian male Administrative

officer Four years experience in

same field. Well known MS office

tools, Specialization in handling

back office operations, inter of-

fice correspondence, confidential

mails, Quotations, Monthly billing.

Searching for suitable job in Oman.

Contact: +91 9750572088/ E-mail

id: [email protected]

Indian Driver, with Oman driving

license having 10 years experience

in Oman, looking for suitable posi-

tions. Contact-91519047

Indian male network cabling tech-

nician (19-years gulf experience)

seeking for suitable placement.

Contact: 0091-8089909265 (India)


Mechanical Engineer, Indian,

(B.E.) on visit visa, seeking suitable

post. Contact no: 99534733 email:

[email protected]

HSE Engineer, Indian male 5 years

experience in Oil & Gas. Working

in Shclumberger, NEBOSH, IOSH,

& NDT Certified, M Tech in HSE.

[email protected]

+91 9867016808

Indian male MBA, 24 yrs having

experience in Sales & marketing

seeks suitable placement.

Contact GSM: 93833563

email: [email protected].

Indian male, 24 yrs, B. Com Graduate

more than 1 year experienced in ac-

counts planning to come for a family

visit in oman seeking for a suitable

placement. Contact 99334770/

99743709

Indian male 33 years, B.Com, hav-

ing 6 years experience in Oman.

Tally & ERP looking for suitable

placement. Mobile no :98492921

Indian Male, 22, Experienced,

Looking for job in sales (no DL).

Contact: 90801420; Email:

[email protected]

Female Architect on visiting visa,

two years’ experience, graduated

from School of Planning and Archi-

tecture (under MHRD). Proficient

in AutoCAD, Google Sketchup and

creative visualization. Email

[email protected].

Contact 00968-94057427.

Indian Architectural Engineer with

2.5 yrs experience in architectural

consultancy firms, currently on visit

visa, looking for suitable placement

Contact no: +96894955793

[email protected].

Economist: Female, MA & M. Phil/

PhD_ in ECONOMICS. 10 years

experience Banking/Lecturer/Cus-

tomer Service/Trainer, currently

looking for job contact: 97457248


merce (B.com) having 2 years of

experience in purchase (supply

chain management) looking for a

suitable placement presently on

a visit visa. Contact: 93979084 /

97351786 / E-mail:

[email protected]

Indian Female 23 Years, Post

Graduated in Sanskrit (language),

Seeking for Suitable Jobs, (Teach-

ing or Clerical), Knowledge in MS

Office, Good Communication Skill

#96141317, 94614317, E-mail:

[email protected]

Indian male electrician (EEE),

2 years good working experi-

ence searching for suitable job.

Gmail id ; antonyajin15@gmail.

com, Contact; 918148336160 /

918300136160

Indian male Electrician(EEE)

2 years good working experi-

ence searching for suitable

job. mail ; antonyajin15@gmail.

com, Contact;918148336160 /

918300136160

Indian male 33 yrs, MBA - HR, worked on

Recruitments,Training,Site-HR,

Omanisation and development

plans of nationals ,10 yrs exp.

Seeking a job.NOC avl. # 94179499

[email protected]

Indian Male, 23, BBA Graduate,

Fresher, on visit visa looking for

job in sales/marketing.

Contact - 94032041; Email -

[email protected]

Sudanese male. Bachelor geology

and mining with 2 years experience

in MUD LOGGING & Training in Soil

Investigation. Tel: 92956848

Indian female, B.Tech Computer

Science with 3 years experience

seeking full time job in IT support,

Teaching, HR. Contact: 95933507 /

97485997

Indian male 25, Graduate in

commerce (B.com) having 4 years

of experience in Office Admin-

istration (admin) looking for a

suitable placement presently on

a visit visa. Contact: 93979084 /

97351786 E-mail:

[email protected]

Indian male, 30.System admin-

istrator/desktop support profes-

sional.5 years of GCC exp.

Visa status: visit (Dubai)

mob: 00971565598176/

[email protected]

Indian male, 26 years 3 Years’

experience in Projects of Tanks,

Boilers and Steel structures

Aware of int. Standards, B tech in

Mech Engg. Contact-

[email protected]

Mob-00917350860889



experience in same field looking

for a suitable placement pres-

ently on a visit visa. Contact :

93979084 / 97351786, E-mail :

[email protected]



experience in same field looking

for a suitable placement presently

on a visit visa. Contact : 93979084

/ 97351786, E-mail :

[email protected]

Indian male 26 yrs (MBA) Spe-

cialized in Marketing have 2 yrs

heavy equipment sales experi-

ence, have GCC driving license

looking suitable job in Oman.

Contact 99180369


Indian female, 31 years (B.A., D.Ed)

having 6 yrs of teaching experi-

ence in CBSE schools in India well

versed with electronics devices

teaching, good computer knowl-

edge presently on visit visa look-

ing for suitable job. #97135319

Email: [email protected] 5 years experienced (Front office

& Banking), Indian Male (28 years.

Hotel Management graduate),

searching for suitable position.

English, Hindi, Malayalam,

Arabic fluent.

Noc available. Contact: 91383167

Indian male Electrician(EEE ).

Two years good working experi-


Gmail id ; antonyajin15@gmail.

com, Name; Antony Ajin.

G : 918148336160 /918300136160

Economics Specialist: Female ,

MA & M.Phil/PhD_ in ECONOMICS .

10 years experience Banking/Lec-

turer/Customer Service/Trainer

currently Looking for job Call:

97457248

Female Architect on visiting visa,

two years’ experience, gradu-

ated from School of Planning and

Architecture (under MHRD). Profi-

cient in AutoCAD, Google Sketchup

and creative visualization. Email

[email protected].

Contact 00968-94057427.

Indian female , M.B.A, 8 Yrs of

Experience in Oil and Gas industry,

Trading & contracting companies.

working as an Unit Manager for

MNC, HR Coordinator and Office

admin for local companies. seek-

ing suitable placement immedi-

ately. Contact 99179709.

Indian male, 44 Years, Plumbing

Supervisor, holding Omani Driving

license, having 14 Years of experi-

ence in Oman and 8 years in India.


Contact - 95154414

Email- [email protected]

Sudanese male, 5 years experi-

ence in supply chain (warehouse

management, logistics and pro-

curement) Contact : 90644186

Indian Male, 44 Years, Plumbing

Supervisor, holding Omani Driving

license, having 14 Years of experi-

ence in Oman and 8 years in India.


Contact - 95154414

Email- [email protected]


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 & accommodation at all the beautiful places in Oman. Contact 99839898

SIT. WANTED

TRANSPORTATIONTRANSPORTATION

Transportation. Contact: 91703829

Transportation available Ruwi to

Al Khuwair, Ghubra & Azaiba.

Contact: 91103909

FOR HIRE

New Volvo Trailor available for

rent to UAE every alternative days,

50 ton capacity with reasonable

rent contact.99318152/

email- Ahastco @gmail.com

Transportation. available.Contact 92430239

Transportation available Al Khu-

wair, Ghobrah, Azaiba, Al Hail & Al

Khoud. Drop & pick.

Contact: 95250161

Transportation. Contact:96538078

Transportation. Contact94510847

Transportation. Contact

99508282

Transportation. Contact 92015894

Transportation required from

Qurum to WadiKabir at afternoon

only 1 PM. Contact - 99012165

DRIVING

SITUATION WANTEDBUSINESS

INVESTOR PARTNER REQUIRED

Email: 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

BUYING

Used office house furniture

& electronic items. Contact:

99834373 / 96642500

Bobcat available for rent.

Contact 97623299

Buying cars for cash.

Contact 90202090

Regin Accountant male Indian,

2 years experience doing accounts

in tally and excel searching for

suitable job. No : +91 7373387282

EMAIL – [email protected],

Indian Female Electronics System

Eng. UK Graduate. Program-

mer Micro Controller Robot, Eng.

Analysis, Instrumentation & Control,

Eng. Projects, Integrated Circuit

Eng., Electrical and Fluid Drives,

Analogue Electronics, Wireless Sys-

tems, seeking suitable post,

on Visiting Visa. # 97848075,

[email protected]

Indian male (B.E) Quality Control-

ler and Supervising. 3 year good

working experience. Better knowl-

edge in quality control technique.

Searching for suitable job. Mail:

[email protected],

Contact: GSM : +91 9786418033 /

968 91894487

Accountant male Indian, 2 years

experience, doing accounts in tally

& excel seeks suitable job.

EMAIL – [email protected],

Contact +91 7373387282

Pakistani Male, Land Surveyor with

work experience in Dubai Seeks

suitable job in Oman.

Contact 94347288

Indian male, 25 yrs, more than

5 years experience in Dubai, Looking

for a suitable placement for jobs

related to sales, marketing, coordina-

tion and support. Contact: 95140445,

[email protected]

Indian Male, Post graduate with

10yrs experience in Gulf & 4.6yrs

in Oil & Gas experience with SAP

and ERP exposure. Finalization,

MIS, Auditing, Budgeting, AP &AR,

Tax, etc., with Oman D/L seeking

suitable placement. NOC available.

Contact: 91743376

Indian Male, 23, BBA graduate,

fresher, looking for a job in sales

(indoor). No driving license.

Contact: 94032041 Mail:

[email protected]

SIT. WANTED

Indian male electrician(EEE ).

Two years good working experi-


Gmail ; antonyajin15@gmail.

com. Antony Ajin.G, Contact: 91

8148336160 / 91 8300136160

Sri Lankan female, 27 years, quali-

fied English Language professional

with 6 years of lecturing, manage-

rial, marketing experience, seeking

suitable position in education

industry. Contact (+968) 93017330,

(+968) 98445287 Email:

wijayawardane.bhagya@gmail.

com.

D8 S U N D AY, J U N E 2 6 , 2 0 1 6

DAILY GUIDE Email: [email protected] [email protected].: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461Fax: 24812624

SITUATION WANTEDSERVICES

SERVICESWe Provide Cleaners,

General cleaning etc.

Contact : 94277020

Pest control & Building cleaning all kinds of pest control

MYearly contracts available.

0

Al farzdaq Al Fedi Trad and Cont

Maintenance services electric,

plumbing and A/C. Contact:

96524904 /94285064

A/C Maintenance & Servicing,

Fridge, Washing machine & Dish

washer repairing, Painting & Clean-

ing services, Electrical & plumbing.

Contact 99447257 / 97014234 /

24504281

Water proofing ABUQABAS-

Contact 99320217/24788722

Split unit A/C & window unit A.C

servicing & maintenance.

Contact: 96236476

Split unit & window unit A.C ser-

vicing & maintenance.

Contact: 93769089 / 95323517

WE SERVE OMAN

Cleaning services sofa shampoo,

carpet shampoo, new house, old

house. Contact: 92179395

Marble crystallization & grinding, Ocean center LLC

Contact: 99344723

Marble crystallization & grinding, cleaning & carpet shampooing.

Ocean center LLC.

Contact 99344723

Pest control treatments, Ocean center LLC

Contact 99344723

FOR LADIES

Contact 99619409

Offer!! Treading Gold Facial &

Pedicure just for 10 RO,

Home service available, (Threading, facial, waxing,

Head massage) R0. 20

Window & split unit A.C servicing

& repairing. Contact: 99557080

House shifting & transporting.

Contact 92490422

MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of

your marble. Contact 24793614/

99314807

Split & window A/C servicing,

repairing, installation ducted, pack-

age etc. Contact Abbas : 98667326

GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet & sofa shampooing,

Contact 99314807/24792998

Pest control Gulfa international.

Contact: 92326955

House shifting. Contact

99708138

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

All Maintenance and services

electric, CCTV Camera, Plumbing

A/C service and gas installation,

painting tiles. Contact: 96524904 /

94285064

CAD drawings Archi/ MEP

CAD – comply BIM.

Contact: 91233975

Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles

polishing, carpet shampooing,

maintenance. Contact ABU QABAS-

99320217 /24788722

MATRIMONIAL

Christian Evangelical girl, 27, 150

cm. ICWA, M.Com, working in a

MNC Trivandrum. Seeks suitable

proposals. Contact – 96040125/

97889342

Parents of 28 yrs, Indian Boy

from Mumbai, ACCA working as

a senior accountant in Muscat,

seeks alliance from an Indian

Sunni Muslim family. Contact-

(parent): 96408642 email id:

[email protected]

Maternal uncle of Indian Sunni

Muslim girl aged 21, beautiful, tall

and pursuing M.Sc, Urdu speaking

hailing from Chennai seeks

suitable alliance.

Contact: 97047811

Christian divorce, male 40.

Contact by Whatsapp: 91346321

Parents of 28 yrs, Indian Boy

from Mumbai, ACCA working as

a senior accountant in Muscat,

seeks alliance from an Indian

Sunni Muslim family. Contact

no. (Parent): 96408642 email id:

[email protected]

Ezhava male, 31yrs, height 5.6,

star Magham, B. Tech aeronauti-

cal, administrative professional,

parents in Oman, native Aluva

(ekm). Mob-99550870

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

Ezhava male, 31yrs, height 5.6,

Star Magham, B-Tech Aeronauti-

cal, administrative professional,

parents in Oman, native Aluva

(Ekm). Contact 99550870

Indian male Roman Catholic 40yrs divorcee working in Muscat.

Seeks suitable alliance from

widow/ divorcee/ single.

Contact 96059801.

Malankara Catholic Male Nurse (28) from Thiruvalla working in

Nizwa Private Co. Alliance invites

parents/nurses working in Oman.

Contact 968 98267338,

0091 9287215726

GOOD NEWS

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

Ayurvedic treatment for joint

pain, backache, paralysis, mas-

sage, steambath, obesity, Spondy-

litis, Ideal Care Ayurvedic Clinic,

18 November Street, Azaiba.

Contact: 99639695 / 97397320

MANPOWER

Manpower available: cleaning

male/female staff, loading unload-

ing and helpers staff available on

contract basis. Contact- 94636086

times of oman - june 26, 2016

Documents