Rgbb news win13 by Andrew Mead MBE

FROM THE CHAIR

irst of all apologies for the slight delay in producing this latest edition of the RGBB magazine, which we had hoped to have finalised a while ago. However, we got there in the end.

Marcel Luckman RGBB Chair

The RGBB continues, I believe, to go from strength to strength. Membership remains strong at over 350, with members leaving being replaced by new arrivals on an almost one for one basis. The introduction of our new High Value Opportunity (HVO) groups has enabled us to work even closer with UKTI by mirroring their strategy of focusing on the major projects being undertaken in the Kingdom. We have so far held two meetings looking at the Sadara Petrochemicals Project and the Riyadh Metro. We managed to find some guests with excellent knowledge on both. Members were able to share experiences and market intelligence for everyone s benefit. We will continue with other HVO meetings in the new year.

Talking of UKTI, we said goodbye to Peter Broom (Deputy Director UKTI) at the end of September, who finished his 3 year tenure and then retired back to the UK. Peter was always a major supporter of the RGBB and will be missed both personally and professional. Fortunately Peter s successor Paul Clark has picked up where Peter left off and we are already working closely with him to try and help promote British business in the Kingdom wherever we can. We are now coming towards the end of 2013 although at the time of writing we still have a New Member s Evening, Special Briefing and Festive Ball to look forward to. We already have lots of plans for the new year, both on the business and social front. We are also working very hard on upgrading our website and, much to the delight of our Deputy Chairman, we are looking at revamping the RGBB logo. It is now almost 9 months since I took on the role of Chairman of the RGBB and I have to say I have really enjoyed it. I remember my first "official" event was meeting with a group of MPs visiting from the UK a few days after I started. I sat in the Deputy Head of Mission s lounge with half a dozen MPs and a similar number of British business leaders in Riyadh. I was sitting drinking my tea thinking how nice this is all was when the Chairman of the group of MPs gave a brief introduction and then suggested that as Head of the Business Group, perhaps I could start. Well I didn t really have a clue what to say. Talk about in at the deep end. Fortunately I managed to use my years of banking experience to come up with something without really committing to anything. I was also helped by one of the MPs spilling his tea over his lap which took the focus away. I have had the privilege of attending a number of trade missions, receptions and other functions on behalf of the RGBB. It has shown me that British business is quite active in Saudi Arabia. Whilst we might not be awarded some of the massive contracts that we read about in the papers, British business is working hard, with the support of UKTI, to do more with Saudi Arabia. I hope that the RGBB can continue to assist this aim. We are working on a data base to record more information on our members and their jobs. We hope to be able to use this more detailed information to match British business visitors with RGBB members with interests in similar fields. All that is left is for me to wish you all the best for the upcoming Festive season and a peaceful and prosperous New Year.

Contents From the Chair ..........................1 2013-14 RGBB Board ...............2 UKTI News ................................3 BBA Notes.................................5 BBG Notes ................................7 Special Briefings King Abdullah Financial District.8 Financial Options ......................9 Sudoku ....................................12 To QROP or not to QROP.......13 Feature Article Saudi Arabia’s Metro ...............14 Feature Article Sadara Chemicals Project.......16 News from the Ramp...............19 Welcome to new Members......19 RGBB Summer Ball.................20 Sports Climbing Wall ..........................23 Rugby ......................................24 Wadi NIghts Concert ...............26 Health Matters .........................28 TES Eccentrics Ball.................30 Saudi Business Etiquette ........33 IT Sector Bitcoins....................................34 Cyber Security.........................35 Culinary Corner .......................36 Welcome to New Members .....38 And Finally...............................40

Advertisers Our thanks to the following advertisers. Without their support we could not publish. Please give them yours Al Bustan ...... Inside Front Cover AlKhozama Hotel.....................37 AMEX ......................................22 Arabian Homes..........................6 AXA ..........................................4 BA.................. Inside Back Cover Crown Relocations ..................35 InterContinental Hotel..............27 One 2 One...............................33 SABB ..........Outside Back Cover SESE.......................................18 The Robin Hill Hotel ................32

RGBB News 1

The RGBB 2013-2014 Board

Marcel Luckman

Sean Ellis

Chris Konstan

Andrew Pearce

Deputy Chairman Chairman marcel.luckman@riyadbank.com ellis.family@hotmail.co.uk

Board Member chriskonstan@aol.com

Karim Hamdan

Board Member khamdan@medgulf.com

Anthony Forester-Bennett

Board Member A.forester-bennett@aascl.com

Board Member andrew.d.pearce@logica.com

Christopher Innes-Hopkins

Embassy Representative chris.innes-hopkins@fco.gsi.gov.uk

Mike Bladon

Board Member mikebladon@yahoo.co.uk

Paul Clark

Deputy Embassy Representative paul.clark2@fco.gsi.gov.uk

Keith Newbery

Board Member keith.newbery@gmail.com

Jane Blackledge

Board Member janeblackledge@yahoo.co.uk

The RGBB Secretary can be contacted on Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday From 9am - 2.30pm Tel: 011 481 9100 ext. 2263 or secretary@rgbb.org

The RGBB 2013 Summer Ball Our summer ball theme this year was All things Bright, Beautiful and British . We had a suitably summery welcome drink which I hope reminded our guests of Great British sporting occasions such as fabulous days at the races, cricket or rowing regattas. RGBB NEWS The RGBB News magazine serves to advise, inform, entertain and promote members of the British business community in Saudi Arabia. 1000 copies of each edition are circulated free of charge to members of the British Business Groups in Riyadh, Jeddah and the Eastern Province; and others concerned with British business in the wider region. Publication dates for this year are expected to be April, June and October. Actual deadlines will be advised one month before production dates. ADVERTISING RATES ARE AS FOLLOWS: Outside Back Cover ............................................. SR12,000 Inside Front Cover ............................................... SR 6,000 Inside Back Cover................................................ SR 5,000 Centre Spread...................................................... SR 6,000 Full page inside.................................................... SR 4,000 Half page Inside ................................................... SR 2,500 Quarter Page inside ............................................. SR 1,500 Flyer Insertion ...................................................... SR 2,500 To book space for 2014 editions, please contact Andrew Mead: email: andrew@sbtd.co.uk Mobile: 002966 506 271 151

RGBB RGBB NewsNews 2 2

The Al Khozama produced a delicious dinner for us and after dinner we danced the night away - actually, until midnight, when we were whisked away by our carriages. It was the first time this year that we were able to have photographs taken of members and guests and make them available to everyone, I hope you all managed to obtain copies. See the Centre Spread for some pictures from the Ball. Ladies, there were some really fabulous ball gowns, it was a wonderful fashion show to match the most stylish catwalk in Paris. It was, as you know, Red Sea Rig for the gentlemen, for those who don t know it this means that gentlemen do not need to wear a dinner jacket, just dinner shirt, bow tie and cummerbund, this of course is because of the sweltering temperatures. I am looking forward to the Festive ball on the 12th December, we are sticking to tradition this year with the usual festive colour scheme. We are also planning to organise a race night in January with the help of some of our members. Looking forward to seeing most of you at forth coming events. Jane Blackledge

UKTI Hello everyone! A quick introduction. I am the new Head of UKTI at the British Embassy in Riyadh, having replaced Peter Broom in September. I ve already been working at the Embassy for a couple of years and so have managed to avoid most of the usual bedding in period for new arrivals. I am obviously very pleased to be associated with the RGBB through my new UKTI role, and understand that I have rather big boots to fill in terms of continuing with all the support and activity provided by Peter during his posting here. My initial thoughts concerning the RGBB itself, having attended a couple of the special briefings, is that the organisation provides real networking opportunities that would be difficult to replicate through other events. I am therefore

very keen to continue the constructive and beneficial relationship that exists between the British Embassy and the RGBB. As for UKTI, our busy season is already in full flow, with three successful trade mission visits already completed, focusing on the rail, airports and solar energy sectors. The last mission coincided with a visit by the UK Energy Minister, Greg Barker, which helped create a renewed awareness of not only how the Saudi energy sector is looking to diversify, but also in providing an excellent tool for us to show how well positioned the relevant British businesses and expertise are to deliver in this important growth area. The next few months also look busy for us, which is always a good thing as we seek to help improve on the already growing trade figures between the UK Three British companies working in engineering, procurement and construction - Jacobs, Fluor and Foster Wheeler - have already secured contracts which will benefit from financing under the facility.

MASSIVE BOOST TO BRITISH INDUSTRY IN BIGGEST EVER PETROCHEMICAL PROJECT In a massive boost to British businesses, the UK s export credit agency, UK Export Finance (UKEF), has announced that it will guarantee $700 million (£450 million) of finance to British companies bidding for contracts on a new $19 billion (£12 billion) petrochemical facility in Saudi Arabia. This unprecedented finance support package will enable UK exporters to bid for key contracts for the Sadara Project, the largest petrochemical facility ever built in a single phase. Backed by the UK government, the support UKEF is providing is the biggest project financing facility in the agency s history, and forms part of a large package of credit provided by a host of export credit agencies from around the world. This support will allow British firms to increase their presence in Saudi Arabia.

Exporting is one of the government s priorities for returning the economy to strong and sustainable growth, and it has set an ambitious target of doubling the value of UK exports to £1 trillion by 2020. Lord Green said: "The Sadara Project affords export opportunities to British businesses and I am pleased that UKEF support is making the difference. "Britain is a world-leader with immense expertise in the engineering, procurement and construction sectors so I am not surprised to see British firms playing a leading role in this project."

and the Kingdom. Our focus is still very much on the High Value Opportunities, but we continue to offer a good deal of support to UK SME s looking to either enter the market, or expand their operations within the Kingdom. To assist with this we will be organising at least two more inward trade missions between now and March (details to follow), host a visit by the Lord of Mayor of London in February and continue with our support with the re-launched Saudi British Joint Business Council. We will of course keep the RGBB Board informed of all our major upcoming events and visits and, if relevant to your work or business within the Kingdom, I hope to see you at future UKTI Embassy functions. Paul Clark

closely on this prestigious project with such high quality sponsors. "UKEF has a full range of financial products to support all sizes of exporters and sectors whether in relation to major projects such as Sadara or SMEs looking to the potential for exporting for the first time." The Sadara project is co-sponsored by Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical Company. Once complete, the complex, which will include 26 manufacturing units, a mixed-feed steam cracker and an aromatics plant, will represent the largest petrochemical facility ever built in a single phase. The project, in Jubail Industrial City II in eastern Saudi Arabia, will produce performance and valueadded chemicals, as well as plastics for use in the energy, transportation, construction, electrical, and electronics sectors.

Acting Chief Executive, David Havelock, said: "This transaction is the biggest Project Financing in our history and the result of many years hard work by staff at UKEF. We have been pleased to work

Editors Note: We have a Feature article on the Sadara Project on pages 16 & 17 of this edition. RGBB News 3

BBA - EP

Notes from the Eastern Chair

Geoff Fennah MBE

It is hard to believe that 2013 has passed us by so quickly and we are now on the busy run in to the festive season. I am sure many are about to depart for the holiday and looking forward to a well-earned break. Enjoy the holiday period and come back well rested as I suspect that 2014 will also be very busy. Sadly, we said our goodbyes to Head of the British Trade Office (BTO), David (Dai) Harries and wife Carol as they completed their tenure in Al-Khobar. Dai has taken a posting to Tripoli, Libya and is settling in well having already made contact with the local British Business Group in the area. We wish him well in his new venture. The departure of the Harries family gave us an opportunity to welcome the new Head of BTO, Steve Graham accompanied by wife Luisa and his family who come in from a posting in Rio. A big welcome to Steve and Luisa to Saudi Arabia, especially Eastern Province and we look forward to working with them. Eastern Province continues to see a lot of activity with construction work the length and breadth of the province as the many rail, mining, petrochemical and infrastructure projects come to fruition. Jubail 2 is also moving at great pace with SADARA (Aramco / Dow) and SATORP (Aramco / Total) facilities plus others now well advanced. The sheer scale of the developments has to be seen to be believed so it was good to receive a visit from Julian Reilly (DHM) from Riyadh in November to see it for himself. October saw Middle East AssociationÂ&#x2019;s (MEA) annual Opportunity Arabia (OA) 10 Conference take place at Old Trafford in Manchester, where Mike Tunstall represented the Saudi British business groups by making a short presentation (as a Liverpool supporter I couldnÂ&#x2019;t bring myself

British Business Association - Eastern Province P. O. Box 1868, Oasis Gardens, AlKhobar 31952 Tel: 00966 3 882 5288 ext 1651 Fax: 00966 3 882 5629 Secretary: Tara Patterson email: secretary@bbaep.org

to go to Old Trafford!!). It was a well-attended and successful event and next year OA11 is planned for Liverpool. The joint BBBF / BBA Annual Poppy Ball was held in Bahrain on 7 November 2103 and once again proved to be a fantastic evening with our colleagues from Bahrain. Special guests, three Chelsea Pensioners, were flown in from London by British Airways for the occasion and the Crowne Plaza, Bahrain once again did a superb job setting up the venue and an excellent buffet. A good time was had by all. I have also had discussions with Mike Bladon regarding holding some joint events between Riyadh, Eastern Province and Bahrain and we will continue to explore options in the New Year. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome and introduce our new Secretary, Debbie Mutty who joined us mid 2013. If you have any ideas or suggestions for the BBA or need to contact us then feel free to call me directly, send an email to our Secretary at Secretary@bbaep.org or at our website www.bbaep.org A Merry Xmas and a prosperous New Year to you all.

Geoff Fennah MBE Chairman, EPBBA

RGBB News 5

BBG - JEDDAH

Notes from the BBG in Jeddah

ince the last British Business Group (Jeddah) communication, there have been some significant changes in the composition of the Committee. Steve Thomas stepped down as both Chairman and as a Committee member. Having the full complement of personnel is important to Committee so there has been much work behind the scenes to have new blood. We are happy to report that Mr. Ben Newberry stood as the only candidate, and we were delighted to welcome him on board. Ben brings a new energy as well as expertise in IT and experience in the region. We look forward to working with him. Ben and Vik will share responsibility for the Hon Sec and IT portfolios.

Carl Redman

Of course, the Annual Elections are almost upon us. In January 2014 we will be looking to have a new democratically elected Committee, and even though this is early notice, we anticipate many members to show an interest in serving the BBG. Even if this is not on the Committee, there is no doubt that we always require assistance along the way. So we encourage members to help out. BBG Jeddah Chairman

One area which requires more attention is that of the Special Interest Groups (SIGs). For some time, the SIGs have been at the centre of the BBG and I think it would be true to say that they really did put the "B" in BBG. Where there is strong interest in one particular area, then we are very keen to rekindle the SIG concept. It is hard to ignore the current climate in Saudi Arabia in relation to the focus on illegal workers. This has an effect on all areas of business and personal life. The business community needs to address these issues full on, and it may be useful to remind members that one of the great advantages of being part of the BBG gives a tremendous access to experiences and expertise. So it may be appropriate to mention that the usual social networking forums are in place. The Jeddah BBG is virtually present in the following cyberpaces! Twitter: @BBGJeddah and LinkedIn: British Business Group Jeddah. We have good numbers of members/followers, so please feel free to animate the forums. It would be great to see healthy debate and exchanges. This of course is in addition to the old fashioned way....the website! There is a wealth of information there relating to BBG activities, minutes of meeting, speaker events, British Consulate and UKTI information and much more, and I know that Vik has freshened up the look so it is definitely worth a visit: www.bbg-jed.org. As the festive season is almost upon us, there is also detail of the special offer to BBG members from British Airways! Not to be missed that one.....

Directory Work is underway on the preparation of the Directory. Kirby has been in touch with all members to invite them to submit their information for inclusion in the publication. The Directory is one of the "must have" items in the BBG and is one of the very tangible benefits of the membership. Of course it is down to members choice to include their information, but I feel that if we can get a high percentage of member/company information into the Directory, the more valuable a document this becomes. It is also important to promote the advertising opportunities that exist for the Directory. Given that there is extensive circulation throughout the business community, the advertisement is very competitive. Any member who is interested in this, should contact a Committee Member, and we will be delighted to incorporate your ad. It s pretty good value! Full Page ad. (15w x 21h cm) opposite the Company entry SR.5000 Half Page ad.(13w x 8.5h cm) located elsewhere in the Directory SR.3000 Panel ad (13w x 4h cm) located on the members page where space allows SR.2000 BBG Member s companies will receive a SR.500 discount from the above prices. Speaker Events The speaker event on "Planning for the Future", hosted by the BBG in Sierra Village in October, was very well attended, and the subsequent feedback was extremely positive. The BBG Committee would like to thank Mr. Mike Eddison for making an extremely interesting and enlightening presentation on a subject which affects us all. I have had numerous members as me for the contact details of Mike some of whom could not attend the event, and I take the opportunity to give Mike s contact below: Mike Eddison Michael Eddison £inancial Solutions Mob: +973 3670 6513 Email: mike@eddisonfinancial.com Sports The Sports competition is of great importance to the BBG. The sporting rivalry between BBG and the American Business Group have fostered great friendships and forged a tremendous bond between the two communities. The 2014 event will continue, and we are indebted to Dave Wheen, and all at Arabian Homes, for all the work he has done to develop the Sports Competition. Dave has also been instrumental in organising the 2014 events but is now in the process of handing over the responsibility of coordinator to Jason and Steve the Kings! BBG Committee would like to place on record a massive thanks to Dave for his (significant) contribution personally, and hopefully he will remain as a player, and be there in an advisory capacity! Please note that Membership Renewals are now due so please ensure that your subs are up to date! At SAR 300 per year, there is value to be had! Contact any Committee Member to arrange to pay your membership fees at any of the usual convenient sites. RGBB News 7

KAFD : King Abdullah Financial District

for pleasure, not just business. Overall, the district is to cover 160 Hectares, with a mixture of Office (50%), Residential (40%) and Retail (10%). We will all have seen the towers emerging into the skyline at the junction of King Fahad Road and the Northern Ring Road, but may not be aware of the full scale of what the completed development will encompass, for instance: 5Million square metres of gross floor area, 60,000 car parking spaces, mostly hidden below ground Skyscrapers reaching up to 385 metres

n September, we welcomed Niels Fuglsang, architect and CEO at Henning Larsen here in Riyadh to give members a briefing on the largest real estate project in the city, King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD). Niels introduced the company first, with an 8 year history here in the Kingdom as well as many high profile projects in other countries, such as Siemens global HQ in Munich.

RGBB News 8

In Riyadh, Henning Larson had previously designed the unusually light and airy Ministry if Foreign Affairs building, and more recently had won the key role on KAFD through a competitive tender process which included assessing their chemistry with the client and project team. KAFD presented a difficult brief, to blend old and new, culture and connectivity, and to attract people

10 attractors including a Museum, Library, School and up to a third of the total area as public realm A dedicated monorail system, plus a major interchange for the new Riyadh Metro Perhaps the most radical departure from the infrastructure we see today in Riyadh is the emphasis on walking the design is to encourage walking by positioning car parking

SPECIAL BRIEFINGS remotely from the key destinations and providing huge shaded valleys to connect internal destinations. The cross section of the typical KAFD streetscape puts pedestrians into a man made wadi below ground level, flanked by high buidings to maintain the cool. Connections are made between building one level above this through sky bridges, with strategically placed windows which again face away from the prevailing sun. At the hub of the development, one staircase is designed for a flow of up to 3000 pedestrians per hour, and below the ground, services such as water and air conditioning are channeled invisibly between buildings in a state of the art network of tunnels. Member’s questions included:

Who is the client advisor for program management? This is Hill International What is the current letting situation is anyone signed up? There are some let units, but note that the office space will be grade A which is an unusually high (and therefore expensive) level of provision for Riyadh, so to let this amount is uncharted territory. To what extent is the Saudi client (Public Pension Agency) bought into such as radical design? The client is very ambitious and fully behind the innovative aspects of KAFD throughout the 8 years of the project to date, the same key players on the client side have remained in place. A development of such scale has the potential to radically affect the current CBD of Riyadh many members exiting businesses may want or even need to move to remain in a prime zip code once KAFD comes on line. The planned soft (partial) opening is planned for the end of 2013, but with so much yet to do this is clearly in question. Our thanks go to Niels for his informative and interesting presentation. Andrew DN Pearce

In May, the RGBB held a session to update members about the latest financial options available to them as expatriats. Offshore Investor, a gulf-based financial services company addressed a list of issues which had been given to them in advance, as well as answering questions on topics as diverse as wills, pensions, and UK educational fees. With constant changes to the Inland Revenue’s definition and treatment of those who are non-resident for tax purposes, the evening was equally valuable for those new to ex-pat life, seasoned ’desert warriors’ and those contemplating a return to the UK on a permanent basis. The notes below are reproduced directly from Offshore Investor, and have not been verified or altered in any way by RGBB. Our thanks go to to Paul and Andy from Offshore Investor for preparing on the topics we had asked about and for sponsoring the event. Notes from Offshore Investor: Offshore Investor was established in UAE in 1992 and is regulated by the Central Bank. We have an office in Bahrain and are looking to open an office in Riyadh later this year. The main points affecting Expats in the 2013 budget were: Personal Allowance -This will be increased to £10,000 in 2014/2015 (as from 6 April 2013 it will be increased to £9440 for the under 65 s). Capital Gains Tax - The annual exempt amount will be increased to £11,000 in April 2014. Statutory Residence Test - This new test came into effect on 6 April 2013 and is structured in three parts. Firstly, the automatic overseas test will determine if an individual is automatically non-resident. Secondly, the automatic UK test will determine if an individual is automatically resident. Thirdly, the sufficient ties test will determine the residency position if an individual meets neither the automatic

overseas nor the automatic UK test. The sufficient ties test determines residency based on a combination of the amount of time spent in the UK with the number of ties a person has. IHT Exemptions between UK domiciled spouses/civil partners and their non UK domiciled spouses/civil partners Legislation will be introduced in Finance Bill 2013 to reform the IHT treatment of transfers between UKdomiciled individuals and their nonUK domiciled spouse or civil partners in two ways: The cap will be increased to the level of the prevailing nil-rate band level; and Under a new election regime, individuals domiciled other than in the UK and who are married or in a civil partnership with a UK domiciled person will be able to elect to be treated as UK-domiciled for IHT purposes. Where an individual chooses not to elect for UK domicile treatment their overseas assets would, as now, be exempt from IHT but any transfers from their spouse or civil partner would be subject to the increased cap. Individuals who choose to make an election would benefit from uncapped IHT-exempt transfers from their spouse or civil partner, but subsequent disposals by them would be liable to IHT (subject to their own nil-rate band), irrespective of the location of the assets. The lifetime limit on the amount that can be transferred exempt from IHT to a spouse or civil partner domiciled outside the UK (or treated as such for IHT purposes) will be increased from its current level of £55,000. Initially the cap will be raised to £325,000. Going forward its level will be linked to any future changes in the nil-rate band. What are the differences and options for your existing frozen pensions from the UK? Overleaf is a chart outlining various scenario s for all pensions schemes.

continued page 13 RGBB News 9

Aspects

Final Salary Schemes

PPP’s / GPP’s / Stakeholder Pensions

QROPS

SIPP

Death Before Reitrement

Generally Provide Spouses pension of 50% or income to dependent children below the age of 21

101% of entire value passed to spouse and or children No tax Liability

total value passed to beneficiaries no tax liability

101% of entire value passed to spouse and or children No tax Liability

Death After Retirement

generally 50% spouses if in drawdown Income pension provided or can be passed to income to dependent spouse or children with children below the . Ifage under an income annuity tax50% liability passed of 21 to spouse or dependent children under the age of 21. Please note in drawdown there is a 55% tax liability to pass the total value to beneficiaries.

Total income or total pot passed to spouse or children no age limit and No tax liability including Inheritance Tax

If in drawdown income can be passed across to spouse or children but if total pot transferred then a 55% tax liability is levied on the pot

Moved between companies

small pots of pension with various different providers

generally small pots of pension with various providers

Amalgamated under one roof under own control

Retire in the UK

Normal rules apply

Any growth achieved while in the QROPS is NOT used in the tax calculation when passing the pot across to beneficiaries. Eg PPP of £100K moved to QROPS grows to £200K returns ot the UK to retire and subsequently passes tax liability applies only to £100K

Normal Rules apply

Initially spending more than 5 years outside the UK before going back to take retirement

Tax free cash can be taken with lower pension then provided but no further cash can be comuted in retirement.

Only 25% tax free cash can be taken the balance is comuted to provide income

Tax Free cash

based upon individual scheme rules but generally equates for a 60th scheme to 3/60ths X final salary

25% of total pot value at retirement

30% of total pot value at retirement as long as 5 full tax years or more outside the UK otherwise 25%

25% of total pot vaule at retirement

Income allowable

based upon number of years service and final salary at date of leaving. Generally similar to 100% GAD.

Generally 100% of GAD rules (Government Actuaries Department) based upon age at retirement

120% GAD if had 5 full tax years outside the UK 100% until reach 5 full tax years.

Generally 100% GAD based upon the assumption of being switched to draw down

Income allowable from what age

Generally final salary schemes are set at between 60-65 but can be taken earlier in the case of ill health. Some schemes allow earlier retirement for much lower income and tax free cash

At age 55 onwards

At age 55 although Maltese QROPS allows retirement from age 50

At age 55 onwards

Income tax

Taxed as PAYE

Paid Gross and therefore tax paid as per the jusridiction the client resides i.e. in the Middle East NO TAX DEDUCTED and NO INCOME TAX PAYABLE

Taxed as PAYE

RGBB News 10

All capital taken from the QROPS i.e. Tax free cash and income while outside the UK can be passed to Spouse and children free from . IHT rules apply if tax above liability 0% UK limit if passed to children

Only 25% tax free cash can be taken the balance is comuted to provide income

SPECIAL BRIEFINGS Aspects

Final Salary Schemes

PPP’s / GPP’s / Stakeholder Pensions

Minimum Transfer values

QROPS

SIPP

Generally £100K + should be strongly considered. Although for smaller values options are available generally from £25K + but access to fund options limited

Generally £50K + although for smaller values options are available but access to fund options are limited.

Jurisdictions Available

No choice As per scheme rules UK

No choice as per scheme rules UK

Gibraltar, Malta, Isle of Man and various others but these are the main HMRC approved jurisdictions

UK although funds can be held within offshore investment bonds

Fees and Charges

Hidden but often quite high generally not shown as worked upon the basis of final salary and years service so become irrelevant.

Dependent upon Scheme but can be between 0.5% and 4.5% per annum to run and administer

QROPS annual fee generally £500-£1,000 PA. Plus the cost of running the investment which is generally between 0.5% and 1.5%

SIPP annual fees are generally between £150 and £500 PA. Plus the cost of running the investment which is generally between 0.5% and 1.5%.

QROPS and SIPPS Lite

N/A

Smaller Schemes for transfer values of less than £100K are available with lower ongoing costs but have fund investment restrictions.

For those intending to stay outside the UK for 5 full tax years before going back to the UK to retire

Dependent upon scheme rules but any income paid is taxed as PAYE at source.

benefits can be taken at 55 but tax deducted as PAYE and 25% taken as tax free lump sum

over 50 can draw 30% tax free cash plus income with NO income tax deducted for those in the Middle East and all capital can be taken back to the UK without tax liability

benefits can be taken at 55 but tax deducted as PAYE and 25% taken as tax free lump sum

Control of funds

Under company control no say in investment risk or objectives

Under own control but limited fund choice applies

Under own control access to all types of investments from Direct stocks and shares to 000’s of funds plus can purchase commerical property

Life time allowance

limited to years service and final salary

Limited to life time allowance currently £1.25 million but if trends continue could be reduced to £750K by 2016

Limited to life time allowance but all growth achieved not subject to limit

Limited to life time allowance currently £1.25 million but if trends continue could be reduced to £750K by 2016

HMRC registration

YES

Annuity Purchase

As per scheme rules and in retirement works the same way as if purchased an annuity

If switched to drawdown no necessity to purchase an annuity

Drawdown as per GAD only no necessity to purchase an annuity

If switched to drawdown no necessity to purchase an annuity

Confidentiality

normal reporting to HMRC therefore fully aware of all payments taken

If longer than 10 Years outside the UK no further requirement for QROP provider to provide details to HMRC

normal reporting to HMRC therefore fully aware of all payments taken

Benefits

not guaranteed as final salary schemes are only a promise to pay based upon capability of the scheme and its underlying assets and liabilities. We have seen schemes like the teachers pensions change the rules prior to retirement

Under own control and therefore dependent upon own fund choice to maximise returns

RGBB News 11

Special Briefing Notes continued from page 9 Another common question is: What happens if I die here & will Sharia Law apply? Regardless of whether you have a will or not Sharia Law will only apply to UK Nationals on the assets held within Saudi Arabia. So these are likely to be bank accounts & cars. As an expat it is a good idea to only hold emergency funds locally, the remainder of your savings should either be offshore or in your home country. Your UK will can then deal with the succession. Getting children back into the education system without paying foreign student rates has become a thorny issue. There are a number of ways which sometimes work, the only sure fired way is to put them back into full time education 3 years before higher education. Should you be paying Class 2 National Insurance whilst abroad? The simple answer is yes. We have all experienced the shock of being robbed by our local banks when we go to transfer money home. On average if the rate is 5.5 UAE Dirham to the £ the bank will give us 5.7 to buy £1. Whilst that does not sound much it can add up to several hundred £ s on larger transfers. You could open an account with a company like MoneyCorp or VFX, these allow you to make the transfers online, but more importantly you are likely to

SuDoku

Fill the grid so that every column, every row and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9. Answer on page 36

receive around 5.55 to £1 instead of the 5.7 from SABB or HSBC. Does your UK life assurance still cover you whilst you are abroad? The simple answer is yes. It is very unlikely that you will be able to increase that cover whilst living overseas as International rates even with the same provider are around 25% higher. The only exception to this is extreme changes in occupation from when the policy was taken out. For example if you had been office based when you took out the policy but were now a blind, one legged steeplejack, your cover would no longer be valid! Cash Deposits or Lump Sum Investments For those of you that hold significant amounts of cash in Bank accounts be aware of the recent situation that occurred in Cyprus. For all UK banks the guaranteed limit is now the first £85,000 however, please also be aware that this is per banking license so for instance should you hold money in Halifax and Bank of Scotland then you would only be compensated for the first £85,000 NOT £170,000. The other consideration is what to do with such a chunk of cash if left within a bank as often the inflation rate wipes out more than the growth that s been achieved. This obviously means that your cash is losing value over time. One alternative should be to consider placing some cash over and above your emergency fund, away for the medium term i.e. 5 years in order to protect against inflation and therefore you could consider various options. However, the most important aspect of any investment is the security aspect along with your particular attitude toward risk. With this in mind we would be able to assist in the design of a portfolio to suit each individual s requirements. Regular Savings There are two main market places, one for lump sum, investments of really £50,000 and above and one for regular savings. The regular savings environment is totally different to these lump sums where they really need to make use of slightly higher risk funds in order to take advantage of volatility and therefore what is known as Pound cost Averaging. For instance many people take advantage of the fact, that they are not paying tax for the period they work abroad and therefore look to make use of the element of their income that would normally be deducted for tax and put this away on a regular basis, with the facility to drop these contributions down should they go back to their home country. However when considering retirement planning its not the amount you put away but the term you place this over that makes the money. If you would like to contact Andy Berks at Offshore Investor, he may emailed at: andy@offshoreinvestor.co.uk Or telephoned on Saudi Mob: 00966 552 144 806 Bahrain Mob: 00973 3971 3295 UK Mob: 0044 7523 307 303

RGBB News 12

SPECIAL BRIEFINGS TO QROP OR NOT TO QROP - THAT IS THE TECHNICAL QUESTION

QROPS, QNUPS, SIPPS, SSAS! Confused! Well you probably should be! Since April 2006 there has been a massive increase in the number of people taking advantage of the various new retirement options on the market. However this has created a number of poor quality providers alongside poor quality financial advice. Make no mistake the retirement planning industry has moved along regulatory wise by leaps and bounds but QROPs can be a potential minefield. We have all seen the ad flyers at the side of our favourite BBC News website page. As literally Billions of pounds are involved, many unscrupulous companies have appeared out of the woodwork. Last year s timeshare salesman could very well be this year s QROP "adviser". Important considerations that must be taken into account when taking professional advice are. 1) Where is the Plan situated and who regulates it? Is it HMRC approved? QROPS are now available via the Isle of Man, Jersey, Gibraltar, Malta, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Ireland etc. All these jurisdictions differ on various points such as taxation, charges, death duties, tax free cash that can be taken etc. Only a qualified independent adviser should be giving advice on these, as getting it wrong can be extremely detrimental to your financial wealth. 2) Has your financial adviser completed a full pension transfer analysis (TVAS) and are they approved G60 HMRC qualification holders? If not then what type of report do they provide and is it safe to rely on? HMRC state that you should only consider transferring your pension if a full TVAS report by a G60 qualified adviser has been completed. The report should give both the advantages and disadvantages of transferring. The adviser should be qualified offshore as UK advisers are not trained in QROPS or QNUPS. That brings up another issue we find out here in the Middle East, has your financial adviser actually any recognised professional qualifications, or were they selling second hand cars a month ago? Are they members of recognised European trade bodies? Are they licensed? How often will they provide investment reports and come and see you?

3) Where is your adviser regulated? How much use is an adviser in the UAE if you are going to reside in Europe when you retire? Remember the regulations in Europe are strict and advisers have to be registered and qualified and hold indemnity insurance to protect you. Will a UAE regulator really uphold a complaint by an expatriate when he has retired to the UK, France, Italy or Cyprus for example? 4) Which trustees are to be used? How long have they been in business? Are they recognised internationally? Are they just an internet QROP supermarket (to be avoided at all costs)? 5) Are there any hidden costs, commissions or charges? A reputable EU regulated adviser should make all charges transparent. 6) Very importantly where will your funds be managed and by who? You must at least be making the same growth as the pension you are transferring from, otherwise what s the point? Only Independent financial advisers holding investment licences should give investment advice. Does your adviser use a European regulated Personal Wealth Management company or will they just stick your money in a so called balanced managed fun with the "ACME Life Insurance Company"? 7) If your adviser suggests using life insurance bonds for your QROPS then you should walk away, these are totally unnecessary and are a huge extra cost for the client. They are possibly only of benefit for SIPP clients (not QROP) who are British and who have decided they will definitely be returning to the UK Tax Regime (I will address this in another article if people are interested)

So if all this sounds quite confusing, should I really be seeking advice on transferring my pension? The answer is a definite yes (even if your plan is to retire to the UK) but make sure the advice comes from the right people. Stuart Hunter RGBB member Stuart is Managing Director of UK Expatriate Insurance Consultancy Ltd Glossary QROPS QNUPS SIPPS SSAS -

Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme Qualifying Non Resident Pension Scheme Self Invested Personal Pension Scheme Small Self Amministered Scheme

RGBB News 13

Saudi Arabia’s Metro Projects Riyadh Metro Riyadh Metro will be the backbone of the capital s public transport system and will have six lines totaling 175km serving the city centre, government facilities, universities, commercial areas, King Khalid International Airport and the King Abdullah financial district. The Riyadh Metro Project is being led by Sattam bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, Governor of Riyadh and Chairman of the Arriyadh Development Authority. l Line 1 (Blue Line) runs in the North-South direction along Olaya and Batha streets, starting from slightly north of Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Street and ending at Dar Al Badia neighbourhood in the south. The Metro will be mostly underground in a bored tunnel along Olaya and King Faisal Streets, and elevated on a viaduct along Batha Street and at the northern and southern ends. Line 1 extends over a length of approximately 38 km (24 mi) and features 22 stations, in addition to 4 transfer stations with Lines 2, 3, 5, and 4&6. l Line 2 (Green Line) runs in the East-West direction along King Abdullah Road, between King Saud University and the Eastern Sub-Center, mostly on a raised strip in the median of the planned freeway. This Line extends over a length of about 25.3 km (15.7 mi) and features 13 stations, in addition to 3 transfer stations with Lines 1, 5 and 6. l Line 3 (Red Line) runs in the East-West direction along Al Madinah Al Munawwarah and Prince Saad Bin Abdulrahman Al Awal Roads, starting at the west near Jeddah Expressway and ending at the east near the National Guard Camp of Khashm El Aan. The Metro will be mostly elevated along the western part of Al Madinah Al Munawwarah Road, then underground in bored and mined tunnels in the central section of the line, and generally at grade along Prince Saad Ibn Abdulrahman Road. The length of the line is approximately 40.7 km (25.3 mi) and it features 20 stations, in addition to 2 transfer stations with Lines 1 and 6. l Line 4 (Orange Line) reaches to King Khalid International Airport from King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD), mainly on a mix of elevated and at-grade alignment. The length of the line is around 29.6 km (18.4 mi) and it features 8 stations (3 common with Line 6), in addition to 1 transfer station with Lines 1 and 6. l Line 5 (Yellow Line) runs underground in a bored tunnel along King Abdulaziz Street, between King Abdulaziz Historical Center and the Riyadh Airbase, before connecting with King Abdullah Road. The length of the line is about 12.9 km (8.0 mi) and it features 10 stations, in addition to 2 transfer stations with Lines 1 and 2. l Line 6 (Purple Line) follows a half-ring starting at King Abdullah Financial District, passing by Imam Mohamed Bin Saud University and ending at Prince Saad Ibn Abdulrahman Al Awal Road. It runs mostly elevated except along Sheikh Hasan Bin Husein Bin Ali Street. The length of the line is approximately 29.9 km (18.6 mi) and it features 8 stations (3 common with Line 4), in addition to 3 transfer stations with Lines 1, 2 and 3. RGBB News 14

Successful Consortiums Lines 1 and 2 The BACS consortium led by Bechtel and including Almabani General Contractors, Consolidated Contractors Company and Siemens is to design and build lines 1 and 2, totalling 63·3 km. Much of the north - south Line 1 will be underground, while east - west Line 2 will be mostly elevated in a road median strip. The contract is valued at US$9·45bn. It will also be responsible for the train cars, signalling, electrification and integration of the lines to the metro network. Line 3 The ArRiyadh New Mobility consortium has been awarded a US$5·21bn contract to design and build Line 3, which will be the longest line at 40·7 km and have 22 stations. The consortium comprises two groups. The electrical and mechanical equipment is to be delivered by the Electrical Work Group comprising Ansaldo STS and Bombardier Transportation. Infrastructure will be delivered by the Civil Work Group of Salini-Impregilo, Larsen & Toubro, and Nesma. The consortium is led by Ansaldo STS, with a US$680m share of the contract which CEO Sergio De Luca described as one of the most important in our history . This includes provision

FEATURE ARTICLE of automation systems, CBTC, third rail power supplies, the control centre, telecoms and fitting out the depots. Bombardier Transportation s US$383m share of the contract includes the supply of 47 two-car driverless Innovia Metro 300 trains with Mitrac traction equipment. The consortium is also to build the landmark Qasr Al Hokom and Western stations, taking the total value of the works to US$5·9bn. There is also a potential option worth US$249m for 10 years of maintenance of the line. Lines 4, 5, 6 The FAST consortium led by Spanish construction group FCC and including Samsung C&T, Alstom, Strukton, Freyssinet Saudi Arabia, Typsa and Setec is to build lines 4, 5 and 6 for US$7·82bn. FCC said this would be the largest international contract in the history of construction in which a Spanish company has been awarded a contract. The contract cover the design and construction of three lines totalling 64·6 km. This includes 25 stations, 29·8 km of viaduct and 8·2 km at-grade, with three tunnel boring machines to be used to build the 26·6 km of the lines in 10 m diameter tunnel. Alstom s 1·2bn share of the contract includes supplying 69 two-car Metropolis automated trainsets about 36 m long and 2 710 mm wide, along with Urbalis signalling, its Appitrack mechanised tracklaying technology and HESOP substations which allow regenerated electricity to be returned to the grid. Timings With 8 months final design, 4 year build and 4 months testing making 5 years overall, Riyadh Metro will be operational in 2018. Also that there will be substantial opportunities for subcontractors such as : Station Roofing External Façade & Internal Glazing Station Interiors Tunnel Ventilation Viaduct Railings TBM Tunneling Piling and Diaphragm Wall Track work Mecca Consultants have been awarded work for the proposed metro serving Mecca, contractors and consultants are close to finalizing deals for the management and construction of six lines on the Riyadh metro scheme, while contractors wait for tenders on the Jeddah and Medina metro schemes. On 7 July, the Mecca Mass Rail Transit Company (MMRTC) awarded US-based consultant Parsons Brinckerhoff the project management contract for the holy city s metro project, which is known as the Mecca mass rail transit project (MMRT). The Mecca Mass Rail Transit Company is

a subsidiary of the Al-Balad al-Ameen Company, an entity created by the Mecca Municipality to develop the transport programme. Also on 7 July, consultants and contractors gathered in Jeddah for an industry open day on the proposed Mecca transport plans and the metro. Early plans for the mass rail transit project include four main lines and more than 114 kilometres of track. France s Systra is the designer for the rail scheme. The MMRTC is planning to invite firms to prequalify for the first phase of the rail scheme before the end of 2013. The first phase of the project will cover 2 lines and will be split into four packages, which will include two civil construction packages, a signalling and telecommunications package and a rolling stock contract. Mecca s transport programme will also contain a bus network, which will have a total length of 123km and will have 147 stations, covering major highways and smaller local roads. Mecca has a population of about 1.5 million and accommodates 2.5 million hajj pilgrims and another 2.8 million umrah visitors annually. Jeddah On the Red Sea coast, the Jeddah Metro Company is prequalifying consultants for work on the planned metro system in the Saudi Arabian city. The proposed metro will have three major lines. A 67kilometre Orange Line will connect Mecca Road with Obhur, including 22 stations, and include a branch line that will run east along Sari Street. The 24km Blue Line will contain 17 stations and will link King Abdulaziz International airport to the Old Airport Road. The Green Line will run alongside Palestine Road for 17km. It will also contain a branch line to the old airport at the end of the Haramain Railway, along with seven stations. The Jeddah Metro Company was set up in March 2013 as a joint venture of the Jeddah Municipality and the Jeddah Urban Development Company (JUDC). A senior official at the JUDC, Ibrahim Katabkhana, was appointed the company s chief executive officer (CEO). Medina In Medina, a joint venture of Lebanon s Khatib & Alami and Turkey s Istanbul Ulasim has started work on the early design work for a metro network that will link the airport to the Prophet s mosque. The joint venture was awarded the contract in May 2013. The consultancy team s work also includes preparing a feasibility study, the architectural design, the static and electro-mechanical works, as well as preparing the tender documents for the construction and consultancy for the first metro line. Early estimates suggest the project will cost at least $1bn to construct. RGBB News 15

Sadara Chemicals Complex - Jubail What is Sadara ? Sadara Chemical Company is constructing one of the world s largest chemical complexes in Jubail, Al Sharqiya, KSA. Sadara is a joint venture between Dow Chemicals Company and Saudi Aramco.

technologies for the complex will be provided by Dow, who will be responsible for marketing the products in the rest of the world. Planned exports include 45% to Asia, 10% to Europe and 25% within the Middle East region.

The Project is designed to have a long-term operational life and will comprise production facilities and supporting infrastructure. When fully operational the Project is expected to produce approximately 3 million mt of chemicals and plastic sales products per annum. The chemical production complex will be fully integrated and will benefit from the wellestablished industrial infrastructure at Jubail. The Sadara Complex will be an integrated facility initially consisting of 26 manufacturing units. These will include a mixed-feed steam cracker and an aromaties plant as the key upstream manufacturing units, three on-site third party process units and supporting infrastructure. The Project will be executed under 49 discrete EPC packages covering process units, utilities, infrastructure and logistics. The overall cost of constructing the Sadara Complex is projected to be approximately USD 19.3Billion (including financing costs). The construction activities for the Project commenced in the second half of 2012 and Mechanical Completion of the last plant is currently expected to occur in the second-half of 2016. Products The Project is expected to have the following products available for sale at full operating capacity : Product

Volume available for sale (KTA)

PMDI

400

TDI

200

PG (Mono)

Sadara Ownership & Funding Shareholder Commitments : A minimum of 35% (as at the Project Completion Date) of the Project Costs (estimated at approximately USD 6.8billion as at the date of the Prospectus) will be committed by way of Equity of which it is expected that, for the issued share capital and subordinated Shareholder loans, 65% will be contributed by Saudi Aramco and 35% will be contributed by Dow. This plant will be owned and operated by Sadara Chemical Company, which is a joint venture between The Dow Chemical Company i and Saudi Aramcoii. Both companies will hold stakes in Sadara and fund around $7 billion. This initial public offering (IPO) took place on 13/3/2013, with a further $13 billion to be borrowed from financial institutions and export credit agencies.

BGE

200

Polyethylene (LDPE)

350

Polyethylene Solution (LLDPE)

750

Polyolefon elastomers

220

Sukuk (Islamic Bond) : US$2 billion

Polyether polyols

390

Export Credit Agencies : US$8.5 billion

EoA and EA

210

C8 + Raffinate CRude C4s Fuel OIl

60 280 90

Construction work on the project has already started and is scheduled to be completed by early 2015. Production from the first units is expected to begin in the second half of 2015, all units are expected to be running by 2016. The Sadara complex is being built as part of Saudi Aramco s strategy to grow in the downstream markets, and the company will oversee the execution and project management of the complex. The finished products will be marketed by Sadara in the Middle East region. The industrial processing RGBB News 16

Shareholders Equity : US$7 billion

(This will depend on eligibility of goods and services provided. US Eximbank has approved up to US$5 billion for US goods and services. Other major ECAs such as UK, France, Italy, South Korea and Japan will all provide funds) Public Investment Fund (PIF) US$1.5 billion Commercial Banks US$1 billion. (Combination of Saudi and International banks lending in Sar and US$) Sukuk Press Release 2nd April 2013 : Sadara Chemical Company announced the successful closing of Sukuk issued through its subsidiary Sadara Basic Services Company ("SBSC"). The Sukuk has received strong investor demand, resulting in 2.6 times

FEATURE ARTICLE oversubscription based on the initial offering size of SAR5.25 billion. In keeping with this demand, Sadara has up-sized the issuance to SAR7.5 billion. The net proceeds of the issue of the Sukuk will be used to provide finance for, and procure the construction and delivery of, plants forming part of a chemicals complex located in Jubail Industrial City II in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Sadara has appointed AlBilad Investment Company, Alinma Investment Company, Deutsche Securities Saudi Arabia L.L.C. and Riyad Capital as joint lead managers and joint book runners. The legal advisers to the joint lead managers are Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP and Zeyad S. Khoshaim Law Firm in association with Allen & Overy LLP. In addition, the legal advisers to SBSC and Sadara are Dr. Waleed N. Al-Nuwaiser in association with White & Case LLP, and Hatem Abbas Ghazzawi & Co. Procurement & Construction Fluor Corporation was awarded a reimbursable engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contract for all of the utilities and offsites. Fluor s al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia; Farnborough, UK; Manila, Philippines; and Houston offices will collaborate on delivering the contract requirements. Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. was awarded an engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contract for the Chemicals 1 Envelope. Under the terms of the contact, Jacobs is providing front end engineering design (FEED) and detailed engineering services, in addition to procurement, inspection and delivery of equipment and bulk materials, as well as the overall construction management. ABB was selected as the project s Main Automation Contractor (MAC). The scope of supply includes process automation systems, safety systems, project management, project engineering, commissioning assistance, postcommissioning site support, as well as engineering, operator, and maintenance technician training. Foster Wheeler was awarded an engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCm) contract for a propylene oxide (PO) unit. This contract was awarded as an extension to the front-end engineering design (FEED) contract awarded to Foster Wheeler by AOC and Dow in 2008. Linde was awarded a contract to supply on-site gases including a HyCO facility for the production of CO and H2 plus an ammonia plant. Linde s Engineering Division will design, deliver and construct the new turnkey gases facilities at Sadara s site in the Jubail 2 petrochemical cluster. The company will be building a two-stream HyCO plant, plus a single-stream NH3 unit producing waterless liquid ammonia. Linde will also install a large NH3 storage tank, resulting in a sophisticated supply concept which will enable the plant to run smoothly and reliably at all times. The production units are scheduled to be ready in 2015. Once built, they will be operated by Linde s Gases Division. Linde is setting up a local gases company for on-site support.

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. was awarded an In-Kingdom engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contract for three polyethylene trains. Jacobs scope of work for the project includes construction management, field engineering support, and management of Lump Sum Procure Build (LSPB) construction contractors, field materials management, In-Kingdom procurement services and project services support for the three polyethylene trains. Técnicas Reunidas (TR) was awarded the Chem-III project which includes plants for six products and the auxiliary and control facilities necessary for their operation. TR will perform detailed engineering and procurement services, supply the equipment and materials, construct the plants and provide support during commissioning of the units. The plants are scheduled to be operational during 2015. Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. through its subsidiaries Tecnimont S.p.A. and Tecnimont Arabia Limited has been awarded an EPC contract for on a Lump Sum Turn Key (LSTK) basis for the implementation of a manufacturing plant in Jubail. Foster Wheeler AG subsidiaries of its Global Engineering and Construction Group were awarded an engineering and procurement (EP) contract for a packaging center. The packaging center contract has been awarded as an extension to the front-end engineering design (FEED) contract awarded to Foster Wheeler in 2008. The packaging center, expected to be completed in the second half of 2014, will serve as a logistics handling hub for Sadara s chemical complex. The facility will handle packaging, storage and loading of high value-added chemical products and performance plastics for road and rail transport within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and for export to overseas markets. Chairman of Board & CEO 30th July 2012 : Abdulrahman F. Al-Wuhaib, Senior Vice President, Operations Services of Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco), has been appointed Chairman of the Board for Sadara Chemical Company. Al-Wuhaib succeeds Abdullatif Al Othman who was appointed Governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) in May and therefore resigned from the Sadara Board. 30th September 2012 : The Board of Directors of Sadara Chemical Company (Sadara) has announced the appointment of Ziad S. Al-Labban as Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Ali A. Abuali who has elected to retire from the company. The appointment will be effective October 1, 2012. Al-Labban has 30-years of work experience in the upstream and downstream sectors of the oil, gas and petrochemical businesses. From August 1, 2009 thru September 8, 2012, he was the President & CEO of Rabigh Refining & Petrochemicals Co. (Petro Rabigh), which owns and operates a 400,000 barrel per day integrated refinery-petrochemical plant located in Rabigh, Saudi Arabia.

RGBB News 17

NEWS FROM THE RAMP What’s happening with UK Airports and Airlines? A significant happening earlier this year was the £1.5bn swoop by the Manchester Airport Group (MAG) to acquire the "Essex Gateway", Stansted Airport. MAG itself saw the Australian group, Industry Funds Management take a 35% share in the Group. The former owners of Stansted, Heathrow Airport Holdings (HAH, formerly BAA) agreed to the deal after a three-year legal battle with the UK Competition Commission to sell off three of its airports.

impact, when compared with other solutions. The Sands, are about 3km off the west Kent coast and being in British Territorial Waters, are strictly Crown Property. This fact in itself brings up unusual circumstances. If the Goodwin Sands program were to go ahead, we can foresee huge logistical issues regarding transportation (New Tunnels?), employee movements, cargo marshalling and movements, etc, etc,. The remote position would not be attractive to the bulk of UK travelers. However, not too bad for the French using the existing "Chunnel". The Consultants have given an estimate of about £39bn for the Sands Airport as opposed to £50bn for Boris Island.

The MAGroup has added Stansted to its existing portfolio of Manchester, East Midlands and Bournemouth airports. HAH is continuing to own and focus on the improvement to Heathrow, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Southhampton airports. So, what s the latest on Heathrow s "Third Runway"? Who knows?. Although we understand that the pressure lobbies and local environmental concerns have caused a halt in the progress of negotiations, we are also well aware of how the controversial new HS2 Rail Kink has been pushed through. Will the HS2 go anywhere near Stansted? Speculation continues as to whether there will be an all new London airport. The Davis Commission, set up by the current coalition government, is due to publish its report after the next general election, in 2015.

It was interesting to lean that BA are purchasing their special A380 Aircraft Tow Tractors from the UK company, Douglas Equipment. Douglas is one of the oldest and best names in the industry, now owned by Curtis Wright. The Douglas TBL600 is a "Towbarless" design, whereby the aircraft front wheel is captured by, and pivots on the vehicle itself. This gives a much better and safer control as compared with a separate tow bar, pivoted at each end. Anybody who has the experience of reversing caravans or trailers will know all about this feature. Chris Maybury

New 777 on BA’s Jeddah route British Airways will be introducing a four-class Boeing 777 from Jeddah on March 31 2014 Above: London Britannia Airport, the proposed six-runway airport formerly known as Boris Island, would cost £47.3bn.

The Thames Estuary solution, known as "Boris Island" continues to be a feasible and strong contender. The usual green issues are sure to continue, particularly if human remains are discovered, being the victims of the Plague of London washed down the Thames. Other important issues such as Road/Rail capacity, Supplies and Utilities will be a considerable headache for the already crowded Southeast. An interesting alternative solution has emerged, the Marine Engineering Company, Beckett Rankine, has tabled the ambitious plans for Britain s next generation Gateway Airport. Briefly by reclaiming the "land" of the Goodwin Sands. The four runway concept on the Goodwin Sands, claim the originators of the plan, will have the least environmental

The 777 means that customers from Jeddah will be able to enjoy BA s award winning First Class cabin and latest Club World cabin with an increase in over 250 seats each week to London s Terminal 5. The airline has already increased its frequency on the route earlier this year. The new aircarft will have 14 suites in the First cabin with 48 fully flat seats in Club World business class, 40 seats in World Traveller Premium and 124 seats in World TRaveller Economy. Paolo De Renzis, Area Commercial Manager for BA said We will be serving Jeddah with our Boeing 777 with the aim of giving our Saudi customers the very best in-air experience possible. Our First Class cabin brings classic British elegance with attention paid to every detail every step of the way. RGBB News 19

SPORTS Climbing Wall facility now open for business! After over three years of frustration and effort to complete our new climbing wall we have finally completed what we set out to do, what seems like an age ago. When myself and Paul MacCormack first arrived at the school in 2009 we saw a rather dilapidated climbing wall that we wanted to use but could see needed a significant facelift and also some extension from the small feature that it was. Few students had used the wall in a long time and no adult climbers were interested in using the wall as it was. We then set about looking to develop it into something that students and adults alike would be excited about and want to make the most of. We soon had FosterÂ&#x2019;s architect and keen climber, Ben Tate on board and he quickly came up with the initial design to completely revamp the wall. After this we sought funding and a suitable contractor to build what is a relatively an unusual structure in the Kingdom as we knew it would likely be difficult and more costly to employ a specialist climbing wall builder from the UK for example. Funding came from the school, the PTA, a private Saudi climber who was keen to contribute and of course the RGBB! After various delays and complications as one might expect in Saudi, with regard to completing the construction of the wall, we then faced another long delay in terms of getting the structure tested. As our children would be the primary users of the wall we wanted to be 100% confident it was safe and therefore needed it all tested to a standard that we trusted. We eventually found a company in Dubai that could do this for us and then began the visa saga! Anyway, despite all this, we now have an indoor climbing wall with enough variation and challenge to keep most enthusiasts happy plus the ever growing group of students who are now taking up this exciting sport. We have two after school climbing ECAs and Paul has been busy organising an adult climbing club twice a week. Obviously, none of this would have possible without the generous support of those mentioned above and we again wish to say thank you to the RGBB for their part in this. Thank you! Pete Thompson British International School Riyadh RGBB News 23

Khobar RFC v Riyadh Falcons RFC: 27th September There is a fine tradition of good, well fought rugby between Riyadh and Khobar, with Riyadh Falcons running out victors in every 15s encounter for the past 4 seasons. Playing on Khobar s adopted home turf of Bahrain RFC and with a few games already under their belt this season, it was obvious that this was to be a tough game and, from the kick-off, it was soon evident that Khobar meant business with a crushing tackle on Riyadh ball receiver Simon Hallows. However, with Simon showing his standard face of confusion, he quickly got up and went after more. The Khobar No 7 was obviously their battering ram and, after a few well timed hits from Hallows, Mick McCarthy and all, Riyadh soon had him hushed up, to the point that he was later sent off for 10 minutes and then substituted completely. Sadly the intense pressure saw Jonathan Walker carried off the field after a try saving tackle on the Khobar No 7 saw him down and eventually out with his collar bone broken in 4 places (RESPECT!!). Dave Little stepped up quickly and didn t falter under the pressure of Khobar s scrum-half. After an initial first 15 minutes of INTENSE Khobar forward pressure, which Riyadh happily matched, Riyadh s continued pressure and doggedness slowly turned in their favour. However whilst parked near the Khobar 22, the opposition s ex-international No 13 stepped the Riyadh backs, cut through the line and ran the length of the pitch for a try; Grant Page, the Khobar flyhalf, added the extras - .7-0 Khobar. Riyadh continued their pressure and possession of the ball in the 2nd quarter and were awarded a penalty chance,

for the ball sadly brushing to the side of the posts. Before the 40mins were up, Khobar managed another break away led by their No 13 (now playing fly-half), to which another try was awarded; fortunately for the visitors, the conversion attempt failed on this attempt 12-0 Khobar. After a switch of ends, Riyadh went out fighting and totally dominated possession and power, winning nearly all the scrums, including those against us. After a long period camped in their half, a line-out / maul confused the opposition (and most of the Riyadh side), Yann Doiteaux ran off all on his own for an easy, but opportunistic try. In typical French style, he placed the ball 2m to the right of the open posts as a challenge to Francis Chandler, who easily accepted and slotted the extra 2 points. Khobar 12 Riyadh 7. Riyadh were now in the ascendency and once again found themselves camped on Khobar s try-line, awaiting that magic penalty try. After continued attempts, McCarthy eventually found the line and scored the try with a pushover. Young Ben Gibbs stepped up for the conversion and slotted it

easily; Riyadh were for the first time in the lead 12-14 to the visitors. Continued exchanges, big hits and a few injuries saw out the remainder of the 3rd quarter, notably Seb Lea stepping onto the wing for Riyadh after Harald Vonk sustained his 2nd injury of the night. A rearranged Riyadh field was the opportunity for Khobar, who managed a darting run around the outside of the entire field, gaining ground into Riyadh s 22; Riyadh were penalised for not being back 10 after an interception by Nick Sparks and Richard Salisbury. Referee you know who you are Hugh Mudford please feel free to explain this one to Sparky at training. Khobar nonetheless capitalised on the opportunity, slotting 3 points from the 10 meter line: 15-14 Khobar at 60 minutes. The rest of the game was spent with line-outs and scrums; Riyadh s scrummaging continued to dominate, but Khobar s newly signed No 7 transfer from Riyadh (Julien Romand) intercepted Riyadh s lineout regularly. Riyadh spent the final 10 minutes camped on Khobars try line and, despite being awarded 3 penalties for collapsed scrums, the illusive penalty try remained elusive. Eventually Riyadh lost the ball in a tackle, Khobar quickly kicked to touch knowing the 80 minutes were up. Alas, despite some excellent dogged rugby, Khobar escaped the pressure, full time!! Final result Khobar RFC 15 Riyadh RFC 14. Nick Sparks (most excellently plagiarised by Sean Ellis)

RGBB News 24

SPORTS Riyadh Sevens Friday 1 Nov 2013 saw the staging of the seventh Riyadh Rugby 7s, held at Salwa Garden Village. The event was attended by 9 adult and junior teams from all over Saudi Arabia, including nearly 100 players plus a large number of spectators. The Riyadh 7s is touted as the Saudi alternative to the Dubai 7s, but without beer, bacon and the Aggreko Dynamos! As a precursor to its much larger brother, the Riyadh 7s not only helps prepare teams for Dubai, but also allows those who are not playing there the opportunity for some very competitive Rugby and is the one occasion in the calendar when all Saudi based teams come together. The day kicked off with the host club and defending champions Riyadh Falcons taking on the Taif Tigers. Taif, while limited in numbers and normally only able to train on a tennis court due to a lack of suitable facilities, are a stern test for any side. Very physical, they took the game to the Falcons, but eventually lost 14-7. Next up, Riyadh Warriors, a side comprising mainly Saudi Nationals and other arab nationals, played Jeddah; losing heavily 47-7, Jeddah proved from the outset that they were the side to beat. Riyadh Scorpions, the hosts 2nd team, then took on the Jeddah 2nds, losing 17-5. The Riyadh Falcons rounded out the first set of matches, beating a weakened Khobar side 47-0, running in 7 tries and 6 conversions. By now, it was becoming obvious that a Riyadh Falcons v Jeddah final match would provide the eventual winners, with both sides too strong for the rest of the opposition. The first of the juniors matches then took place, with last years winners Jeddah U18, facing Riyadh Falcons U18. Despite some good ball handling from the Falcons, Jeddah proved that their Rugby League background, which gives them both excellent handling and strong tackling, was going to be difficult to handle, and Jeddah won the first of 3 matches 26-5. A LITTLE ABOUT RIYADH RUGBY CLUB Riyadh Rugby Club was one of the founding Rugby clubs in Saudi Arabia, around the early 1970s and was formed at the time by employees from the then British Aerospace Corporation, now BAE Systems. Over the years, the Club has grown into a formidable force in Rugby in the Middle East, being a regular participant in the Dubai 7s, Bahrain 10s, Beirut 10s and other tournaments in the region, including our own tournament, the Riyadh 7s, which was held on Nov 1 this year. The Club has players from all over the world, including United Kingdom, France, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, USA,

As the day progressed, the pecking order for Saudi 7s Rugby became clearer, with both Jeddah sides and Riyadh Falcons and Scorpions overcoming weaker opposition. Taif and Khobar, both reeling from a number of injuries including a broken leg, eventually borrowed players from each other so that they could continue their matches, displaying outstanding spirit and competitiveness to keep the tournament going. The junior sides continued to battle, with Jeddah winning the second and final encounters 24-17 and 17-7 respectively, resulting in a 3-0 overall victory and retention of their junior crown. However, Riyadh developed well throughout the day and despite their relative lack of experience, competed to the end. Coach Andy Goodman was very pleased with their performance and never-say-die attitude, with team captain Reeve Clingham extremely proud of his teammates. In the adult competition, the final match loomed between Riyadh Falcons and Jeddah, with no-one ready to predict a winner. Falcons had scored 167 points conceding 28, while Jeddah had scored 207 only conceding 12. Both teams hit the ground running but Jeddah proved more intense and physical, scoring 2 early tries, with Riyadh responding with 1 to take a 12-7 half time lead. All to play for, Jeddah came out stronger again in the 2nd half, scoring another 2 tries, this time unanswered, to win a 24-7 victory and take the Riyadh 7s title for the first time in 3 years away from Riyadh. RGBB Chairman, Marcel Luckman, presented the trophies to the victorious Jeddah sides and the player of the tournament, JeddahÂ&#x2019;s centre Jackson Pierce. An outstanding day of Rugby, with 24 matches, 894 points and 142 tries left spectators and players happy. Riyadh Rugby Club is grateful to the event sponsors Almarai and Jones Engineering, and also to the RGBB who purchased some much needed training equipment for the side. Lebanon and most importantly, Saudi Arabia. Our aim is to promote Rugby within the Kingdom and allow locals, as well as expatriates, the opportunity to learn about and play Rugby, whatever their ability or experience. We have some players who have represented their countries at International level, while others had never played before joining us. Our players work for many companies including BAE Systems, Almarai, El-Seif Construction, Saudi Oger, Burohappold, EADS, Acwa Holding, various Saudi banks and government departments. For more information about Riyadh Rugby Club, please contact Simon Hill at simon.hill@baesystems.com RGBB News 25

standing ovation is not something normally asociated with an evening in the residence garden but on this occasion it was entirely justified. The Wadi nights team have once again pulled off a remarkable evening of culture by combining the shear excellence and technical prowess of classical guitarist Gary Ryan with the local flavour of the Oud, the Tabla and the Riq. Gary Ryan has performed to exceptional critical acclaim internationally. He made his London recital debut for the Park Lane Group Young Artists Series at the Purcell Room in 1994 and has since pursued a highly varied career as a performer, composer and teacher.

Gary studied from the age of 8 at the Guildhall School of Music Junior Department, later winning a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Music in 1987. In 1991 he graduated with first class honours and many awards, including the Julian Bream Prize and the John Mundy String Prize and was subsequently made an Honorary Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in 1997. RGBB News 26

He is currently Assistant Head of Strings at the Royal College of Music where he has taught since 1996 and also examines for the ABRSM. Gary Ryan is increasingly well known for his guitar compositions which combine traditional classical techniques with a rich variety of musical influences and contemporary guitar styles, as in his solo piece Benga Beat which was premiered to great acclaim in 2011.

In 2012 he became the first guitarist since John Williams in 1983 to be made a Fellow of the Royal College of Music and was presented with the award in May 2013 by HRH The Prince of Wales. Gary was joined on stage by Mohammed Al Omar from Riyadh. Mohammed has played the Oud for ten years as a hobby and is self

taught - There in no college of music in Riyadh. MohammedÂ&#x2019;s repertoire included peices by: Um Kalthoum, Abdul Wahab, Abdul Halim Hafaz, Nasir Shamah & Munir Bashir. Special thanks go to HM Ambassador, Sir John Jenkins and the team from the Embassy for providing such a wonderful venue for the event. Sponsorship for the event came from Riyadh Village, Smile Productions and New Look.

RGBB News 27

Bite sized information about diabetes November 14th 2013 marked International Diabetes Day; the slogan for the campaign this year is Protect our future . The aim is to disseminate simple messages about the health threat and consequences that diabetes brings.

I guess having worked in the field of diabetes for 15 years or more these are my messages and here is a little background to this global health problem. In the United Kingdom the prevalence of diabetes is said to be 5.59%. Here is Saudi Arabia it is 23.4% and ranks 7th in the top ten globally. Alarmingly half of those people within the Kingdom with diabetes don t actually know they have it; estimating a further 18 million undiagnosed cases. Rapid economic growth of this new country and lifestyle changes are attributed to the rise, alongside late diagnosis and health systems not equipped to keep up with the growing burden. Over the next twenty years the prevalence is expected to double. Each ward within the hospitals is drenched with patients suffering from this disease and just under half the

people who die with diabetes are less than 60 years of age. As expats living here in Saudi Arabia we cannot ignore health concerns and perhaps need to be more vigilant about our lifestyle and risks for developing diabetes. There are two main types of diabetes mellitus (DM) T1 DM

Usually occurs in the young and there is complete cessation of insulin production. The onset is rapid and the treatment is insulin therapy for life.

T2 DM

Usually occurs over the age of 40 years. The pancreas either does not produce enough insulin or the insulin which is produced does not work effectively; giving rise to high blood glucose levels.

Is insidious in onset.

The treatment pathway begins with lifestyle modification, oral medications and as the condition progresses leads to insulin therapy.

You do not change the type of diabetes just because you move to insulin therapy The risk of developing diabetes is associated with:

Ethnicity Genetics High blood pressure Gestational diabetes Obesity Unhealthy diet Inactivity

Often people do not know they have T2 diabetes. Signs and symptoms include:

Going to frequently

the

toilet

Increased thirst

Feeling tired

Or perhaps having recurring infections or a wound which will not heal.

The complications of diabetes are the same for both T1 and T22. What to do if you think you may have diabetes. There are a number of risk calculators online: http://riskscore.diabetes.org.uk/ type2risk/ http://www.idf.org/worlddiabetesday/ bluecircletest http://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/ Diabetes.aspx There is no such thing as mild diabetes or touch of sugar in your urine! Do the check and if your risk is high see your healthcare professional.

An article by RGBB Member Tracey Clay RGBB News 28

HEALTH MATTERS What is diabetes? Diabetes is a condition where the amount of glucose in your blood is too high because the body cannot use it properly. This is because your pancreas doesn t produce any insulin, or not enough insulin, to help glucose enter your body s cells or the insulin that is produced does not work properly (known as insulin resistance). Insulin is the hormone produced by the pancreas that allows glucose to enter the body s cells, where it is used as fuel for energy so we can work, play and generally live our lives. It is vital for life. Glucose comes from digesting carbohydrate and is also produced by the liver. If you have diabetes, your body cannot make proper use of this glucose so it builds up in the blood and can t be used as fuel.

Healthcare Essentials Having the right care is essential for the wellbeing of all people with diabetes. There is a minimum level of healthcare that every person with diabetes deserves and should expect. Here is a list of some basic checks and services you should receive. Get your blood glucose levels measured at least once a year Have your blood pressure measured at least once a year Have your blood fats (such as cholesterol) measured at least once a year Have your eyes screened for signs of retinopathy every year Have the skin, circulation and nerve supply of your feet examined annually Have your kidney function monitored annually Have your weight checked Get support if you are a smoker. Having diabetes already puts people at increased risk of heart disease and stroke, and smoking further increases this risk Get information and specialist care if you are planning to have a baby Get emotional and psychological support. Being diagnosed with diabetes and living with a long term condition can be difficult. You should be able to talk about your issues and concerns with specialist healthcare professionals

Obituary: Frederick Sanger Dr Frederick Sanger died 19 November 2013. Biochemist Frederick Sanger is unique in being the only Briton to win two Nobel Prizes and the only scientist to win the Nobel prize for Chemistry twice. His work to understand the structure of proteins and nucleic acids (such as DNA) helped to bring about a genetic revolution in biology and medicine. But he is best remembered by people with diabetes for his work to uncover the basic structure of insulin a vital step in the production of synthetic human insulins that have since led to major advances in the treatment of diabetes worldwide. Born in 1918, Sanger studied natural sciences at St John s College Cambridge and graduated in 1940 after specialising in biochemistry. As a pacifist and conscientious objector he was granted unconditional exemption from military service during the Second World War, allowing him to complete his PhD. He remained in Cambridge after the war ended, where his first major accomplishment was to establish the complete sequence of amino acid building blocks that make up cow insulin one of the very few proteins available commercially in pure form. His work proved for the first time that proteins molecules key to life have a precise chemical composition. It earned him his first Nobel prize for Chemistry in 1958 and was key to the subsequent realisation of the mechanisms by which DNA codes for proteins. In 1962, Sanger moved to the new Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology and turned his attention to the problem of sequencing DNA. His research group was the first to produce a whole genome sequence and the first to sequence human genetic material. The technique he developed in 1977, known as "Sanger sequencing", allowed long stretches of DNA to be rapidly and accurately sequenced. It was used to complete the first ever human genome sequence in 2003 and is still in widespread use today. For this achievement Sanger was awarded his second Nobel Prize in 1980. In 1992, the Sanger Centre (now the Sanger Institute) was founded in his honour only a few miles from his home. Today it is one of the world s foremost genomic research centres. An incredibly modest man despite his many achievements, Sanger avoided the limelight and claimed that he was merely "a chap who messed about in his lab." He declined a knighthood because he did not want to be called "Sir" but was awarded the Order of Merit one of Britain s highest honours in 1986. He retired at the age of 65 to devote more time to his garden and to "messing about in boats". RGBB News 29

Bed & Breakfast in the Southwest of England The Robin Hill is ideally located in a central yet quiet area of Torquay, and is just a brief 500 metre stroll down the hill to the town’s harbour, shops, restaurants, bars and seafront. We offer comfortable en-suite bedrooms, a friendly welcome, free parking & wifi and a great breakfast selection. BUT don’t take our word for it. Our most recent TripAdvisor reviews include the following: What a beautiful building, wow!. It is so nice that they are trying to restore it to its former glory. We will return one day and would advise anyone else to stay here. Reviewed in November 2013 The en-suite was sparkling clean and well presented with complimentary consumables etc. The bed was comfortable and I probably had the best few nights sleep than I had had for ages. Even though we had the "great" storm Reviewed in October 2013-12-02 Graet location, brilliant breakfast, friendly homely feel and very clean, a place with real class and great management, suitable for all age groups. Reviewed in September 2013 We stayed here for two days and wish it could have been longer. The new owners made us very welcome. Breakfast was a pleasure cooked to perfection and a good choice from continental to full english. This is a family run hotel, and we felt like part of it. Reviewed in August 2013 We’re taking bookings now for next year. Please drop us a line or give us a call for prices and availability.

reservations@therobinhill.co.uk

SAUDI BUSINESS ETIQUETTE

he etiquette of doing business in any country is important, although there is a shared culture in some common cultures and even continents, the Kingdom Saudi Arabia, is quite unique even within its closely related GCC cousins.

Author: Siraj Al Islam CEO, One 2 One Legal LLP Partner, Law Firm of Mohammed Abdulaziz Al-Aqeel Email: siraj@one2onelegal.com KSA Mobile: +966 595 528 968 UK Mobile: +44 7430 440 755

This briefing note is drafted with a view to educate the uninitiated to the way things are done in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Some of the things might be common sense, but it is amazing how often we all seem to forget the basics. Below is a gentle reminder of how to deal with things from the moment you land, remember this is a very different culture and environment to the one that you are used to. 1.

Arrival

As you d expect to anywhere, arrive promptly, but do not be surprised if your host is late and indeed to not comment on it. Commenting on such matters may make you appear to be "too hasty" and "judgemental". 2.

Appearance

Non arab businessmen are expected to wear a suit and a tie. It is very important to ensure that the suit is and shirt are well pressed and that the appearance does not appear dishevelled. Ensure that you have carried out your usual basic grooming. Cleanliness is a must. 3.

Fragrance

Saudi Arabian nationals take pride in being fragrant. It is very important that one is fully perfumed . In the West, too much is forowned upon, however the right perfume in Saudi Arabia is prized and such attention to detail is very much appreciated and respected by your host. 4.

Greetings

The common greetings you will hear is "Assa la mou alikum". This basically translates to " May peace be upon you". This is used universally. When you meet someone for the first time, you may either use this term or use common phrases as used in the West such as "Good Morning etc". 5.

Handshake

Similar to the West, keep the handshake firm, friendly but not hard. Do not offer to shake the hands of women except when they offer it to you. 6.

Embrace

It is very common to embrace and kiss the cheeks. The embrace is holding the right hand and moving to the right shoulder, kissing the right cheek and then repeating on the left. Kissing does not involve the touching of the lips, it is only the touching of the cheeks only. 7.

Proximity

Saudi businessmen tend to stand very close to each other when they are discussing business with each other. Do not try to move away, this will be taken as a sign of insensivity as a bare minimum and as an insult depending on who you are meeting. 9.

Subjects to avoid

We all have our views about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Saudi s have their views about us. In business conversation, focus on the matter at hand and avoid discussing about matters that pertain to culture, religion, marriage, and capital punishment. As a final thought, understand that the pace of business can be very slow and it may take many meetings before a matter is concluded, so the key factor to success in Saudi Arabia is patience and patience over an extended period of time.

At One 2 One Legal LLP, we provide specialist legal and legal related risk management services. Our team is able to assist from initial start-up of businesses to guiding companies on investment exit strategies. Our list of services include the following: Islamic Banking and Finance; Project Finance; Shariah Advice; Corporate; Commercial, Company Secretarial; Dispute Resolution; Mediation; Private Client; Legal Training; Executive Management; In-house Counsel; Business Risk Management; and Law Firm Client Protection Service. Our services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are provided in association with the Law Firm of Mohammed A. Al-Aqeel. Please visit our website at: www.one2onelegal.com One 2 One Legal LLP is registered in England and Wales, registered number OC378831 with its registered office address at: 145 - 157 St John St, London, EC1V 4PW, U.K.

Sitting

Sit directly facing your host, ensure that under no circumstance that you place "one leg over the other". This is considered of the utmost disrespect. RGBB News 33

Bitcoins A few days ago my son, an avid internet shopper, mentioned he’d been asked if he could pay for a purchase in Bitcoins. Not being sure he came to me for an answer... Never having used these myself I had to turn to the Internet for an answer which I now share with you....Ed Bitcoin is an open source peer-topeer electronic money and payment network. First mentioned in a 2008 paper published under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin became operational in early 2009. Bit coin has been called a cryptocurrency because it uses cryptography to secure transactions. Digitally signed payment messages are broadcast to and verified by a decentralized network of computers all over the world. Specialised computers use a proof-of-work system to prevent people from copying and spending the same bitcoin multiple times, a problem for digital currencies known as double-spending. The operators of these computers, known as "miners", are rewarded with transaction fees and newly minted Bitcoins. Bitcoins are stored by associating them with addresses called "wallets". Wallets can be stored on web services, on local hardware like PCs and mobile devices, or on paper print-outs. Thefts of bitcoins from web services and online wallets have been covered in the media, prompting assertions that the safest way to store bitcoins is in a paper wallet generated on an uncompromised computer. In 2012, The Economist reasoned that Bitcoin has been popular because of "its role in dodgy online markets", and in 2013 the FBI shut down one such service, Silk Road, which specialised in illegal drugs (whereupon the FBI came into the control of approximately 1.5% of all bitcoins in circulation). However, I read, bitcoins are increasingly used as payment for legitimate products and services, and merchants have an incentive to accept the currency because transaction fees are lower than the 2 to 3% typically imposed by credit card processors. Notable vendors include OkCupid, Reddit, RGBB RGBB NewsNews 34 34

Wordpress, and Chinese Internet giant Baidu. Integral to Bitcoin is a public transaction ledger and log known as the blockchain, which shows who owns how many bitcoins currently and records the participants in all prior transactions as well. By keeping a record of all transactions, the blockchain prevents double-spending (copying one bitcoin and spending it in multiple different places) because the record shows that once a bitcoin has been spent, the previous owner no longer controls it. The blockchain is maintained not by a central body but by a distributed network of computers that run a program to solve cryptographic puzzles relating to information in the blockchain. Users who devote computing power to maintaining the blockchain this way are called "miners" because they are awarded in bitcoin when they are first to solve such puzzles mining is how new bitcoins are generated. The mathematical calculations performed by miners computers serve to verify that each transaction is valid and add the information to the blockchain. As more bitcoins come into circulation, the puzzles involved in mining them become increasingly difficult, and the rewards are halved at regular intervals, until 21 million bitcoins have been created and production stops. As Bitcoin achieves wider recognition and more people compete to mine the coins, competition for the limited number of bitcoins awarded for solving the cryptographic puzzles becomes more steep and more powerful computers are needed in order to compete a fact which has spawned a technology boom in sales of Bitcoin mining technology. In order to make a payment, a user transfers an amount of bitcoins from his or her account into the account of the recipient, and then the transaction is validated by others in the network and recorded in the blockchain ledger of all Bitcoin transactions. The time it takes others to validate the transaction means that there is a delay of about 10 minutes in processing a payment. Bitcoin payment processing fees are substantially lower than those

of credit cards or money transfers. The competitive advantage lower fees confer to Bitcoin may lessen or vanish in the future, however. Without a sustained increase in the value of Bitcoin relative to other currencies, payment processing fees must rise over time, and once the Bitcoin ceiling is reached, processing transactions will no longer be rewarded with new Bitcoins. This is due to the fact that the total number of Bitcoins is capped at 21 million and because the creation of each successive Bitcoin requires a larger amount of payment processing work than the last. Fees are generally independent of the amount being sent, making Bitcoin attractive for those seeking to transfer larger amounts of money. Through various exchanges, Bitcoins are bought and sold at a variable price against the value of other currencies. While there may be a seemingly large number, exchanges regularly fail, taking client Bitcoins with them. A published research study in April 2013 showed that 45 percent of Bitcoin exchanges end up closing. During November 2013, the Chinabased Bitcoin exchange BTC China overtook Japan-based Mt. Gox and Europe-based Bitstamp to become the largest Bitcoin trading exchange by trade volume. On 19 November 2013, the value of Bitcoin on the Mt. Gox exchange soared to a peak of US$900 following a United States Senate committee hearing, at which the committee was informed that virtual currencies were a legitimate financial service. On the same day, one bitcoin traded for over US$1100 in China. With roughly 12 million bitcoins in existence as of November 2013, the new price means increased the market cap for Bitcoin to at least US$7.2 billion. As of November 2013, the use of Bitcoin in the retail and commercial marketplace is relatively small compared with the use by speculators.

So...do I understand all of that? Will I be making my purchases in Bitcoins tomorrow? Probably NOT - But watch these columns for any developments...Ed

IT SECTOR Kingdom-wide Cyber Security from BT There have been a number of well publicized breaches of cyber security in Saudi Arabia over the last 18 months; this has been an opportunity for BT to bring their highly advanced and well-resourced capabilities into the market. BT have helped to secure critical national infrastructure and networks both in the UK and internationally for a number of years. They also designed, built and operated the hugely effective cyber defences for London 2012. All of the engineering excellence, cyber intelligence and operational experience involved is now on offer to customers in Saudi.

damage their infrastructure or access their data. Having identified weaknesses in cyber defences, measures can be taken to alleviate problems and improve processes to ensure compliance with security procedures. BT are world leaders in cyber intelligence and use Big Data collection and visualisation techniques to monitor everything from low level machined activity all the way through to Twitter feeds. These analytics are used to provide early warnings of threats and subsequently produce forensic assessment of attempted attacks.

In April, BT s Chief Security Officer, BT s expertise in the field of cyber Above: Tareque Choudhury, Dale Bruce Schneier, an internationally security has recently been recognised Millar (MD BT Saudi) & Bruce renowned cryptographer and author, by the Middle East Economic Digest as Schneier at a Briefing in Riyadh briefed full houses of enterprise and part of a piece on the Most Influential public sector customers on the threats People in Security in the Middle East, from cyber criminals and terrorists. in which BT s Head of Security for the This has subsequently generated a lot of market interest Middle East and North Africa, Tareque Choudhury, was and movement and BT are very engaged with a number of placed in the Number 1 spot. customers to improve their cyber security profiles. Cyber attacks have become an unpleasant reality of BT s typical approach with clients is to assess their security business life BT are proud to be a significant part of posture by analysing the design and configuration of providing high grade defences for companies and public networks, hosts and security infrastructure such as firewalls sector entities all over the Kingdom. and intrusion protection to provide a security posture Dale Millar assessment. It is often advisable to run penetration testing MD BT Al Saudia, dale.millar@btalsaudia.com.sa to allow clients to see how easily or otherwise hackers can

RGBB News 35

CULINARY CORNER

hef Gareth Pugsley hails from Llantrisant in South Wales. He s been working at the Al Khozama hotel for the past two years and has catered a wide assortment of events at Venue One. While in the UK he worked at the Vale of Glamorgan Hotel in Hensol where duties included taking care of the dietary requirements of Welsh national rugby and football teams. Then followed six years in Australia where he worked at Rydges Hotel in Southbank, Brisbane and Canberra. With two typically Welsh dishes, Chef Gareth shares with us a taste of home; Minted lamb with leeks and honey - Cig oen a mintys gyda chennin a mel

Add the leeks and garlic to the pan making sure to scrape up all sediment in the pan, cover the pan and cook for about 5 minutes over a medium heat, stir occasionally to ensure the leeks do not burn. Stir the remaining mint in to the leek mixture with the clear honey and cream. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Position the leeks at the center of your plate sitting the lamb on top, use a little of the cream sauce to dress the plate and enjoy with rosemary roast potatoes. Apple pudding - Pwdin afalau Serves 4 4 crisp eating apples A little lemon juice 300ml of milk 40g of butter 40g of all purpose flour 25g superfine caster sugar 1⁄2 a tsp of vanilla extract 2 eggs, separated Preheat the oven to 200c/400f, butter an ovenproof dish 20-23cm in diameter. Peel, core and slice the apples, place them in the ovenproof dish and sprinkle with lemon juice. Put the milk flour and butter into a pan, stir continuously with a whisk over a medium heat until the sauce thinkens, let it gently bubble for a 1 or 2 minutes, making sure to keep stirring so that the mixture dose not stick. Pour the milk into a clean bowl, add the sugar and the vanilla, then stir in the egg yolks one at a time.

Serves 2 30ml of oil 2tbsp lemon juice 2 tbsp of fresh chopped mint 4 lamb chops or leg steaks 250g/9oz of thinly sliced leeks 1 clove of garlic crushed 45ml/ 1.5 fl oz of heavy cream 2 tsp of clear honey Salt and pepper In a shallow non-metal container combine 1 table spoon of oil, lemon juice and season with salt and pepper, then add 1 table spoon of mint and the lamb mix well and allow to marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature. Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan, cook the lamb over a medium heat until cooked to your liking, remove from the pan and cover with foil. RGBB News 36

In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then using a metal spoon fold the egg whites into the custard mixture. Take care not to knock the air out of the egg whites by over mixing, then pour the custard mix over the apple in your ovenproof dish. Bake for around 40 minutes, until puffed up, golden brown and firm to the touch. Handle like a soufflé and serve straight from the oven.

You can change the apple for any other kind of stewing fruit such as rhubarb, plums or even sweetened gooseberries, also fresh berries work well.

Welcome to new members Anis Ahsan..............................The Saudi Investment Bank .......................Head of Transaction Services - Corp. Banking Bill Ambrose...........................Julian V A Cotton LLC ..............................Senior Consultant Bill Anderson ..........................KFSH Dammam ........................................Consultant Gerry Atkinson .......................GPT Special Project Management Ltd ......ILS Analyst Norman Bain...........................Cassidian ....................................................Senior Sales Manager Andrew Bennett ......................BAE Systems .............................................Pilot Instructor Mark Bonnett ..........................Care-HDN ..................................................IT Implementation Manager Anthony Boothman.................Bae Systems ...............................................Senior Project Co-ordinator Jeremy Branton.......................Pearsons Education ....................................Sales Manager Robert Cable ...........................GRS Ltd .....................................................Adviser - Saudi Relations Jonathan Campbell-James ......Ernst & Young............................................Director FIDS Nicholas Carter .......................IBM ............................................................Data Centre Design Consultant Tom Carter .............................Bae Systems ...............................................Programme Manager Naval Andy Condor ..........................Prince Sultan University ............................Project Manager Martin Creek...........................Abdulaziz Algasim Law Firm....................Senior Associate Steve Crook ............................Bae Systems ...............................................Project Manager Paul Cunningham ...................Price Waterhouse Coopers .........................Assurance Leader Mark Day ................................SGS SA ......................................................Conformity Assessment Manager Hugh Donohoe........................Selex...........................................................Managing Director Robert Donovan......................Cassidian Saudi Ltd ...................................ILS Manager Rami El Dahshan ....................British Airways ..........................................Sales Manager Michael El-Kassir ...................GRA Assets ................................................General Manager International Andrew Elliott ........................Ar Riyadh Development Authority............Project Manager Ian Farrow...............................Bae Systems ...............................................Facilities Operations Project Manager Sandra Fletcher .......................Nasair .........................................................E-Commerce Director Vanessa Forshaw.....................King Faisal Hospital ..................................Nursing Supervisor Simon Fourie ..........................CH2M Olayan............................................Lead Delivery - Riyadh Metro Project Alison Fullerton-Black ...........National Guard...........................................Supervisor Corporate Medical Services Bob Goodacre .........................Alsalam Aircraft Company ........................Manager Corporate Affairs John Greene ............................Cassidian Saudi Ltd ...................................Head of Commercial Paul Greenfield .......................Lulu Hypermarkets ....................................Operations Manager KSA Anthony Hamer ......................KPMG ........................................................Director Jennie Hamston.......................Princess Nora University ...........................Faculty of Nursing Simon Harley ..........................Bae Systems ...............................................Facilities Operations Manager Stephen Hobbs ........................Fidelity Information Services Ltd..............Operations Manager Paul James ..............................Omrania & Associates ...............................Senior HSE Officer David Jones.............................Cassidian ....................................................Sales Manager Peter Lishman .........................Hanmi International ...................................Senior Commissioning Manager Ian Macalester.........................SABB .........................................................Chief Operating Officer Alistair McDermott.................Bae Systems ...............................................Pilot Instructor David McGlashan ...................Worley Parsons ..........................................Lead Electrical Engineer Patricia McWalter ...................KFSHRC ....................................................Consultant Physician David Money ..........................Al Ghassan Motors ....................................Brand Manager Ehtesham Moradi....................CH2M Olayan............................................Programme Manager Sahel Mughal ..........................Clifford Chance..........................................Senior Associate Les Oliver ...............................Norconsult Telematics SA..........................Telecommunications Consultant Roy Penny...............................Ericsson......................................................Senior Contracts Manager Nicola Quick...........................Ministry of National Guard........................PA Amir Qureshi ..........................Saudi Oger Ltd...........................................Regional Manager Project Controls Wah-Yin Rixon .......................Arabian Education & Training Group .......ESL Instructor RGBB News 38

WELCOME Welcome to new members Jill Roberts..............................SSAT Middle East......................................Lead Education Consultant Jim Rogan ...............................Al Rajhi Projects ........................................General Manager Sajid Sarwar............................Cassidian Saudi Ltd ...................................Head Oof Finance & Accounting Colin Sattar .............................Al Ghassan Motors ....................................General Manager Paul Siffre ...............................Arabian Education & Traaining Group......CEO Ken Sikora ..............................MAADEN ..................................................Senior Consultant Michael Stott...........................Saudi Oger Ltd...........................................HSE Director Ian Tarry..................................Mace Holdings Ltd ....................................Director Mark Warwick ........................Banque Saudi Fransi ..................................Head of ALM Tim Watts................................Sangcom.....................................................Project Director Douglas Weir ..........................Ward Williams Assoc .................................Senior Contracts Administrator Andrew White.........................Zain Ksa .....................................................SVP Strategy & Business Development Ugochi Wokoh ........................Al Mutaka Ladies Centre ...........................Senior Therapist Mark Wood .............................Food International......................................Director of Operations

Where are they now? I normally reserve this heading for photographs of RGBB members who have finished working in the Kingdom and have set up in pastures new. HOWEVER... On this occasion I m using this space to keep you all in touch with someone who may not have been in Riyadh for a little while but who will most definitely be back... I know because it s me... Ed. During the summer my wife and I bought a small B&B in Torquay and have spent the last few months repairing and renovating an old Victorian property that was in need of some TLC. We have enjoyed a shortish first season serving over 1200 breakfasts whilst attempting to improve a facility with the potential for fourteen ensuite bedrooms. During the few months I ve been away, I ve been contacted by friends in Riyadh who tell me that they ve heard on the grapevine that I ve retired or closed down or otherwise abandoned the Riyadh scene. So to set the record straight ... None of the above ...

SuDoku

Answer on to puzzle on page 12

Undoubtedly after working in and with Saudi Arabia for over thirty years I won t be quite as visible as I might have been before but I have no intention of severing ties with either the Kingdom or the RGBB. Should any of you fancy a few days on the English Riviera please check out our website (which is being updated as I write) or give me a call to book. We ll be happy to serve you with a variety of product not always easily available in the magic Kingdom. (10% discount to RGBB / BBA / BBG members from Saudi.) http://robinhillhotel.co.uk Having unashamedly used the space for a bit of self promotion I suppose I better pay the advertising bill! See page 32 Best seasonal wishes to all readers. Andrew Mead

RGBB News 39

AND FINALLY

All I want for Christmas It’s been many years since I was in the UK in the run up to Xmas and had time for “shopping”. As my wife will tell you, I’m the sort of chap who goes straight to the store, buys what is needed and returns swiftly from whence I came. Unusually therefore I’ve been out and about in the UK with my wife and was amazed to find the shelves stocked with Christmas fare from about the end of August! From tinsle to puddings, all things Christmas seem to be taking over the shelves in every supermarket or department store we visited. Suppressing the “Bah Humbug” moment I began to consider what might be this years simply must have?

For fans of fast cars, a smart red Ferrari is just one of many wonderful machines you’d love to find in your garage. While a real Ferrari Enzo might be just a little out of your current price range, you don’t need to wait until you’ve made your millions to start burning rubber behind the wheel of some Italian lightning. At least not if you’re willing to downscale a little bit with the smartRGBB News 40

link control Ferrari Enzo. The remote controlled sports car that you control with your Apple or Android Smart Phone!

A fully detailed 1:50 miniature replica in classic red with real functioning headlights and official Ferrari badges. The smartlink control module is included; simply download the free control app from the App Store and plug the smartlink into your headphone jack.

Something I was very surprised to see were Lava Lamps. A throwback to the sixties I think but retro is “groovy” I’m being told and apparently they’re making a come back!

Something a little more useful, I think, is the ipad fridge magnet. Designed to accept three generations of ipad it claims to have 25 times the strength needed to keep your equipment away from those worktop spillages. I sincerly hope it retains its “grip” or it

could be an expensive new ipad! Sticking with the toys for a moment, this years top rated is the HexBug. These tiny little robotic bugs are such great fun to watch as they scurry around, crawling, jumping, and even flipping as they go!

Although the Hexbugs don’t contain any sensors they will happily bumble and bounce around, navigating obstacles, and even each other, one way or another. Of course like most insects, Hexbugs are happiest, and indeed at their most hilarious, when they are grouped together in a swarm. Just watching the sheer random and chaotic nature of these little robotic critters is enough to keep anyone entertained for hours on end. Hexbugs come in a range of different colours, and each reportedly has its own behaviours and quirks, although I’d need to study them further to explore this concept in more depth WILL Something I NOT be puting on my Christmas list is another item described as a “breakthrough” in home laundry. Called the Hula Washer, simply pack your dirty clothes and a

dash of detergent inside this giant hoop and gyrate away... and yes I have enough sense NOT to buy one for my wife!

But what if you have a little more cash to spend? How do you fancy a 3D printer? prices are coming down dramatically with some advertised at sub $100 but personally I still don’t quite understand the limitations and capabilities.

And if money is absolutely no object “sprinkle it with diamonds” seems to the rallying call for the upper classes with bejewelled USB sticks at $20,000. Or how about a 24k gold plated vacuum cleaner, available for a cool $1million. But seriously, why not have a chat with the Boeing corporation. Their new Hypersonic X-51A WaveRider could take you from London to New York city in less than an hour - five times as fast as the Cesna Citation X, the world’s current fastest civilian aircraft.