Times of Oman - December 9, 2015 by Muscat Media Group

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6 085010 120010 FROM THE WORDS OF HIS MAJESTY THE SULTAN

On the occasion of the 29th National Day

‘His Majesty’s Wisdom’ We believe in peace and work invariably for it. We call for the strengthening of bonds of friendship with all, on the basis of comprehensive justice and mutual respect.

7 Safar 1437 AH WEDNESDAY, December 9, 2015 / 27

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HM receives thanks cable

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Now recruitment companies face fresh restrictions on

GCC LEADERS’ SUMMIT

Sayyid Fahd to leave for Saudi Arabia today MUSCAT: On behalf of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, His Highness Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers, will leave on Wednesday for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to lead the Sultanate’s delegation to the 36th GCC Leaders’ Summit in Riyadh, scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. The Sultanate, under the wise leadership of His Majesty the Sultan, is keen to support the GCC

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cooperation march to achieve the prospective growth and prosperity of the GCC people. Sayyid Fahd will be accompanied by an official delegation comprising Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Ali bin Mas’oud Al Sunaidi, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Dr. Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Sa’eedi, Minister of Legal Affairs and some government officials. -ONA

bringing in expats

Times News Service MUSCAT: Recruitment agencies will no longer be allowed to hire more than 10 expatriate workers on one permit, under a new rule from the Ministry of Manpower. The agencies, however, will be allowed to apply for permit renewal upon the expiry of the previous permit. The new edict follows a ministerial decision issued recently by Manpower Minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Abdullah Al Bakri. Conﬁrming this to the

Times of Oman (TOO), a senior ministry official said the rule has already come into effect. The ministry also issued a decision to extend the ban for another six months on recruiting expats in the professions of camel-keeping, construction and cleaning labourers for private companies. Since November 2013, there has been a temporary ban in place on visas for construction workers, which is extended every six

months. The ban, however, is not applicable to ﬁrms, which are rated ‘excellent’ by the ministry, international companies and consultancy ﬁrms, and companies executing government projects. “The ban, which was implemented at the end of 2013, has affected the industry. We know that almost all companies are affected by the shortage of workers. The companies are compelled to undertake desperate measures to overcome worker shortage and complete projects on time,” said Abdul Gafoor, a senior official at a construction company in Muscat. Tonia Gray, general manager at Competence HR, said that while it is understood that the ministry needs to tightly control the expatriate workforce, this new ruling will make it extremely difficult for many companies to obtain the manpower services they require from manpower agencies. “This will heavily impact all sectors that rely on manpower or labour, for example construction,” Gray said. >A6

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READERS’ FORUM The Sultanate of Oman is playing a key role in bringing peace in the region This refers to the front page news report, ‘Oman looks for peace in Yemen,’ in the Times of Oman (December 8). The Sultanate has earned laurel for its active involvement in bringing peace to the region and the world. Oman’s efforts to try to solve the crisis in Yemen is commendable. The unrest in Yemen is indeed a tragedy for the country which is known for its rich historical civilization. Years of conflict have damaged Yemen immensely, and it has become a centre for a large number of displaced Scan this QR code civilians. As Oman has been working hard to send letters to the to bring peace and stability in the region, Readers’ Forum, its role in ending the conflict in the neighcontaining not more than 200 words with bouring country is very crucial. full name, address The efforts at bringing peace in the strifeand telephone torn Yemen are not easy as the country is number, may be sent ravaged by the conflict. by mail (Times of Oman, P.O. Box 770, At the same time, any further delay in P.C. 112, Ruwi). addressing this crisis, which has already claimed hundreds of lives, will only aggravate the situation. I am sure that a large number of people in Yemen are completely shattered by the ongoing crisis. The role of the mediator is very challenging and the peace-loving Yemeni people are all eager for return of peace in the country. — Ramachandran Nair, Ruwi

PAULA DWYER

In past presidential elections, candidates hoped to convince voters of their ﬁscal rectitude. This time, though, ﬁscal responsibility is out. Tax giveaways are in. This puts Hillary Clinton in a straitjacket. She has proposed about $1 trillion in new government spending — much of it through the tax code. bit.ly/clintontaxplan

he Syrian refugee crisis confronts the European Union with an acute dilemma. Europe has a historic responsibility to help victims of war and violence, and responsible politicians recognize that it is inhumane to bar entrance to people fleeing for their lives. For moral and practical reasons, the EU cannot build a modern version of the Iron Curtain around its perimeter. And yet it is also clear that both administrative and political problems — not least a populist backlash against the new arrivals — limit the EU’s capacity to absorb large numbers of migrants in a short period of time. Dealing with the influx will require addressing the reasons that impel millions of people to flee their countries. And while those causes include political pressures — particularly the devastating civil wars in Syria and Iraq — the refugee flows also reflect the inability of the Middle East to produce the income growth that is lifting Asia, Latin America, and large parts of Sub-Saharan Africa out of poverty. It is becoming increasingly clear that ensuring economic opportunities for refugees should be high on the EU’s agenda. Europe should take a page from the Syrian business community’s efforts to relocate some of their country’s enterprises to the Gaziantep Free Economic Zone in Turkey. Where possible, the EU should work with countries currently hosting refugees to establish development zones where displaced Syrians are allowed to work legally. The lack of opportunities on offer in Syria’s neighbours is exacerbating the underlying economic problem. Young people are being forced to interrupt their education, and refugees are fully or partly barred from legal labour markets, owing to fears that they will compete for jobs with local inhabitants. They thus face a bleak choice: life in the camps, attempting to eke out a living in the informal sector, or the hope of a future in Europe. Many choose the latter. The longer refugees remain in poor living conditions, with inadequate educational facilities for the young and no real employment opportunities, the more likely the camps are to turn into centres of disenchantment, boredom, and radicalization. As the fighting back home drags on, the risk that refugees will never be able to integrate into a stable society is growing. The French and German economy ministers, Emmanuel Macron and Sigmar Gabriel, have recently

produced a joint proposal for a €10 billion ($10.8 billion) fund to stabilize the region. How that money is spent needs to be carefully planned, so that it enhances the long-term prospects of the displaced, rather than being siphoned off by corrupt politicians and bureaucrats. The EU should support the expansion of experiments such the Gaziantep Free Economic Zone. Refugee camps need to be turned into magnets of entrepreneurial dynamism, tapping into the large number of Syrian business leaders displaced by the conflict and providing a model for the country when the war is finally over. History is full of examples of small, dynamic centres galvanizing much larger areas. Late medieval Europe grew rich because of the exceptional status of self-governing city-states. Deng Xiaoping kickstarted China’s development in the 1980s by creating so-called special economic zones, with regulations designed to allow markets to flourish. In both cases, these areas created powerful demonstration effects. The rest of the region wanted to emulate them. To be sure, refugee labour is a delicate political issue for Syria’s neighbours. An estimated two million Syrians live in Turkey, and more than one million live in Jordan. Most of them are living outside refugee camps, and many are working – for the most part illegally. Unemployment in Turkey and Jordan are about 10 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively, and their governments are naturally wary of programmes that could cost their citizens jobs. The aim of development zones in frontline countries should thus be to generate benefits for both refugees and the host communities. The EU could, for example, finance construction of residential buildings, offices, warehouses, and public-sector facilities, increasing demand for local construction services. Displaced Syrian entrepreneurs and foreign companies could establish activities in the zone and employ both Syrian refugees and workers from the host countries. The programme could also offer disrupted Syrian businesses a chance to restart in new facilities. It could also include combined manufacturing and training programmes, with European employers sending skilled workers to train refugees. Development zones cannot be a silver bullet. There is no substitute for lasting peace in Syria. But they would offer a chance to begin addressing a tragic and avoidable consequence of the civil war: the exclusion of millions of people from the opportunity to earn a legal living for themselves and their families. - Project Syndicate

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Businessmen’s Council will help boost private sector, says OCCI chief MUSCAT: The establishment of the Omani Businessmen’s Council was an advanced step reflecting the Omani private sector’s participation in the economic field said Sheikh Salim bin Hilal Al Khalili, president of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI). In a statement to Oman News Agency, he added that the new Council would become one of the important tributaries, which reflect the capabilities of the private sector, noting that it would undoubtedly enhance the OCCI mission. Recreational and art

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WE DNE SDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015 I have lost all my assets and only possess my personal assets. I have no income, but will continue to seek employment... It was difficult to obtain employment due to my conviction and correctional supervision conditions Oscar Pistorius, Paralympic champion

WORLD

Trump’s remarks draw ﬂak was harming that resettlement programme. The International Organization for Migration responded to Trump’s comments by saying any discrimination based on religion went against all international accords on dealing with refugees. Trump’s remarks followed last week’s massacre in San Bernardino, California, by a Muslim couple. The husband, Syed Rizwan Farook, was US-born. The wife, Tashfeen Malik, was born in Pakistan and came to the United States from Saudi Arabia. The Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Monday the couple had been radicalised. Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton tweeted that Trump’s idea was “reprehensible, prejudiced and divisive”. Keywords trending on social media after Trump’s statement included Hitler, shutdown and immigration. But conservative pundit Ann Coulter wrote “GO TRUMP, GO!” on the social media site.

Republican presidential frontrunner’s statement on ‘preventing Muslim immigration’ drew swift and ﬁerce blowback from many directions

WASHINGTON: Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Monday called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States in the most dramatic response by a candidate yet to last week’s shooting spree by two Muslims who the FBI said had been radicalised. “We have no choice,” Trump said at a rally in South Carolina, warning of more September 11-style attacks if stern measures are not taken. Trump’s statement on “preventing Muslim immigration” drew swift and ﬁerce blowback from many directions, including the White House, rivals for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton and Republican former Vice President Dick Cheney, who said the idea “goes against everything we stand for and believe in”. Unhinged “Donald Trump is unhinged. His ‘policy’ proposals are not serious,” Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush said in a tweet. Other social media reaction led hashtags such as #racism, #fascism and #bigot to trend heavily. Withering reaction also came from Ohio Governor John Kasich, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida.

STOKING CONTROVERSY: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump references fellow candidate Jeb Bush at a Pearl Harbor Day Rally at the USS Yorktown on December 7, 2015, in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. – AFP

Trump, the billionaire developer and former reality TV star who frequently uses racially charged rhetoric, called for a complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States “until our country’s representatives can ﬁgure out what is going on”. “Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in war and have no sense of reason or respect for human life,” Trump said. Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, asked in an email if the shutdown would apply spe-

ciﬁcally to immigration or more broadly to student visas, tourists and other travelers to the United States, replied: “Everyone.” In Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, Trump dismissed his critics. He told a rally that mosques in the United States should also be scrutinised. “We have to see what’s happening,” he said. Trump went farther than other Republican candidates, who have called for a suspension of a plan by President Barack Obama to bring into the United States as many as 10,000 Syrian refugees ﬂeeing their country’s civil war and IS militants. The United Nations refugee agency said such rhetoric

Blasted Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim advocacy group, blasted Trump. “This is outrageous coming from someone who wants to assume the highest office in the land. It is reckless and simply unAmerican. Donald Trump sounds more like a leader of a lynch mob than a great nation like ours,” Awad said. White House spokesman Josh Earnest told MSNBC that Trump is “seeking to tap into a darker side, a darker element, and try to play on people’s fears in order to build support for his campaign.” Obama on Sunday night in an Oval Office address called on Americans to be tolerant of fellow citizens regardless of their religion. Trump’s aim is to bolster his position among conservative voters who have kept him atop opinion polls of Republican voters for months, to the point that establishment Republicans fret he could win the nomination and do so poorly in the general election next November that Re-

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publicans could not only lose the White House but also control of Congress. Whether Trump will pay a price for the move is unclear. He has shown a proclivity toward insulting people with no penalty, from saying a storied Vietnam veteran, Senator John McCain, is not a hero to blasting Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly. The most recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found stark differences between Republicans and Democrats in how they view Muslims. The poll, which was conducted after last week’s San Bernardino, California, attacks, found that 69 percent of Republicans expressed at least some fears of Muslims, compared with 39 per cent of Democrats. Trump said in an interview on Fox News that his proposal would not prevent Muslims who are serving overseas in the US military from returning and would not apply to people already living in the country, “except that we have to be vigilant”, he said. To support his proposal, Trump pointed to data from the conservative think-tank Center for Security Policy indicating that a quarter of Muslims in a poll thought violence against Americans was justiﬁed. The center’s president, Frank Gaffney Jr., has been critical of Muslims in America, and the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights group, calls him “one of America’s most notorious. South Carolina’s Graham tweeted that Trump has “gone from making absurd comments to being downright dangerous with his bombastic rhetoric”. Ohio’s Kasich said: “This is just more of the outrageous divisiveness that characterises his every breath and another reason why he is entirely unsuited to lead the United States.” A spokesman for Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson, Doug Watts, said Carson did not believe that religion should be a litmus test for entry to the country but said everyone visiting the United States should be monitored during their stay, saying that is the case in many countries. — Reuters

GIRLFRIEND’S MURDER

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PRETORIA: Oscar Pistorius, who murdered his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013, was granted bail on Tuesday and has the freedom of South Africa’s capital Pretoria as he waits to appeal his conviction in April. The Paralympic champion, nicknamed “Blade Runner” because of the prosthetic legs he uses to race, was granted bail of 10,000 rand ($686), after spending the last two months under house arrest at his uncle’s home in a wealthy Pretoria suburb. Pistorius had been meant to serve the rest of a ﬁve-year sentence there but the Supreme Court upgraded the 29-year-old’s conviction to murder from culpable homicide last week. He will appear in court on April 18 to give an update on his appeal at the constitutional court. He faces a minimum 15-year sentence for shooting Steenkamp in a case that has fascinated and divided South Africa, a country beset by high levels of violent crime. On Tuesday, South African High Court Judge Aubrey Ledwaba said Pistorius could leave the house between 7am (0500 GMT) and noon and, with permission from the authorities, travel within a radius of 20km (12 miles). Pistorius has been ordered to hand in his passport and wear an electronic tag. When he was arrested in 2013, Pistorius had to set aside bail of 1 million rand, but on Tuesday he argued for a reduced amount, saying his means had diminished. “I have lost all my assets and only possess my personal assets,” he said in his written bail application. “I have no income, but will continue to seek employment... It was difficult to obtain employment due to my conviction and correctional supervision conditions.” — Reuters

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WORLD Beijing chokes under ‘hazardous’ pollution

C L I M AT E S U M M I T

Oman urges climate deal based on UN convention

Beijing issued ﬁrst ever pollution ‘red alert’ on Tuesday. Greenpeace called the red alert ‘a welcome sign of a different attitude from the Beijing government’ HEAVY SMOG: A man sets up a warning sign next to a vehicle after an accident amid heavy smog after the city issued its ﬁrst ever ‘red alert’ for air pollution, in Beijing, China, on Tuesday. -Reuters

BEIJING: A blanket of humid, still air resulting in smog that is expected to shroud Beijing for at least three days triggered the capital’s ﬁrst ever pollution “red alert” on Tuesday as many residents ignored warnings to limit their time outdoors. By early morning, hundreds of people, including toddlers, had packed Tiananmen Square to watch the ﬂag-raising ceremony, according to photos by state news agency Xinhua. State radio said some people were ignoring vehicle use restrictions, which on Tuesday banned vehicles with odd numbers at the end of the licence plate getting on the roads, though the roads were noticably quieter. Health concern Environment Minister Chen Jining called a special meeting on Monday night to urge more supervision in Beijing and its surrounding cities including Tianjin as he increased the number of environmental inspection teams to 12, according to ThePaper.cn, a state-backed news website. Although smog has always been

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a public health concern in Beijing, the government’s response system has come under extra scrutiny in the past week because it came under heavy criticism for not issuing a red alert during an episode of heavy smog which exceeded hazardous levels. Chinese researchers have identiﬁed pollution as a major source of unrest around the country. Greenpeace called the red alert “a welcome sign of a different attitude from the Beijing government”. “From repudiating PM2.5 (particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers) to today’s issuance of a red alert, in just a few years, this is a near-revolutionary change in thinking”, Hu Xijin, the editor-in-chief of the inﬂuential state-run Global Times tabloid,

wrote on his microblog on Tuesday. The Beijing City Emergency Office said “still weather, reduced cold temperatures and an increase in humidity” prompted the red alert, according to Xinhua. A red alert means that about half of vehicles will be taken off the roads, heavy vehicles will be banned, most schools will be advised to cancel classes, businesses are recommended to implement ﬂexible working hours and all “large-scale, outdoor activities” should be stopped. Despite this, many residents tried to circumvent the rules. State radio showed a picture on its official microblog of a policeman removing paper stuck to a vehicle’s licence plate to obscure its ﬁnal digit.

By late morning on Tuesday, the US embassy’s monitoring station recorded an air quality index of 250, which puts air pollution levels in the “unhealthy” region. Those who did struggle to the office posted pictures on social media of themselves wearing industrial-strength face masks. Green development “I feel like I’m engaged in chemical warfare,” wrote one commuter. Still, the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily, without a hint of irony, praised China’s contribution to ﬁghting climate change in a commentary on Tuesday, written to coincide with the Paris climate talks. “People everywhere are looking forward to China’s continuous progress on the road to green development, acting as a model for the world to tackle the challenge of climate change.” - Reuters

PARIS: Oman hopes to complete in 2017 a national strategy to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change that it is working on, Mohammed bin Salim Al Toobi, Minister of Environment and Climate Affairs, Head of the Sultanate’s delegation to the conference, said on Tuesday in his speech at the climate conference being held in Paris. He was representing the Sultanate at the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) and the 11th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP). Oman, based on the outputs of the strategy, would develop proactive plans to adapt to climate change, capable of preparing citizens, the government and private institutions to confront the fragility and exposure to the expected effect with as much as possible flexibility in several important sectors, such as water resources sector, agriculture, fisheries, housing, health and environment, he further said. He also said that the Sultanate has always adopted policies and plans based on the principles of precaution and prevention of the negative effects of climate change. He pointed out that in confirmation of the interest of the Sultanate to confront climate change and to contribute to international efforts to adapt to and mitigate the negative effects — though it is one of the countries contributing the least to total emissions — the Sultanate has acceded to the relevant international conventions and contributed effectively and with full responsibility to the regional and international levels in all

The Sultanate appreciates and supports the efforts of the conference to come up with a new agreement

events and the preparatory meetings for the conference. He said that the Sultanate will continue to shoulder its responsibilities in this regard on account of its belief in the principle of a common future and continue to work with the international community. He explained that the Sultanate, as it appreciates and supports the efforts of the conference to come up with a new agreement to promote effective implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, emphasises that any new agreement to be reached should be based on the principles of the Convention. He also spoke of the necessity to ensure the full, fair and transparent implementation of all the essential elements of the Convention, particularly in the area of adaptation, mitigation, ﬁnance, technology transfer and capacity-building, as well as for it to be the basis of any agreement stemming from the principle of shared responsibility. The Sultanate is one of the ﬁrst signatories of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. - ONA

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CRUDE OIL PRICE

CURRENCY RATES*

DRAFT RATES (OMR1)*

GOLD PRICES*

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

Forex rates vs OMR1* US Dollar ................................. 2.57 Euro ............................................ 2.36 Pound ............................................ 1.71 Indian Rs ............................. 172.80 Pak Rs ...................................265.96 Bangla Taka......................200.24

Indian Rs ...................................173.50 Pakistan Rs ............................ 269.00 Sri Lanka Rs .......................... 370.00 Bangla Taka........................... 204.60 Phil Peso .................................... 122.10

Muscat 24ct per gm (OMR) .......13.80

Oman Crude............. (Spot) ........$36.58 Dubai Crude ............. (Spot) ........$39.35 Murban Crude ........ (Spot) ........$40.06 Arabian Light ......... (Spot) .........$35.51 N.Sea Brent............... (Spot) ........ $39.47 West Texas Int ....... (Spot) .........$36.91

* Rates are as of Dec. 8 Source: Bank Muscat

* Rates as of Dec. 8 Source: Oman UAE Exchange

Muscat 22ct per gm (OMR) .......13.35 Dubai 24ct per gm (Dh) ............ 130.75 Dubai 22ct per gm (Dh) ............ 124.00 * Rates as of Dec. 8 Source: Malabar Gold & Diamonds

‘Oman’s exports have not been hindered by falling oil prices’ Al Harthy noted, “ECGA’s coverage on risks outside Oman, basically the exports of Oman, has also increased during the ﬁrst six months and nine months of 2015.” “There are risks associated with the drop in oil prices. However, this has not much hindered exports from Oman. It probably affected the overall prices but not the overall exports,” he added.

Data for the ﬁrst six months of this year shows that although the oil prices have gone down, Oman’s exports rose, Export Credit Guarantee Agency of Oman official said

ELHAM POURMOHAMMADI

elham@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: There are risks associated with the decline in oil prices but this has not much hindered exports from Oman and export credit schemes, said the acting general manager of the Export Credit Guarantee Agency of Oman (ECGA). The statistics for the ﬁrst six

months of this year shows that although the oil prices have gone down, Oman’s national exports have gone up, Imad Soud Al Harthy told reporters on the sidelines of the 6th Annual Meeting of Aman Union in Muscat on Tuesday. Aman Union, is a professional forum assembling commercial and non-commercial risks insurers and reinsurers in member countries of the Organisation of the Is-

Imad Soud Al Harthy. — ONA

lamic Conference and of the Arab Investment and Export Credit Guarantee Corporation ‘Dhaman’. The event was held under the auspice of Said bin Saleh Al Kiyumi, chairman of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) and chairman of the board of the ECGA.

M E M O R A N D U M O F U N D E R S TA N D I N G

Iranian and Kazakh export credit agencies sign deal ELHAM POURMOHAMMADI

elham@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Iranian and Kazakh export credit agencies is expected to enhance cooperation between the two countries, officials said. The MoU was signed by Seyed Kamal Seyed Ali, chairman and chief executive officer of Export Guarantee Fund of Iran (EGFI), Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade, and Yerkin Sadykov, chairman of the executive board, KazExportGarant. The signing ceremony was heldon the sidelines of the 6th Annual Meeting of Aman Union in Muscat on Tuesday. Speaking to Times of Oman, the Iranian official said that EGFI has cooperation agreements with a number of export credit agencies from different countries and the MoU with the Kazakh agency will help increase collaboration between the two countries, especially in the ﬁeld of reinsurance. This agreement would allow

PARTNERSHIP DEAL: Yerkin Sadykov, chairman of the executive board, KazExportGarant (left) and Seyed Kamal Seyed Ali, chairman and chief executive officer of Export Guarantee Fund of Iran (EGFI), Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade — Supplied picture

both sides to share knowledge and experience and cooperate on large projects, Seyed Ali noted. The Kazakh official said that the agreement is important considering Kazakhstan’s plans to export a variety of goods to Oman via Iran. “We are (also) looking for some goods from Oman to export to Kazakhstan,” Sadykov said. He also noted that Kazakhstan

is keen to increase its exports to GCC countries in future. Bahman Mennati, claims director at EGFI, expressed hope that the MoU would open doors for further cooperation between Iran and Kazakhstan. The agreement focuses on joint efforts, exchange of technical information, support of projects and collaboration in the ﬁeld of reinsurance, he said.

CRUDE SUPPLIES

Oil trades near six-year low LONDON: Oil traded near the lowest level in more than six years on speculation that Opec, which effectively dropped formal output targets last week, will pump more crude into an oversupplied market. Futures rose 1.7 per cent in London after falling 5.3 per cent

on Monday. The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) failed to agree to production curbs at a December 4 meeting, instead setting aside its quota of 30 million barrels a day until members gather again in June. Brent for January settlement was at $41.43 a barrel on the Lon-

don-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, up 70 cents, at 11:56am London time. The contract slid $2.27 to $40.73 on Monday, the lowest close since February 2009. The European benchmark crude was at a $3.37 premium to West Texas Intermediate, the US marker grade. — Bloomberg News

View of risks Asked if the risks have increased as a result of the drop in oil prices, the official said, “What has changed here is the way the other countries in the world view the risks on this country. They automatically link it to the oil prices so they will assess the risks to be higher in this area.” However, Arab and Islamic countries are supporting intertrade between themselves as well as the exports of their national

goods to the rest of the world, he added. Al Harthy said that one of the objectives of the conference is to highlight the position of Arab and Islamic countries, including Oman, in light of the current geopolitical situation. “There is no change in the policies for exports. The risks for Oman are stable. Oman is a very stable country,” he noted. In addition, the acting general of ECGA said that it will be made clear on Wednesday whether Oman will be conﬁrmed to host the permanent secretariat of Aman Union. Oman has contended for the position and if it is awarded to Oman, the operation of the secretariat is expected to begin in Muscat in January 2016 under the umbrella of ECGA, Al Harthy said, adding that it would give a boost to both the Sultanate and ECGA.

In his address to the conference, he said, “We stress our relentless pursuit to enhance and develop the union in order to ensure the achievement of the desired goals.” Participants Speaking to reporters, Fahad R. H. Al Ibrahim, secretary general of Aman Union, said that 18 export credit agencies representing Arab and Islamic countries as well as 15 observers from all over the world are participating at the event. Asked if the fall in oil prices has increased the risks, the official noted that it affects commercial and non-commercial risks. In his speech to the conference, Al Ibrahim said that the union has been seeking to keep up with global developments and its database and website aim to enhance collaboration between the members as well as user experience. >B3

W E D NE S DAY, DECEMBER 9, 2 015

MARKET Jotun opens new sales office and warehouse in Salalah

FOR A380 FLEET

Etihad strikes deal with jet charter ﬁrm Times News Service

As part of its ambitious expansion plans, Jotun’s new facility has been designed keeping in mind environment and safety aspects

Times News Service MUSCAT: Jotun, one of Oman’s top paint manufacturers, has opened a new warehouse and sales office in Salalah on Samharam Street, Awqat Industrial Area, as part of its ambitious expansion plans. Jotun’s new facility was inaugurated by Mohammad Ali Sultan, director of the Board and Bjorn Skjelby, general manager, Jotun Paints Oman on December 1, 2015. The new warehouse, which shares close proximity to customers, has offices and a meeting room to ensure a comfortable

RIBBON CUTTING: The new warehouse, which shares close proximity to customers, has offices and a meeting room to ensure a comfortable working environment. — Supplied picture

working environment. Spread over a total area of 1500 square metres, the new warehouse has been designed keeping the environment and safety aspects in mind. The energy-saving daylight system allows the ﬂow of natural light into the warehouse, which also has a unique ventilation system. Great importance has been ac-

corded to safety aspects and a safe working environment. The warehouse is equipped with a ﬁreﬁghting system in keeping with international safety norms. Speaking on the occasion of the launch, Bjorn Skjelby, general manager, Jotun Paints Oman said, “Jotun has been in Oman for the last 30 years, and has continuously been investing to develop our

organisation, manufacturing capacity and distribution in Oman. Our recent investment is a new state-of-the-art warehouse and office facility in Salalah will further strengthen Jotun Paints to the top number one spot in paints. As Salalah and the Dhofar region are developing rapidly, Jotun Paints is committed to supporting positive development, with

further improved services for our customers.” To meet the ever-increasing demand, Jotun Paints Oman is all set to augment its production capacity with a new factory being commissioned in the Rusayl Industrial Area in Muscat earlier in January this year, complete with a warehouse and administrative offices.

MUSCAT: Etihad Airways announced a new partnership with Victor to complement and promote its exclusive The Residence and First Apartment cabins, both available on the airline’s Airbus A380 fleet. The partnership also allows customers the ultimate convenience of chartering a seamless private aircraft connection to or from their international A380 flights. Etihad Airways is the first scheduled airline to partner with private jet charter providers world-wide to promote specific scheduled flights on its extensive global network. The airline has seen strong interest and demand within the private jet marketfor its ultra-exclusive A380 cabins, and is using the charter distribution network to reach this important customer segment. Victor provides real-time availability, and the only one fully disclosing transaction fees, and specific operator and aircraft details, offering customers total transparency and control with no upfront commitments. Victor’s end-to-end charter booking and flight management service is also unique, supported by innovative technology and using smartphones, tablets and computers.

CRUDE SUPPLIES

Opec’s oil market disarray resembles situation in 1990s LONDON: Opec has seemingly dropped any attempt at trying to fulﬁll its founding mission and manage the oil market, sending global benchmark Brent crude to a six-year low. For Saudi Arabia’s Ali Al Naimi, the most powerful and longestserving of the group’s oil ministers, it may have seemed like history was repeating itself. There are several striking parallels between the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (Opec) current situation and the period from 1997 to 1999, when the group lost control of the market and oil slipped to less than $10 a barrel. While investors may wonder whether markets will follow a similar trajectory this time, it’s important to remember that Opec emerged from the crisis to see oil prices surge all the way to almost $150 a barrel. If the parallels hold, markets could be in for a wild ride. Nearly two decades ago, Venezuela had a growth spurt that lifted its output from 2.2 million barrels

The oil slump of 1997 to 1999 was compounded by El Nino, which curbed demand for heating fuel by warming the ocean surface in the equatorial Paciﬁc and making fall and winter in the Northern hemisphere milder than normal.

a day in 1992 to 3.5 million barrels a day six years later. Saudi Arabia responded by increasing its own production, ﬂooding the market. This time around, Saudi Arabia has embarked on a production spree — pumping a record of 10.6 million barrels a day earlier this year — while Iran plans to boost daily output by as much as one million barrels next year after sanctions are lifted. Slowdown in Asia As Opec lifted production in 1997, Asia headed into economic meltdown. The devaluation in July that year of the baht, the currency of Thailand, triggered a ﬁnancial crisis that pushed Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand into recession. The group’s GDP contracted 8.3 per cent in 1998, compared to growth of 7.5 per cent on average the previous decade, according to data from the International Monetary Fund. While Asia isn’t collapsing

UNCERTAIN TIMES: While investors may wonder whether markets will follow a similar trajectory this time, it’s important to remember that Opec emerged from the crisis to see oil prices surge all the way to almost $150 a barrel. - Bloomberg ﬁle picture

this time around, China is experiencing the slowest expansion in 25 years. The Indonesian connection Back in 1997, Opec decided at a meeting in the Indonesian capital to raise production quotas just as the Asian economic crisis began,

sending oil prices as low as $10. Veteran oil ministers still refer to the “ghost of Jakarta” that haunts their decisions. Indonesia has now returned to the centre of Opec after the nation rejoined the group last week after suspending its membership in 2009.

Fast forward to 2015 Fast forward to 2015 and El Nino is already comparable to the record events of those years, according to the Bureau of Meteorology of Australia. Heating oil stockpiles in the US and northern Europe are high, potentially affecting overall crude demand. Naimi vs Zanganeh Just as they were nearly two decades ago, Saudi Arabia’s Al Naimi and Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh stand in opposition across the conference table in Vienna. Both have a long history of working together to resolve oil gluts, but the differences loom larger this time as their nations’ conﬂicting

positions on Syria, Yemen and Iraq get in the way of the business of oil. Political change in Venezuela

Venezuela saw an abrupt political change in December 1998 when Hugo Chavez won presidential elections, ushering in a new era of socialism and triggering an oil u-turn. Chavez joined Saudi Arabia in cutting production, ending a decade of increases, while his policies slowly drove out many of the country’s foreign oil investors. ‘Chavismo’ After 16 years of uninterrupted “Chavismo,” the nation’s crude production has fallen by 10 per cent and the opposition has just won its ﬁrst elections, taking a majority in Congress. — Bloomberg News

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S TA N D A R D & P O O R ’ S R E P O R T

Listed insurance firms in UAE show further strain in earnings Times News Service MUSCAT: Despite good premium growth, listed insurance companies in the UAE are showing further earnings strain so far this year. Gross premiums grew nine per cent year-on-year to Dh13.5 billion in the first nine months of 2015, in line with the expectations set earlier this year, according to a study by Standard & Poor’s rating agency. Growing maturity and expansion of the Dubai compulsory health scheme, launched in last quarter of 2014, was one reason for the increase, but others were the favourable economic and political climate. For instance, Abu Dhabi and Dubai are sustaining capital spending on housing, schools, and roads, with GDP forecast to rise more than an annual 3.5 per cent through to 2019. Real weakness However, underwriting and net earnings show real weakness so far this year. The 29 listed companies recorded an aggregate net underwriting deficit in the first nine months, representing a 103 per cent net combined (loss and expense) ratio (NCR; the market’s main profitability measure). Some 45 per cent of the listed companies (13 insurers) posted underwriting deficits. Net profits tumbled 90 per cent from September 30, 2014, and 10 compa-

With 60 licenced insurers, the UAE domestic market as overpopulated. As a result, insurers are fighting for an income stream to cover their operational cost bases. That competition has been indirectly fed by overcapacity in the international reinsurance markets, making protection cheaper to buy

nies reported net losses. There are three key factors behind the disappointing results: intense competition in all lines of business, technical reserving corrections, and weak investment returns. With 60 licenced insurers, the UAE domestic market as overpopulated. As a result, insurers are ﬁghting for an income stream to cover their operational cost bases. That competition has been indirectly fed by overcapacity in the international reinsurance markets, making protection cheaper to buy. The corrections to reserves come on the back of new regulations passed into law in 2015, which are forcing all insurers to have fully independent actuarial reviews of technical reserves. There are signs of reinforcement this year, and expect additions

to reserves to continue through 2016. Weaker investment returns reﬂect the region’s sagging equity and real estate markets. It is seen that market fair value losses (recognised through the other comprehensive income statement) exceed market net earnings. While not real cash losses, the bias of invested portfolios to high volatility assets does create earnings and capital sensitivity. It is felt that these factors will remain in place through 2016. Plus, low oil prices are now a fact of life for the Gulf region and will eventually likely bring other economic consequences. And though interest rates are rising in response to tighter liquidity, the additional yields generated may not fully offset any normally resulting erosion in asset values.

WE DNE SDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

MARKET SMEs dealing in environmental business gaining ground in Oman The third SME Expo, which was held at the OIEC recently, featured many companies working in the ﬁeld of environment with creative ideas that can solve real-life problems

ELHAM POURMOHAMMADI

elham@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) seeking to address environmental challenges are gaining ground in Oman, but they say further support is needed to help them ﬂourish. The third SME Expo, which was recently held at the Oman International Exhibition Centre (OIEC),

featured a number of companies working in the ﬁeld of environment with creative ideas that can solve real-life problems. Bani Adam Carton Recycling Services is one of the SMEs established, with the aim of protecting and preserving the environment through recycling waste and environmental services. According to Omani entrepreneur Salim Al Siyabi, the Bani Adam company offers a number of services, including carton recycling, carton waste collection, newspaper and waste paper collection, waste management and PET bottle recycling. Various services It also offers services related to the instalment of the right bins for the right type of waste, which may be company waste, medical waste or other types of waste, he told the Times of Oman. Al Siyabi said his company had achieved 100 per cent Omanisation and has won several awards in recognition of its good performance. The company allocates a certain percentage of its annual proﬁts to the community to help support noble causes in return for their resources, which are generated by the public.

ENVIRONMENT-FRIENDLY: Firms owned by Omani entrepreneurs offer various services like carton recycling, carton waste collection, newspaper and waste paper collection, waste management and PET bottle recycling. — Supplied picture

Al Siyabi believes that training services should be provided to those entrepreneurs, who are interested in the ﬁeld of environment, to help them grow as the country needs more such companies. He also said the government should help these SMEs by giving them land and other kinds of support and trusting them.

Reusing refinery waste Siham Said Al Siyabi is another successful Omani national, who has been working on a project to reuse a certain type of petroleum refinery waste, known as residue fluid cracking catalyst (RFCC), which is used as an additive in making cement tiles. The test results have been very good and the quality of the tiles

R E A L E S TAT E

made from the reused waste is the same as normal tiles’ while this innovative product is cheaper, she noted. Commenting on the benefits of the project, Siham Al Siyabi said it would help solve the problems related to the final disposal of the spent catalyst, improve air quality, improve the environment and help reduce the spread of diseases. According to her, it would also help reduce the refineries’ financial losses, relieving them of the need to export the spent catalyst to foreign countries. In this process, the harmful waste is converted into an environment-friendly material or product, she explained. Siham Al Siyabi, who has won several awards for the initiative, now needs the support of the government and investors to put the project into practice and implement it on a large scale. Plasbin project Sarhan Al Habsi, managing director of the Ibn Sarhan United Projects LLC (ISUP), is another Omani entrepreneur, whose passion for protecting the environment has been the driving force behind a number of worthwhile projects. ISUP primarily manufactures its flagship product ‘Plasbin,’ an

Global data growth to have stronger impact Times News Service

Times News Service

ROBUST DEMAND: During third quarter, average residential capital and rental values have stagnated, pushing the annual rate of change down to 1.7 per cent and 2.9 per cent, respectively. - Supplied picture

household aspiring to purchase a home in Abu Dhabi has to contend with an average annual rent of Dh204,000, against an average household income of Dh199,000. Furthermore, there are signs that a liquidity crunch may be bubbling away in the background. During October, the National Bank of Abu Dhabi reported a Dh56 billion decline in government deposits between September 2014 and September 2015 across the UAE (United Arab Emirates) banking system, which is likely to curb mortgage lending, putting home ownership out of reach for many.” Cluttons’ Chief, Carnegy added: “Coupled with the Federal Mortgage caps, this will no doubt curtail the level of mortgages extended to end users, particularly if the era of low oil prices persists, adding to the affordability issue. Lower oil prices have continued to impact the rate of job creation in Abu Dhabi, which has ﬁltered through to the residential market in the form of weakening

AMAN UNION FORUM

B1 Impact of falling oil prices in spotlight < FROM

In a presentation, Hatem Al Shanfari, member of board of governors of Central Bank of Oman, discussed the impact of the slump in oil prices on Oman and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. He said Sultanate of Oman’s success in the past has been based on good leadership and governance as well as natural and

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GULF REGION

Abu Dhabi’s affordable housing gap offers huge opportunity: Cluttons MUSCAT: Lack of affordable housing in Abu Dhabi has provided a major opportunity for developers to fill the gap with ‘genuine affordable’ housing, said international real-estate consultancy Cluttons. According to Cluttons’ Abu Dhabi 2015-2016 Winter Property Market Snapshot, the growing problem of the lack of affordable housing in Abu Dhabi is incredibly clear, as it sighted a 34 per cent increase in average housing prices since 2010. Edward Carnegy, head of Cluttons, Abu Dhabi, said: “Abu Dhabi is clearly short of affordable neighbourhoods. This issue of affordability has been building for some time, initially following the introduction of the Federal Mortgage cap and doubling of property registration fees. These (measures) had the desired effect of cooling the market, but now many people are forced to pay premium rents, limiting their ability to become owner occupiers in the long term. This presents a major opportunity for developers to deliver housing that is ‘genuinely affordable,’ while still of a high quality, with the potential to offer flexible access to home ownership through models such as ‘rent-to-own’.” Newly planned legislation around fixed quotas for “affordable homes,” which may help ease access to the property market has been drafted; but details are yet to be confirmed. According to Cluttons, the idea of affordable housing has served cities, such as London well, where developers are liable to provide affordable housing for developments starting with as little as 10 units. Faisal Durrani, head of Research at Cluttons, said: “In order to truly tackle the problem of affordability, it’s important to run the numbers. An average expat

exclusive plastic waste collection and recycling unit, which is a ﬁrst of its kind in Oman to feature full waste segregation compartments, including plastic, paper, metal, glass and trash (general waste). Plasbin is entirely made of waste plastic. In addition, ‘Plasbag’ is the company’s plastic shopping bag made of recycled plastic collected through the Plasbin system to help reduce new plastic circulation. The company also strives to promote the culture of waste segregation in Oman and create public awareness about the environmental dangers of plastic waste through various initiatives. ‘Plasday’ is a Plasbin-in-Schools programme, aimed at creating and nurturing a new citizen generation that is mindful of protecting Oman’s environment for years to come. Another initiative is ‘Plasbex,’ which is an exclusive exhibition of recycled plastic artwork made by public participants to inspire new ideas for public waste recycling.

inherited wealth. For the future, good leadership and governance as well as education and training is necessary, Al Shanfari said. The country needs to be more ﬂexible and adaptive to changes, reduce bureaucracy, enhance productivity and pay attention tosmart investment, the executive from the Central Bank of Oman further added.

demand leading to an unsurprising slowdown.” During the third quarter, average residential capital and rental values have stagnated, pushing the annual rate of change down to 1.7 per cent and 2.9 per cent, respectively. Average residential capital values now stand at Dh1,336 per square feet. Durrani explained: “The strength of capital value growth in recent years, coupled with the severity of shortage of stock in the rental market has driven households out to peripheral locations in search of what they perceive to be better value for money. The sheer strain on budgets and the depth of demand for something ‘affordable’ is reﬂected in the fact that three-bedroom villas in Hydra Village, for instance, recorded an extraordinary 32 per cent uplift in rents between January and September, compared with just 2.5 per cent for the Emirates as a whole.” “There is a clear need for this

disparity to be decisively addressed and we look forward to the anticipated legislation on affordable housing,” he added. Meanwhile, Carnegy pointed out: “Bulk corporate lets and a ﬂight to locations perceived to be more affordable are helping sustain rents in general, across the rest of the city.” The report also conﬁrmed that the office market has continued to stagnate. Headline rents at Abu Dhabi’s signature towers remained steady during the third quarter, with the Abu Dhabi Global Market Square still commanding the city’s highest premiums. Carnegy concluded. “The stability in rents is likely to come under increased pressure over the next six months as the hydrocarbon sector, which is the dominant occupier group in the market, contracts further. This could lead to oversupply in the market, not from new space, but from consolidation by corporates returning existing space back to the market.”

MUSCAT: World’s exponential data growth will be felt in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) more strongly than ever in 2016, forcing organisations to more intelligently plan how they choose to keep and use their information. Two trends for 2016 involving increasing data volumes are the growth of ‘dark data’ and the creation of the ‘databerg’, according to Condo Protego, one of the region’s leading IT consultancies. Technology research and advisory firm, Gartner, defines dark data as information assets that organisations collect, process, and store in the course of their regular business activity, but generally fail to use for other purposes. Dark data often comprises of large amounts of unstructured data, and can contain sensitive information, putting businesses at high risk amid the advancements in cyber-attacks. These large volumes of unstructured data, also known as databergs, are presenting regional businesses with expensive IT bills, as companies continue to accumulate, and store unpredictable usergenerated data,with increased global digitisation, and the absence of data categorisation tools. “We expect dark data management will be a top priority for GCC businesses in 2016, as ‘databergs’ grow to seemingly unmanageable levels, and we are counseling our customers to think longer term about what data they really need to keep, how they can better access it, and why it is so important for them to deploy business analytics to realize competitive advantage in their respective industries,” says Andrew Calthorpe, CEO of Condo Protego. In addition to thefinancial implications of storing these large amounts of data, Condo Protego says that GCC businesses face the initial challenge of distinguishing valuable components of dark data that should be retained and

secured, from redundant data that should be eliminated. The next challenge businesses face is how to extract the potentially valuable data, and transform it into information that can establish a competitive edge in the market. In response to these changing data generation dynamics, 2015 saw IT software and hardware storage giants Veritas and EMC take new directions. Veritas split from Symantec, and EMC merged with Dell. Both moves are believed to be strategic considerations directed by corporate boards convinced of a rapidly changing IT future, one in which growing data volumes will soon affect IT spending volumes. “2015 has been an eventful year for the IT industry, with the Symantec and Veritas split, and the EMC-Dell merger, each presenting an array of opportunities for businesses in the region, amid advancing cyber-threats, and the challenges in the growth of dark datawhich we expect will continue to accelerate throughout 2016,”adds Calthorpe. Condo Protego currently holds Platinum Partner status, the highestlevel of partnership, with Veritas, and a prestigious Tier 1 statusin EMC’s Business Partner Program. “To survive in today’s challenging market, solution providers must strive to grow organically by building on existing trustbased relationships,” says Savitha Bhaskar, COO of Condo Protego. “A healthy business relationship can be built by demonstrating domain expertise, as well as honesty and transparency throughout the relationship, even when this approach proves to be less proﬁtable for the provider in the shortterm. Once this dynamic has been achieved, companies are more inclined to trust providers with more advanced projects.” Condo Protego has experienced double-digit growth year-on-year over the last four years, despite the lowered IT budgets available in the region.

W E D NE S DAY, DECEMBER 9, 2 015

MARKET OMAN STOCKS

MUSCAT SECURITIES MARKET

INDICES Index .................................................High .................Low..................... Value ............... Prev . Value.......... Diff ...............Diff % MSM30 Index ........................................5,537.20 ...............5,467.54 ................... 5,468.50 ................... 5,537.20................-68.70 .................. -1.24 Financial Index .................................... 6,669.22 .............. 6,565.32 ....................6,566.61 ...................6,669.22..............-102.61 .................. -1.54 Industrial Index ................................... 6,820.25 ...............6,812.28 ...................6,820.25 ....................6,821.11.................. -0.86 .................. -0.01 Services Index .......................................3,136.60 ...............3,122.72 ....................3,122.72 ................... 3,136.60................ -13.88 .................. -0.44 MSM SHARIAH INDEX.......................872.04 ..................868.65 .......................868.66 ...................... 872.09.................. -3.43 .................. -0.39 Trading Summary Volume ................Turnover ..........Trades .............. Market Cap............. Up............Down ............. Equal .........Sec. Traded 12,452,174...................3,108,722 ..................... 611 ...............14,572,936,478 .................. 2 ......................21 .................... 18 .........................41

SHARE PRICE BULLETIN FOR TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8 ISIN ......................................SECURITY NAME ..................................................................VOLUME..... TURNOVER............TRADES ......OPEN PRICE......HIGH ............. LOW ........ CLOSE PR. ...PREV. CLOSE...DIFF (RO).........DIFF % .............LAST PR.....LAST BID .............LAST OFFER ........MARKET CAP.PAR VALUE

Muscat Securities Market. – Times ﬁle picture

REGULAR MARKET ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... OM0000002176 ............AL JAZEERA STEEL PRODUCTS ........................ 2,726,705 ......349,530..................... 82 ............0.124 ........... 0.133 ...........0.120........... 0.128 ............. 0.123............ 0.005............. 4.065 ................0.132 ..............0.132...................0.133...................15,986,939 .........0.100 OM0000003125 ............GLOBAL FINANCIAL INVESTMENT ................ 120,533 ............12,896..................... 10 ............0.105 ........... 0.108 ...........0.105 ........... 0.107 .............0.103............ 0.004............. 3.883 ................0.108..............0.107...................0.108...................21,400,000.........0.100

MSM index falls further

OM0000001160 ............NATIONAL GAS ................................................................1,354 ..................406........................1 ........... 0.300...........0.300 ...........0.300 .......... 0.312 .............0.312............ 0.000.............0.000 ................0.300 ............ 0.300...................0.312...................15,600,000 .........0.100 OM0000001418 ............RAYSUT CEMENT ........................................................16,250 ............. 16,819........................2 ............1.035 ........... 1.035 ...........1.035 ............1.035 ............. 1.035............ 0.000.............0.000 ................1.035 ..............1.045................... 1.130 ................. 207,000,000 .......0.100 OM0000001483............NATIONAL BANK OF OMAN ................................. 125,000 ............35,625........................5 ........... 0.285 ...........0.285 ...........0.285........... 0.285 .............0.285 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.285............. 0.260...................0.285..................382,102,421........0.100 OM0000001681 ............OMAN AND EMIRATES INV. HOLDING................1,100 .....................95........................1 ........... 0.086 ...........0.086 ...........0.086........... 0.090 .............0.090 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.086..............0.087...................0.095................... 10,968,750 .........0.100 OM0000001749 ............OMAN CEMENT .......................................................... 311,000.......... 139,950........................3 ........... 0.450 ...........0.450 ...........0.450........... 0.450 .............0.450 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.450..............0.440...................0.460 .................148,892,720........0.100 OM0000001822............UNITED POWER .................................................................168 ...................415........................1 ........... 2.470 ...........2.470 ...........2.470........... 2.740 .............2.740 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................2.470..............2.470...................3.000 ...................2,192,000 ..........1.000 OM0000002275 ...........SHELL OMAN MARKETING ...................................36,000 ............72,000........................6 ........... 2.000...........2.000 ...........2.000 .......... 2.000 .............2.000 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................2.000 ............ 0.000...................2.000 ................ 190,000,000 .......0.100 OM0000002366 ...........AL BATINAH DEV. INV. HOLDING ..........................5,000 ..................430........................1 ........... 0.086 ...........0.086 ...........0.086........... 0.089 .............0.089 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.086..............0.086...................0.088....................2,670,000 ..........0.100 OM0000003711 ............SOHAR POWER.................................................................2,110 .................. 743........................1 ........... 0.352 ...........0.352 ...........0.352........... 0.352 .............0.352 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.352..............0.352...................0.354................... 77,795,520 .........0.100 OM0000004248 ...........SMN POWER HOLDING ..............................................5,000 ...............3,700........................2 ............0.740 ........... 0.740 ...........0.740........... 0.740 .............0.740 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.740..............0.740...................0.744..................147,730,344 ........0.100 OM0000004768 ...........AL MADINA TAKAFUL................................................. 1,000 .....................80........................1 ........... 0.080 ...........0.080 ...........0.080........... 0.080 .............0.080 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.080..............0.078...................0.080 ..................14,000,000.........0.100 OM0000004933 ...........AL SUWADI POWER .................................................. 100,069 ........... 20,014........................8 ........... 0.200...........0.200 ...........0.200 .......... 0.200 .............0.200 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.200 ............. 0.195...................0.200 .................142,881,268........0.100 OM0000004925 ...........AL BATINAH POWER................................................ 138,090 ........... 27,504........................7 ........... 0.200...........0.200 ...........0.197 ........... 0.199 .............0.200 ...........-0.001 ........... -0.500 ...............0.197 .............. 0.197...................0.200 .................134,302,599........0.100

Wednesday’s top gainer was Majan College,

OM0000001525 ............OMAN INVESTMENT AND FINANCE.............. 250,787 ........... 41,227........................8 ............0.165 ........... 0.165 ...........0.163 ........... 0.164 ............. 0.165............-0.001 ........... -0.606 ...............0.163 .............. 0.163...................0.164...................32,800,000 ........0.100 OM0000003224 ...........RENAISSANCE SERVICES ..................................... 180,000 ........... 29,520........................7 ............0.164 ........... 0.164 ...........0.164........... 0.164 ............. 0.165............-0.001 ........... -0.606 ...............0.164 ..............0.164...................0.165 ................... 47,666,767 .........0.100

up by 10 per cent, while Al Jazeera Steel,

OM0000002028 ...........GULF INTERNATIONAL CHEMICALS ..............41,683 .............10,421........................9 ........... 0.250 ...........0.250 ...........0.250........... 0.250 .............0.252 ...........-0.002 ........... -0.794 ...............0.250..............0.247...................0.250 ...................5,250,000 ..........0.100

down by 5.96 per cent, was the top loser

OM0000003661 ............VOLTAMP ENERGY ................................................... 126,829 ...........52,840........................9 ............0.418 ........... 0.418 ...........0.414 ............0.416 .............0.420 ...........-0.004 ........... -0.952 ...............0.416 ............. 0.400...................0.416...................25,168,000 .........0.100

OM0000003026 ...........OMAN TELECOMMUNICATION ........................ 176,767 .......... 275,519..................... 25 ............1.550 ........... 1.565 ...........1.550 ........... 1.560 ............. 1.575............-0.015 ........... -0.952 ...............1.560 .............. 1.555...................1.560................1,170,000,000 ......0.100

OM0000003521 ............GALFAR ENGINEERING AND CON. .................. 485,971 ............35,793..................... 26 ............0.075 ........... 0.075 ...........0.073........... 0.074 .............0.075 ...........-0.001 ............-1.333................0.073..............0.072...................0.073...................21,458,567 .........0.100 OM0000003968 ...........OOREDOO....................................................................... 105,500 ............75,678......................14 ............0.720 ........... 0.720 ...........0.716 ............0.716 .............0.728............-0.012 ........... -1.648................0.716 .............. 0.716...................0.720..................466,076,069 .......0.100 OM0000001962............AL MADINA INVESTMENT ..................................... 17,000 .................. 935........................4 ........... 0.056 ...........0.056 ...........0.054........... 0.055 .............0.056 ...........-0.001 ............-1.786................0.055..............0.055...................0.056................... 11,393,326 .........0.100

MUSCAT: Following broad sell-off in regional markets, the MSM30 Index retreated strongly by 1.24 per cent with extended selling in Index heavyweights. The Index closed at 5,468.50 points. The Shariah Index decreased 0.39 per cent to close at 868.66 points. Al Jazeera Steel was the most active in terms of volume while Bank Muscat was the most active turnover-wise. Al Jazeera Steel remained the top gainer, up by 4.07 per cent while Port Services, down by 8.22 per cent was top loser. A total number of 611 trades were executed on Tuesday, generating turnover of OMR3.1 million with 12.4 million shares changing hands. Out of 41 traded securities, two advanced, 21 declined and 18 remained unchanged. At the session close, Omani investors remained net buyers for OMR620,000 followed by GCC & Arab Investors for OMR140,000 while Foreign investors were net sellers for OMR761,000 worth of shares. Financial Index was the worst

performing sub-index, down heavily by 1.54 per cent to close at 6,566.61 points. Global Financial Investment, up by 3.88 per cent was the sole sector gainer. Ahli Bank, Bank Sohar, United Finance, Bank Nizwa and Bank Muscat declined 7.69 per cent, 3.03 per cent, 2.75 per cent, 2.67 per cent and 2.47 per cent respectively. Industrial Index remained ﬂat at 6,820.25 points, down by 0.01 per cent. Al Jazeera Steel gained 4.07 per cent to end the session at OMR0.128. Oman Fisheries, Galfar Engineering, Voltamp Energy, Gulf International Chemicals and Oman Flour Mills decreased 5.45 per cent, 1.33 per cent, 0.95 per cent, 0.79 per cent and 0.43 per cent respectively. Services Index showed loss of 0.44 per cent to ﬁnish at 3,122.72 points. Port Services, Sharqiyah Desalination, Ooredoo, Omantel and Renaissance Services declined 8.22 per cent, 2.22 per cent, 1.65 per cent, 0.95 per cent and 0.61 per cent respectively. — United Securities

OM0000002440 ...........AL SHARQIA INVESTMENT HOLDING ........... 375,132.............37,288..................... 47 ........... 0.100 ........... 0.100 ...........0.098........... 0.099 ............. 0.101............-0.002 ........... -1.980 ...............0.098..............0.098...................0.099....................8,910,000 ..........0.100 OM0000004669 ...........SHARQIYAH DESALINATION ................................28,497 .......... 125,387........................5 ........... 4.400...........4.400 ...........4.400 .......... 4.400 .............4.500 ...........-0.100 ........... -2.222 ...............4.400 ............ 4.400...................4.500 ..................43,032,950.........1.000 OM0000001772 ............AL ANWAR HOLDING............................................... 1,030,970 .......165,725..................... 75 ............0.160 ........... 0.163 ...........0.160............0.161 ............. 0.165............-0.004 ........... -2.424 ...............0.161 .............. 0.161...................0.162...................24,162,075 .........0.100 OM0000002796 ...........BANK MUSCAT ............................................................ 2,258,820 ..1,069,896......................81 ........... 0.482 ...........0.482 ...........0.470........... 0.474 .............0.486 ...........-0.012 ........... -2.469 ...............0.480..............0.480...................0.486................ 1,086,323,911 ......0.100 OM0000002374............UNITED FINANCE ..................................................... 765,581 ............ 80,934......................15 ............0.108 ........... 0.108 ...........0.105 ........... 0.106 .............0.109 ...........-0.003 ........... -2.752 ...............0.108..............0.106...................0.108...................32,941,084.........0.100 OM0000003398 ...........BANK SOHAR..................................................................10,000 ...............1,600........................2 ............0.160 ........... 0.160 ...........0.160........... 0.160 ............. 0.165............-0.005 ........... -3.030 ...............0.160..............0.160...................0.164................. 230,630,400 .......0.100 OM0000002200 ...........AHLI BANK ...................................................................... 53,133 ...............9,565........................4 ............0.190 ........... 0.190 ...........0.180........... 0.180 ............. 0.195............-0.015 ............-7.692................0.180.............. 0.176...................0.180..................256,506,506 .......0.100 OM0000001145 ............PORT SERVICES CORPORATION ....................... 124,000 ............16,568........................9 ............0.135 ........... 0.136 ...........0.132 ........... 0.134 .............0.146............-0.012 ........... -8.219 ...............0.132 ..............0.132...................0.136................... 12,735,360 .........0.100 .............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 9,620,049...2,709,102................... 471 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. ........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ......31........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

PARALLEL MARKET ................................................................................................................................................................................. OM0000001301 ............DHOFAR CATTLE FEED .......................................... 500,000.........102,500........................3 ........... 0.205 ...........0.205 ...........0.205........... 0.205 .............0.205 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.205............. 0.200...................0.210................... 15,785,000 .........0.100 OM0000001368 ............CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS IND. .................. 137,685 .............. 4,544..................... 10 ........... 0.033 ...........0.033 ...........0.033........... 0.033 .............0.033 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.033..............0.032...................0.033....................2,805,000 ..........0.100 OM0000002564 ...........AL HASSAN ENGINEERING......................................... 500 .....................37........................1 ........... 0.074 ........... 0.074 ...........0.074........... 0.074 .............0.074 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.074..............0.074...................0.079.................... 5,565,392 ..........0.100 OM0000005963 ...........PHOENIX POWER ...................................................... 1,812,622 ......259,298................... 101 ............0.143 ........... 0.144 ...........0.143 ........... 0.143 ............. 0.143............ 0.000.............0.000 ................0.143 ..............0.143...................0.144..................209,152,009........0.100 OM0000001400 ...........OMAN FLOUR MILLS ................................................ 20,000 ...............9,360........................1 ........... 0.468 ...........0.468 ...........0.468........... 0.468 .............0.470 ...........-0.002 ........... -0.426 ...............0.468..............0.464...................0.488...................73,710,000 .........0.100 OM0000004511 ............ALIZZ ISLAMIC BANK.............................................. 131,284...............8,665........................6 ........... 0.066 ...........0.066 ...........0.066........... 0.066 .............0.067 ...........-0.001 ............-1.493................0.066..............0.066...................0.067...................66,000,000 ........0.100 OM0000004420 ...........BANK NIZWA ................................................................ 142,000 ............10,401..................... 10 ........... 0.074 ........... 0.074 ...........0.073........... 0.073 .............0.075 ...........-0.002 ........... -2.667 ...............0.073..............0.073...................0.074..................109,500,000 .......0.100 OM0000001566 ............OMAN FISHERIES .......................................................83,500 ...............4,358........................6 ........... 0.053 ........... 0.053 ...........0.052........... 0.052 .............0.055 ...........-0.003 ........... -5.455 ...............0.052..............0.052...................0.054 ...................6,500,000 ..........0.100 .............................................SUM: .................................................................................. 2,827,591 ...... 399,162................... 138 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. ........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ........ 8........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

BONDS AND SUKUK MARKET ...................................................................................................................................................................... OM0000004602 ...........BANK MUSCAT CONV. BONDS 4.5 ..........................2,248 .................. 247........................1 ............0.110 ........... 0.110............0.110 ............0.112 ............. 0.112............ 0.000.............0.000 ................0.110 .............. 0.110...................0.000 ..................33,907,900.........0.100 OM0000005971 ............B.MUSCAT COMPL. CONVR. B.B.3.5 .......................2,286 .................. 210........................1 ........... 0.092 ...........0.092 ...........0.092........... 0.093 .............0.093 ........... 0.000.............0.000 ................0.092..............0.092...................0.000 ..................30,147,030 .........0.100 .............................................SUM: ......................................................................................4,534 .................. 458........................2 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. ........................................................................................................................................... TRADED SEC. ........2........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

GULF BOURSES

MARKETS

Gulf stock markets decline DUBAI: Middle Eastern stocks were among the world’s biggest decliners after Opec’s failure to limit output amid a global supply glut pushed the commodity to the lowest level in almost seven years this week. Qatar’s QE Index slid 3.1 per cent, the most among 93 stock indexes tracked by Bloomberg globally after equities in Athens, to 10,096.51. Dubai’s DFM General

Index followed with a three per cent slide. The Bloomberg GCC 200 Index, a gauge of the largest companies in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), had its worst day since August. The Tadawul All Share Index in Saudi Arabia, home to the lion’s share of the region’s oil, fell 2.5 per cent. Al Rajhi Bank, which has the largest weighting on the gauge, was the biggest contributor to the

decline, losing 2.4 per cent to the lowest since April 2009. Kuwait’s and Bahrain’s gauges decreased 0.5 per cent and 1.1 percent, respectively. The GCC is home to about 30 per cent of the world’s proven oil reserves. Dubai’s DFM General Index dropped to the lowest level in two years as 214 million shares traded, about half the 12-month full daily average. — Bloomberg News

India's Sensex, rupee drop MUMBAI: Domestic markets plunged to a three-month low as the BSE Sensex on a ﬁfth straight session on Tuesday slipped by 220 points after domestic commodity stocks took a beating on multi-year low oil prices while fresh concerns over passing of key reform bills mainly GST added to the rout. Globally, oil struggled at a seven-year low as Opec decided not to slash output. Consequently, BSE oil&gas index plunged by 2.14 per cent. GAIL was the worst performer from the 30-share Sensex pack, followed by Vedanta, Hindalco, Tata Steel and ONGC. Besides, sustained foreign funds outﬂows and weakness in the rupee spoiled the market mood. Analysts said fresh bickering between the government and the main opposition party Congress over the National Herald case could jeopardies the prospects of GST bill in the Winter Session of Parliament. “Further, growing concerns that GST in its present form may

not be the panacea that industry has been long expecting, is also keeping investors cautious,” said Anand James Co Head Technical Research Desk at Geojit BNP Paribas. After shuttling between 25,256.79 and 25,542.47, the 30-share Sensex ended the day down by 219.78 points or 0.86 per cent at over three-month low of 25,310.33. The index had closed at 24,893.81 points on September 7. With Tuesday’s 220-point drop, the 30-share barometer has shed around 860 points in the last ﬁve sessions. The broad-based NSE Nifty after dipping below the crucial 7,700-mark to touch a low of 7,685.45, settled 63.70 points or 0.82 per cent down at 7,701.70. Rupee at two-year low Plunging to its fresh two-year low against the US dollar, the rupee on Tuesday lost 11 paise at 66.84 on consistent demand for the American currency from banks and importers. Extreme volatility in domes-

tic equities as well as expectations that the Federal Reserve is on track to raise interest rates for the first time since 2006 predominantly impacted the rupee sentiment. The domestic currency opened substantially lower at 66.85 per dollar from overnight closing level of 66.73 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange due to strong dollar demand in the wake of sustained foreign capital outflows. However, the home currency recouped its early losses on fresh dollar selling and touched session’s high of 66.71 before retreating back to conclude at a two-year low of 66.84, revealing a fall of 11 paise, or 0.16 per cent. It had last ended at 67.07 on September 4, 2013. On the global front, the US dollar traded marginally lower against the yen and the euro, but remained broadly stronger against the commodity linked currencies after Chinese exports fell for the fifth consecutive month added to fears over a slowdown in the world’s secondlargest economy. — PTI

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ROUND-UP

360 students graduate at 10th MEC ceremony This year, the 360 students who graduated across 18 disciplines, were conferred diplomas, bachelors and postgraduate degrees

MUSCAT: Middle East College (MEC) celebrated the 10th graduation recently at Oman Auditorium in Al Bustan Palace Hotel. This year, the 360 students who graduated across 18 disciplines, were conferred diplomas, bachelor and postgraduate degrees at this prestigious ceremony, in the presence of Dr David Pilsbury, deputy vice-chancellor of Coventry University. Prof. R C Bhattacharjee, the dean, dignitaries from various ministries, eminent academics, parents and other distinguished guests were also present at the event, says a press release. In his speech Bhattacharjee congratulated the students for their

achievements and praised them for their commitment, creativity and talent which together contributed in making them well rounded professionals with leadership qualities. He urged the students to be life-long learners and to utilise multi-directional competence they have achieved from MEC. In addition, he outlined the stunning growth of MEC in the last 13 years, as it started in 2002 with only 200 students and 3 programmes in Information Technology. Now more than 5,500 students are studying in about 19 different programmes in Engineering, Information Technology and Business in affiliation with Coventry University, UK and University of Wolverhampton, UK, and that is considered a story

of achievements and success. Hamida Abdulla Khamis Al Mamari was awarded the best outgoing undergraduate student award and Hilal Nasser Masoud Al Abdali was awarded the best outgoing postgraduate student award. In her speech, Hamida Al Mamari said: “The graduation day is considered as a special day for each graduate as their efforts during all the last years get rewarded and today, we are ready to chase our dreams and serve our country.” “I am proud to be part of the 10th Graduation Ceremony of Middle East College. The effort that MEC is putting in to provide the students with the best student experience is really commendable,” said Zahra Al Mahdi, a graduate in

I N F O R M AT I V E S E S S I O N

Multimedia Technologies. “What I feel is indescribable for being one of the graduates of MEC and today I am happy for the results of everything I worked hard for during my days in MEC,” Khoulood Abdullah Al Balushi, a diploma graduate said. Taha Redha Al Qubtan, who completed his MBA-IT, said: “I am so excited to have ﬁnished my MBA with good grades! My journey at MEC was ﬁlled with wonderful moments and I really appreciate the support given by MEC.” The college is strongly promoting a culture of entrepreneurship among its student community. Students and graduates are given all-round support including access to the technology, tools, and equipment to be used in entrepreneurial development in addition to providing training by experts. Recently MEC attended SLUSH in Finland, one of the best International Entrepreneurship Exhibitions in the world where they had the opportunity to interact with student entrepreneurs, international brands, international investors, large corporations and media from 79 countries. Recently, The Research Council of Oman has approved funding for 9 research proposals under Faculty Mentored Undergraduate Research Award Programme in the year 2015.

SPECIALIST

Senior urologist joins Al Raffah Hospital MUSCAT: Al Raffah Hospital management has welcomed Dr Hemant Hardikar, expert urologist from India, into their esteemed panel of doctors. Dr Hemant Hardikar completed his MS in surgery with distinction in December 1996 from PGIMER, Chandigarh, a premier medical institute of India and went on to do his MCh in Urology from the same institute in 2000, says a press release. “In Oman a large percentage of the population suffers from kidney stones. Having worked in the ‘Kidney Stone Belt’ of India, he brings with him a rich experience of 14 years in all types of minimally invasive renal stone surgeries. In addition to this, his main areas of interest are Endourology, Andrology (impotence and male infertility), female urology and urinary tract cancers. We will be able to offer a much wider spectrum of services from our urology department now,” said Seeniya Biju, COO. “Dr Hemant is keen to develop a comprehensive treatment programme for his patients for kidney stones, especially the preventive aspect, in addition he can also manage cases of incontinence, erectile dysfunction and urinary cancers. We can now offer so much more to the Omani population,” said Dr Ashik Sainu, medical director.

Aster Al Raffah Hospital offers a full range of medical services from general medicine, paediatrics, dentistry, to speciality services like endocrinology, cardiology, neurology, gastroenterology, pulmonology, dermatology and more. Aster Al Raffah group of hospitals has been envisioned with the aim of bringing to Oman the highest standards of health and medical services along with care, comfort and compassion. To achieve this, Aster Al Raffah is equipped with the best health experts and professionals, high-end technologies, systems and facilities to take total and empathetic care of its patients.

D R I L L D I S P L AY

Software Systems conducts Athletics meet held at ISAM Smarter Content Day 2015 MUSCAT: Software Systems (SSL), a subsidiary of OHI Group, and a leading software solutions company in Oman, recently held the Smarter Content Day 2015 attended by business and technology leaders in the country. The objective of the event was to address the current data storage and retention requirements of organisations with special emphasis on the guidelines laid out by the National Records and Archives Authority (NRAA) of Oman, says a press release. Osama M. Henein, general manager, SSL, in his keynote address spoke about how data is growing exponentially in organisations and the challenges they face in identifying and archiving meaningful information. He emphasised the importance of the information lifecycle governance, retaining information until the period required, organised disposal of information and records using the latest technologies available from SSL and IBM. He also spoke brieﬂy on the need for increased information security in the age of mobility and securing information outside an organisation’s network. SSL unveiled the latest version of their Correspondence Management System (CMS), the leading CMS system in the market and the

roadmap for compliance toNRAA guidelines. The event also showcased IBM Stored IQ and IBM Records Foundation. Ashraf Al Hosni of Capital Market Authority, a customer of SSL’s CMS solution, addressed the audience and said: “More and more organisations are turning towards optimising content management and moving to a paperless environment. SSL has helped us stay ahead of the curve by providing a powerful platform for enterprise content management solution to serve our customers better, faster.” Chintan Naik, alliance manager of Seclore, showcased how their award-winning Digital Rights Management solution could help organisations in Oman improve information security. He said

“Once ﬁles are downloaded from IBM ECM, they can easily get into the hands of an unauthorised user. The Seclore IRM Connector for IBM ECM makes it easy for organisations to automatically add persistent, ﬁle-centric security to content that is downloaded from and shared during the collaboration processes.” From powerful, high-value industry solutions, to the latest advances in core enterprise content technology, plus a peek at what is coming next, the participants also got the opportunity to network with industry peers, IBM experts and business partners. The event was a success and well attended with the leaders of business, technology and archiving present in large numbers.

MUSCAT: Indian School Al Mabela (ISAM) celebrated 5th Annual Athletic Meet and Drill Display recently with great zeal and fervour. The athletic meet started with a prayer song sung by the school choir, followed by the playing of the National Anthems of Oman and India. Samir Khan, vice-president of the School Management Committee, welcomed the gathering and the dignitaries. He also briefed the audience about the latest school bus transport system and other facilities provided by the school, says a press release. The chief guest was officially welcomed with a bouquet of ﬂowers by the Deputy Head Girl Vismaya and the Cultural Secretary Gowri Krishna. The celebrations began with majestic march past led by Dan Biju Chacko — Head Boy followed by all the four houses, the Abdul Kalam House, the Gandhi House, the Vivekananda House, and the C.V. Raman House constituted the parade contingents for the March Past. The march past by the four houses exhibited discipline and hardcore practice of the students. The chief guest of the day, Sultan Ameen Al Zadjali, general secretary – CEO Oman Football Association, officially declared the sports meet open. Afnan Baja, sports captain of the school, administered the solemn oath to the house captains

S P O R T S D AY

and the participants. The events organised on the ground ﬁlled the hearts of everyone with the spirit of sportsmanship and unity. Primary students remained the main attraction of the mega event as they displayed precision and coordination at its best. The drill immensely impressed the audience by its mesmerising formations. Special track events were organised for the differently abled students which stole the hearts of thousands and all the participants of the race were presented with gold medals. Events for the parents were also organised and the winners were given prizes.

Sultan Al Zadjali addressed the gathering and gave away the medals to the individual winners and applauded them. Principal P. Prabakaran presided over the overall ceremony. The chief guest said ISAM has grown in leaps and bounds over the past few years of its existence. It’s an ever growing organisation and strives tirelessly in providing quality school education in the country. It is the mission and vision of the school to encourage students for their all-round development and it further envisions providing world class facilities in the days to come. The Sports Day concluded with the school anthem.

B E S T D E L E G AT I O N AWA R D

ISAS organises annual athletics meet MUSCAT: The dignitaries and the huge turnout of parents savoured an exotic treat of multifarious drills and thrilling races when Indian School Al Seeb (ISAS) recently celebrated its 12th Sports Day on the school grounds. The cool and balmy day began with the arrival of the chief guest, Dr Mansoor Al Tauqi, president of Oman Paralympic Committee, guest of honour, A. R. Srinivasan, head of the Tournament Committee, Oman Cricket, Biju Koshy, president of the school management committee and the other venerable members of the school management committee, says a press release. The school extended a hearty ﬂoral welcome to the chief guest in the true Indian tradition with the presentation of a bouquet and pinning of the school badge. The school choir began the day with a prayer followed by a welcome address rendered by the Assistant Head Girl of the school, Gopika Gokul. Soon after this, the four houses – Green, Blue, Red and Yellow, were led in unison, in their respective contingent, to an amazing display of March past led by the

council members and the sports captains, saluting the chief guest. The moment Al Tauqi declared the meet open, the events started in quick succession. The oath of justice and fair play was taken by Rajneesh Kumar Jangir, the sports captain, on behalf of all the four houses. The school torch was lit by the chief guest and the crèmede-la-crème athletes who are the national level players of the school – Aiswarya Lakshmi, Mohammed Sammer, Gourav Negi, Fathimathul Reem and Joel Tom relayed the school torch in a solemn ceremony. The ﬁrst event in line, on that

bright and cheerful day was the impressive event of the shining stars of ISAS. The spectators were besotted by the colourful activity presented by special children. It was a moment of some strong feelings for the on-lookers. As the mercury fell, the heat of excitement and competitive spirit rose and reached its peak with the 100 metres races of the boys and girls of the middle and the senior sections. Then the drills began one after the other which kept the audience pinned down ﬁrmly to their seats till the end. The gathering witnessed the proud achievers receiving their individual as well as

House trophies during the prize distribution ceremony attended by the guests. The individual championship trophies for the year 2015 were bagged by M J Arul Dev, Nandana Hari, Adil Sabh, Natasha Roberts, Jeevan P V, Aiswarya Lakshmi, Sajid P S and Azalia Pereira. Mementos were presented to the judges of the march past, the P.E. Masters of three different schools - Manoj P, Indian School Muscat, Praveen C K, Indian School Muladha and Kamalesh Kumar, Indian School Mabellah, who judged the March Past in the most objective manner. The most coveted trophies such as the Best March Past and the Overall Championship were bagged by the Yellow House amidst loud cheer by the students as well as the spectators. Srinivasan congratulated the students and he was greatly impressed by the students' endeavour to present spectacular items especially the gymnastics. Al Touqi expressed his happiness to participate in the sports meet and appreciated the students and the parents for taking part in the sport event in large members.

ISG students shine at MUN conference at Sultan’s School MUSCAT: A delegation from Indian School Al Ghubra was adjudged as the Best Delegation at the Model United Nations (MUN) Conference held at The Sultan’s School, Muscat recently. Team ISG which comprised Arvindakshan Rajesh, Nechal Maggon, Aparna Mehta, Madhumati Govind, Rhea Chandwani, Vivek Nair, Aditya Shylesh, Aditya Deepak, Sachit Anand, Kavya Kasiraman, Rujuta Kelkar, and Achintya Jayakumar was appreciated for its well researched papers and high-spirited participation on some of the gravest issues the world faces today, says a press release. After studying the contemporary history and

political structure of their assigned countries, the students drafted resolutions pertaining to the two main issues: ‘Measures to control the rising number of refugees’ and ‘Efforts to control weapons of mass destruction’. Students adhered to strict parliamentary procedures. They debated, voted and amended various resolutions. There was a wide range of committees which helped the students to take an active lead as diplomats and representatives of the United Nations. Arvindakshan added to the glory of ISG by bagging the Best Negotiator Award. The ISG family congratulated ‘Team ISG’ for their stupendous success.

W E D NE S DAY, DECEMBER 9, 2 015

ROUND-UP Sharman Joshi comedy play enthrals full house The unique part of the play Raju Raja Ram Aur Main was that Sharman Joshi was playing four look-alike roles live on stage

MUSCAT: Orbit Events Management staged a full blown comedy play in Hindi Raju Raja Ram Aur Main, featuring Sharman Joshi (3 Idiots fame) in the lead role at the Oman Auditorium of Al Bustan, A Ritz-Carlton Hotel, recently. “The play was a runaway success,” said Ramesh of Orbit Events. “We had staged two shows back to back on the same day. Both were fully sold out shows and the packed audience experienced a great time of their lives in these shows,” he further added. The unique part of the play was that Sharman Joshi was playing four look alike roles live on stage. And he performed every character with aplomb. The audience broke out in roars of laughter every time

Sharman came on stage. The speed with which he managed change of costumes and adapted to different characters was a treat to watch. Theatre enthusiasts were, in particular, impressed with amazing backstage coordination and management, says a press release. “All the actors on stage were in their elements and their well-coordinated and extremely humorous performance delivered great joy. It was money worth spent,” said one of the audience. “We have loved Sharman in his movies, but watching him live on stage was altogether a different experience. His energy level wa unparalleled. We think it was one of the best plays ever staged in Oman,” said another. Both the shows ended with performers receiving involuntary standing ovation from the audience.

“It was an amazing experience for us to perform in Muscat. We have received a lot of love and appreciation from Muscat audience. We are delighted that our play was so well received. For us actors, the only source of energy and the motivation is our audience. On behalf of all the members of my team I would like to heartily thank all those who turned in great numbers to enjoy our play,” said Sharman Joshi with great contentment. “We also had a chance to go around the town the day before. My wife and I are spellbound by the beauty, traditional richness and the hospitality of people of Oman. Walking down the beautiful alleys of Mutrah Souq and the top end shopping malls was a delightful experience. We are taking home many fond memories from our maiden visit and look forward

to coming back to Oman,” said Sharman Joshi. “There were many things in this mega event that were a ‘ﬁrst time’. We had re-created the seating plan of Oman Auditorium on our online booking platform. We had great ease and comfort, sitting at home, one could book the seats of one’s choice to enjoy the play. “We knew how popular Sharman Joshi is. For his fans to take back a souvenir, we had created a photo booth at the foyer. Many of our audience were thrilled to receive an autographed image of three characters of the play Raju, Raja & Ram. And the fourth one (Aur Main) being their own picture in the frame,” said Ramesh. Raju Raja Ram Aur Main was presented by Minara. Main sponsors were Al Turki Enterprises; official airlines were Oman Air. Other sponsors include Al Naba Group; Al Raffah Trading; Falcon Insurance; Sun Logistics; BEC; United Engg Services; Oman Oasis; Unique Cont Co.; Relish Restaurant; Country Club; EFFECT; and a host of well wishers who wish to remain anonymous. Media partners – Times of Oman; print partners – Al Anan Printing Press; event insurance – Vision Insurance; technical partners – Audiotech; online ticketing partners – e.saver.co.

IN-FLIGHT MAGAZINE

Wings of Oman’s latest issue is out MUSCAT: The December edition of Wings of Oman magazine, Oman Air’s In-ﬂight publication, once again brings interesting reports and informative articles to its readers. A trip on a traditional dhow to explore Oman’s Musandam Peninsula is an unforgettable experience. Wings of Oman narrates this experience that combines the best of Oman’s maritime heritage, with the best of the Arabian Peninsula’s shoreline and sea, in its main feature, says a press release. Intrepid travellers, who have traversed Indonesia’s thriving city of Jakarta, have plenty to talk about the fantastic culture, cuisine, shopping, and nightlife of this beautiful city. The very popular Destination section of Wings of Oman, chronicles this city through interesting text and vivid images. The ‘Travel Snapshot’ section of the magazine, which gives nuggets of interesting information of cities and town, showcases the Rhine Falls, which are just north of Zurich in Switzerland, and one of Europe’s most spectacular natural phenomena. Jabrin Castle is also featured in this issue, highlighting its prominence in Omani history with an in-depth look into this classic example of the Sultanate’s architectural and military heritage. Readers can read all about it in the magazine’s

‘Must See: Oman’ section. You are as old or as young as you feel and the ‘Body & Mind’ feature of Wings of Oman has in this issue an article on anti-ageing foods. In today’s competitive world, it is the customer retention strategies that make a positive difference. The ‘Business and Tech’ feature of this issue educates readers about contemporary customer retention strategies. The December issue is also packed with other essential elements including a diary of the main events taking place around the world this month, ‘Omani Souvenirs’ page, and a very special ‘Oman View’ page, which proﬁles the work of Omani photographers.

TRIBUTE TO INDIA’S LEGENDARY ACTOR

‘Amitabh Aur Main’ concert moved to December 26 MUSCAT: A new date has been announced for the Amitabh Aur Main concert. The show, which is a tribute to India’s legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan, will now be held on Saturday, December 26, says a press release. “The change of date was considered after we got requests from people living in Salalah, Sur and Sohar who wanted to attend the show which is a musical ode to India’s living legend Amitabh Bachchan. Since the original day was scheduled for a Thursday we shifted it to a non-working day

which is a Saturday based on the demands of Sudesh Bhosale and Amitabh Bachchan fans,” said Akshay Chowdhary of Light and Shadow Enterprises in Oman. The concert — Amitabh Aur Main — which has been staged successfully in India is being organised by Oman’s leading event management company Light and Shadow Enterprises in Oman on December 26 at the City Amphitheatre, Qurum. Minara will be the presenters of the event. “People can start making their corporate or bulk booking by call-

ing Light and Shadow on the number 96182080,” said the organisers. The programme, Amitabh Aur Main, which is an event conceptualised by playback singer Sudesh

ANTI-OBESITY DRIVE

Bhosale has received a great response at all venues it has been performed so far. Popular playback singer Sudesh Bhosale will perform along with his 21-year-old son Siddhant and female singer Arpita Thakkar with an entire troupe of 20 people. Sudesh Bhosale known as “voice of Amitabh” will render popular hit songs and dialogues from famous Amitabh Bachchan ﬁlms in this show which will expected to last for two-and-half-hours. Akshay Chowdhary of Light and Shadow said: “We are pleased to

bring this special event to Oman. Our event October Festival was very well received where we hosted four different events in a month. Amitabh Aur Main is based on the memorable charisma created by Amitabh Bachchan on screen. Sudesh and team will be rendering some of the popular songs and iconic dialogues of Amitabh Bachchan. Sudesh aims to capture the essence of all Amitabh’s performances till date through this concert. He will be sharing his experience about working with Amitabh Bachchan during the

recordings and live concerts too.” Much awaited show “It is a much awaited show that fans cannot afford to miss and special arrangements are being made for this ﬁrst of its kind event to be staged in Oman,” said Akshay. Some of the songs Sudesh and team are expected to perform are Intehaa Ho Gayi Intezaar Ki, Jumma Chumma, Kajraare, Meri Makhna, My Name is Anthony Gonsalves among many others, interspersed with Big B’s hit dialogues.

ATT R AC T I V E O F F E R

New Toyota Hilux: A global favourite

VLCC’s label reading programme receives overwhelming response MUSCAT: The VLCC label reading programme, entitled, ‘Read Label, Fight Obesity’ is receiving overwhelming response from the public. The premier wellness brand organised its second product label reading session in association with The Sultan Centre, Al Khoud recently. The ﬁrst session was held at The Sultan Centre, Qurum, says a press release. The ‘Read Label, Fight Obesity’ programme is part of the VLCC’s month-long anti-obesity drive. Guided by the vision of “Transforming Lives”, the VLCC Group seeks to urge self transformation, spread happiness and imbibe every individual with wellness for life. VLCC is widely recognised world over for its holistic, scientiﬁc and completely natural weight-management practices and therapeutic beauty solutions

addressing the mind and body. Shoppers in large numbers joined the session and commended the programme, as VLCC took them to a market tour at The Sultan Centre, Al Khoud, in which, VLCC expert explained shoppers how to select a health food and how to read product labels. ‘‘Once we make product label reading part of our routine, we will spontaneously cultivate the culture. Shoppers, in general, pick up a product by just reading a product name or brand, and often ignore reading the product label. “Reading the contents in labels such as details of ingredients, warning statements, allergy and precautionary notes is very important,’’ says Suhair Al Shanti, nutrition expert at VLCC. By redeﬁning wellness, VLCC has revolutionised the wellness

industry to acquire the status of being the premier wellness brand, with a presence in over 300 locations across 121 cities and 16 countries with direct company managed operations in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Malaysia, Singapore, UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait. VLCC is widely recognised for its scientiﬁc weight loss solutions and its therapeutic approach to beauty treatments. With a staff strength of nearly 6,000, over two-third of whom are experienced specialists including medical doctors, nutritionists, psychologists, cosmetologists and physiotherapists and having served over 10 million customers since its inception, VLCC is the largest and most-preferred brand in the wellness domain in the countries it operates in.

MUSCAT: One of Toyota’s core products sold in over 180 countries, the Hilux is a major driver of Toyota’s global strategy. In the Middle East, of course, the Hilux has led the field for a long time. “The recently launched Hilux is the first full model change in 10 years - stunning in design and amenities, outside and inside. Its performance and safety are greatly upgraded, with a new frame and suspension and other features that are completely new. And it’s tougher than ever,” observed a company spokesperson. Currently, the 15 YM & 16 YM Hilux of 2015 production is available with free service for 3 years/30,000km, depending on the model grade. This offer is valid till January 21, 2016 (Thursday). Benefits are applicable for all purchases except those made by government organisations and ministries. Conditions apply. Full details are available at the showroom. The Hilux, a sought-after vehicle has many admirers. Writes Matt Campbell in CarAdvice, “The 2016 Toyota Hilux could be the most important vehicle the Japanese brand launches this decade. The Toyota Hilux has long had a reputation for being one of the toughest brutes on the market, and with this, the eighthgeneration model, the brand says it has made the unbreakable Hilux even more unbreakable. Toyota has spent six years and covered many kilometres in developing the all-new Hilux, and taken a step up.” What makes the all-new Hilux unique? The Assistant Chief Engineer explains, “Until now, a vehicle’s value was determined by how ‘tough’ it was. However, in developing Hilux, we wanted to fundamentally rethink what ‘tough’ means. We heard from people that the vehicles are the foundation of their lives, an indispensable tool, space for the family, and so on. By getting to

know the roads and the people, we learned that a different kind of “tough” was needed. Under rough road conditions, of course vehicle should be tough. In addition to that, sometimes long hour drives with family also require tough which means keeping it comfortable and safe.” Further highlighting what sets the Hilux apart he said, “Seeing is believing brought us more meaning to toughness. High fuel efficiency for long fuel range,good riding comfort for long safe driving,noiseless cabin for easy communication. To realize the development concept, we performed many field tests on various roads, conditions, environments of all over the world.The all new Hilux is all about “Redefining Toughness”.” The eighth generation 2016 Hilux is therefore not only a tough vehicle, but an advanced pick-up with stylish cues hitherto found only on SUVs. The vehicle’s interior continues the concept of “Tough and Emotional”, and reflects the same attention to detail as the exterior

with SUV vehicle styling, accents and ornamentations. The key all new features that keep you comfortable are the auto A/C, steering wheel with audio switches and advanced controls, newly introduced multi-information display (MID), 7” display audio with DVD and many more. Equal importance has been provided to the technical superiority and safety features of the new Hilux. The noteworthy features are 6-speed manual and automatic transmission options, newly developed 4-cylinder turbo diesel engine with 148 HP. The all new Hilux comes equipped with a number of active and passive safety features like anti-lock brake system (ABS ), electronic brake force distribution (EBD) and brake assist, SRS airbags for the driver and front passenger and knee airbags for the driver. In Oman, the nationwide parts and service network of Saud Bahwan Automotive supports Toyota’s outstanding product quality. No wonder then that today, Toyota is one of the most trusted and well-known brands.

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BM hosts leadership conference Bank Muscat (BM) hosted the conference which highlighted new horizons in the world of technology and leadership contributing to the success of business and industry

MUSCAT: Bank Muscat (BM), the ﬂagship ﬁnancial services provider in the Sultanate, highlighted the complementary roles of technology and leadership in shaping the future of business and industry at the Technology Evolutions and Leadership conference at the bank’s head office. Dr Hamad bin Salem Al Rawahi, executive president of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, was the guest of honour at the conference attended by dignitaries, and a large turnout of key banking, technology and industry representatives. Drawing on the success of the Technology Evolutions conference series launched in 2014, the second edition of the conference came as part of efforts

by the bank aimed at familiarising and sharing insights on the latest technologies shaping the future leadership in industry and business, says a press release. Al Rawahi congratulated Bank Muscat for hosting the conference

which highlighted new horizons in the world of technology and leadership contributing to the success of business and industry. At a time when business and industry are reviewing their strategic plans in light of the prevailing economic

situation, the varied themes discussed at the conference are relevant in building successful enterprises contributing to the overall progress and development of the country, Al Rawahi added. Waleed Al Hashar, GGM – Corporate Services, said: “For the second year running, Bank Muscat is proud to host the conference which facilitated engaging interaction with technology and leadership experts. Presently, at Bank Muscat, we are witnessing the amazing world of technology redeﬁning the leadership role. “The successful leadership is in turn keeping pace with the constantly evolving technology to face a continuously changing environment. Focused on the fu-

ture where we want to go, Bank Muscat continues to redeﬁne the banking culture in Oman by new and innovative initiatives driven by technology to retain its leading position.” Waleed Al Hashar added: “As the ﬂagship bank in Oman, technology continues to change the way the bank is delivering world class services to customers. The driving force of the bank to sustain leadership in banking service excellence is the ‘Let’s Do More’ vision and corporate values pursued by us. As leaders, our vision mandates us to continuously and constantly challenge what we do. We are focused to always listen, question and improve, thereby push ourselves and our people to do even better.”

3 - D AY V I S I T

SBT MD to visit Muscat today MUSCAT: Jeevandas Narayan, managing director of State Bank of Travancore (SBT) will embark on a 3-day visit to Oman from today during which he will interact with the senior management members of Global Money Exchange Company. This will be his second visit to the Sultanate, and is part of a week-long tour to the region to further strengthen the bank’s rep-

resentations and customer relationships in the region. SBT Chief General Manager, E. K. Harikumar is also visiting Muscat this week, says a press release. Jeevandas will launch an innovative product entitled, ‘SBT FLASH’. The product facilitates instant credit to SBT accounts seven days a week, including holidays, which is available at all the 34 branches of Global Money. PERSONAL LOAN SCHEME

Bank Sohar begins ‘Smart Loan’ offer MUSCAT: Bank Sohar has announced a personal loan scheme for all customers in Oman under the slogan ‘Smart Loan’ offer. The new promotion offers an opportunity for Bank Sohar customers to avail a personal loan at preferential interest rates, higher salary multipliers along with comfortable repayment period and without medical tests up to certain eligibility. Customers who apply for a personal loan will also be provided with a free Bank Sohar Excel Credit Card, says a press release. Commenting on the offer R. Narasimhan, GM of Retail Banking at Bank Sohar said: “This promotion is in line with Bank Sohar’s efforts to bring unmatched value and benefits to our customers across our entire product range.” This personal loan promotion designed with lowest interest rates and low EMIs, offers customers immense flexibility and a host of other benefits. In doing so we are offering them the ability to customise their loans based on their needs; be it for their children’s education, renovating their home, travelling, setting up a business, or more. We are also providing an option for two months grace period before the start of their monthly instalments. Short term loans As part of the loan offer, bank provides customers with the option of availing short term loans at attractive interest rates. These customers will also be eligible for Auto Loans with 1 hour loan approval for both new and used vehicles. In addition, Bank Sohar will offer all their customers the highest salary multipliers in the market without collateral, guarantors or medical tests. The scheme also offers simple documentation, quick processing and an option to start repayments after two months. In addition to these benefits, customers will also be eligible to participate in the Al Mumayaz Savings Scheme draws. Moreover, customers who want to remit funds online to India will be able to do so at just OMR1 per transaction. In addition, these customers will also be eligible for a free Bank Sohar Excel Credit Card, which in itself provides a host of additional benefits including attractive loyalty programme and widespread acceptance around the world for making payments and cash withdrawals at more than 800,000 ATMs worldwide. The ‘Smart Loan’ offer is currently available at all the 27 branches of Bank Sohar across the Sultanate.

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Ferguson backs Mourinho ahead of crunch Champions League tie Woefully out-of-form Chelsea have already lost 11 matches in all competitions this season but need only a draw against Porto to qualify for the knockout stages

LONDON: Jose Mourinho’s job could be on the line when Chelsea host Porto in the Champions League on Wednesday and Alex Ferguson has urged the Londoners not to jettison their manager even if the result goes against them. Woefully out-of-form Chelsea have already lost 11 matches in all competitions this season but need only a draw against Porto to qualify for the knockout stages. Former Manchester United great Ferguson said Russian owner Roman Abramovich must ignore the criticism the club are receiving and keep faith in Mourinho. “He has sacked so many coaches in the last 10 years that I am sure he has learned by it,” Ferguson was quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph.“He has to trust and have conﬁdence Jose can turn it around. There is no point in sacking one of the best coaches of all time, he’s won the European Cup twice, he’s won the league in each country he’s managed in, he’s won the big trophies. “It would be foolish to take that step to sack him. That would be bad management,” added Ferguson.Defeat on Wednesday and a consequent drop into the Europa

CRUCIAL GAME AHEAD: Chelsea’s Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho, second right, attends a training session on the eve of a UEFA Champions League, Group G football match against Porto at Chelsea’s training ground in Cobham, south west London. – AFP

League for Chelsea would certainly test Abramovich’s patience. After a 1-0 home defeat by promoted Bournemouth on Saturday, Mourinho said for the ﬁrst time that ﬁnishing in the top four of the Premier League to qualify for next season’s Champions League was looking unlikely. Chelsea, who are 14th in the Pre-

mier League with only four wins from 15 matches, are likely to have captain John Terry back after injury. With Dynamo Kiev expected to win at home to Maccabi Tel Aviv, who have lost all ﬁve group matches so far, a draw for Porto would eliminate the Portuguese side unless the Ukrainians fail to win. It was at Porto that Mourinho

made his reputation, winning the 2003 UEFA Cup and the 2004 Champions League. Although the Chelsea fans have remained supportive, the stadium is likely to be tense, at least until their team make a breakthrough. “It’s difficult for us to score,” said Mourinho after the Bournemouth game. “Scoring goals is a

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

lot about individuals.” Spain forward Diego Costa netted their only goal in the previous three Premier League games but he has been lacklustre and did not start either of the last two matches, with Eden Hazard playing as the main striker. Porto, who beat Chelsea 2-1 on Matchday Two, had hoped to tie up qualiﬁcation in the previous

round of games but slumped to a 2-0 home defeat by Kiev. They are second in the Portuguese League, two points behind Sporting Lisbon, after coming from behind at the weekend to beat Pacos de Ferreira 2-1 with goals by Jesus Corona and Miguel Layun who is on loan from Premier League Watford. - Reuters

IPL

Pune, Rajkot replace Chennai, Rajasthan as interim franchises

GEARING UP: Arsenal players training ahead of their Champions League Group F match against Olympiakos Piraeus. – Reuters

Arsenal record on line at Olympiakos ATHENS: Arsenal will put one of the best Champions League records on the line when they face Olympiakos Piraeus in a showdown for second spot in Group F on Wednesday. As well as competing in the tournament for the 18th season in a row, the London club have qualiﬁed for the second stage in each of the past 15 campaigns. That run is in jeopardy, not so much due to a 5-1 hammering at group winners Bayern Munich but because Arsenal were beaten in their opening two games including a shock 3-2 defeat at home to Olympiakos. Now they must reverse that scoreline or improve on it to preserve their proud record under

Arsene Wenger who will be missing seven players including Alexis Sanchez, Santi Cazorla, Mikel Arteta and Jack Wilshere. Wenger was particularly pleased with Saturday’s 3-1 win at home to Sunderland, a victory that lifted Arsenal to second place in the Premier League. “For our conﬁdence it was vital,” the French coach told reporters. “I was very nervous because I knew it was a very important game for our season. “It is better to prepare for the (Olympiakos) game knowing we have won. The one positive thing is we know exactly what to do. “Most of the time when we have been to Olympiakos we have not had a lot to do because we had al-

ready qualified. This time it is the opposite,” added Wenger. It is Arsenal’s fourth visit in seven seasons and each time the game has come on Matchday Six. Defining moment For Olympiakos the match is being billed by local media as a defining moment in a breakthrough year for Portuguese coach Marco Silva. The 38-year-old has led the Greeks to 12 successive Super League victories since the season kicked off as they chase a host of club records. Silva has also won widespread praise for the European performances. Greece midfielder Kostas Fortounis, one of the outstanding

players for Olympiakos this season, is relishing the game with Arsenal. “This is a showdown, no doubt about it, out of which only one team can claim qualification to the next stage,” he said after the 4-3 win at Panthrakikos at the weekend, a result that gave them a 10-point lead at the top of the Super League. Olympiakos are relatively injury-free but Silva must decide whether to include fit-again Argentine midfielder Esteban Cambiasso in place of Luka Milivojevic or Pajtim Kasami. Brown Ideye, who spent last season at West Bromwich Albion, will come back into the attack after being rested at the weekend. - Reuters

NEW DELHI: The Sanjeev Goenka-owned New Rising consortium and mobile phone manufacturer Intex on Tuesday joined the high-profile IPL bandwagon as Pune and Rajkot became the two new franchises, replacing the suspended Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals for a period of two years. The Pune franchise was bought by Kolkata-based business tycoon Goenka’s company New Rising while the Rajkot bid was won by Intex Mobiles in the reverse bidding process in which the two teams were chosen. Goenka will shell out Rs 100 million per year to the BCCI while Intex Mobiles will pay Rs 160 million for the two-year deal. “They won’t take a single penny from the BCCI. In fact they will pay the BCCI,” Board Secretary Anurag Thakur told reporters after a meeting of the IPL Governing Council which also finalised April 9 to May 29 as the dates for the next edition of the League. The teams were sold through the reverse bidding process for which the base price was set at Rs 400 million and bidders had to quote an amount less than that. The lowest bidders were given the franchises. The annoucement of the two new franchises was made at a press conference in which BCCI President Shashank Manohar, BCCI Secretary Thakur, IPL Chairman Rajeev Shukla and representatives of the new teams were present. The process was necessitated by the suspension of CSK and RR for the involvement some of their officials and co-owners in the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal. However, both the CSK and RR will be allowed back in the league

after serving out their suspension. The interim franchises, which have been picked today, will participate in a draft to first retain their share of players on December 15. Pune will get to pick the players first because they were the lowest bidders. The other three bidders in fray were Harsh Goenka of RPG properties, Axis Clinical and Chettinad Cement, all of whom quoted higher bids than New Rising and Intex Mobiles. Players from CSK and RR will be divided into two groups of capped and uncapped and the top names will be sold through the draft system. The two new teams will have a minimum of Rs 400 million and a maximum of Rs 660 million to buy their players. The cricketers who will remain unselected will go to general pool to be available for fresh auction, scheduled for February 6 in Bengaluru. Intex will pick the second player and both teams will alternate thereafter. For the ten players chosen, the BCCI has applied the same money brackets it put in place two years ago when the other six franchises were allowed to retain five players. The Franchise workshop will be held in Srinagar on January 13 and 14. Appreciating the marvellous performance by India in the Test series against world number one side South Africa, the Board also announced an award of Rs 20 million for the team. — PTI

W E D NE S DAY, DECEMBER 9, 2 015

SPORTS

Series win start of a ‘wonderful journey’ Ravichandran Ashwin, who was declared the man of the series against South Africa, said the 3-0 win over the Proteas will give the current team the conﬁdence to do well overseas

NEW DELHI: Ravichandran Ashwin feels the 3-0 series win over South Africa is the start of a ‘wonderful journey’ for the current Test team and the series sweep against the No.1 side will help them improve on their dismal overseas record. “When we got that last wicket, we could not express ourselves. It was amazing! Everybody was hugging each other and we don’t even remember what we were all doing out there. Having beaten a team like South Africa, we have set on a wonderful journey,” said Ashwin, who was named man of the series for a record ﬁfth time courtesy his 31 wickets in the four-match series. “I am sure our better days as a team are ahead of us. We will tour overseas soon and I am very hopeful that we will be on the right track there as well. I want to congratulate all the boys who have been on this journey with me. To get another Man of the Series award - I was craving for it, but I didn’t know it will come so soon again, after Sri Lanka,” he was quoted as saying by ‘bcci.tv’. South Africa played with dogged resistance for the ﬁrst time in the series, scoring 143 in their second innings in 143.1 overs. The marathon effort however was not enough to prevent a whitewash. Ashwin credited South African batsmen for making life tougher for the hosts.

BETTER DAYS AHEAD: Ravichandran Ashwin says India;s better days as a team are ahead.

Ashwin top all-rounder, Rahane up in batsmen’s rankings DUBAI: India’s middle-order batsman Ajinkya Rahane jumped 14 places to a careerhigh 12th spot while off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin moved to the top spot in the all-rounders list in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings, released on Friday. Ashwin maintained his second position in the bowlers rankings, behind South African pacer Dale Steyn. He dislodged Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan from the summit of the all-rounders list after picking

“First things ﬁrst, you have got to give credit where it is due. They shut shop and showed a lot of discipline. But while they were defending everything, the defence wasn’t that great. If there was a bit more bounce or ﬁzz in the wicket, we might have had an edge here and there. Having said that, they assessed the conditions very well; they were very dogged in their defence.” How tough was it to take wickets on the surface and also con-

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up 31 wickets in the four-Test series against South Africa, which India won 3-0. Ashwin was named the Man of the Series for his efforts. India’s left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja moved up four spots to claim the seventh spot. He and Ashwin are the only two Indians in the top ten bowlers list. Rahane was the biggest mover in the batting rankings after scoring two centuries in India’s 337 runs victory over South Africa in the fourth Test at New Delhi.

sidering the ultra defensive approach of the batsmen? “They wanted to bring something out of us. All through the series I was there and thereabouts and wasn’t giving anything away. But this innings demanded something more and I was trying to mix it up a bit. I was lobbing an odd full-toss and giving them one up there to get them into the driving mode and see if I can get a nick. “Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja) was

The 27-year-old entered the Test in the 26th spot, but after scoring 127 and 100 not out, he has stormed up 14 places to claim a career-high 12th position. The list is jointly headed by Australian Steven Smith and England’s Joe Root. Ashwin’s crucial knock of 56 in the ﬁrst innings of the New Delhi Test helped him move up ﬁve places to 46th in the batting rankings. As a result of win, India jumped to second spot in the Test rankings just behind South Africa. - IANS

at his best, bowling the same length all through the game. I tried and adapted myself much better this time because there was nothing in the wicket and even the ball hitting the glove was dropping. To get the batsmen out when they are adamantly defending everything is very tough. So, we had to be imaginative, as we discussed this morning, and I thought my imagination came through in the end,” added Ashwin. - PTI

C O M M E N TA RY

Where India scored over visitors was in the lower order batting

ndia swamped the number one ranked team in Test cricket by the most impressive margin of 3-0. It could have been 4-0 but for the rains in Bengaluru that washed out the last four days of the Test after the Indian bowlers had bowled out South Africa for a paltry 214 on day one. When the series began not many would have given Virat Kohli’s team that kind of a margin of victory. They were playing against a team that travelled well and many of whose players have the experience of playing in Indian conditions as players of the various IPL franchises. When it came to the crunch apart from AB de Villiers they were all found wanting and the singular lack of application and determination to hang in and ﬁght it out was prominent by its absence. There is a belief that batsmen are to be judged only by how they play on fast bouncy pitches but quite honestly playing spin bowling requires more skill than facing up to pace bowling. Playing pace is a matter of courage but to tackle spin not only is footwork needed but calm temperament too. To combat pace it is either going forward or back but to smother the spin the batsman needs to step down the pitch or go right back in the batting crease and that’s where real batting skill comes in. On the evidence of what was seen in the series only AB de Villiers looked a class apart while the others were mentally dismissed in the dressing room itself. India’s batsmen too struggled until Ajinkya Rahane came up with a superlative performance in the ﬁnal Test where he got a century in each innings. Where India scored over the visitors was in the lower order batting where Ashwin and Jadeja made telling contributions and helped add valuable runs to the total. Both those players also wove a web around the Proteas batsmen and their combined haul of 54 wickets sent the Proteas to their doom. Umesh Yadav came up

The churlish, many of them unfortunately Indians, have tried to blame the pitches for India’s wins but as the Bengaluru and Delhi games showed us, this South African team couldn’t even bat on a pitch where the ball came straight

with a heartening spell in the Delhi game and leg spinner Amit Mishra got the crucial wicket of AB de Villiers twice in the series. India’s fielding also was better than the South Africans and that is saying something for the Proteas have always been an outstanding fielding unit. The Indian’s wanted to be on the field a lot more than the South Africans and the energy levels under Virat Kohli were always high. The churlish, many of them unfortunately Indians, have tried to blame the pitches for India’s wins but as the Bengaluru and Delhi games showed us, this South African team couldn’t even bat on a pitch where the ball came straight. — PMG

CRICKET

Indian ODI skipper Dhoni to play under Aaron in Vijay Hazare Trophy RANCHI: India’s ODI captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been selected in the 15-member Jharkhand squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy to be played in Bengaluru from December 10 to 18. Varun Aaron will lead the team, Jharkhand State Cricket Asscociation’s secretary Rajesh Verma said in a press release on Monday. Dhoni last played for Jharkhand in the 2007 East Zone leg of Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Championship in Kolkata after the Indian team made an inglorious exit from the group stage of the 2007 World Cup. Earlier, Verma said the star cricketer himself expressed desire to play for the state team. “We have spoken to Dhoni and he has said that in all likelihood he will be available (if there’s no Pakistan series) to play for Jharkhand in Vijay Hazare Trophy. We have not discussed as to how many matches he will play or whether he would like to lead the side. But if he wants obviously, he

GREETINGS: Mahendra Singh Dhoni greets Mohammed Shammi at a net session ahead of the Vijay Hazare trophy match in Bengaluru. – PTI

will lead the side,” Verma said. “His presence obviously will be a great boost for the boys. Whenever Dhoni has got an opportunity, he has had encouraging words for the boys. Only day before I saw

him training at the main stadium alone. Right now the senior team is in Tripura for Ranji Trophy,” Verma said. Jharkhand squad: MS Dhoni, Sumit Kumar, Ishank Jaggi, Sourav

Tiwary, Anand Singh, Kumar Deobrat, Kaushal Singh, Varun Aaron (captain), Rahul Shukla, Shabaz Nadeem, Sonu Singh, Monu Kumar, S P Goutam, Ankit Dabas and Jaskaran Singh. - PTI

WE DNE SDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

SPORTS Barcelona’s Messi heads eclectic cast at Club World Cup in Japan Messi’s Barcelona are runaway favourites to win the somewhat quirky tournament which, as much as anything, serves as reminder of the chasm which separates club football in Europe from the rest of the world

TOKYO: Lionel Messi is the most famous of a variety of characters at the Club World Cup which includes Auckland City’s part-timers, former Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari and bunny-hopping Congolese goalkeeper Robert Kidiaba. Messi’s Barcelona are runaway favourites to win the somewhat quirky tournament which, as much as anything, serves as reminder of the chasm which separates club football in Europe from the rest of the world. The Catalans head a ﬁeld which also includes South American champions River Plate, CONCACAF’s America, African champions TP Mazembe, Scolari’s Guangzhou Evergrande, the champions of Asia, and Oceania’s Auckland City. Sanfrecce Hiroshima, who qualiﬁed as champions of host nation Japan, complete the lineup. The tournament, successor to the sometimes volatile games in the Intercontinental Cup, is large-

ly unloved and ignored in Europe, yet regarded as the pinnacle for teams in other parts of the world. South American sides, in particular, spend months preparing and are invariably followed by thousands of fans who travel halfway around the world. “My feeling is that even though they’re ﬁnals, the European teams feel that they’re going to end up winning,” said River Plate midﬁelder Lucho Gonzalez. “When they start out feeling that relaxed they often end up having a tougher test than they expected. For us, though, these kinds of games are like touching the sky.” Modern football The dynamics of modern football

means that the top South American players will be playing against, rather than for, their region’s representatives. While European champions Barcelona will be ﬁelding Brazilian Neymar, Uruguayan Luis Suarez and Argentine Messi in a dream strikeforce, River Plate will have to make do with mainly journeymen professionals. River Plate’s team is fairly typical of South American club football where, for many players, a career in Russia, Ukraine, the Middle East or Australia can be preferable to staying in the ramshackle domestic game. River have three types of players in their squad — youngsters still hoping to move abroad, veterans who have returned home to play

out their careers and those who are not good enough to make the move. Their nickname, the “Millionaires”, is especially ironic given that their entire squad is worth less than Neymar or Messi alone. Despite this, River, who have enjoyed a stunning revival under former Argentina midfielder Marcelo Gallardo, are still seen as the main challengers to Barcelona. Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Auckland City, a team largely made-up of part-time professionals who last year reached the semi-finals and took South American champions San Lorenzo to extra-time, kick-off the tournament on Thursday. The winners will progress to the quarterfinals — of which there are two — where they will face TP Mazem-

CRICKET

Disappointed Graeme Smith hints at comeback after Proteas’ debacle DUBAI: Disappointed by South Africa’s meek surrender in the just-concluded Test series against India, retired former captain Graeme Smith said after seeing his ex-teammates struggle so much, he might consider returning to international cricket. South Africa lost the fourmatch rubber 0-3, two of those defeats coming inside three days. Smith, who will be seen in the Masters Champions League (MCL) for the Virgo Super Kings franchise, said seeing the decimation, coming out of retirement has become a serious thought on his mind. “Who knows the MCL could be a platform back into the international game,” Smith told ‘The National’ newspaper. “I get asked this question a lot. It does spend time in your head, especially when you see the boys struggling in India you think you can contribute, but we’ll see. I’ll go back train, prepare and get ready for the MCL,” the 34-year-old, who retired last year, said. “For me, I’m at the cusp of whether I should play international cricket again or not,” he said. “I’m 34 now, (I) retired at 33, there’s always that question mark of whether I can play for another 3-4 years. I know I can. But, it’s just about ... I’m at the cusp. I’m looking forward to the MCL and

It looked like we just got in our own head in terms of the wickets. Yes they were tough, both teams had to play on the same surface Graeme Smith Former South Africa captain

take it from there,” he added. Speaking about the debacle in India, Smith said the Proteas were probably psyched out by the tough nature of the wickets and could really not recover from that. “I think we just got a little bit in our own way in this series. When you play on tough wickets, whether it’s green, seamy wickets or spinning wickets, margins become very small and we lost out on those margins always early on in the Tests and were always playing catch-up. It looked like we just got in our own head a little bit in terms of the wickets. Yes they were tough, both teams had to

play on the same surface,” he said. Smith said the team needs to unwind a bit now after the gruelling 72-day trip to India. “It has put us under a little bit of pressure for the end of the year. England’s a big tour back in South Africa, four Tests, so the guys need to go back home. They’ve been in India for a very long time, they need to have a bit of fun for a week, see their families, relax, catch their breath, because four Tests against England will be very exciting now,” he said. South Africa’s Test captain Hashim Amla was a massive ﬂop in the series but Smith said the

veteran should not be criticised too much. “Look I’ve got a huge amount of respect for Hashim Amla. He’s had a tough run, we’ve all had those tough runs. He’s a man of immense character and well-respected in the environment. “He needs time, it’s his ﬁrst challenge as a captain now and how he bounces back from this will speak volumes for him and the team. I think we need to always give him that opportunity now to bounce back and how he brings the guys through. This England tour now becomes an important challenge for him as a leader,” Smith said. — PTI

be in Osaka on Sunday with River Plate awaiting in the semifinals. Bouncing Kidiaba Mazembe, from Democratic Republic of Congo, became the first African team to reach the final in 2010 when they stunned Brazil’s Internacional. Their most easily identifiable player is Kidiaba, who celebrates goals by bouncing around his goalmouth on his back-side. In the other quarterfinal, also on Sunday, America face Guangzhou where Scolari is attempting to revive a career which has been blighted by Brazil’s 7-1 defeat by Germany at the World Cup on home soil last year. The winners of that match

meet Barcelona in the semi-ﬁnal. Scolari, an old hand in knockout games, would like nothing more than a chance to try and knock the European champions out of their stride with some of his well-documented spoiling tactics. Winning the Asian Champions League has already helped Scolari put his awful 2014 behind him. “I’d like to summarise my answer in one sentence: the winners are those who will not give up,” the man known as Big Phil said after Guangzhou beat Al Ahli over two legs to win the Asian trophy. “My next target is the Club World Cup, and why not? Because I have such a great team, great players and a great club and so, of course, we can realise that dream.” - Reuters

W E D NE S DAY, DECEMBER 9, 2 015

SPORTS West Indies up against it in Australia series

FOOTBALL

AFC felicitates Sultanate’s referee Abdullah Al Hilali

FA C T B O X

The West Indies last Test win Down Under came way back in February 1997

HOBART: West Indies have said they are embracing their underdog status for the three-Test series against Australia, which starts in Hobart on Thursday, but the reality is they have very little choice in the matter. Jason Holder’s inexperienced squad arrived in Brisbane fresh from being swept 2-0 in Sri Lanka and went on to lose their only tour match against a Cricket Australia XI, which featured six first class debutants, by a crushing 10 wickets. The days when intimidating West Indies pace bowlers rampaged across Australia breaking bones and smashing wickets on the way to winning four of five series from 1979 to 1993 are long gone, and their last Test win Down Under came in February 1997. Backs-against-the-wall defiance would seem the only remaining strategy for the islanders as they bid to hand Australia a first Test defeat on home soil since Ricky Ponting’s farewell against South Africa more than three years ago. Having lost a string of Test stalwarts to retirements, Australia are not yet good, nor settled, enough to allow complacency to creep in and

TARGET TOP ORDER: West Indies captain Jason Holder looks likely to employ a four-pronged pace attack.

the chance to score Test runs and take Test wickets will be motivation aplenty. Their stocks of pace bowlers have been sorely tested by the loss of leftarmers Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc, to retirement and injury respectively, during the 2-0 series win over New Zealand. Josh Hazlewood, the only quick to play all three matches against the Black Caps, looks set to carry the load for a fourth straight Test, supported by the injury-prone Darren Pattinson and the everreliable Peter Siddle. Holder has said the tourists would aim to quickly rip through top order standouts, such as David Warner and Steve Smith, in order to feast on a middle order they perceive as Australia’s weakness. It is a tactic more easily planned

than accomplished, however, as New Zealand’s vaunted pace attack discovered in the first two Tests of their series against Australia last month. Opener Warner, whose three centuries in the Brisbane and Perth Tests included a magnificent 253, and skipper Smith, who scored 138 in Perth, both boast averages over the 50 mark. To combat that prolific form, all-rounder Holder looks likely to employ a four-pronged pace attack of himself, Jerome Taylor, Shannon Gabriel and the experienced Kemar Roach. It is in the batting stakes, however, that the Caribbean Islanders will have to show marked improvement at Bellerive Oval, which is unlikely to be bursting at the seams. The traditions of the Boxing Day

AUSTRALIA Test ranking: 3 Captain: Steve Smith Coach: Darren Lehmann Highest ranked batsman: Steve Smith (2) Highest ranked bowler: Josh Hazlewood (10) Squad: Steve Smith, David Warner, Joe Burns, Adam Voges, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Peter Nevill, Peter Siddle, James Pattinson, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Nathan Lyon. WEST INDIES Test ranking: 8 Captain: Jason Holder Coach: Phil Simmons Highest ranked batsman in squad: Darren Bravo (27) Highest ranked bowler: Kemar Roach (15) Squad: Jason Holder, Kraigg Brathwaite, Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Rajindra Chandrika, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shai Hope, Denesh Ramdin, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor, Jomel Warrican. HEAD-TO-HEAD Test matches played: 113 Australia wins: 56 West Indies wins: 32 Draws: 24 Tied: 1 FIXTURES OF 2015-16 SERIES December 10-14: 1st Test, Hobart December 26-30: 2nd Test, MCG January 3-7: Third Test, SCG

and New Year’s Tests should ensure better crowds in Melbourne and Sydney but even cricket-mad Australians have their limits when it comes to watching uncompetitive sport. - Reuters

AFC HONOUR: Abdullah Al Hilali. – Supplied photo

MUSCAT: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) felicitated Omani referee Abdullah Al Hilali for his excellent work in the several international matches during the last season. The Omani official was honoured during an AFC referees course organised in Kuala Lumpur from December 3 to 7. Abdullah Al Hilali officiated the matches in the AFC Champions League and AFC Cup as well as World Cup Asian qualiﬁers. OFA workshop Meanwhile, the Oman Football Association (OFA), which is constantly striving to contribute to

the growth of their employees, conducted a Digitial Lifestyle Workshop’ at their offices at the Seeb Sports Stadium on Tuesday. The workshop was conducted by Shakra Al Balushi from Kudos, who is an OFA Partner and lasted for three and a half hours. The workshop covered various aspects of leading a digital lifestyle. Some of the topics included – different types of digital devices, management of digital ﬁles, digital photography, various uses of the internet in the modern age and digital storage. The workshop is part of a series of digital workshops conducted for the OFA by Kudos.

FOOTBALL

Huge response to OFA Community Cup

MUSCAT: The OFA Fives Community Cup football tournament to be organised by the Oman Football Association (OFA) has received huge response with as many as 100 teams showing interest to take part in the event. According to a statement received from the Sultanate’s foot-

ball governing body, the registration for the tournament has officially closed and as announced earlier only 64 teams on ﬁrstcome-ﬁrst-serve basis will be selected to play in the tournment. “A response like this is very encouraging,” said Alister D’Silva, Head of Marketing, Brand and

Events at the OFA “Our objective is always to engage those in the community who play football and this is yet another step in that direction. “We want to use tournaments like these to build a platform for more and more community interaction with us here at the OFA.”

The OFA Fives Community Cup will be held at the artiﬁcial grass ground at the Seeb Sports Stadium on December 19 from 8.00 a.m. to 5 p.m. “The 64 teams will be informed of their participation after being approved for the same,” the OFA statement said.

WE DNE SDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

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SPORTS Squash is ideally suited to Oman, as air-conditioned courts make the game an attractive proposition all year round, said the game’s exponent Martyn Harris in a tête-à-tête with T.K. MOHANDOSS. He also called for an official recognition for the game. Following are the excerpts from the interview:

How long have you been in Oman and how did squash happen to you? I’ve been in Oman for three and a half years now. I started playing squash at University, as the intensity of the game really appealed to me, and didn’t disturb my studies too much. What is your background in squash and where do you hail from? I come from Cardiff in Wales and learnt to play squash at University in London. After graduating, I played in squash leagues at local sports clubs. Then when I moved to Hong Kong, where squash is widely played, I joined a team playing in league matches, and my game improved enormously. Where did you pick up your racquet ﬁrst and do you have any professional records? University! I have been successful in winning leagues on a number of occasions, sometimes as team captain! In addition, I have been

SQUASH IS IDEALLY SUITED TO OMAN: MARTYN schools, and with some free ‘squash introductory clinics’ established, this would encourage more people to try squash. Also, more news coverage of squash competitions, such as the PSA World Tour, would certainly be welcomed in the local media!

fortunate to represent my club internationally, and have had some great experiences, in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, South Africa, United States, Australia, Philippines and Macau. In your view point how can this game grow in Oman? We desperately need more squash courts across the Sultanate, particularly in the larger cities, in order to have the necessary facilities to enable people to play. Then to grow the game in Oman, we require formal recognition and support from the Oman sports body, together with qualiﬁed and experienced coaches.

SERVICE TO SQUASH:

Tahir Al Barwani.

Do you think that the game has attracted renewed interest in Oman? Squash is ideally suited to Oman, as air-conditioned courts make the game an attractive proposition all year round! In the last couple of years I have seen a growing interest in the sport, thanks in the main to the untiring

efforts of Tahir Al Barwani, and the continued support of Abdullah Al Suleimany. How do you rate national interest in the game? Far too low! Hopefully, if squash could be promoted further in

We desperately need more squash courts across the Sultanate in order to have the necessary facilities to enable people to play. Then to grow the game in Oman, we require formal recognition and support from the Oman sports body, together with qualified and experienced coaches Martyn Harris Muscat Squash League chief GROWING INTEREST: Squash regulars at the Muscat League. – Supplied photo

Do you think that Ministry of Sports Affairs should give full support and encourage the game in schools? Definitely! Encouraging sports at schools has numerous benefits, providing youngsters with an enjoyable fitness programme, developing coordination skills, as well as building social networking. Squash is ideal. You are at the helm of Muscat Squash League. How is the League prospering currently? I took over running of the Muscat Squash League a couple of years ago, and it is exciting that new players are joining the leagues all the time, and the overall standard is improving dramatically.

Your ideas for tapping young talents in Oman? With the development of squash at schools, more courts, local clinics, support of Sports Ministry and coaching opportunities, I really believe many more youngsters would take up squash in Oman. Can frequent tournaments all over the country help? Certainly! Local competitions enable players to develop and hone their skills, as well as encouraging spectators to participate. Other than squash, what do you do in Oman and how are you helping in developing the game? I’m a civil engineer, working on a major wastewater treatment scheme. In addition to running the MSL, I have organised a couple of tournaments and have been helping development of youth squash at PDORC. — sportseditor@timesofoman.com

W E D NE S DAY, DECEMBER 9, 2 015

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Holders Arsenal kick off FA Cup campaign against Sunderland Arsene Wenger’s

Debuchy seeks talks with Wenger over future

holders will start their defence against the side they beat 3-1 in the league on Saturday as they seek to become only the third team in the history of the venerable competition to win the trophy for three years in succession

LONDON: Arsenal will begin their quest to become the first team in modern times to win the FA Cup three years running with a home tie against fellow Premier League side Sunderland in January. Monday’s draw in Cardiff for the third round of the most historic domestic knockout competition in world football produced an unusually high total of five all-top flight ties.

LONDON: Arsenal right back Mathieu Debuchy wants to discuss his future with manager Arsene Wenger before the January transfer window as he looks to earn his place in the France squad for Euro 2016. Debuchy has played just seven times for his club this season due to a series of injuries and the emergence of youngster Hector Bellerin. The 30-yearold was not included in the France squad which played Germany and England last month and Debuchy is concerned by his lack of ﬁrst-team action. “We talked about my situation in pre-season, I haven’t talked to him recently, but we’ll talk before the transfer window,” Debuchy told French radio station RMC. “I really need to play. (France manager) Didier Deschamps didn’t call me for the last two

Arsene Wenger’s defending champions will start their defence against the side they beat 3-1 in the league on Saturday as they seek to become only the third team in the history of the venerable competi-

NEED TO PLAY: Arsenal right back Mathieu Debuchy, left, and manager Arsene Wenger.

games, so it’s obvious, I’ve got to play more than I do, that’s why I want to talk to Wenger soon. “I do have to accept it anyway, I can’t do otherwise. This situ-

tion to win the trophy for three years in succession. The last team to achieve the feat were Blackburn Rovers, who won the Cup in 1884, 1885 and 1886 in Britain’s Victorian era, eight years

ation doesn’t please me, but I have to accept it.” “I need to have several games under my belt to be at the Euros. You can’t be in the French squad

after Wanderers had performed a similar treble. The third round draw, which traditionally sees the introduction of the glamour clubs into the event, also paired two current Premier

if you play a game once a month or less than that. You can’t be ﬁt and mentally focused. And if I have to leave permanently or on loan to play, I will.” - Reuters

League high ﬂyers, ﬁfth-placed Tottenham Hotspur against current leaders Leicester City. The other top-tier ties are Watford versus Newcastle United, Southampton against Crystal Pal-

ace and Norwich at home to Manchester City. Juergen Klopp’s Liverpool, smarting from a 2-0 league defeat at Newcastle on Sunday, will visit fourth-tier Exeter City. The draw, as usual, offered the whiff of romance with four nonleague sides still in the competition given the chance to tackle the big boys. Of those, only National League team Eastleigh are deﬁnitely through to the third round and they have been rewarded with a home tie against Bolton Wanderers, currently struggling at the foot of the second-tier Championship. Seventh-tier club Salford City, the non-league side co-owned by ﬁve ex-Manchester United internationals, have captured the all headlines in the competition so far and have the prospect of a home tie if they win their second-round replay at Hartlepool. The Northern Premier League Premier Division side, in whom brothers Gary and Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt hold a 50 percent stake, will play Derby County, currently third in the Championship, if they get through. Semi-professional Whitehawk, a National League South side, have the incentive of a lucrative trip to Goodison Park to take on Premier League Everton but have to beat Dagenham & Redbridge, of League Two, in their second round replay. - Reuters

FOOTBALL

‘Optimist’ Mourinho confident of retaining Abramovich support LONDON: Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is confident he retains the support of the club’s owner Roman Abramovich on the eve of the Champions League match against Porto which could determine his future at Stamford Bridge. At a lively news conference on Tuesday, the under-pressure Mourinho was in defiant but more good-natured mood than of late, insisting that he was an “optimist” and that his struggles this season had made him a better manager and a stronger person. Mourinho was grilled over whether if he failed to make the Champions League knockout stages — a fate which could befall Chelsea if they do not beat his old side Porto in the Group G finale — he still expected to be manager for Monday’s Premier League match

against leaders Leicester City. “There are no ifs,” he told his questioner calmly. “You are a pessimist — I am an optimist.” Asked why he was conﬁdent of the support of Abramovich, an owner with a penchant for quickly disposing of under-achieving managers, Mourinho said: “Because I think I did lots of good things for this club for the owner to know the quality I have. He believed in me twice. One, when he brought me back to the club, and the second time when he gave me a new four-year contract. “I don’t think the owner is a person to change with the wind. I know this wind is really strong because the results in the Premier League are really bad but I think the owner believes I am the right man to do the job.”

OMANI STAR FATMA RECEIVES GCC EXCELLENCE AWARD Omani tennis star Fatma Al Nabhani receives the GCC Excellence Award in sports from Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, during a ceremony organised in Doha on Monday. Among the Omanis honoured with the awards was Omani football hero Ali Al Habsi.

Mourinho has been surly and on the defensive in recent news conferences during the most difficult period of his garlanded career with champions Chelsea lying 14th in the Premier League. Yet following the weekend defeat at home by lowly Bournemouth, he was in surprisingly mellow, upbeat mood, even thanking his “friend” Alex Ferguson, the former Manchester United manager, for his “nice words” of support. Of his recent trials and tribulations, he said: “As a manager, I think it makes me better. “I never thought I’d be so strong and so highly motivated. Another defeat and the next morning I wake up with more desire to go to work. So it has made me know myself better and I have found myself stronger than I thought.” - Reuters FOOTBALL

Don’t litter a beautiful country like OMAN. Ensure proper disposal of garbage.

First leg tie of Chennai-ATK semi shifted to Pune PUNE: The first leg of the Indian Super League (ISL) semifinal between Chennaiyin FC and Atletico de Kolkata (ATK) will be held here at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Stadium on December 12 due to the recent floods in the southern city, it was confirmed on Tuesday. “IMG-Reliance and Star India along with the Chennaiyin FC management conclude to the decision of moving the Club’s home ground to Pune, after evaluating all possibilities for Chennai to host the semifinal match,” said an ISL release. Difficult decision “The decision was particularly difficult as Chennaiyin FC’s fans have displayed immense passion and fortitude to support their Club through thick and thin this season,” the release added. “But it was one which had to be taken, keeping in mind the current situation in Chennai,” the statement said. Most parts of Chennai are still under water after the heaviest rains in some 100 years, which have left around 269 people dead. The second leg of the semifinal is scheduled to be played in Kolkata on December 16. - IANS

SECTION

LIFESTYLE

W ED N ES DAY, D EC EM B ER 9, 2 0 1 5

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SUR THE LEGENDARY TOWN OF MARITIME TRADITION

Story Saleh Al Shaibany Photography Shabin E.

W E D NE S DAY, DECEMBER 9, 2 015

LIFESTYLE

was wholly made from blocks of wood and planks, using no nails or metal fasteners. The old boat builders re-created the last masterpiece that sailed to Canton, entirely dependable on the Monsoon winds (the word Monsoon is derived from the Arabic word Mawseem or seasons) and not engines. The detailed understanding of the blowing winds is the foundation for the Sultanate’s far-reaching commercial network that created a string of colonies in East Africa stretching from the islands of Comoro to Zanzibar. Apart from its seafaring marvel, Sur is also known for its narrow streets, beaches, corals, seafood, cottage industry and ancient market places. One could also visit the Maritime Museum and get a glimpse of the golden past of the town. If you are a diver, the clear water is perfect for snorkellers to explore the corals. The reef crest is a spectacular array of hard corals only accessible to divers. Shoal of barracudas swimming near the reef to gobble up smaller ﬁsh offers a stunning view of the underwater activities. If you are not a diver, swimming in the warm water of Sur is relaxing and rejuvenating for those who had a long drive from Muscat. A walk on the beach to watch the waves crashing on the shore is refreshing. It is equally

Sur without any doubt played a big part in Oman’s legendary maritime accomplishments. The “big boats” they built sailed and conquered the Indian Ocean with no competition from any other nation of the world

breathtaking if you could catch the sun disappearing under the water during the sunset. A stroll in the narrow streets should not be missed. Old houses built in the 1800s, when Sur was the maritime centre of the Gulf, boast of wide verandahs made from teak wood imported from India, which form delightful alleyways. The main souq still retains its old charm. Sur’s main delicacies, dry ﬁsh, prawns and lobsters are sold in abundance. On Fridays, the souq is turned into an auction centre of livestock. Goats, sheep

and cows are sold to the highest bidders in a crescendo of voices from auctioneers. In the same weekend and if you are lucky, you might stop and watch a wedding convoy passing in the street. The wedding party is normally led by a band of musicians and dancers. Sur’s folk songs have their maritime origin, composed by sailors who wanted a long sea voyage to East Africa look shorter by singing in the ship. The famous Sur dance maidan is African inﬂuenced, dominated by drums and trumpets. Though Sur may have lost its maritime greatness but the government has turned the town into a business centre of the Eastern Region. With the construction of the Khour Al Batah suspension bridge, a journey to Sur is considerably shorter now. The bridge has opened up trade and expanded economic activities from Muscat and Salalah. It has boosted tourism and the numbers of campers spending the weekend on its beaches. The bridge will also provide a quick getaway to the Ras Al Hadd Airport which is now under construction. It will be only a 30-minute drive through the suspension bridge. The airport will attract investments to the Sur business community to compensate for its lost glory in maritime trade.

Photography: Shabin E.

here is a legend in Sur that says “a group of angels made the ﬁrst vessel” in this eastern coastal town of Oman and that’s why the elders are now convinced that God blessed the local boat builders with special maritime skills. Whether you believe in the folklore tales of angels building a boat or not, Sur’s old trade of ship construction thrived for more than seven centuries and it sadly came to an end in the 1970s with the renaissance of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said. Sur without any doubt played a big part in Oman’s legendary maritime accomplishments. The “big boats” they built sailed and conquered the Indian Ocean with no competition from any other nation of the world. The boat building skills of its experts were simple but highly effective. The vessels they built were beyond their time, too, according to Tim Severin, the British explorer who organised a maritime expedition from Oman to China in 1983. He traced the nautical achievements of the legendary sailor, Sinbad, but needed the local skills of boat building and maritime splendour. Sur was pivotal for his plans. The survivors of the 1960s reincarnated the ship for Severin. The uniqueness of the “Arabian Boom”

T R AV E L T I P S

Keys to Stress-free Holiday Travel If you’re worried about long lines and potential ﬂight delays, these four tips should help make your experience as stress-free as possible. Pack wisely

Stay connected

Stay healthy

Protect yourself

Shipping gifts ahead of time will save precious bag space and help you avoid fees. If you do pack gifts, keep them unwrapped as the security people may need to access them during screening. Developing two packing lists - one for your carry-on luggage (be sure electronics and liquids are easily accessible) and one for your checked bag - may minimise the need for last-minute reshuffling at the airport. Finally, a small padlock may help prevent theft.

As the number of travellers with smartphones continues to rise, mobile applications are becoming more popular as travel tools. Take a few minutes before your trip to research and download the apps most relevant to you. Also, remember that while convenient, mobile charging stations may threaten the security of your phone’s private data. Instead, consider purchasing a power bank to help ensure you have enough juice to wait out potential ﬂight delays.

Nothing ruins a trip like getting sick, so take preventive measures in the weeks before your trip - such as getting enough sleep, drinking plenty of water and exercising appropriately - to help boost your immune system. Consider a seasonal flu vaccine, as flu activity peaks between December and February. Additionally, ask your doctor about safe sitting exercises that may reduce the risk of blood clots or other flight-related conditions.

Finally, if you didn’t purchase travel insurance when you booked your ﬂight, it may not be too late to do so. Insurance may usually be purchased up to 24 hours before your departure date and a variety of options are available. —Courtesy of Brandpoint

WEDNE SDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

LIFESTYLE THE HOBBYIST Larry Michienzi Rock Climber

Why do you love climbing? Well, without getting too philosophical, I think the main reasons are the combined challenge of the mental, physical, technical and social elements. I’m guessing most people imagine that climbing is somewhat about getting over your fears and self doubt, but of course it is also very physical. People often assume you have to be very strong to rock climb, but that’s not exactly true as there are 14year- old girls that are some of the best climbers in the world. So just because you have strong arms doesn’t mean you will be good at rock climbing. Of course there are also the technical elements of climbing. There is a lot of gear involved, some just to get up the rock and a lot for safety reasons in some types of climbing. But, I would say one of the big reasons I love climbing is the social element. Some of my best friends are my climbing partners. You end up sharing a lot of time driving to the mountains and hanging out. You also share a lot of very personal experiences together and support each other. I think climbing is a very special sport in that it is competitive to some extent, but it is also extremely supportive and cooperative in other ways. On top of all that you get to go and spend time in some of the most beautiful areas in Oman. How did you get into it? A friend introduced me to climbing in Canada. We went to a place near my house and from the ﬁrst time I tried it I was hooked. It’s maybe the most addictive sport I have ever tried. It’s obviously not for everyone, but for me I can’t imagine not climbing. From there I met a lot of climbers and had a good group of friends. I started travelling outside of Canada and climbing had to take a back seat for a while, but eventually started climbing again here in Oman. How can I get into it? Take a lesson from a certiﬁed guide to learn the safety elements. I would also read a lot about it as there is a lot of information to learn and it needs to be ingrained. After that it’s a good idea to get some instruction on how to climb. It’s a very technical sport. A good coach goes a long way.

HOOKED

What’s your pro-tip? • Double check and triple check your safety and your partner’s safety. • Read as much as you can. • Learn proper technique, don’t just pull with your arms.

Jakob Oberhauser, wrote a guide book , which has a very detailed description of all the climbing in Oman. You can purchase it on-line at panico.de/kletterfuehrer-oman There is a Facebook group: Climbing In Oman, and there is also some guides on a website called 27crags.com

Climbing is a very special sport in that it is

competitive to some extent, but is also extremely supportive and cooperative in other ways

Y O U R FAV O U R I T E B O O K

Ulysses IT TOOK almost three full years to read and comprehend Ulysses. Just like only a few could struggle and reach zenith of Mount Everest, Ulysses calls for your full faculties. James Joyce is a maestro of experiment with language and he throws gauntlet at readers. For anyone who ever wishes to read Ulysses, here goes the simplest introduction of the plot and base minimum analysis. Main characters are; Stephen Dedalus - philosopher cum poet with full of creativity and imaginations, Leopold Bloom - advertisement canvasser, and Molly Bloom - wife of Leopold Bloom. The 730 pages describe the story of these three on a day “16 July, 1904”. Their lives get connected in several ways during the course of the

By James Joyce

day. The story starts in the morning and ends at night. What makes this novel special is the “stream of consciousness technique” adopted by Joyce where not only the physical movement and actions of the characters are described but their secretive inner thoughts were also described in detail. Ulysses is loosely based on Homer’s epic poem and Leopold can be identiﬁed with Odysseus, Molly is Penelope and Stephen is Telemachus. Joyce devised many stylish terms and narrative voices in this novel, which was criticised as meaningless and hard to comprehend. Once when you start following the rhythm of the plot, each code is broken and you will start participating in the plot.

The chapter “Penelope” narrating monologues of Mrs Bloom regarding her frustration with her husband, and her personal desires. This is an honest ranting, which could be quite personal to anyone but were not discussed in the contemporary literature during that period. This will leave readers devastated, and of course, Joyce intended to pass on this feeling to us. At this juncture, you might start relating yourself with all characters though you may not like to acknowledge this to anyone. Further, you will ﬁnd companion in these characters and in tepid fashion you will feel some comfort. I am not alone. In short, Ulysses still remains as an enigma where in Joyce created a novel experience with language and

presented human life as it is without frills. As years passed, Ulysses gained the status of the “ultimate modernist text” ever written. To put it in the simplest form, Ulysses proves that there is an epic in each passing second. — Reviewed by Sajith Nair

ARE YOU A PROLIFIC READER? Which is your favourite book? Pick one and send in your thoughts on it. Contact shafeeq@timesofoman.com

Photography: Natasa Silec

Contact info/resources for climbing in Oman

W E D NE S DAY, DECEMBER 9, 2 015

C10

PRAYER TIMINGS

FIND-IT-ALL CINEMA SCHEDULE

@SHATTI

@AZAIBA

Krampus (Horror | Fantasy) (12+) Cast: Adam Scott, Toni Collette 4:30, 10:15 PM Tamasha( Hindi) (Drama) (PG12) Cast: Ranbir kapoor, Deepika Padukone 6:45 PM Pathemari ( Malayalam) (Drama) ( PG12) Cast: Mammootty, Joy Mathew, Srinivasan 11:00 PM

CITY CINEMA Contact (10 am to 6PM) 24567664 | 68 www.citycinemaoman.net facebook.com/citycinemaoman SHATTI In the Heart of the Sea (3D) (Action | Adventure | Biography) (PG12) Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy 2:15, 5:00, 6:45, 9:15, 11:45 PM Bridge of Spies (Biography | Drama) (PG) Cast: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Alan Alda 8:45, 11:30 PM Bus 657 (Action | Crime | Thriller) (12+) Cast: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Dave Bautista 2:45, 9:30 PM Mortadelo and Filemon: Mission Implausible (3D) (Animation | Comedy) (PG) Voice Overs: Karra Elejalde, Janfri Topera 3:00 PM The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-2 (3D) (Adventure | Sci-Fi) (PG12) Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson 6:15 PM Victor Frankenstein (Horror | Sci-Fi) (12+) Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, James McAvoy 4:30, 7:15, 11:30 PM Arbaa A Kotchina (Arabic) (PG) CP# Cast: Oka, Ortega 4:30 PM MUSCAT GRAND MALL In The Heart of The Sea (Action)(3D)(PG12) Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Brendan 11:45AM, 6:30, 9:00 & 11:30PM Gold Class : 3:30, 8:30 & 11:00PM Bus 657 (Action | Crime | Thriller) (12+) Cast: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Dave Bautista 2:00 & 11:45PM Creed (Drama | Sport) 15+ Cast : Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone 4:00 & 9:15PM Gold Class :6:00PM The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-2 : 3D (Adventure/Sci-Fi) PG12

Victor Frankenstein (Drama)(2D)(12+) Cast : Daniel Radcliffe, James McAvoy, Jessica Brown Timings : 7:15 , 11:45 pm

Bus 657 (Action | Crime) (12+) CP# Cast: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Dave Bautista, Robert De Niro Timing: 2:45, 9:30 PM

1:45PM & 6:45PM Mortadelo and Filemon: Mission Implausible (3D) (Animation | Comedy) (PG) 12:00PM A Second Chance (Roamance / Drama) PG12 Cast : Bea Alonzo, John Lloyd Cruz 4:15PM

2:30, 4:45, 6:45 pm Bridge Of Spies (Drama)(2D)(PG) Cast : Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Alan Alda 11:30 pm Victor Frankenstein (Drama)(2D)(12+) Cast : Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Alan Alda 7:15, 11:45 pm

PANORAMA MALL In The Heart of The Sea (Action)(3D)(PG12) Cast : Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Brendan 5:00, 9:15, 11:30 pm In The Heart of The Sea (Action, Adventure) (MX4D)(PG12) 2:45, 5:45, 8:30, 11.30 PM In The Heart of The Sea (Action, Adventure) (3D)(PG12)- VIP LOUNGE 3:45, 6:30, 8:45, 11:00 PM Hunger Games: Mockingjay part 2 (3D) Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson 2:30, 7:15 pm (Action, Adventure) (PG12) Bus 657 (Action, Crime)(2D)(12+) Cast: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Dave Bautista 2:30, 9:45 pm Creed (Drama, Sport)(2D)(15+) Cast : Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone

AZAIBA In the Heart of the Sea (3D) (Action) (PG12) Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy 12:00, 4:45, 9:15, 11:30 PM Hate Story-3 (Hindi) (Thriller) (PG12) Cast: Zarine Khan, Sharman Joshi, Daisy Shah 2:00, 4:20, 6:40, 9:05, 11:45 PM Tamasha (Hindi) (Romance | Comedy) (PG) Cast: Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:15, 11:30 PM Pathemari (Mal) (Drama) (PG) Cast: Mammootty, Joy Mathew, Srinivasan 11:50 AM, 7:00, 9:30 PM Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (Hindi) (Romance) 2:45, 6:00 PM (PG) The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-2 (3D) (Adventure | Sci-Fi) (PG12) 2:15, 11:45 PM

SOHAR Bridge of Spies - 2D (PG) Drama | History Cast: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Alan Alda 4:15, 11:45 PM Tamasha - 2D (PG12) Romance| Drama Cast: Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor 6:30 PM Creed - 2D (15+) Drama | Sport Cast : Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson 2:45, 9:15 PM In the Heart of the Sea - 3D (PG12) Action Cast : Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy 2:30, 9:30, 11:45 PM In the Heart of the Sea - 2D (PG12) Action Cast : Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy 7:00 PM Victor Frankenstein - 2D (12+) Drama Cast : Daniel Radcliffe, James McAvoy 4:45, 6:45, 11:45 PM Pathemari - 2D (M) (PG12) Drama Cast: Mammootty, Joy Mathew, Srinivasan 9:15 PM Mortadelo and Filemon - 2D (PG) Cast : Voice (Karra Elejalde, Janfri Topera 2:45 PM Arbaa A Kotchina - 2D (Arb) (PG) Cast : Bea Alonzo, John Lloyd Cruz; 4:30 PM Bus 657 - 2D (12+) Action| Crime | Thriller Cast: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Dave Bautista 2:30, 11:30 PM The Keeping Room - 2D (15+) Drama Cast : Brit Marling, Hailee Steinfeld 5:15 PM Hate Story 3 - 2D (PG12) Thriller Cast : Zarine Khan, Sharman Joshi, Daisy Shah, Karan Singh Grover 7:00, 9:00 PM

Pathemari (Mal) (Drama) (PG) CP# Cast: Mammootty, Joy Mathew, Srinivasan, Jewel Mary Timing: 11:50 AM, 7:00, 9:30 PM

RUWI Screen 1 Hate Story 3 (Thriller) – PG12 Cast : Zarine Khan, Sharman Joshi, Karan Singh Grover 3.30, 6.30, 9.30 PM Screen 2 Tamasha (Romance/Drama) – PG12 3.45, 9.45 PM Pathemari (Drama) – Tamil – PG Cast : Mammootty, Jewel Mary 6.45 PM Screen 3 Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (Family) – PG Cast : Salman Khan, Sonam Kapoor 3.45, 9.45 PM Tamasha (Romance/Drama) – PG12 6.45 PM SUR In the Heart of the Sea 3D (Action) (PG12) Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy 4:30, 8:00, 11:55 PM Bus 657 (Action | Crime | Thriller ) (12+) Cast: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Dave Bautista 6:15, 9:15 PM

BURAIMI In the Heart of the Sea– 3D (Action) (PG12) Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy 6:45, 9:00, 11:30PM

Bus 657 – 2D (Action, Crime, Thriller) (12+) Cast: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Dave Bautista 4:45, 10:00, 11:45PM The Keeping Room– 2D (Drama) (15+) Cast: Brit Marling, Hailee Steinfeld 5:30, 7:15PM Krampus – 2D (Comedy, Fantasy) (12+) Cast: Adam Scott, Toni Collette 5:15, 11:15PM Tamasha– 2D (Romance, Drama) (PG12) Cast: Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor 7:30PM Pathemari– 2D (Romance, Thriller) (PG12) Cast: Mammootty, Joy Mathew, Srinivasan 9:00PM

TO MUSCAT (RUWI) Arrival Operating time days

Dept time

Destination

Arrival Operating time days

FROM JAALAN-SUR-QURIYAT (ROUTE 36)

TEMPERATURE

05:30 05:30 05:30

Maximum

Daily Daily Daily

Sur Quriyat Ruwi

06:45 08:30 10:00

TO AL BURAIMI (ROUTE 41)

06:30 06:30 08:00 13:00 13:00 16.00 16.00

07:00 07:00 13:30 13:00 13:00 13:00 17:00

Sohar Buraimi Buraimi Sohar Buraimi Sohar Buraimi

08:50 Daily 11:00 Daily 14:30 Daily via Ibri 15:45 Daily 17:40 Daily 18.35 Daily 20:20 Daily

TO SINAW (ROUTE 52) 17:30

Sinaw

Nizwa Yanqul

Daily

16:50 19:30

Daily Daily

Nizwa Al Araqi

26 17

07:00

Ruwi

10:25

Daily

06:00 06:00

Nizwa Ruwi

08:40 11:00

Daily Daily

15:40 15:40

Nizwa Ruwi

17:55 20:20

Daily Daily

TO SUR (ROUTE 55) 12:00 18:45

Daily Daily

TO FAHUD - YIBAL (ROUTE 62) 06:30 06:30

Fahud Yibal

Salalah Marmul Salalah Salalah

20:00 20:30 23:30 07:40

Daily Daily

Marmul

Dubai

16:50

Daily

Sohar Dubai Sohar Dubai Sohar Dubai

Daily Daily

12:30 12:30

Fahud Ruwi

13:15 17:30

Daily Daily

07:00 10:00 10:00 19:00

Ruwi Marmul Ruwi Ruwi

19:50 13:15 22:30 07:30

06:00

Marmul

16:30

Daily

08:30 11:30 15:30 18:30 17:35 20:55

Daily Daily Wed,Thur Wed,Thur Daily Daily

15:00

Salalah

07:00

Daily

10:50 13:40 16:15 19:10 18:45 21:35

Daily Daily Thur-Fri Thur-Fri Daily Daily

TO DUBAI (ROUTE 201) 07:30 07:30 13:00 13:00 15:30 15:30

Sohar Ruwi Sohar Ruwi Sohar Ruwi

TO DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH & SHARJAH (ROUTE 204)

FROM DUBAI VIA FUJIRAH/SHARJAH (ROUTE 204)

07:00 07:00 07:00

16:00 16.00 16.00

Fujairah Sharjah Dubai

KEERTHANA ARAVIND December 9

RELATIVE HUMIDITY

40-80% Send us a colour photograph of the child (below 17 years) whose birthday you are celebrating, along with his/her full name, date of birth, address, telephone number and parents’/your name to Times of Oman, With Love, PO Box 770, PC 112, Ruwi or through e-mail to lifestyle@timesofoman.com

LISTINGS

11.45 13.30 14.00

Daily Daily Daily

Sharjah Fujairah Ruwi

16:30 18.15 23.00

Emergencies and inquiries: 9999 General Directorate of Passport and Residence 24569603 Directorate General of Customs 24521109 Traffic violations inquiries 24510228 Public Relations Admin 24560099 EMBASSIES IN OMAN

Daily Daily Daily Daily

DUBAI TO SALALAH (ROUTE 102)

07:00

TO DUBAI (ROUTE 201) 06:00 06:00 13:00 13:00 15:00 15:00

10:45 19:00

TO MARMUL (ROUTE 101)

SALALAH TO DUBAI (ROUTE 102) 15:00

Ruwi Ruwi

TO SALALAH -MARMUL (ROUTE 100) Daily Daily Daily Daily

TO MARMUL (ROUTE 101) 06:00

06:00 14:30

TO YIBAL - FAHUD (ROUTE 62)

10:30 11:15

TO MARMUL-SALALAH (ROUTE 100) 07:00 10:00 10:00 19:00

Programmes are subject to change

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (ROUTE 54)

10:20 12:30

TO SUR (ROUTE 55) Sur Sur

Pathemari (Mal) (Rom/Drama) Cast: Mammootty, Jewel Mary, Joy Mathew, Srinivasn 3-30, 6-30 & 9-30 Pm Main Cinema Anarkali (Mal Rom/Drama) Cast: Prithviraj, Biju Menon & Priya Glor 6-45 Pm Cinema -3 Amar Akbar Anthony (Mal) (Act/Drama) Cast: Prithviraj & Jaya Surya 3-45 & 9-45 Pm At Cinema -3 Inji Iduppazhagi (Tamil) Cast: Arya & Anushka Shetty 3-30, 6-30 & 9-30 Pm Cinema -2 Shankara Bharanam (Telugu) Cast : Nikhil Siddharth and Nanditha 3-45, 6-45 & 9-45 Pm Cinema-4

ROYAL OMAN POLICE 07:30 14:30

Film information 24791641 / 24786776 Website: www.isurf.co.om

Minimum

TO YANQUL (ROUTE 54)

TO IBRI (ARAQI) (ROUTE 54) 08:00 08:00

08:55 Daily 11:40 Daily 20:20 Daily via Ibri 14:55 Daily 17:40 Daily 19:20 Daily 22:15 Daily

STAR CINEMA

TO SINAW (ROUTE 52) 20:50

TO YANQUL (ROUTE 54) 14:30 14:30

Sohar Ruwi Ruwi Sohar Ruwi Sohar Ruwi

Daily Daily Daily

In the Heart of the Sea (Action / Adventure) Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Brendan 3.30, 7.30, 9.45 & 11.55 p.m. CP No : 3031 (PG12) Krampus (Comedy / Fantasy / Horror) Cast: Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner 4.00, 8.00 & 11.55 pm CP No: 3032 (12+) Bus 657 (Action / Crime / Thriller) Cast: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Robert De Niro 2.15, 6.00 & 10.00 pm CP No : 3033 (12+) The Keeping Room (Drama) Cast: Brit Marling, Hailee Steinfeld 1.45 & 5.45 pm; CP No : 3033 (15+) Hunting the Phantom (Action / Adventure) Cast: Kristanna Loken, Armand Assante 11.45 a.m; CP No : 3027 (12+) Creed (Sports / Drama) Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone 12.00 p.m; CP No : 3026 (15+)

WEATHER

15:00 15:00 15:00

16:30 18:00 19:30

Film information 24540856 / Advance Booking 24540855 Website: www.albahjacinemaoman.com

WITH LOVE

QURIYAT - SUR - JAALAN (ROUTE 36) Quriyat Sur Jaalan

BAHJA CINEMA

SALALAH In the Heart of the Sea (3D) (PG12) (Action Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy 1:45, 6:35, 11:30PM In the Heart of the Sea (2D) (PG12) (Action Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy 10:30AM Bridge of Spies (2D) (PG) (Biography Cast: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Alan Alda 11:15AM, 4:00, 8:55PM Bus 657 (2D) (12+) (Action| Crime | Thriller) Cast: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Dave Bautista 12:00, 3:15, 11:55PM Creed (2D) (15+) (Drama | Sport) Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, 12:45, 5:00, 11:45PM Krampus (12+) (Comedy | Fantasy | Horror) Cast: Adam Scott, Toni Collette 7:35PM Mortadelo and Filemon: (3D) (PG) (Animation |Comedy) Voice Overs: Karra Elejalde, Janfri Topera 10:15AM, 2:00PM Tamasha (2D) (PG12) (Romance| Drama) Cast: Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor, Javed Sheikh 6:30PM Hate Story 3 (2D) (PG12) (Thriller) Cast: Zarine Khan, Sharman Joshi, Daisy Shah, 9:00PM Rangi Taranga (2D) (PG12) (Kanada) Cast: Nirup Bhandari, Radhika Chetan, 3:45PM Pathemari (2D) (PG12) (Malayalam) (Romance / Thriller) Cast: Mammootty, Joy Mathew, Srinivasan 9:30PM

LONG DISTANCE BUS TIMINGS (OMAN NATIONAL TRANSPORT COMPANY SAOC) *SUBJECT TO CHANGE

FROM MUSCAT (RUWI) Destination

12.04pm 3.05pm 5.26pm 6.41pm 5.17am

CHILDREN BELOW THE AGE OF 3 YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED IN THE CINEMA | BOX-OFFICE COUNTER OPENS 30-MINUTES PRIOR TO THE SCREENING OF THE FIRST SHOW

@PANORAMA MALL

Dept time

Dhuhr Asr Maghrib Isha Fajr (Tomorrow)

Daily Daily Daily

Afghanistan Algeria Bahrain Bangladesh Brazil Brunei China Cyprus Egypt France Germany India Indonesia Iran Iraq Italy Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya South Korea Kuwait

24698 791/4 24605 593 24 605 074/133 24 698 660 24640100 24 603533 24 696782 24 699815 24 600 982/411 24681 800 24835000 24684500 2469 1050 24 696 944/7 24603642 24693727 24 601 028 24692760/1/3 24 692418 24 697664 24 691490 24 699628

Lebanon Libya Malaysia Morocco Nepal Netherlands Pakistan Palestine Philippines Qatar Russia Saudi Arabia Senegal Somalia South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Switzerland Syria Tanzania Thailand Tunisia Turkey UAE United Kingdom United States Yemen

24 693208 24603466 24698329/643 24696152/3 24696177 24603706 24603439 24601312 24605335 24 691 153/2/4 24602894 24601705 24694139 24697977 24647300 24691101 24697841/2 24697875 24603267 24697904 24601 174 24 602684/5 24603486 24697050/1/2 24400000 24609000 24643400 24600815

PHARMACIES Round the clock Al Hashar Pharmacy, Ruwi 24783334

Apollo Medical Centre, Hamriya Muscat Pharmacy, Ruwi Salalah Atlas Pharmacy, Ghubra Muscat Region Apollo, Al Hamriya Muscat, A Seeb Market Muscat, Al Khuwair Muscat, Al Hail South Dhofar Region Muscat, Al Nahdha Road, Salalah

24782666 24702542 23291635; 24503585 24787766 24421691 24485740 24537080

23291635

HOSPITALS Al Amal Medical & Health Care Centre 24485052 Atlas Hospital Ruwi 24811743/ Ghubra 24504000 Al Musafir Specialised Medical Clinic 24706453 Hatat Polyclinic LLC, Ruwi 24563641 Azaiba 24499269 Sohar 2683006 Al Raffah Hospital 24618900/1/2 Al Massaraat Clinic & Laboratory 24566435 Al Makook Medical Coordinance Centre 24499434 Apollo Medical Centre,

Hamriya 24787766, 24787780 Capital Polyclinic 24707549 Badr Al Samaa Polyclinic, Ruwi 24799760/1/2 Capital Clinic, Seeb 24420740 Ceregem National Raak 24485633 Dr Harub’s Clinic 24563217 Elixir Health Centre 24565802 Emirates Medical Centre 24604540 1st Chiropractic Centre 24472274 Lifeline Hospital Salalah 23212340 International Medical Centre LLC 24794501/2/3/4/5 Kims Oman Hospital 24760100 24 Hrs Emergency 24760123 Lama Polyclinic, Sohar 26751128 MBD 24799077 Al Khuwair 24478818 Magrabi Eye and Ear Hospital 24568870 Muscat Private Hospital 24583600 Welcare Diagnostic and Treatment Centre, Al Khuwair 24477666 Al-Hayat Polyclinc LLC 22004000 AIRLINE OFFICES Muscat Airport Flight information (24 hours) 24519456/24519223 Aeroflot 24704455 Air Arabia 24700828 Air France 24562153 Air India 24799801

Air New Zealand 24700732 Biman Bangladesh Airlines 24701128 British Airways 24568777 Cathay Pacific 24789818 Egypt Air 24794113 Emirates Air 24404400 Ethiopian Airlines 24660313 Gulf Air 80072424 Indian 24791914 Iran Air 24787423 Japan Airlines 24704455 Jazeera Airways 23294848 Jet Airways 24787248 Kenya Airways 24660300 KML Royal Dutch Airlines 24566737 Kuwait Airways 24701262 LOT Polish Airlines 24796387 Lufthansa 24796692 Malaysian Airlines 24560796 Middle East Airlines 24796680 Oman Air 24531111 Pakistan International Airlines 24792471 Qatar Airways 24771900 Qantas 24559941 Royal Jordanian 24796693 Saudi Arabian Airlines 24789485 Singapore Airlines 24791233 Shaheen Air 24816565 SriLankan Airlines 24784545 Swiss International Airlines 24796692 Thai Airways 24705934

WE DNE SDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

C11

LIFESTYLE

The Layers

Location: 23°08’27.4”N 57°18’43 .6”E Have you been able to capture the beauty of an off-the-beate n-path destination in Oman? Send your pictures with a caption & geo-locator to: shafeeqe@timesofoman.com

ADVENTURE TOURISM

Tourists Plunging Off Bridges Buoy New Zealand’s Economy IN NEW ZEALAND, where cows outnumber people, leaping off a bridge tethered only by a rubber band has better economic prospects than selling milk. The nation that first commercialised bungee jumping is counting on visitors to sustain growth after dairy exports slumped. Tourism this year might account for as much as half of New Zealand’s economic expansion, said Shamubeel Eaqub, an independent economist in Auckland. “We’re starting to see a broadbased recovery in tourism and serious dollars coming into the New Zealand economy,” Eaqub said. “If we didn’t have that then economic growth would be a lot lower.” Growth will almost halve to 1.8 per cent this year as falling milk prices hurt farm incomes and domestic confidence, New Zealand’s central bank forecast in September. Now, with the local dollar hovering just above a six-year low, travellers are flocking. Visitor spending jumped 38 per cent to a record NZ$9.4 billion ($6.3 billion) in the year through September, the government reported last week. The South Pacific nation, whose alpine scenery was showcased by the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies, is reaping the benefits of marketing itself as a thrill-seekers’ paradise, said Chris Roberts, chief executive of the Tourism Industry Association. It opened the world’s first commercial bungee-jumping busi-

ness in 1988, offering a 43-metre plunge off the Kawarau Bridge, near the South Island tourism hub of Queenstown. Dare-devils can now spring from bridges and platforms around the country attached to a large rubber band, including a 192-metre (630-foot) plummet from Auckland’s Sky Tower. New Zealand also lays claim to

commercialising jet-boat rides, with the ﬁrst business opening on the Kawarau River in 1960. Today, the hair-raising boat trips draw tourists across the nation, from Queenstown’s rivers in the south to Auckland harbour in the north. “If you go to New Zealand, you have to have gone on a jet-boat or bungee jumped or zip-lined,” Rob-

erts said in an interview. “How could you go to New Zealand and not do those things? It would be like going to New York and not eating a bagel.” More than half of the international visitors coming to New Zealand for a holiday undertake at least one adventure activity, government ﬁgures show. Tourists seeking adventure typically stay

longer and on average spend 17 per cent more than those who don’t, according to the data. Visitor spending languished during the past decade as global conﬁdence waned and the Kiwi dollar surged, making travel to New Zealand more expensive. The currency’s 15 per cent decline the past year and the emergence of China as the

second-biggest market for incoming tourists after Australia has underpinned the recent turnaround. US tourists are the third-biggest spenders and the new Chinese visitors are independent travellers rather than arriving on group tours, and are younger people who are quite prepared to be adventurous, said Roberts. The challenge is to keep them safe, with fatal accidents, such as a helicopter crash on Fox Glacier last month, highlighting the risks of adventure tourism. “People come to this country to see its natural wonders and the adventure element is absolutely fundamental to people’s experience,” said Stephen Espiner, senior lecturer in parks, reserves and tourism at Lincoln University. “But no one goes heli-hiking under any realistic expectation they might not make it back.” The death of a British tourist in 2008, while riding a body board on rapids near Queenstown, was the catalyst for a shake-up and tightening of regulations in New Zealand’s adventure tourism industry. The key is to get the right balance between adventure and safety, said Simon Milne, professor of tourism at Auckland University of Technology and director of the New Zealand Tourism Research Institute. “It wouldn’t be an adventure unless there was some risk involved,” he said. —Bloomberg

C1 2

W E D NE S DAY, DECEMBER 9, 2 015

LIFESTYLE

THE WORLD’S MOST LUXURIOUS AIRLINE FOOD Airplane food has long borne the brunt of negative jokes, and any mention of it is almost always accompanied by a grimace. Mystery meat, limp vegetables, and mashed potatoes from a package... But, luxury ﬂights are changing that stereotype with celebrity food consultants, in-ﬂight chefs, gourmet menus, and award-winning beverage lists. Here’s a taste of what’s offered on some of the world’s most luxurious airlines.

Air New Zealand A consulting chef (Peter Gordon of Auckland and London) and two wine consultants give this airline a Business Class menu that showcases New Zealand’s multi-national cuisine. Start with a dish like roasted salmon with sumac, then for the main course, maybe Moorish chicken with spiced saffron tomato broth, white beans, and cinnamon-roasted pumpkin hummus. Dessert choices could include white chocolate and rosewater panna cotta with pistachio cream.

All Nippon Airways First Class customers on this airline enjoy priority lines for security check, an airport lounge to relax in before takeoff, and a private cabin for ﬂying. However, the real star of the show is the in-ﬂight cuisine. If you’re travelling out of New York, the airline offers a choice between modern European and traditional Japanese cuisine. The latter offers options like takiawese (simmered taro, octopus, and pumpkin in a soy-based sauce) or sunomono (poached sliced beef accompanied in sesame sauce.)

Emirates There’s a reason Emirates won the Experts’ Choice award for First and Business Class in-ﬂight dining in Saveur’s latest culinary travel awards. Try the smoked tangerine chicken or braised beef in coconut milk, and indulge in strawberry cheesecake for dessert. Privacy doors and fully ﬂat beds with mattresses also help First Class passengers feel at home. Added plus: an individual vanity and personal mini-bar.

Oman Air For the First Class customers in Oman Air the in-ﬂight dining experience begins with a premium caviar service, whilst a wide ranging menu of both modern and traditional ﬁne dining and Arabic signature dishes is offered in both the First and Business Class cabins. The expert chefs use only the highest quality seasonal ingredients and each dish is served on unique, bespoke chinaware. The award-winning beverages are carefully selected to complement your dining experience.

Etihad Airways Etihad Airways is the world’s leading airline according to the latest World Travel Awards, and their unique three-room suite in the sky is definitely a factor. Guests who opt for the “Residence” programme enjoy a bedroom, bathroom, and living room, complete with a flat-screen television, and chilled drinks cabinet. An inflight chef prepares a range of gourmet meals and also takes personal requests from Residence guests.

W W W.T I M E S O F O M A N . C O M W E D N E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 9, 2 0 1 5

SECTION

CONNEC T H E D A I LY G U I D E

RENT

VACANCY

CARGO

*Classiﬁed Advertisement space booking with text, should be done till 12.00 noon for next day’s publication. * Subject to space availability

W E D N E S D AY, D E C E M B E R 9, 2 0 1 5 Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classiﬁeds@timesofoman.com Tel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461

DAILY GUIDE FOR RENT

*Tourist visa arranged

NEW Flats & Showrooms for Rent 1/2/3 BHK Flats & Showrooms at Muttrah, near Oman flour mills, 10 min. from corniche. equipped with split/ cassette unit ACs, internet points, freeto-air dish connection, CCTV monitored, basement parking. Rent RO.250/350/450 (Negotiable) per month.

Contact : 99229263; 93221054; 95215289

FOR RENT 2BHK, 3 washroom Flat with Split Air Conditioners Near Lulu Darsait CONTACT :

93202733

3 Room ﬂat in North Ghubra, 18 November Street with three toilets. For residential or commercial use. RO. 315/- Contact 94477222. Urgent apartment for rent: First Floor, Purpose built one bedroom, bath, Kitchen with balcony and a drawing & dinning. 2 Minutes walk from Indian School Muscat. Contact 99346265

1&2 BHK M.B.D R.O 280/- & 300/-. Contact: 92144045

2BHK ﬂats available for near PDO gate no 2 Qurum. Contact: 94057023

1,2 BHK Ghubra R.O 300/-, 325/- & 350/-. Contact: 97799175

One & two bed room apartments available for rent, opposite the new Panorama Mall at south Ghobrah close to Muscat Grand Mall, next to Diwan office. Contact: 99833747 n Flats for rent at Al Mablah block eight. Contact: 99445177

Profs / jack. Contact 93219378 1& 2 BHK ﬂats for rent at Hamriya Mabela and Al Khoud shop at Al Khoud. Contact: 24834644 / GSM : 93994401 /02/03/3lines

Villa for rent four spacious bath attached bedroom private swimming pool, Gymnasium (common) with electrical equipment and free maintenance secured compound at Madinat Al Illam. Contact: 98027975

Showroom space available at MBD area near old manpower building ground ﬂoor 220 Sq.MTR Mezzanine ﬂoor 320 SQ. mtrs, rent R.O 2650/per month. Contact: 99449885

2BHK near Oman house behind Khimji H.O R.O 200/-. Contact: 95865686

02 BHK commercial / residential (with split AC) ﬂats at Honda Road. Contact: 99342733 / 99795241

Single ﬂat sharing for Keralite bachelor in Ruwi near Qaboos Mosque R.O 95 (W/E). Contact: 98478286

2 BHK in Al Meera MKT building in Al Khuwair available. Rent RO420. Contact 94047434 02 BHK residential ﬂat opposite to Al Nadha hospital. Contact: 99342733 / 99795241

1 BHK Mumtaz R.O 250/-. Contact: 92144045 2 BHK Ghubra R.O 300/-. Contact: 92144045

1000 sqm industrial land with compound wall & two rooms at Misfah. Contact: 99342733 / 99795241

Luxurious 2 BHK ﬂat with 3 toilets, store, equipped kitchen, splits, free gym & party hall, 24 hrs security at Mumtaz area Ruwi rent 375/-. Contact: 92622506

Flats and shops for rent in Ruwi Honda road Mumtaz area. Contact: 97293708 /92433127

1BR, 3BR Mars hypermarket Wadi Kabir. Contact: 99338133 / 92103604

Restaurant for lease running restaurant at excellent location in Wadi Kabir is available on lease. Contact: 93334685 / 91760712 1 Bed room in Al hail south R.O 130/- Monthly. Contact: 93993354 Rental car. Contact: 92516090

Flats shops & store for rent in Ruwi Honda road Mumtaz. Contact: 97293708 / 92433127 Flat in Wadi Kabir, 3 BHK rent 280/- R.O. Contact: 99330810 2BHK Wadi Kabir near Kuwaiti mosque. Contact: 97007934 / 92629232 An industrial land 1400SQM in industrial Bausher (Muscat) in front of Oman cement located on the main road for further details. Contact: 99719973 /95858928 2 Bed rooms ﬂat with hall, 2 bathrooms in Darsait near Muscat Municipality. Contact: 92584715/ 24700120

W E D N E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 9, 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE HOME THEATER & KARAOKE BRING HOME - LIVE MUSIC & CINEMA GENERAL ELECTRONICS SERVICES LLC CONTACT: 99627299 / 93327841

STOCK CLEARANCE SALE

VEHICLE FOR SALE

Indian Granite 600x300x20 - 15000 sq mts Indian Granite Slabs 20000 Sq mts Our factory yard at Ghala Industrial area.

Mitsubishi – Lancer 2010 model Manual Transmission Renault – Logan 2010 model Manual Transmission Volvo 10 ton Truck – 2001 model Contact –

Contact 99337723 / 95118906

GSM: 97191588 tajalkhairllc@gmail.com

MV SALE Grand Cherokee full A/M 2009 model KM 90,000 only excellent condition. Contact: 99869897

SCRAP EQUIPMENT

FOR SALE

FOR RENT

We have scrap equipment for sale more than 20 years old. Interested Parties please contact Mr.A.Ronish,

GSM 91296439 1BHK Nr Oman house & Kmj H.O Muttrah. Contact 99233116

For Rent Flats in Wadi Kabir 94051789-97201688

Shop / office Nr Oman house & Kmj H.O Muttrah. Contact: 99233116

For Rent ﬂats in MuttrahContact – 94051789-97201688

House for rent at Seeb Souq two bedroom, majlis, sitting room, kitchen & 2 bathroom. Contact: 99700908

For Rent Flats in Darsait 94051789-97201688

2 BHK Flats for rent Muttrah near Oman house. Contact: 97007934 / 92629232 One room and one BHK for rent in AL Khuwair near Ibis hotel. Contact: 95724975 1000 SQMTRS industrial land for rent in Ghala suitable for warehouse workshop etc. Contact 24700120 /92584715 House for rent in Hamriya of 2 floors, flats vacant with 4 rooms, balcony 3 toilets, 1 kitchen R.O 300/- per month , Omani families only. Contact: 96266768 1 BHK available at Al Khoud in Baskin Robbins building. RO 200/Contact: 97261418, 99478492, 98181649 One flats for rent 2 bedroom all with bath al Ghobrah north near Indian school (hot burger restaurant) tell 9976610 Store available in Honda road Ruwi. Contact 99481931 1BHK flat near Star Cinema 220/-. Contact 99358589 /95570288 Flats for rent in Wadi Kabeer. Contact: 99388994 Flat for rent 3 bedrooms, kitchen & bathroom in Wadi Kabir for 260/RO. Contact- 97771444 Flats for rent in Wadi Kabir. Contact: 99376454 600 SQT commercial flat for rent opposite Oman flourmill Darsait more details. Contact: 91214849/ 99364735 Studio in souk Al Khoud behind of Al Ahali bank with 2 BR toilet+ kitchen in 2 floor 160RO. Contact 99738881

For Rent Fully Furnished apartments in Boucher (35) 94051789-97201688 For Rent Mini Furnished Apartment in Qurum- 9405178997201688 Offices for Rent GalaContact –94051789-97201688 For Rent Duplex villa in Qurum 29- 94051789-97201688

Al Jauf LLC. P.O.Box 1880, Postal Code 112, Ruwi, Sultanate of Oman

FOR SALE Beauty Salon for urgent sale in Azaiba prime location behind Al Fardan building. With sponsor and 1 staff and 1 ready visa clearance. Call: 95318629 / 95169411 Darsait small Business & office furniture for sale special price 5 gallon per bottles. Contact: 99869897 Barber shop for sale in Ghubra. Contact 92955874 We have laundry for sale in Ghala prime location 3 visa clearances available. Contact: 93782735 / 99208033

For Rent Offices & Showrooms in Al Khoud-Contact 9405178997201688

Land for sale in Goa Indian Verna near big mosque RS 30 lakh negotiable. Contact: 99468166

For Rent brand new villas in Al Ansab- Contact 9405178997201688

Shop for sale at Ghala Sanaya main junction (prime location) shop for sale. Contact: Kamil 92696479

For Rent Offices & Showrooms in Muttrah -Contact - 9405178997201688

3Ton Forklift, Special made for Oman market, Japanese Isuze C240 Engine, Cascade side shifter, High amount exhaust, 3m lifting height, Solid tyres, One year warranty. Contact: 98883445

7 Bedrooms villa in Ghobrah North. Contact - 96420432 Villa with 5 rooms, two sitting rooms, 5 toilets and kitchen at Al Hail North. Contact: 91130875 Flat for Rent 1/2 BHK Flat at Muttrah, near Oman ﬂour mills, 10 min. from Corniche.Equipped with split unit ACs, internet points, free-to-air dish connection, CCTV monitored, basement parking. Rent RO.250/350 per month. Contact: 99229263; 93221054; 95215289 For Rent Flats in Ghala Heights 94051789-97201688 Single BHK ﬂat available in Honda road Ruwi. Contact - 24833972/ 24833974/99367448

Honda Accord 2012, 60,000 km, good condition, RO 5600, expat leaving Oman. Contact 99577462.

TRANSPORTATION

Prado 2010 expat driven good condition. Contact: 91396589 /91396776

TRANSPORTATION 7 Ton/ 10 Ton- Trailer Local transport- MCT- UAE

FOR SALE or rent Tata Dawoo Truck 12 ton 2014 Model. Contact: 92719681

Contact 96609857

Chaverlet Epica 2004 model RO -700, for sale.Contact 92194205

For Rent offices in Qurum opposite city center- 9405178997201688

For Rent Flats in Mawalah south-94051789-97201688

Mitsubishi Pajero 380CC full option 2008 model 137,000 km Expat driven white maintained Mitsubishi workshop. Contact: 99513510

Running barber shop for sale in Ruwi with all equipments. Contact: 99343735 60,000 Sq Mtrs Agriculture Land in Misfah, can be changed to Industrial Land. OMR 29 Per Square Meter. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 5 plots of fertile agriculture lands in Misfah East totaling 4,532 sq mtrs having date trees and using falaj water for irrigation. OMR 158 Thousand for all 5 plots. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 Ladies saloon with 2 staff for sale in Mawalah. Contact 94197589 400 sq mtrs Commercial/Residential land in Maabela Phase 5 Block 2. OMR 155 Thousand. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360

Amir Ali

BMW 318/ 2003 for sale. Contact 96364990

Muttrah to Bausher. Contact: 99022790/24712088

FOR HIRE Ford focus, automatic, 2010 model, silver colour, expat driven, 58000 kms, dealer serviced, registration till sep 2016, price ro 2750. Contact- 93207590

AVAILABLE Party & Wedding equipment rentals. Full line, from Tables, Linen & Skirting, Chairs & Chair covers, Cutlery, Crockery, Glassware, Chaﬁng Dishes, Ice Sculptures, to Large Sound Systems and spectacular lighting. Call Andrea 9606 2222 for Catering and Croyden 9623 5555 for Sound & Light. ww.tunesoman. com, E-mail: info@tunesoman.com Available office space in Prime location on 18th November Street, Azaiba Kindly. Contact: 99288664

FOR SALE 2,688 sq mtrs commercial land in MBD North. OMR 1.39 Million. Tel: 99333479 or 95215360 Window AC 30 Nos (general make all good conditions), refrigerator, freezer & mess equipments for sale. Contact: 98064113/ 99315878 Quotation fax on: 24448101 /24448103 Immediate sale of well running pharmacy at prime location. Contact- 99627621, 99516236 For sale villas in Al Khoud 95056808-97201688 Sale house & office furniture & electronic items. Contact : 99834373/ 96642500/22010080 For Sale Luxury Apartments in Bousher (35) #95056808-97201688 For sale Fully Furnished apartments in Bousher (35)# 95056808-97201688 Beauty parlor for sale Muttrah. Contact: 93142676

Transportation. Contact: 95190627

Car with driver available for rent. Contact: 93015630

WANTED Required commercial villa from Azaiba to Al Khoud area adjacent to main Roads. Contact: 92640246/91395738

ACC. AVAILABLE Room available rent R.O 60/sharing toilet Mumtaz area Ruwi. Contact: 91978472 Spacious separate room with A/c and Bed, for non-cooking Asian bachelor, behind Shell ﬁlling station, Ghobrah round about. Contact: 94263390 Furnished sharing accommodation in ruwi near O.K. Center for noncooking indian bachelor. Gsm 9880-5474 Spacious separate room with A/c and Bed, for non-cooking Asian bachelor, behind Shell ﬁlling station, Ghoubra round about. Contact: 94263390 2BHK Hamriya round about main road rent R.O 170/- PM. Contact: 99513510 Sharing accommodation at Wattayah, behind Wattayah Mosque. Contact: 92578966 Single bed room with attached bath, separate entrance, Honda road near NBO for ex bachelors. Contact: 91410434 Big room available near Hamriya R/A for Muslim couple / small family / Executive bachelor rent 150/- per month including W+ E. Contact : 99495131

Transportation available Ruwi to Al Khuwair, Ghubra & Azaiba. Contact: 91103909

ACC. AVAILABLE Attached room at Hamriya near Hamriya ﬂyover Supermarket. Contact: 98985763 Furnished room in new building for working Muslim lady/ Muslim couple only. Location AINT, Darsait. Contact - 99008069 Full furnished 1BHK ﬂat at OMR 260/- available for 4 months. Contact: 92148699 location Ghala 1 Bedroom with attached Bath, fully furnished, separate entrance at Mabela for ladies only. Contact: 99634841 1 Bedroom with bathroom available for rent. Only Indian female. Contact - 92394614 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, sitting room, Kitchen & store including utilities bills at Al hail. Contact 92817777 Single room bathroom in Darsait R.O 140/-. Contact: 93289652 Single room for expat Indian bachelors near Al Aktham restaurant Al khuwair for RO 120. Water and electricity included. Contact : 98803261

LOST Monir Hossain Khorshed has lost Bangladeshi Passport No. AF9475677. Finder please handover to ROP

W E D N E S D AY, D E C E M B E R 9, 2 0 1 5 Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classiﬁeds@timesofoman.com Tel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461 Fax: 24812624

DAILY GUIDE SITUATION SITUATION WANTED VACANT We are looking for a Business Development Manager With Oman market experience in Scientific Laboratory Equipment / Digital Signage / New Business development and sales. Age around 35 years with at least 3 years of proven track record in one of the above fields. Should have excellent communication skills. Oman D/L and NOC required.

URGENTLY REQUIRED

An Indian female HOUSEMAID (Muslim) to take care of an Omani lady. Salary best in the industry.

Pls Send your CV to jobs@bishara.com or Fax : 24794807

Contact - 99250595 or mail to tc.subi@yahoo.com

URGENTLY REQUIRED

Sales Executive - Ladies (Omani/ Expat) With oman D/L 2 years of Experience in the same Field.

Gym Instructor - Ladies (Omani/ Expat)

Waitress - Ladies Massage Lady For a reputed four star hotel Please send CV at

hoteljbs@gmail.com, Fax -24593277

A reputed Dairy Company in Oman is looking for following Vacancies.

OMANI STAFF PRO -1 NO DRIVER - 2 nos. For 3 TON REEFER TRUCKS

Contact GSM: 97191588 E-mail: tajalkhairllc@gmail.com

WANTED

Van Salesman:

Civil Engineer (Building Construction) 2 Nos

3 Year experience with NOC

Qualification: BE in Civil Engineering

Drivers – Omani National Only:

Electro Mechanical Engineer (Building Services)1 No.

2 year experience with Valid Omani D/L

Debt collector: Omani National with 4 years experience with Valid Omani D/L Please forward your CV’s to

vacancy097@gmail.com

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE Experienced Omani female required as Accountant Cum Secretary. Send CV to s.safar@celarwater.com We are looking for Chief Financial Officer, Male 40- 45 years old, Bachelor of Science in Accountancy with 5 - 15 yrs. of experience. Contact: +968 24702133 Email: admin-dept@daud.om

DRIVER Wanted heavy driver. Contact 91770195 Wanted driver. Contact 91025698

DESIGNER Media company need Graphic Designer Male - Female no need experience, need to have experience on Graphic Design Programs. magicﬁngerprint1@gmail.com

DRAUGHTSMAN Urgently required a leading construction company requires AutoCAD draughtsman (Electrical) 5-10 years Gulf experience in industrial, multistoried, ministries building construction. Interested candidates who are willing to join immediately may send their CV to hrdarabianmktg@gmail.com

ENGINEER Required Project Manager (Civil – degree) for a reputed construction company, with at least 7 yrs experience in Gulf & GCC license. Contact 968 94144230 or mail: slvjob2015@gmail.com Required Project Engineer (Civil – Diploma) for a reputed construction company, with 5 to 7 yrs of experience in Gulf & GCC license. Contact 968 94144230 or mail: slvjob2015@gmail.com Required Electrical industrial Technician and SW/ Gear panel technician with minimum 2-5 years Gulf experience. Contact: 99262678 Urgently required senior purchaser civil expats candidate, must have at least 10 years of experience in similar ﬁeld. Email: samtrading@altaher.com address P.O. Box 1413, PC 112, Ruwi

Qualification: BE in Electrical or Mechanical Engineering

Send detailed resume to sskpvr@gmail.com

ENGLISH TEACHERS WANTED IMMEDIATELY

SITUATION WANTED

We are looking for a

SENIOR SALES EXECUTIVE For ELV Systems with Oman Market Sales track record in the field of CCTV, Security, Access Control Systems, Age around 30 years with at least 3 years of successful Sales Career in the Security field. Should have excellent communication skills + able to scope client requirements + prepare Tender Responses. Oman D/L and NOC required.

REQUIRE AN OUTDOOR CATERING SUPERVISOR

Pls Send your CV to

For a restaurant in Muscat. The candidate must have 3 to 5 years of experience in this field. A valid Omani driving licence. Fluency in spoken English.

jobs@bishara.com or Fax : 24794807

CONTACT - 91170489

URGENTLY REQUIRED

RECEPTIONIST • Omanis Only (preferably female) • Must speak English fluently • Ability to handle Oﬃce/Admin works • Good knowledge of computers Interested candidates please send CV to: hilalproperties@hilalprp.com.om or contact 24600688/ Fax: 24600683

Engineering Company based in Oman (Muscat) is looking urgently to hire the following position:

Position: Accountant

Looking for Executive Sales and Sales Engineers with experience in earthmoving equipments, cruchers, quarry & mining industry. Email:

applyinggchr@gmail.com

REQUIRED for a Contracting Co.

- Civil Engineer / Buildings (with not less than 5 years experience).

(Omani Only) (Bachelor or Diploma ) Experience: 2 to 3 years

- Mechanical Engineer

Fax NO. 24596440 Email:therecuiter@hotmail.com

Email: haldun.yildirim@icc-oman.com

VACANCY 1. Service Administrator:

A qualified Electro/Automobile/Electric Diploma holder with minimum 2 years’ experience on deskjobs such as preparing quotation, supplier correspondence, warranty claims etc. Age between 25 – 30.

92325542 | 93657915 | 91321880 engominst@gmail.com

A qualified B.Com/M.Com/C.A. Inter accountant with minimum 4 years’

EDUCATION

Candidates with NOC or on visit visa can apply, please drop your CV at

2. Accountant: experience in accounting with banking knowledge. Age between 25-30. Attractive Salary and terms Offered

careerhr1972@gmail.com A well known private school is in need of English, Mathematics, Science and Computer Teachers. Contact: 96910649 Email: staffing.oman@gmail.com

MEDICAL Required General Physician, Gynecology, Lab Technician & Pharmacists. Contact: 95133572 Email: kunoozghala@gmail.com Required a male Pharmacist with MOH license for a medical center in Azaiba Muscat, excellent English and valid Omani driving license. Interested candidates please send your CV to mdcjobs2015@gmail.com Required a Philippino or Indian female cleaner for a medical center in Azaiba , Muscat. Interested candidates please send your CV to: mdcjobs2015@gmail.com Wanted Dentist with license for leave vacancy for 2 months Jan 15 to March 15. Contact: 92520054 GP, Pediatrics, Gynecologist doctors, Nurses urgently need to work in Polyclinic in Sur, with MOH/Prometric pass also can apply. Dr. Raji: GSM : 99567864 Lab Technician Wanted -A Polytechnic in Sohar is looking for a lab technician with or without MOH license . Contact 93828382 or sajapharmacy@gmail.com Wanted Staff Nurses (female) for a polyclinic with or without MOH license. Excellent salary & accommodation. Contact – 99006915 / dxbclinic@yahoo.com Required for urgent appointment with MOH license and valid NOC against the following vacancy in a polyclinic in Muladdah (Musanah) radiologist cum sinologist, Gynecologist & obstetrician & pediatrician & Lab Technician. Contact: 99110254

Experienced Civil Foreman with driving license. Visa available. Contact: 99169512

Wanted a female staff Nurse with MOH license to work in a polyclinic good salary offered. Contact: 97121359/96493058 (2 to 4 pm)

Civil Site Supervisor for telecom tower projects across Oman. Send CV to fyjo@spec-link.com or call +968 9946 7227

Wanted GP Doctor with MOH license, job location in Muscat with good salary and beneﬁts. Drop your cv at careerhr1972@gmail.com. Urgently required Philipina Nurse with MOH license at prometric parsed. Contact: 99724013

MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR

SALES / MARKETING

Urgently required Project Managers, Civil Engineers, Foreman, Electrical Engineer, electrical quantity surveyors for a reputed construction company. Send your CVs to mohamed@oasisgrace.com Contact: 99881459 / 24826566 can send fax: 24812226

Urgently required Salesman with 2 years experience in electrical outdoor sales in Oman D/L and NOC must. Contact: 91373200 Email: oman@sentorsupplies.com

Traveling agency Manager Director. Contact: 92223669 Wanted Business Development Exe/ Sr.Exe with customs clearance & shipping exp. Contact: 91204131 Email: daralhamael@gmail.com

MISCELLANEOUS Sales Ladies wanted for Ladies Boutique. Age: 20-35 yrs. Al Khoudh. Send CV to sameer916@hotmail.com or call 91159905 Urgently required for a reputed company in Oman (Tyre, Battery & Lubricant division) Sr. Executives/Executive-5 nos (Sohar, Nizwa & Muscat), Techno Commercial Professional-5nos, Driver (Omani)-1no. Required minimum 3-5 yrs experience in the same ﬁeld with market exposure holding valid Omani driving license or GCC. Kindly fwd your CV’s to ashwin@taasintl.org Contact: (+968)93891700 Urgently require two caretakers for a building in capital area. Contact: 93888666/99228454/ 24493666 Instrumentation & controls Technician with 2-3 years experience preferably in water sector and having valid driving license Send CV to shiju@spec-link.com or call Ph:+968 99450811

SECT. /OFFICE Urgently required Female Secretary : Oman based leading manufacturing company has immediate requirement Graduate with min. 5 yrs of experience & capable to handle Management office work independently & Secretarial work, knowledge of computers & accounts will be an advantage. Age limit upto 30 yrs. Send CVs to vacancyinoman123@gmail.com

Kitchen cabinet manufacturing company is looking sales person, most have Oman D/L and must know any kitchen designed software and two years experience. Contact: 93326636 Sales man / Interior Designer wanted for prestigious interior design and office furniture Supply Company. Experience and drivers license needed excellent remuneration package. Email: tony@materials-plus.com

TECHNICIAN /MECH. Urgently required cold room refrigeration Technician must know up to commissioning gulf experience preferred .Pls forward CV to nasmatmasirah@gmail.com Contact: 97982623/ 95183616 Instrumentation & controls Technician with 2-3 years experience preferably in water sector and having valid driving license call Ph:+968 99450811 Send CV to shiju@spec-link.com

SITUATION WANTSIT. WANTED ARCHITECT /AUTOCAD AutoCAD D/man Experienced. Contact : 93837973 Interior Designer Experienced knows 3D max Photoshop: Contact 93837973

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE

ACCOUNT. & FINANCE Hard working and 2 years experienced Indian male MBA (ﬁn & mktg) on visit visa looking suitable jobs. Contact: 93279943 / 97876709

28/male/MBA - Finance/B.Com Accountant with 4 years of Dubai/ india experience looking for a suitable placement. shobinkarikkan1987@gmail.com 90187483

Indian male 20 years in Oman experience with language institute (registrar, admin, account clerk) seeking a suitable position. NOC available. Contact: 96553961 Email: u.m.sulﬁ@gmail.com

Indian male MBA 2 years experience on visit visa. Contact: 90196322 Email: nithinvarghese19@gmail.com

Accountant Indian 10 years experience in Oman, capable for handling all accounting functions and finalization good knowledge of tally ERP9 NOC / release available with immediately joining. Contact: 94134085 Email: muscatoman95@yahoo.com Chief Accountant IndianMale, B.Com Graduate+ PGDCA, Total 18 Years Experience, 13 Year in GCC, 7 Years in Oman. Exposure in Tally ERP9, Peach Tree, MS Office. Having NOC Available for Immediate Joining. Contact - 97060826 Email-tomnedum71@yahoo.co.in Indian male 26 years B.Com C.A Inter tally ERP’s 3 years experience in accounts, audit on visit visa. Contact: 90185373 Email: shaheervahid@gmail.com Accountant Indian female, 26 yrs, B.Com 2 yrs experience in accounting, purchase vouchers, bank reconciliation. Contact: 95690207 Email: pereira.rita08@gmail.com Chartered Accountant with ICWA Inter having 5 years experience in Finance, Accounts, Costing, Budgeting, Insurance, Treasury & Banking operations - NOC Available + Oman Driving License Contact : 97881548 Email-financecost2@gmail.com Accountant Experienced Indian B. Com looking for suitable positions please call 91422074 Indian male 25 yrs, Graduate in commerce, overall 5 yrs exp in accounts/ finance field. On visit visa. Immediately available. Contact – 92836216 / muhammad.tausif623@gmail.com 25 years (20 years in Oman & 5 years in Indian) well experienced finance controller seeking for suitable position, with valid Oman driving license. Contact: 99756765 Indian male 29yrs M.com (finance) MBA (Finance & HR) ICWA (pursuing) 5 yrs experience in accounts, tally sage sap on visiting visa looking for suitable job. Contact: 92840519/98450609 12 years of Oman experienced chief accountant looking for suitable position. Contact: 99513082 Accountant Indian female 23 years M.com graduate 2 and half years of experience as accountant in Indian, now on visit visa seeks suitable placement. Contact: 91358654 Email: rizwanagul92@gmail.com Indian female, MBA HR & Finance, having 1 year experience, seeking suitable placement. Currently in Oman. Contact: 96052366. 28/ male MBA – finance /B.com – accountant with 4 years of Dubai / India experience looking for a suitable placement. Contact: 90187483 Email: shobinkarikkan1987@gmail.com Indian male B.Com Accountant 10 yrs in Oman exp in accounts, knowledge of sales, purchase, admin, hr, tally ERP & focus RT. Having NOC & D/L, looking for suitable job. Contact - 93086105 Senior Accounts Admin Manager B.com M.com 25 years experience accounts up to finalization holding light duty license seeks suitable placement. Contact: 93064975 Accountant Bachelor of commerce English, 2 years experience visit visa. Contact: 98584398/ 95539923

Chief Accountant 25 years experienced, for the last 7 years working as Chief Accountant seeks immediate placement. Contact: 95598477/98803439

Male Indian with 7 years experience in accounting & 6 years experience in sales and marketing very good knowledge of tally currently in Muscat on a visit visa. Contact: 96148427 Email: jijokurianp@gmail.com

SENIOR ACCOUNTANT, with 13yrs experience, 6 yrs Oman in manufacturing, trading & contracting Cos, capable of handling all accounting, ﬁnance, banking, L/C, import, export & ﬁnalization seeks placement. NOC Available. Call+968-98932752, mail:jjohnmuscat@hotmail.com

Indian lady, bachelor degree in Preparatory Programme (BPP) and Bachelor of Commerce (BCom), completed training course in MS Word, Excel, Power Point and Outlook from KTI looking for full time / part time job opportunity in Oman. Contact 92437568, 96795853, Email: linda_navs@yahoo.com

ADMIN Egyptian woman resident has considerable experience in the administration and Secretarial Executive for companies. Contact: 97221126 Indian male 27Yrs, having total 7+ yrs of experience in HR/ Admin looking for suitable position. Contact 91507099 29 male MCA qualiﬁed 4.6 years experienced skilled in system administration and basic networking, seeking job in IT Admin iteration now on visiting visa. Contact: +96892805363 Email: anukkuttan1986@gmail.com Indian female, Masters in HR, having 4 + years Oman experience in media management and HR, looking for openings in HR, Education, Admin, Corporate communications. Contact 98252030 Indian male MBA- UK 18 yrs Gulf exp in Administration/ HR & Public relationship. Fluent in Arabic/ English with D/L. Looking for suitable position. Contact - 99897280 Indian Female, MBA-HR having 8+ experience in Administration/HR, Customer Support, Office Coordinator with good Computer skill, Now on Visit Visa, looking for suitable position. Contact: 90196235 26 yrs male, MBA, 3+ years experience in Administration in MNC, seeks suitable placement. Contact 95041201 Email: noyel55@gmail.com

CATERING Cooks (Arabic Indian) gulf exp looking job. Contact: 99531802

DRIVER Experienced Light Duty Driver, Fluent in English, Arabic Well knowledge of Oman Areas Seeking Suitable placement 97950869 Pakistani with light duty driver license seeks job. Contact: 92789805 3 years experience driver available. Contact: 95859247 Looking for driver job. Contact: 98219182 3 years driving experience in Muscat languages known English, Arabic, Hindi and Bengali. Contact 97462781 11yrs exp light duty driver looking for job. Contact: 94554450 Light driver, looking for job. Contact: 98372745/99090362 Looking for Job driving. Contact: 97418036 Driving with car, looking for job. Contact: 97095200 Driver with new car looking for job.contact: 95873286 Driver (light & heavy duty) valid gulf /Indian) looking job. Contact: 95175192

DESIGNER/DRAUGHTSMAN Indian lady textiles / fashion designer graduated from NIFT holding masters degree also knowing Photoshop, Ned Graphics, Coral draw, visual merchandising seeks immediate placement. Contact: 92443286 / 93891668 Civil Draughtsman with 12 yrs experience 9 yrs Gulf exp. Contact: 93528255 Email: bijumudackamannil@gmail.com 25 years male BA. English , Qualiﬁed as mast in digital animation having 5 yrs ex in character animation specialized Auto Desk mago and motion building software knowledge, seeking suitable placement. Contact: 97917357 Professional architect 3ds max (interior, exterior) looking for private work. Contact: 96041201

W E D N E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 9, 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE SITUATION WANTED

ACCOUNTANT with 8 years of experience (working in Oman since Jan 2013) is looking for a change. Experienced in all aspect of accounting up to finalization of accounts. NOC will be available

A result oriented professional B.E.(Mech), 30+ years experience in Oil & Gas Projects, Fabrication, R & M and Services. Seeking job as GM, CEO, Country Head. NOC & immediate availability.

Phone : +91 9773828663, Email : jvp291367@yahoo.com

Well experienced team available to provide feasibility reports & business solutions, product development, risk management methods for startups, progressive, defunct operations. Creating of ERP modules. Contact - 93343251 Email: profitoman@gmail.com

Indian designer from India with 7 yrs of experience having good knowledge of AutoCAD, 3D Max seeking suitable placement. Contact: 94016391 Email: dsinerjack84@gmail.com

DOMESTIC HELP House maid looking for job. Contact: 98257659

EDUCATION Indian, Female 27 Years; B.Sc, B.Ed - Chemistry, 3 years’ experience in teaching ﬁeld, seeking for Suitable placements. Contact: 93216103; Email:laksshmi1988@gmail.com

ENGG. / TECH./MECH.

Civil Engineer 8 years experience in Oman as a project engineer for governmental & private projects. Contact – 90164912

Indian male 24, B.E. Civil Eng’g with 2 years experience as Structural Engineer looking for suitable job in Muscat. 97355352

Electrical Engineer Indian male 29 years, having 5 years of experience in industrial automation and utility maintenance in India (MRF Tyres) seeking suitable placement. Contact: 92789995 Email: akhilabrahmlktr@gamil.com

Sr. Civil Engineer, Indian male with 22 yrs of experience in building construction, pipeline work specialist in tendering, billing, quantity surveying with Gulf experience. Email : raﬁksimna@gmail.com

Indian male IT, CCNA, RHCE, MCITP, 3 years experience have GCC driving license seeking suitable position on visit visa (until 27th Dec). Contact: 93311963 Email: sajal035@gmail.com

Telecommunication Engineer looking to obtain a job in the speciﬁed ﬁeld, Sudanese nationality with a valid residence. Contact 95000024

BE civil Engineer (4 years exp) Indian male looking for job (site Engineer, planning estimation, QS, job (primavera, Ms excel) available in Oman for interview. Contac: 97214512 /92822310 Email: sreeragsgk@gmail.com (expected CTC 350 Rial)

Indian female M.SC B.Ed, 3 years experience looking for suitable placement. Contact: 94420033 Email: binitathanki@gmail.com

ENGG. / TECH./MECH. Civil Engineer (BE) having total 5 years experience in building construction looking for a suitable placement. D/L available Contact# 94450270 Chemical Engineer, valid Oman driving license, Indian 2 years of exp in industrial production, seeking suitable placement Contact: 91247222 Female Engineer material / controller 3 years experience in road companies, with D/L. Contact: 98001764 Diploma in Mechanical Eng piping system in AutoCAD work, 21+ years experience with Driving license. Contact: 95267113 Email: rkakkaryil@gmail.com Project Engineer 6 years experience in Oman, construction (site manager) fluent Arabic, English and good Hindi. Tele 97858589 Indian male, Mechanical Engineer having 1Year experience, on visit visa looking for suitable job. Contact: 97416564, Email: jovinmathias@gmail.com Indian male 24 yrs bachelor mechanical 2 yr experience looking for job. Contact: 95179021 / 96974981 Email: atharhussain54@gmail.com Bldg . Const site Supervisor since MAR 2010 working in Oman, with Omani D/L, looking for suitable placement. Contact 93061107 B.Tech Computer Science and Engineering female 2 years experience in teaching field and management skills seeks suitable placement on visit. Contact 93371834 / 97378922 Indian male 23 yrs old PG Diploma in Petroleum Engineering and B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering having UAE driving license on visit visa seeks suitable placement immediately. Contact: 95880127 / 95084905 Email: vijith2573459@gmail.com Electrical Engineer (B.E) with 8 years experience valid Omani driving license looking for job. Contact: 93909951 Diploma Civil Engr, 2-5 years experience in Oman D/License. Contact: 99814741 Sr. Electrical Engineer (MEP) having 18 years of experience (10 years in Gulf) seeks suitable placement in the field of Building Construction and HV/LV/Cable Installations. NOC available for contact GSM :92203584, email: sajisivan@gmail.com Mechanical Engineer (UK) , 28 years old male, having 4 years experience in Oman looking for suitable placement with valid Oman D/L immediate available, NOC available. Contact: 968 97612297 Email: ymirza11@caledonian.ac.uk

Indian male, 29 years electrical engineer, having 5+ years of experience in oil / gas and construction field (GCC) having valid GCC license too, looking for a preferable job. Contact: 00968-98052942 Email: azamjeelani@gmail.com Civil Engineer (B.Tech), Indian male 24 years with 1+years Indian experience,(Certified in Staad Pro/ Quantity Survey/ Auto Cad). Looking for a Suitable position. Available In Sultanate of Oman (Muscat) on Visit Visa. Contact: 92835952. E-mail: mohammedamair.bin@gmail.com Structural Draughtsman having 10 years experience in engineering consultancies N.O.C available. Contact: 00968 97612846 Mechanical Engineer with 3 Yrs experience in international Oil & Gas company looking for job Contacts: Tel: 90164236 Email: mustafaoshi-62@hotmail.com Civil maintenance painting, tile works decor works, plumbing, electric, shop furnishing carpentary works and all other maintenance. Contact 97897831, 92112094 (Indian, Keralite) 29 yrs Indian male B.E (ECE) with more than 5 yrs experience in Oman with valid D/L. Contact 96652145 Indian male, B.Tech Engineer, 6.5 years exp, PHP Developer working in UAE seeking a relevant post. Email: jibycj@gmail.com Contact: + 971563801785 Indian male, 24 years, M.tech in Electronics and Communication CCNA Certified , currently on visit visa seeking a relevant job. (Certificates attested). Contact: 93814376 Email: robinplakezhil@gmail.com Indian female civil engineer B.Tech having 3 years experience sound knowledge of software, REVIT STAD PRO structural detailing currently on family visa seeks suitable placement. Contact: 95345591 7Yrs Exp. PM in Mech. Engg in the field of Building Const. Oil & Gas Seeking Job.94625598 Electrical Engineer, B-Tech, with 4 Yrs experience in India, 3 YEARS IN MRF and one year in KSEB. Available in Visit Visa looking for suitable Placement as an Engineer. Contact: 94741401 Email:sobinthomask05@gmail.com B. E Mech, MBA project & design management around 2 years experience seeks suitable position in automobile oil & gas, any other industries. Contact: 93360821 Mechanical Engineer (BE) 25 years, Indian male with NDT level2, 2 years above experience (as QC Engineer and Site Engineer) seeking suitable placement. Contact: 90249803 / 00919446048596 Email: naveenbasheer@gmail.com Civil Engineer with 5 years in Oman with 5 years in Oman with driving license (Sudanese with bachelor degree). Contact: 91448244 B. Tech Safety Engineer, 10 years exp, NOC available, seeking suitable placement. Mob: 97061817, Email: jayanammu1977@gmail.com 16 years experienced civil Engineer B.Tech including 8 yr experience in Oman with D/L seeking suitable placement. Contact: 99802579

Bachelor Civil Engineer 6 Years in Oman experience Valid Driving License seeks suitable placement Phone 97619722 Email – golamrob@yahoo.com Mechanical Engineer M.Tech 2 years experience as HVAC design engineer rev IT M.E.P AutoCAD. Contact: 91050913 Email: rahmanmechengg@yahoo.com Mechanic Tractor Diesel Engines & Hydraulic, 25 years Experience in Multinational Companies. Contact - 91685048 Civil Engineer 6 yrs Exp in Oman with license. Contact: 98975518 Hygiene Officer/QC, B.Tech Bio tech. HACCP LVL. 2 &3.Experienced in Food & water industry. 92940218 Sri Lankan Engineer (27 Years old) – B.Sc Engineering (Hon) Mining / Geotechnical Presently in Muscat, 1.5 years experience.91295802 / acmfaslan123@gmail.com

HOSPITALITY Hospitality/Hotel/ Restaurants Dynamic result oriented hospitality professional with 20 years of international exp. MBA in Hotel Management, specializing in Hotel/ Restaurant start ups, concepts & Franchise development with proven records. Seeking for Challenging positions in reputed groups as GM/ COO/CEO/Business Head. (NOC available) Contact: 96059470 Dutch male qualiﬁed commercial pilot (Faa-ME-IR certiﬁed) is looking for job openings in middle east. rutjestom@outlook.com

IT B.Tech (IT) Indian male 29 years having 4 years experience in software support, hardware & networking in Oman looking for IT / Admin job in Oman. NOC available with valid Oman D/L. Contact: 91906494 Email: rajanit1988@gmail.com Indian male B.Tech (ECE) MCSE, CCNA having 1.5 years of experience seeks job. Contact: 99257702 Email: jithu.m.moolayil@gmail.com CCNA MCITP network support /network technician with 2 years experience Indian male having bachelors degree on visit visa. Contact : 93080871 sean.f.peters@outlook.com Indian male, MA, IATA, 7 years experience as a cargo assistant, storekeeper & dangerous goods acceptance staff, seeking suitable placement currently in Oman. Contact: 93407974 Indian female 29, BCA, MCA, ASP. Net certified SAP - ABAP certified having 1.5 yrs of experience, seeking placement. Contact: 99109121 Email: ashamaryphilip@gmail.com Age 28 years experience 2years & 8 month in IT accounting technical skill, java, J.S.P tally Peachtree M.S excel, SQL ,Working java programmer India , accountant , Dubai ,Qualification MCA, B.C.A mathematic visit visa. Contact: 95673451 Male 31 Years, IT 6 year’s online marketing experience in India seeks suitable placement. Contact-91175265

SALES / MARKETING

Candidate with communication & analytical skills. Contact 90187827

MBA In Operations Management Indian male : MBA in Lean Operations And Systems with 3 years of experience seeks suitable placement in Oman. Contact : 0096894369897.

Indian male 30 yrs, 6 years experience in Oman, Oman driving license, BSc, food technology (food sciences) and M.B.A. Contact 93405643

Contact: 95503646 DESIGNER/DRAUGHTSMAN

MISCELLANEOUS

Indian male 20 plus years experience intonation resource customer management IT business development transformation D / license NOC transfer seeks senior dost reputed company. Contact: 91719892 Email: mmjoman@gmail.com An Indian male 27yrs, B. Tech in (Computer Science) 6 years of exp in technical support, troubleshooting and managing seeks suitable placement. Contact:- 97483775, email:- mir.jak89@gmail.com System Support Engineer qualification (BCA) bachelor of computer application professional certification Microsoft certified Engineer windows 2012 certified 18 years hardware and networking two years experience in system support engineer. Contact: 95492886 Structural Steel Supervisor / foreman 12 and half experience in overseas, I.T.I fitter, NOC available. Contact: 96195185 India: 917356668511 Omani 6 years excellent exp looking for opening in IT. Contact: 95356166 Well experienced instructor available & teach stadpro primavera P6 for 2 months. Contact: 94412557 Indian female M.Com qualified CME (INTER) good communication & computer skills fresher presently in Muscat seeking placement. Contact: 90387811 Email: ghazalasuhan@yahoo.com Sit Lankan male 22 yrs seeking immediate employment in the travel & tourism sector IATA/ UFTAA qualified 2+ years at extensive experience. Contact: 90202538 / 99743569 Email: donheshan69@live.com

MANAGER/ SUPERVISOR MBA (marketing) with 17 years experience in freight forwarding/ logistics industry in GCC & Oman. Presently working as branch manager in Muscat. Looking for a suitable position. Release and NOC available. Contact: 99856331 The Business Development Manager, Iraqi, Experience 15 Years Inside and outside Oman following activities: construction(Very strong and qualiﬁed to bringing business for civil work Or any type of the construction work for many million per year with a good experience in pricing and collect payment and cash management of the company & marketing projects & investments& tenders & real estate. Contact: - 92385033

24 years Indian female MSC Biotechnology 1 year exp.in clinical microbiology, worked in icrisat for project work as Trainee, looking for suitable job. Contact: 92619048 Email: anusreeg1991@gmail.com

MEDICAL An experienced Staff Nurse with MOH license and data ﬂow cleared looking for job, NOC available. Contact: 97045785 / 98899146 Indian female , Masters in Nursing Specialized in Medical & Surgical with 1.3 years of nursing tutor experience after MSC & 1.5 years of clinical experience after BSC seeks suitable vacancy near Sohar. Currently in Oman on family joining visa. Contact 93217746 ; Email: thomasalexander1983@gmail.com

Indian male, MBA Finance & Marketing 28 yrs,6+ Exp, with Driving license, Hospital Phrma Herbal Marketing, construction A/c & sales , F&B industry, 93379044

An experienced Sudanese female Dentist with MOH license looking for job. Contact: 96436517 /97396088

Indian male 29 yrs, BHM , 6 years overall 3 yrs in Oman in sales with D/L. NOC available to join immediately. Contact: 92594055

Palestinian dentist looking for job in Muscat privet hospitals , polyclinics or dental centers – 15 yrs experience out Muscat at privet hospitals or polyclinics. Contact: 96951750

Indian male 46 years, Sales Manager experience in modular kitchens & furnitures. Contact: 94522616

Male Nurse, Experienced, Pass Prometric (Oman) 93837973

SECRETARIAL & OFFICE Indian lady with release paper. searching for admin or accounts asst or showroom sales job. Contact 94417080 Secretary MBA Indian male 5 years exp in India, 1 yr exp as Secretary / document controller in tendering dept in Oman seeking urgent placement. Contact 91566118 / 93089367

SKILLED / UNSKILLED Masonry / finishing foreman 20 years experience NOC available. Contact: 98435309/ India + 91 9446958838 26 yrs Indian Male - fluent in Eng/ Arabic, qualified network technician seeks job: 98675047 / 98138750 Indian male, having 15 yrs of exp in site supervising, telephone line, supervising with valid D/L, looking for job. Contact: 93931162 Mason, SH / carpenter, steel fitter gulf & Indian exp looking job. Contact: 95175192 Electrician, plumber (exp gulf / Indian) looking job. Contact 95175192

SALES / MARKETING

Sudanese male Manager & Accountant master degree in Economics, 15 years experience in accounts and Banking looking for job. Contact: 97396088 / 96436517

Indian male, MBA 25 yrs. 1 year experience in auditing and 10 month in sales. Currently on visit visa seeking suitable placement. Contact: 92054304

The Business Development Manager, Iraqi, Experience 15 Years Inside and outside Oman following activities: tenders& real estate& construction & marketing projects& investments& transportation & Marine services& companies management& develop business. Contact :- 92385033

12 years of experience in Oman; marketing strategies & operations, logistics, government tenders, public relations & dealing with international companies -4 years of experience in UK, engineering CNC & industrial areas, have dual nationality, ﬂuent in English & Arabic speaking and writing , (I can travel abroad easily without visa, for ﬁnalizing business or any other purpose). Contact: 94123939

Graduate, computer literate, experienced in sales, credit control, accounts, omani d/l , seeks suitable placement. Gsm 9880-5474

Indian male, with experience in sales, marketing, and client relation, with UAE driving license, on visit visa, seeks suitable job. Contact: 95269818 Email: naushers@yahoo.com

Indian male, MBA Marketing having 2.5 years Sales experience immediately looking for a suitable position. Contact: 91415145, Email: shariqs88@gmail.com

Indian Male 32, MBA (Marketing & Finance) with 10 years experience in Marketing of Banking Products & Insurance Industry. Seeking for a Job in Oman. Contact: 93576980, 97750460 Email: senthil.cbe83@gmail.com

MISCELLANEOUS

Indian male with more than 14 yrs of experience in business development / marketing valid Omani D/L , looking for Managerial position in business development / marketing. Contact : 93400177

Experienced prometric cleared Indian female dentist seeks suitable placement in Muscat. Contact: 94673720 /92880267

Indian male, with experience in operations management, information security, purchase & stores mgmt, hold UAE driving license, on visit visa, seeks suitable job. Contact : 95269818 Email: naushers@yahoo.com

Indian male 25 yrs of exp in construction ﬁeld Oman. Good knowledge in same ﬁeld worked as foreman + 15 yrs of driving exp looking for job, with visa. Contact: 93718164

Indian male 22 years B.Com Graduate residing in Oman on family visa with a valid Oman driving license, looking for a job in sales / marketing. Contact: 98504698

Marketing Executive/Merchandiser, Omani License, BA 8 years Experience in Multinational Groups. Contact 97601343 10 yrs exp in Oman in logistics/ purchase-have Oman D/L-looking for suitable placementcontact 96410767 email: harishkts@yahoo.com

Sales & marketing building materials (G. hardware, tiver, steel etc) Indian male fluent English, Arabic, Malayalam etc GCC D/L 8 years exp available release letter or NOC. Contact: 92882101 Email: sameermoul@gmail.com Indian male having 5 years Oman experience in coordination level seeking any suitable post. NOC available and can join immediately as the visa issued. Contact: 92889617 24 years, Graduate on visit visa with diploma in advertising film making from Zee Institute Mumbai and with two years work experience in digital marketing social media & event management seeks suitable placement. Contact: 98257207 / 99747481 Indian male sales marketing with G.C.C license 7 years exp. Contact: 98097459 Email: shl_kami@yahoo.com Manager Post of Family Visa, MBA 14 years Experience (2 Years in Oman) in Multinational Groups in Sales & Marketing. M.Z. 96220975 Indian male 38 yrs, 11 yrs exp Oman worked as a Sales & MKT in Medical consumables items, looking for any suitable job D/L Oman NOC available. Contact: 99501046 Purchase officer with 8 years exp in Oman having D/L & NOC looking for urgently placement. Contact: 96174564 email: azhar_5012@yahoo.co.in Indian male MBA 7 yrs ex in sales & marketing with Omani D/L N.O.C available. Contact: 93431039 Indian male 40 yrs MBA marketing having 18 years of experience sales filed 11 years in Oman with a leading tyre trading company having Oman driving license seeking suitable placement. Contact: 94743828 Email: barretjohnr@gmail.com Indian male, 24, MB Marketing and HR, I year experience. On visit visa. Looking for suitable job. Contact 94014073 Indian male MBA holder one year experience looking for job sales & marketing & any office related with. Contact: 97138592 Email: mohammedathish24@gmail.com Indian male MBA with 15 years experience in sales / customer care, looking for suitable position currently Oman on visit visa. Contact 98144691/93891423 Email: satishvelage@gmail.com

TOURS & TRAVELS Indian female 24 yrs, Bachelor in Travel & Tourism and 2 year exp in Oman as ticketing executive.GDSSabre, Amdeus, Galilio. seeking suitable job.contact- 95883404

W E D N E S D AY, D E C E M B E R 9, 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classiﬁeds@timesofoman.com Tel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461 Fax: 24812624

SITUATION WANTED MISCELLANEOUS Sudanese Manager and Accountant, master degree in Economics Diploma(Development and Planning).Egypt. More than 15 years Experience in Government Accounts..and Banking. Speaking arabic and English, skill full in M.S office, seeks suitable placement. Contact 97396088 Indian male 23 yr BA TTM (Travel and Tourism Management) with Advanced Diploma in Supply Chain Logisitics and Shipping Management, exp in Logisitics (Customs Clearance) seeking in suitable placement, currently on visit visa(Oman) contact;90291092 email:iyas.adhur@gmail.com Btech graduate, 26yr male, 4 years experience as system and network engineer. Looking for suitable placement. Mob : 93125669, Email : amritrajsasidharan@gmail. com. Indian Male 23 years B.Tech Civil having 2 years experience in quantity survey and site management looking for suitable placement contact:- 95042656 Indian male, MBA, ﬁnance, having MNC 2 year experience in accounts and audit, skilled in sap, seeking suitable position. Contact : 96930855 Indian male, 26 years, With 7 years of experience in Sales ﬁeld in shipping company in “Dubai” , looking for suitable placement. Experienced working in safety Marine equipment and well versed with MS Office. Contact: 90182494, manojmallya999@gmail.com Indian male having 14years of experience in HR, Purchase Dept and Sales having Oman driving license looking for a suitable position at Salalah. Noc available. Mail. Madhuvtk@ gmail.com 32 years Indian Male MSC,MBAHR having 8yrs Exp(HR /Payroll/ Admin) with Oman valid DL. Seeking suitable opening in Human Resource, Payroll & Admin/ backend jobs. Contact :0096899322978 Indian male 23yr BA TTM(Travel and Tourism Management) with Advanced Diploma in Supply Chain Logistics and Shipping Management, exp in Logistics(CHA) seeking in suitable placement. Currently on visit visa (Oman) Contact; 90291092 email:iyas.adhur@gmail.com Indian male auto cad draughtsman (civil) 8 years experience .seeking for job in Dubai & Qatar. Contact - 00968-99070584 (Mct):0091-9895061474 (India) email: remluvp@gmail.com Indian Female Accountant 5 Years of Experience in Accounting Tally, Office coordination, And Admin, Currently on Visit Visa Seeking Suitable Placement. Contact: 95684179 Indian male B.Eng. in IT, MCSA, MCSE, 3yrs exp. in IT support, valid Omani D/L seeking suitable placement in IT/Network/Server support. Contact 92607532 Indian male, 11 years exp. in accounting, knowledge in tally also. Looking for a part time job. Contact. 98983122 Indian male B.Eng. in IT, MCSA, MCSE, 3yrs exp. in IT support, valid Omani D/L seeking suitable placement in IT/Network/Server support. Contact 92607532

Manager / Working Partner. Indian M.Com with 20 years Dubai experience in media advertising industry, client service, marketing, production, gifts trading, branding with D/L. Contact -93031168 Indian male BE Electrical & electronics and pg in power systems (transmission & distribution) on visit, Seeking placement. Contact – 94669679 Email prsabarish@gmail.Com Civil Engineer 2 years experience, major experience in Road work, Culverts and structure. #97427701 BE electronics & instrumentation engineer, with one year of experience. Looking for suitable positions. On visit visa. Contact-99339306, e-mail: kannanr101@gmail.com Indian male be electrical and pg in power systems (transmission & distribution) with 1 year experience on visit, seeking placement. Contact – 94669679/ email prsabarish@gmail.com Looking for a part time accounting & admin job. Contact 99196621. Indian (Kerala) Male, 32yrs, looking for a job as Accounts Assistant/ Cashier/ Salesman (indoor), having 5 yrs experience in Oman. Currently on Visit Visa. Contact-94410485, Email: visanthvijay@gmail.com Indian male B.Eng. in IT, MCSA, MCSE, 3yrs exp. in IT support, valid Omani D/L seeking suitable placement in IT/Network/ Server support. Contact 92607532 Indian Male 33 yrs, BCA ,10 years experience(India & Oman) IT Support, System administrator/ supervisor looking for suitable Job. #95448561. Indian female accountant 5 years of experience in accounting tally, office coordination,And admin, currently on visit visa. seeking suitable placement Contact: 95684179 Indian male 23yr BA TTM (travel and tourism management) with advanced diploma in supply chain logistics and shipping management, exp in logistics (cha) seeking in suitable placement. currently on visit visa(oman) Contact;90291092 email: iyas.adhur@gmail.com Marketing or Business development-BSC in marketing 5 years of experience looking for suitable position. Contact (99522233) Indian male, 19 years oman exp. in purchase, material coordinator in building/pipe line 9yrs & factory production ﬁeld 10yrs.good computer skills & D/L & with NOC. looking for suitable placement. mr.victor2015@hotmail.com Contact: 99008101 Indian Males 32 years, Dip. In Hardware & Networking with 10 years of hands-on experience. Currently on visit visa seeking immediate placement in IT Support or relevant jobs. Good knowledge of Hardware & Networking. Contact: 9416 9341 / haripulikal@gmail.com Indian male, 19 years experience in purchase, material coordinator in building construction & factory production ﬁeld, have good computer skills & driving license and NOC. Looking for a suitable placement. Contact: 99008101 Indian male accountant, 12 years experience, looking for a full time or part time job. Experience in tally also. Contact-98983122

Male Accountant Indian, B.com, 2 Year experience currently working in Oman. NOC available, doing accounts in Tally and Excel searching for suitable Job. Email: contactanand31@gmail.com / 91894487, 98789958 Electronics/Electrical/Instrumentation Design Engineer with 2+ years of experience, having a Bachelors Degree in Instrumentation Technology. Seeking for a job, currently on visit visa. Contact- 90142166 / Mail: aksafwan@gmail.com Indian Mechanical Engineer (16 Yrs Exp), Knowledgeable in Monitoring of workshop setup, Workshop run, Business Development, ISO certification, Quotation, Tender, Account verification, Sohar Area, Mb. 94215208’ Part- Time Accountant, well experience senior accountant, doing all type of accounting works, Finalization, Budgeting available. Contact 98803439 Indian male, 27 BSC nurse 4.5 years experience in India. Pro metric passed with 61% Data flow processing, ACLS, BLS passed. Now on visit visa. Mob: 98926621, 94361049 e-mail: shemeermk@gmail.com Electrical Engineer, B-Tech, with 4 Yrs experience in India, 3 YEARS IN MRF and one year in KSEB. Available on Visit Visa. #94741401 Email:sobinthomask05@gmail.com. Sudanese male...telecom engineer 11 yrs. exp in IT support, Networking, Security systems, Server support, IT sales and marketing, management .Seeking suitable placement. Contact 91182027 31 years, Indian male PG in HR , with 5 yrs Professional experience in HR in Construction Oil & Gas Oman seeking for a suitable placement(NOC Available). Contact me on 93488914, emailKaarthickshankar@gmail.com FEMALE SYRIAN ARCHITECT ,new graduate have good experience in architect programs, autocad 3d max ,sketch up , Photoshop ,sketch up, searching for a job full time or part time, for#97482871 Software Engineer , Oracle EBS R-12 Technical Consultant 9 Years Experience. HRMS/ Payroll, Education, Hotel, Textile, Shipping Container Terminal. Email: sziahussain@hotmail.com. Contact 97912264 MBA(HR & Marketing) & B.Com, Indian male 28 yrs,2 yrs exp. in Qatar, having oman driving license, currently on family visa (NOC available).looking for hr, admin, assistant accountant, marketing & sales job in salalah. Contact:98138376, email: subinabraham87@gmail.com Indian male 25 yrs, MBA (Finance, Marketing), Overall 2 yrs exp in Accounts/Finance field, On Visit Visa. Immediately available. Contact - 92989197/94786544. abdulqhizer2004@gmail.com Indian male 24yrs, B. tech in (Computer Science) 4 years of exp in technical support, sales and networking, seeks suitable placement. Contact:- 95955696, email:- mir.jak89@gmail.com Indian male B.Eng. in IT, CCNA, MCSA, MCSE, 3 yrs exp. in IT/ networking/ server support, valid Omani D/L seeking suitable placement in IT/Network/Server support. Contact 92607532

SIT. WANTED Indian male, 28 yrs, E & I Engineering diploma (3 years), 7 years exp.(India, Oman, KSA) in electrical and instrumentation with driving license, looking suitable job #91051803 Iraqi pharmacist with 15 years experience as Senior med rep. regulatory affairs and Marketing & sales Manager seeking job in pharmaceutical co. Contact 96720441 Post graduate master of social work having 5 years experience at present visit visa seeking suitable opportunity. Contact 99876307 Indian female, Science Graduate, 3 year’s experience in Teaching English & Science seeking suitable placement. Also interested in Teaching Spoken English for student at any level. Contact : 96431456 / 95704814l

NRI royal castles

vakathanam, kottayam Luxurious villas in a Gated community with all the modern facili es at Vakathanam By-Pass (MC road-NH 220) Web: www.royalcastles.in email: info@royalcastles.in +968 92855909, +91 9961 11 9988 Plot for sale Shadnagar Municipality, Mahboob Nagar District, walk able distance to existing colonies, national highway and basic amenities at reasonable price. Contact – 0091 8686631669 33 Cents facing national highway kuriachira, best location for shopping complex, ﬂat, cinema theater, hospital, auditorium. Also house plots at Guruvayoor 22.0 Cents, Mundoor 5.225 & 7.070, Paramangalam 8.330 & 6.0 Nadathara by pass 9.0 And palakkal 4.450 Cents. Contact: 91637137 / 00919746573948 Fancy villa for sale at pathanamthitta, kerala. Visit kenindi.Wix. Com/house for details. Contact 94533975 Plot, propeties for sale in prime location in pune 95272138,(+918390982975)

MANPOWER

SITUATION WANTBUSINESS ED

MANPOWER Tile Masons, Masons, Electricians, Plumbers, False Ceiling / Gypsum Works and Carpenters required immediately on Labor supply basis. Interested parties please contact

GSM: 96775023 / 96775024

GOOD NEWS Ayurvedic treatment for joint pain, backache, paralysis, massage steambath, obesity, Spondylitis, Ideal Care Ayurvedic Clinic, 18 November Street Azaiba. Contact: 99639695 / 98342990 FREE INFORMATION ABOUT ISLAM. If you would like to know more about Islam, please call: 99425598, 99250777, 99353988, 99253818, 99341395, and 99379133. For ladies: 99415818, 99321360, 99730723 Orvisit:www.islamfact.com Ayurvedic treatment for backache, paralysis, arthritis etc & massage, All Season (Vaidyaratnam). Contact 24475280 / 95371664 / 92504980 www.siddhayur.com

We will register LLC. trade license for foreign investors and do all actions. Contact: 92833566

MATRIMONIAL Muslim Girl, M.B.B.S 23 years 5’ 4” fair, looking for suitable alliance from Doctors from Kerala / Tamil Nadu. Contact: 00968 98553628 RCSC MOH Nurse 27 yrs hailing from Kanjirappally Dioces looking for suitable alliance. Contact: 92801093 / 94005802

W E D N E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 9, 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE

RENT A CAR

CLASSES

IELTS PREPARATION Target Band 8.0

Classes for Spoken English TOEFL / GRE / GMAT / SAT Excellent Guidance and Coaching Satisfaction Guaranteed EAGLES INSTITUTE 92325542 | 93657915 | 93657917 | Email: engominst@gmail.com

Spoken Arabic class for Non Arabic Speakers & English class for Malayalam Speakers

in Azaiba and Ruwi

• Learn in two months • Satisfaction guaranteed

SITUATION WANTED SERVICES

IELTS & TOEFL Academic / General Target Band 8 TQT Institute. Ph # 24480800 / 99347202

Tel: 95244310

Karate and self defense classes at Azaiba 18 Nov Street. RO 10 per month twice a week Monday and Tuesday 6. 30 TO 7. 30. PM. CONTACT 98294551

Rental car. Contact: 92516090

SITUATION WANTSERVICES WEBSITE

WEB, ERP and Business Intelligence (BI) creation and management at rock bottom price. Contact: http//webviewoman

COMPUTER

SERVICES We Provide Cleaners, Oﬃce boys, Cleaning Contracts, General cleaning etc. Al Mudakhir National Est. LLC Contact : 94277020

SITUATION WANTSERVICES

DRIVING

A/C maintenance, installation spilt A.C and maintenance window A/C and ducted and package the reunites. Contact: Asad Abbas 98667326 We are doing electrical, plumber, painting, & carpentering work any type of job small or big. Contact: 99208033 / 93782735 Water prooﬁng ABUQABASContact 99320217/24788722

Learn driving with professional. Contact: 94022250

FOR LADIES Home service for ladies only facial, waxing, body massage, (if you not waxing menicure pedicure) only 20 Riyal, Contact 9243 0239

A/C Maintenance & servicing, fridge, washing machine & dish washer repairing, painting & cleaning services, electrical & plumbing. Contact: 99447257 /97014234 / 24504281 Carpet Shampoo, marble & tile polishing, pest control & anti-termite treatment, general cleaning painting,Plumbing, Electrical, shifting. Contact Mundhir Al-Rizaiqi trading. L.L.C. Contact: 24810137, 99450130

Marble grinding resurfacing & ceiling crystallization / polishing general cleaning of villas & ﬂats. Terrazzo ﬂoor scrubbing, ceiling, polishing & buffing. Contact: 98598280 /94134784 GUARANTEED CLEANING: Carpet & sofa shampooing, Contact 99314807/ 24792998 Cleaning Sofa shampoo carpet shampoo house. Contact: 92179395 Debt collection services your money we collect value commercial services. Fax: 0096824783669 Contact: 009682479815 /00968- 24701422 /00968- 94665476 Email: salim@valuedbtcollection.com

Window & split unit A.C servicing & repairing. Contact: 99557080 Split & window unit A.C servicing & maintenance. Contact: 96236476

MARBLE CRYSTALLIZATION restore the original shine of your marble. Contact 24793614/ 99314807

House shifting & transporting. Contact 92490422

Window & split unit A.C servicing & maintenance. Contact 93769089 / 95323517

Al farzdaq Al Fedi Trad and Cont Maintenance services electric, plumbing and A/C. Contact: 96524904 / 94285064

Marble Restoration, Mosaic tiles polishing, carpet shampooing, maintenance. contact ABU QABAS99320217 /24788722

Split & window A/c servicing & maintenance. #: 93769089 / 95323517 Cleaning & Carpet Shampooing, Ocean Center LLC. Contact: 99344723 Pest Control Treatments. Ocean Center LLC. Contact: 99344723 House shifting. Contact: 99657644/98518013

W E D N E S D AY, D E C E M B E R 9, 2 0 1 5

DAILY GUIDE

Email: dailyguide@timesofoman.com classiﬁeds@timesofoman.com Tel.: 24726666 Ext: 413 / 430 /431 / 456 / 461 Fax: 24812624

TOURS

Dolphin Watch, Dhow Cruise with Buffet, & Land Tours Al- Ainain Marine Tours contact 98029602, 92808636

SITUATION WANTED CARGO

ABDULHAKIM AL BIMANI TRADING & CONTRACTOR Expert in Shipping cargo by sea & air to Zanzibar, Pemba, Dar es Salam in Tanzania, Burundi, The Philippines, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Reasonable price.

Contact: 97440625/95416662 Email: abdulhakimalbimani@hotmail.com

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