B U S I N E S SSUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

KUWAIT: In a quest to find the vehiclesbest suited for families, Kelley Blue Bookeditors collaborated with real families totest an array of vehicles including anythingfrom sedans to minivans in the US.

Two Chevrolets made their way intoKBB.com’s 12 Best Family Cars of 2014 rec-ommended list, the Chevrolet Traversemidsize SUV and the Impala brand’s newflagship sedan.

“We designed the Chevrolet Traverseand Impala precisely to offer a wide suite ofuseful family-friendly features,” said RussClark, Chevrolet director of marketing. “It isgood to see that KBB.com and the cus-tomers they surveyed agree.”

Nominees were chosen specifically forexcellence in safety, comfort, driving per-formance, room for child seats, cargo spaceand other family-friendly features. TheKBB.com expert editors started with 21vehicles top-ranked in their Expert Ratingsin various family-friendly categories andenlisted the help of several families to thor-oughly test these family haulers. KBB.com

editors then recorded the results and feed-back to select the winners.

The 2014 Chevrolet Traverse is packedwith the family-friendly features. A roomyvehicle that maintains a car-like ride,Traverse offers families a standard threerows of seating on all models, flexible seat-ing configurations, class-leading peopleand cargo-carrying capacity, plus enter-tainment features geared toward families.It also features the industry’s first front cen-ter side air bag, which is designed to pro-vide added protection for both front occu-pants.

The 2014 Impala, Chevrolet’s full-sizeflagship sedan boasts a spacious refinedinterior and the new levels of comfort andtechnology including new generation ofMyLink infotainment system and10 stan-dard air bags.

Both vehicles offer a host of availablesafety technologies such as forward colli-sion alert, lane departure warning, sideblind zone alert, rear cross traffic alert, rearcamera and rear-park assist.

Chevrolet Traverse and

Impala among KBB.com 12

best family cars of 2014

DUBAI: The Product of the Year 2014 awards, which hascarved a niche for itself in 42 countries across the globe,were handed over to a bevy of leading brands fromacross the GCC countries at a glittering awards ceremo-ny held last night.

Recognizing excellence in innovation through anindependent process, the awards - which were handedover in a glittering ceremony at the Meydan Beach,Jumeirah Beach Residence in Dubai - is the only one-of-its-kind that is voted 100% by consumers themselves.

Conducted by market research partner TNS, theProduct of the Year Middle East award involves a GCCand region-wide consumer survey involving face-to-face interviews with 3,600 households on the percep-tion of various new products that have been launchedin the GCC market - not only in FMCG but also otherindustries such as electronics and vision care.

The Product of the Year award is selected by an inde-pendent jury which vets the consumers’ choices andmanages the entire process in a transparent and secureenvironment. The jury, which includes representativesfrom The Dubai Chamber, The French Business Council,The Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting and theAmerican University of Sharjah among oth-ers , closely studies the various entries, fills out a multi-ple choice questionnaire and finalizes the participants’list.

Dory Kfoury, CEO - Middle East and Africa for Productof the Year, said: “Congratulations to all the winners ofthe Product of the Year 2014 awards, and this recogni-tion is a major endorsement for all the winning brandsby the consumers. The Product of the Year is the world’slargest consumer-voted program that recognizes inno-vation in consumer packaged goods. With its success inthe GCC region since last year, the award has received amajor thumbs-up from companies as it is voted by con-sumers. We sincerely thank all our partners, and in par-ticular TNS for their survey and support in this journey.”

Partners for this year include GN Broadcasting,Rotana, Gulf Marketing Review, TNS ,Traffik 360 forbelow the line advertising, INTO All Marketing Solutionsand Integral Shopper for their marketing support.

The Product of the Year awards has been recentlyintroduced in Russia, Malaysia and South Korea. Japanand Tunisia will launch their first edition in 2014.

“Each year 24,000 new products are launched on themarket in the consumer goods arena worldwide, only10% of them succeed to stay on shelf for 3 years andless than 40% of them manage to stay in the marketbeyond 5 years,” says Carla El-Saghir , Gulf AreaManager. “The Product of the Year Middle East awardserves as a shortcut for the shoppers in the supermarketmaking their product choice easier in a sea of endlessoptions. For manufacturers of the winning products, thePOY recognition is a powerful marketing messageproven to increase product trial, awareness, distributionand sales.” Globally, POY has been working with over100 multinationals and a number of local and regionalcompanies and invites companies from all sectors tosubmit their entries: Health and Beauty, Food andBeverage, Electronics and Technology and Travel.

Below is the full list of 2014 ‘s winners: Biofinity Family (Vision Care) . Nude Audio Move

Portable Wireless Speakers (Portable Speakers).Oral-B Triumph 5000 with SmartGuide (Oralcare) .

Philips ActiveCare Jojoba Straightener (Hair Appliances). Braun Silk-epil SkinSpa (Hair Removal solutions) .Philips Beardtrimmer Series 9000 (Male Grooming) .Sensodyne Complete Protection (Toothpaste) . NiveaMen Originals Range (Men’s Skincare). Garnier Light OilControl (Whitening Facecare) . Maybelline New York TheColossal Kajal (Make Up). Nivea Stress ProtectDeodorants (Deodorants for women) . Carefree PlusLarge + Aloe 48s (Feminine Care) . Nivea In-ShowerBody Lotions (Body Moisturiser) . Pantene MilkyDamage Shampoo, Conditioner and Oil ReplacementRange (Haircare Range) . Excellence Creme (HairColourants) . Tresemme Hair Care Range (ProfessionalHaircare & Styling). Head & Shoulders Itchy Scalp CareAnti-Dandruff Shampoo and Conditioner (Anti-DandruffHaircare) . Nivea Men Shower Gels (Men’s Shower Care) .LUX Soft Touch Shower Gel (Skin Cleansing) . Johnson’sBaby No More Tangles Little People’s Hair Care range(Babycare) . Milupa Aptamil Junior (Baby Nutrition) .Pampers Premium Care (Baby Diapers) . KleenexArabesque Facial Tissue Bundle (Premium Facial Tissues). Sanita Sufra Matwiya Poly Ethylene Table Covers(Disposable Tableware) . Kleenex Classiq Facial TissueBundle (Classic Facial Tissues) . Air Wick Aoud Passions(Home Fragrances) . Fairy Platinum (Dishcare) . ArielCapsule (Laundrycare) . Afia Corn Oil (Cooking Oil) . RioMare Salatuna Beans Recipe (Canned Tuna) . NatureValley Oats & Chocolate (Snack Bar) . London DairyCrispy Chocolate Espresso (Ice Cream) . KRAFT CheddarCheese - New Easy to Use Cans (Cheese) . Lipton ChaiLatte Foamy (Hot Beverages).

‘Product of The Year Gulf 2014’ awards

honor innovation among GCC brands

Zain Saudi wins

Middle East

Telecoms Deal

of Year 2013 KUWAIT: Zain Group, a pioneer in mobile telecommunica-tions across eight markets in the Middle East and NorthAfrica is proud to announce that its operation in SaudiArabia has been singled out as the recipient of the MiddleEast Telecoms Deal of the Year 2013 for having closed twofacilities, namely a SAR 8.63 billion ($2.3 billion) Murabahafacility in July 2013 and a SAR 2.25 billion ($600 million)facility in June 2013.

At a ceremony held in Dubai last week, reputable UK-based ProjectFinance magazine awarded the prestigiousaccolade to Zain KSA in acknowledgement of its renegoti-ation of two facilities to finance a network expansion thatwas originally set to mature in 2012.

The amended SAR 8.63 billion limited-recourse facility,which went on to become the largest pure commercialbank deal in Saudi Arabia in 2013, has a tenor of five yearsto July 31, 2018, and was restructured as an amortizingfacility, 25 percent of which will be due during years 4 and5 of the life of the facility, with 75 percent due at maturity.Moreover, the new Murabaha facility arrangement carriesa decreased profit margin by around 18 percent (equiva-lent to 75 basis points) compared to the previous agree-ment, with the possibility for further reduction in line withthe improving credit metrics.

Commenting on the recognition of the deal byProjectFinance magazine, Scott Gegenheimer, Zain GroupCEO said, “Zain Group remains totally committed to sup-porting its operation in Saudi Arabia, and we are proud tosee the company recognized for its financial arrange-ments. We are confident that the transformation of ZainKSA will make this mobile operation a highly successfulplayer in the Saudi telecom market and a healthy contrib-utor to the Group’s overall operations.”

Zain KSA CEO, Hassan Kabbani said: “The resoundingsupport of a broad base of local and international financialinstitutions in these facilities is a confirmation of the bank-ing community’s confidence in the company.”

Furthermore, Kabbani noted, “2013 was a significantyear for Zain KSA as we were able to conclude a number ofsignificant financial transactions that helped free up cash-flow, improve our financial situation, and position usstrongly to contend with the future development of our4G LTE network and the rollout of customer enhancingservices in the years to come.”

Apart from the two financial transactions acknowl-edged in this award, Zain KSA’s cash-flow position was alsoenhanced in 2013 by the Kingdom’s Ministry of Finance(MOF) sanction of a seven-year deferment of annual duesand other obligations, allowing for the postponement ofpayments totalling $1.5 billion to the MOF until 2021.

Prior to closing on the Murabaha facility, Zain KSA hadpartially repaid the prior facility by an amount of US$ 100million, utilizing a portion of its internal cash resources.The company’s financial progress is in line with the overallpositive momentum being enjoyed at Zain KSA, which hasresulted in the heightening of its performance as it followsa strategy of operational excellence, better customerexperience, and greater brand alignment.

On the $2.3 billion Murabaha facility, the bookrunnerswere Al-Rajhi Bank (ARB), Arab National Bank (ANB),Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF) and Credit Agricole CIB (CACIB).The Mandated Lead Arrangers were ARB, ANB, BSF,Boubyan Bank, CACIB, Gulf Bank (Kuwait), National Bank ofKuwait (NBK) and Saudi British Bank. On the $600 millionfacility, four banks provided the loan - Arab National Bank,Banque Saudi Fransi, Gulf International Bank and SambaFinancial Group. The legal firms that supported Zain andthe financial institutions in these transactions includedClifford Chance, Latham & Watkins and Allen & Overy.

ABU DHABI: Tasweek Real EstateDevelopment and Marketing PJSC, anadvisor and solutions provider servingthe regional real estate markets, con-sidering their performance a surge inthe net profit for 2013 - its fifthstraight year of profit and continuousgrowth makes it worth to serious con-sideration for IPO as the real-estateindustry growth flourishes.

With the mixed-use developmentof Tasweek $250 million portfolio fromresidential, commercial hospitalityand healthcare as also the otherinvestments planned by Tasweek inAbu Dhabi, Dubai and other parts ofthe Gulf, have further accentuated thedepth of the company’s portfolio andits international reach of assets amidstthe increasing confidence in the realestate sector and heightened opti-mism among the investors and buyersin the region.

Masood Al-Awar, CEO of TasweekReal Estate Development andMarketing, said: “As we see an amaz-ing growth period for the real estatesector, we are proud of our achieve-ments so far as one of the leading

players. We expect our performancein 2013 to be of a consistent growthover the last five year, our enviableportfolio of the investment and theencouraging market potential in thereal estate sector is very encouragingof an IPO model as the market growthis very promising”

He added: “Last year, we witnessed

amazing growth across various invest-ments. We are quite bullish to contin-ue this amazing trend in 2014 andachieve even greater heights with ourpartners, stakeholders and our cus-tomers in this growth march.”

Al-Awar added: “Amidst this posi-tive growth trajectory, we shall drawfrom our commitment to accountabili-ty, integrity and professionalism toachieve another year of growth andvision. We expect a lot of investmentacross other business sectors as well -more so with the Expo 2020 win,which will bring in more capital inflowinto the UAE and overall augurs wellfor our growth.”

The impressive results comesamidst a study by Tasweek whichrevealed that the real estate industryoffers amazing returns on investmentsbetween 9 percent and 12 percent perannum in the short and long-term.Tasweek Real Estate Development andMarketing has been showcasing itstwo core competencies of networkingand extensive market knowledge as itcontinues its expansion into the inter-national markets.

Tasweek 2013 profits on

strong growth threshold

Masood Al-Awar