Omantel recently reached a milestone when its 4G LTE technology achieved peak speeds of 1 gigabit per second (Gbps), symbolizing a giant step forward for Oman’s technology. Omantel Chief Operating Officer Samy Ahmed Al Ghassany said that impressive results of a successful trial run means that Oman is closer to achieving 5G, or fifth generation wireless networking. Read More »

Dubai-centered dubizzle recently announced three new leadership staff appointments in its quest to remain the emirates’ preeminent online ad space and service provider. Jean-Pierre Mondalek will be general manager of motors, Vineet Singla becomes general manager of new business and product director and Anthony Blackford will be the head of display advertising. Read More »

 Dubizzle’s first northern emirates property report, comparing rental and sale price trends in the first quarter of  2016 to the same period last year across Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman, indicates that the property sector in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has seen an overall decline in prices. The rental market, however, has experienced less of a decline than the sale sector. Read More »

Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) recently announced three new community projects: medical equipment and appliances for a hospital in Shaleem, a livestock market in Haima and a public majlis in Muqshin. Read More »

The Shariah-compliant branch of Oman Arab Bank, Al Yusr, has established a new office in Al Athaiba that will double as its corporate headquarters as it satisfies growing customer demand. "The surge in demand for the Sharih-compliant solutions we offer directly inspired the development of this strategically located branch,” Al Yusr General Manager Abdul Qader Al Balushi said. Read More »

Petroleum Development Oman and Nama Group signed a memorandum of understanding his week with two Nama members to facilitate a more efficient countrywide power infrastructure. Oman Electricity Transmission Company and Oman Power and Water Procurement co-signed the agreement, enabling four electricity suppliers to eventually unite through a power transmission hub. Read More »

Al Tamimi & Company, the Middle East’s largest law firm, recently acted as legal counsel for Boubyan Bank K.S.C.P., a Kuwaiti Islamic bank firm headquartered in Salmiya, in the issuance of sukuk worth $250 million. Boubyan Bank’s investment division, Boubyan Capital, handled international coordination in partnership with Standard Chartered and HSBC. Read More »

Oman Air was recently honored with four awards at the inaugural Oman Tech Awards ceremony, recognizing online excellence. Read More »

More than 200 Omani businesses are vying to secure one of 40 retail spaces at the Mina Sultan Qaboos Waterfront, which is currently in development. Read More »

New banking services offered by the Oman Arab Bank (OAB) may help companies to achieve greater control of their supply chains. OAB says the Oman Visa Smart Commercial Card is “designed to reduce administrative costs and simplify the purchase-to-pay process while giving companies enhanced capabilities when managing their business transactions.” Read More »

Private sector and government leaders in Gulf countries are trying to push highly evolved networks to overcome some of what some experts call “last mile challenges” around telecom and data transfer services. To that end, Ooredoo recently partnered with the Omani Information Technology Authority to work on a next-generation high-speed network to deliver faster communications. Read More »

Omantel has been named among the world's top wholesale operators at the 2016 Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO) World Congress last month.Omantel ranked second in the category of Best Wholesale Operator, behind UK provider EE (part of British Telecom Group). This recognition is the most recent addition to a number of awards and accolades received by Omantel. Read More »

Oman Air, known for its cultural stewardship, recently accepted an invitation from Muscat-based College of Banking and Financial Studies (CBFS) to jointly develop entrepreneurship among young Omanis as a gesture of support for aspiring businesses. The airline agreed to act as a strategic partner during the school’s recent Youth Entrepreneurship Competition. Read More »

Adding more diversity and capacity to the communication traffic on the route between Asia and Europe, Omantel successfully laid the Asia Africa Europe-1 submarine cable system in Marseille, France. With the deployment of this project, which took a year and a half to complete, Omantel becomes the first GCC telecommunication provider to lay a submarine cable system in mainland Europe. Read More »

Ithraa, Oman's inward investment and export development agency, will host a three-day Invest in Oman Roadshow in Paris to strengthen trade and investment relationships. Representatives from some of Oman’s most noteworthy and esteemed business organizations, such as SEZAD, Oman Air, Oman Aquaculture Development Company and Oman Rail, will create the senior delegation. Read More »

Oman Air teamed up with Checkport Switzerland to offer airline security personnel training on how to carry out an aircraft search. The training, held at Muscat International Airport, was provided as a way to enhance the safety of Oman Air passengers. It consisted of classroom-based sessions that focused on such topics as search procedures and instant emergency response. Read More »

Scoring a five-year contract for waste management from Oman Environmental Services Holding Company, Veolia Middle East intends to reorganize its municipal collection service and at the same time raise public awareness about the industry. Read More »

Oman Arab Bank (OAB) marked Earth Day by introducing its new electronic banking statement service in an effort to promote environmental awareness. Instead of waiting for printed documents from local postal services, Omani consumers can obtain information on their accounts instantly online through the e-statements as OAB strives to reduce paper consumption. Read More »

Oman's Bank Nizwa has introduced its "branch-on-wheels," a mobile financial unit, in an effort to share Shariah-compliant banking with more customers. With a goal of introducing the product line offered by an Islamic bank, the mobile financial unit will travel throughout Oman providing a variety of products and services over the next six months. Read More »

Bank Dhofar has established a $500 million Euro Medium Term Note (EMTN) program and was recently advised by Dentons that the program has been assigned long-term senior unsecured provisional ratings of (P) Baa1 by Moody's and BBB (EXP) by Fitch. The National Bank of Abu Dhabi and HSBC partnered with Bank ABC, Credit Agricole CIB and BNP Paribas to arrange the program. Read More »