As part of its continued efforts to promote sustainable economic development

Muscat. April 30, 2019: In line with its constant endeavour to support any initiative that encourages the growth and sustainability of the Sultanate’s economy, Oman Arab Bank (OAB) has sponsored the Al Roya Economic Award 2019. The awards ceremony, now in its 8^th edition, was held last Thursday.

Commenting on the sponsorship, Hilal al Siyabi, Head of Corporate Communication at OAB said, “Over the past eight years, Al Roya Economic Award has been one of the most prominent initiatives aimed at encouraging entrepreneurs to boost their performance and in turn having a positive effect on the economy. As one of the first banks to be established in Oman, we always look for opportunities to support initiatives such as these whose objectives are in line with those of the Banks; objectives that are centred around supporting the social and economic development in the Sultanate.”

This year’s awards were spread across ten categories, including the National Achievement Cup, which was presented to the One Million Date Palm Project, a project supervised by the Diwan of Royal Court. The Portal ‘Abshir’, from the Public Authority for Consumer Protection, has awarded the Best Government Project Award. The Best Private Sector Project for Large Companies went to the Renaissance Village Duqm. The Best SME Award was presented to three companies – the National Natural Honey co. L.L.C, Engineer Commercial company, and AlNimr International Exhibition Organisers. The Best Foreign Investment Award was presented to Sepacic Oman. The late Mohsin Haider Darwish was presented with the Constant Donation Award. The Best Value-Added Project Award was presented to Petroleum Development Oman and the Best Economic Figure award went to Mahmood Mohamed Ali Al Jarwani. The best Company in the Insurance Sector award was given to Muscat Insurance Company S.A.O.G. Finally, the Best Student Company Award was divided between three companies – Future Support Company, Oman Recycling Company and Watad Company.

Al Siyabi added, “In line with government guidelines and the objectives of the National Program for Enhancing Economic Diversification (Tanfeedh), there is much reliance on the private sector to achieve the results desired. The Al Roya Economic Award acts as a platform that monitors the performance of companies in the private sector and subsequently rewards them for their achievements. OAB also aims to support the efforts of such companies and aims to help them enhance their contribution to the GDP by providing the best and most advanced banking services in the country that are developed to the highest international standards.”

This year’s Al Roya Economic Award is the result of a partnership between Al Roya Newspaper and Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It aims to provide support to all components of the private sector. In its current edition, the award ceremony highlighted India as its country of focus.

Oman Arab Bank is one of the first banks to be established in Oman, with a rich and proud history. Today, the bank operates a nationwide network of 65 branches and representative offices and 152 ATMs spread across the Sultanate. OAB provides a complete range of financial products and services for personal banking, corporate and investment clients.

Muscat, April 25, 2019: Oman Arab Bank (OAB), has announced the names of the 120 winners for its March monthly Hasaad Savings Scheme draw, comprising of monthly branch draws, Children’s and Youth Account draws, and the monthly Elite Draws. This month also included the first Quarterly ‘Big Prize’ draw, which saw one of the banks customers win OMR 25,000.

Commenting on the Quarterly ‘Big Prize’ draw, Fahd Amjad, the General Manager of Retail Banking at OAB said, “This draw marks the first of our four quarterly draws with the special ‘Big Prize’ draw of OMR 25,000 and is open to every Hasaad account holder from across our branch network. It is held every quarter, with the next to be held as part of the June Hasaad Draw.”

The Hasaad Savings Scheme offers the Bank’s clients across all regions and branches a chance to win one of several valuable prizes on a monthly basis. These prizes come as part of the Bank’s monthly draws which will see 87 lucky winners, a minimum of one winner in each branch, of OMR 500 monthly and OMR 1,000 each every quarter; ten winners of OMR 100 each for Children’s account holders aged 18 and below; 20 winners of OMR 100 each for Youth account holders aged between 18 and 25; and two winners of OMR 10,000 each as part of the monthly Elite Draw. The latter Elite draw, however, will see its monthly draw replaced by a Grand Prize draw of OMR 100,000 for one lucky Elite customer in December. In addition to these monthly draws, the Bank will also be conducting a special ‘Big Prize’ draw of OMR 25,000 for one winner across its branch network at the end of every quarter.

Fahd Amjad added, “On behalf of the management, I would like to congratulate all the winners of our March draw, especially, the winner of our first ‘Big Prize’ draw of 2019. There are still over 1,000 prizes to be won this year and I encourage all our customers to continue saving to maximise their chances of winning.”

OAB customers can easily open a ‘Hasaad’ account with a minimum balance of OMR 100, in order to be eligible for most of the prize draws.

Oman Arab Bank is one of the first banks to be established in Oman, with a rich and proud history. Today, the bank operates a nationwide network of 65 branches and representative offices and 152 ATMs spread across the Sultanate. OAB provides a complete range of financial products and services for personal banking, corporate and investment clients.

World Renowned Futurist Brett King Conducts Seminar at the Event

Muscat, April 10, 2018: Oman Arab Bank (OAB), in line with its objective of creating value for the community and the banking sector as a whole, recently hosted its first-ever OAB Connect Forum. The event was designed to bring international thought leaders and futurists to Oman, allowing them to share their knowledge and expertise with the local business leaders and decision makers. For this, its inaugural event, which was held under the auspices of HH Sayyid Shabib bin Tariq Al Said, and presided over by Rashad al Musafir, CEO of the Bank, OAB invited renowned Australian banking entrepreneur, Brett King, as the guest speaker for the evening.

The event also saw the attendance of several Delegates, VIP customers, and Business Leaders, who were given a detailed insight into the changing dynamics of digitalisation and customer centricity. The event was also a perfect platform for facilitating networking opportunities.

Commenting the importance of the event, Rashad Al Musafir, CEO of OAB said, “We, at Oman Arab Bank, see it as a responsibility to not only enhance our business and add value to the banking sector, but as corporate citizens, to contribute to Oman as a whole. With this in mind, we are proud to launch OAB Connect. An event that aims to bring international thought leaders and futurists to Oman to create value for our community as a whole.”

Over the course of the event, Brett King touched primarily on world’s continuing trend towards increased digitalization and customer centric approach in every aspect of business, covering everything from communication channels, product development, leveraging technology and more. Following his talk, an open Q&A session was also conducted, wherein he addressed any and all queries from the audience.

“Brett King has established himself as one of the most influential people in the world of banking, with his futuristic take on financial services attaining immense global acclaim. His presence and long-term vision will be fruitful to help develop the services provided by the Bank, in line with our strategy to create innovative solutions for all our customers,” said Rashad.

Brett King will also be one of the keynote speakers at the fourth edition of ‘Duqm — Society & Economy’ taking place today at Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre, Muscat. The event will bring together individuals and organisations who seek to contribute innovations, ideas and products that will help transform urban cities into smart cities.

“On behalf of OAB, we are extremely proud to be able to host such an esteemed personality to enlighten us on various upcoming developments and techniques. We would like to wish him the very best of luck in all future endeavours and look forward to inviting other globally renowned speakers and exploring further potential learning opportunities in future iterations of OAB Connect,” concluded Rashad.

Oman Arab Bank is one of the first banks to be established in Oman, with a rich and proud history. Today, the bank operates a nationwide network of 65 branches and representative offices, and 152 ATMs spread across the Sultanate. OAB provides the complete range of financial products and services for personal banking, corporate and investment clients.

Muscat, March 28, 2019 – Oman Arab Bank (OAB) recently held the Socialisation Workshop for the third edition of its ongoing Leadership Enhancement and Development (LEAD) program. Organised at the specially designed Training Centre at the Bank’s headquarters in Al Ghubra, the workshop attended by four member of the executive management of the bank offered LEAD delegates with the opportunity to gain invaluable career insights.

The program will offer LEAD delegates with the opportunity to gain invaluable career insights from members of the Bank’s LEAD Mentoring Group (LMG). LMG represents a number of the Bank’s senior management team and various heads of groups, divisions, and departments. Formed to provide maximum support and guidance, the group also identifies potential talents in the various banking and finance fields and mentors them to reach their true potential in the industry.

Commenting on the workshop, Adil Al Rahbi, Head of the Human Resources Division said, “Our LEAD program has been designed to draw out the true potential from some our most promising staff and providing them with the necessary tools to become future leaders of the Bank. This workshop in particular provides them with an opportunity to learn directly from members of the LMG.”

The socialisation workshop was aimed at providing each of the 20 new LEAD 3 candidates with feedback on their progress so far, while also touching upon key elements for their upcoming modules, the first of which is to be conducted shortly.

The ‘LEAD’ programme has been designed in cooperation with Inspirational Development Group (IDG) and is facilitated by a team from IDG, a globally renowned leadership and management performance consultancy. The company has channelled its long history of experience delivering high-quality and intensive work programmes to some of the most prestigious organisations in the world. Closely affiliated with the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, IDG has worked with some of the most important public and private sector companies in the region from its Middle East office based in Muscat.

“We have always been dedicated towards facilitating the growth and development of our Omani staff, providing them with all the key skills and opportunities they need to grow within the bank and take on positions of greater responsibility. Our LEAD program is by far one of our most popular and successful such programs, one that every member of staff strives to be a part of,” concluded Adil.

Oman Arab Bank is one of the first banks to be established in Oman, with a rich and proud history. Today, the bank operates a nationwide network of 65 branches and representative offices, and 152 ATMs spread across the Sultanate. OAB provides the complete range of financial products and services for personal banking, corporate and investment clients.

Muscat, March 17, 2019: In its latest step towards the development of its Omani staff, Oman Arab Bank (OAB) recently organised a special ceremony to celebrate the graduation of the second batch of employees who have now successfully completed the Leadership Enhancement and Development program (LEAD). The ceremony was held under the patronage of H E Hamad bin Khamis al Amri, Undersecretary for Labour Affairs in the Ministry of Manpower, and was overseen by Rashad Al Musafir, the CEO of the Bank, together with several members of the executive management and senior staff of the Bank. The ceremony, organised at Bait Al Zubair, witnessed the handing over of graduation certificates to each of the 20 ‘LEAD 2’ candidates.

Commenting on the graduation of the second batch of LEAD, Rashad Al Musafir noted, “We are proud to see our second batch of employees completing LEAD, a program which has been designed specifically to develop young talent and reinforce the executive management of the Bank with highly competent staff at all levels. This will ensure our ability to keep up with rapid changes in the banking world and grow to become the leading bank in the sector.”

Adil Al Rahbi, Head of Human Resources Division at OAB further added, “The six-month training program, designed in cooperation with the globally renowned leadership and management consultant firm, Inspirational Development Group, combines the best international practices in order to empower the participants with the required managerial skills and knowledge to assume leadership positions within the Bank in the future. The graduation of the second batch of LEAD candidates today is a reflection of our commitment towards empowering our future leaders. The majority of LEAD graduates will take upnew managerial and leadership roles within their respective divisions across various branches of the Bank. This focus on developing our Omani staff is further reflected in our position as a sector leader with regards to Omanisation.”

The ceremony included a short presentation showcasing the participants’ journey during LEAD 2 over the past few months. Gerry Woods from Inspirational Development Group then delivered a speech in which he said, “The excellent relationship between OAB and IDG continues to exemplify our joint effort and dedication towards delivering leadership excellence through the LEAD programme. A great degree of credit for the success of LEAD has to go to the CEO’s personal leadership and vision for the programme and as well as the close involvement and stewardship demonstrated consistently by Mr Adil Al Rahbi as the Head of the Bank’s HR division.”

Ayman Al Shihi, a LEAD graduate from the Human Resources Division gave the graduates speech, in which he said, “The LEAD programme has challenged us in terms of financial and organisational management. This has notably improved our ability to analyse obstacles, understand them, and then come up with the appropriate decisions and steps required to overcome them. In doing so, we have gained greater insight into the key elements and qualities required to ensure success within the banking sector. On behalf of all my colleagues, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Board of Directors, the Executive Management, and the Human Resources Division of the Bank for providing us with such a valuable opportunity.”

The chief guest handed over the certificates to the graduates together with the CEO, who congratulating the participants said, “On behalf of the Board of Directors and the Executive Management of OAB, I would like to congratulate each one of the LEAD 2 graduates, and hope their achievement will serve as inspiration for their colleagues to work hard and put in greater efforts in order to get an opportunity of their own to apply for the upcoming batches of the program.”

The LEAD 2 graduation ceremony also witnessed the introduction of its new LEAD 3 candidates. The 20 candidates included staff from across various departments of the Bank and had already begun training on the first workshops of the program in February.  In the coming months, they will be provided with opportunities to interact with some of the best and most experienced leadership development experts in the industry, ensuring career development and growth for years to come.

The Human Resources Division conducts an annual online 360-degree evaluation of the leadership capabilities of its employees across all departments of the Bank in order to select potential candidates for the program. This program aims to build a team of highly qualified staff as part of the Bank’s management and at the same time contribute towards the development of human capital within the Sultanate as a whole.

The ‘LEAD’ programme has been designed in cooperation with Inspirational Development Group (IDG) and is facilitated by a team from IDG, a globally renowned leadership and management performance consultancy. The company has channelled its long history of experience delivering high-quality and intensive work programmes to some of the most prestigious organisations in the world. Closely affiliated with the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, IDG has worked with some of the most important public and private sector companies in the region from its Middle East office based in Muscat.

Oman Arab Bank is proud to have achieved the highest Omanisation percentage within the banking sector, nearing 96%. It is also one of the first banks to be established in Oman with a rich and proud history. Today, the bank operates a nationwide network of 65 branches and representative offices and 152 ATMs spread across the Sultanate. OAB also provides a complete range of financial products and services for personal banking, corporate, and investment clients.