• The new system enhances internal workplace based on accurate KPI’s
• Periodical statistics on orders type and size, as well as speed of completion

Muscat, March 6, 2018: In line with its constant efforts to promote efficiency within the workplace in order to achieve higher levels of customer satisfaction, Oman Arab Bank (OAB) announced the implementation of the ‘Mirsal’ system. The new system is designed to follow-up on internally-sent orders from all departments and track the time required for completing them. With Mirsal, OAB’s executive management will have at their disposal accurate figures about the number and kind of orders exchanged between departments and the time taken to complete them. With this information in hand, the Bank seeks to reduce the completion time of orders and take yet another step forward towards offering the very best customer service in the Sultanate.

Speaking on the launch of Mirsal, Rashad Al Musafir Acting CEO of Oman Arab Bank, stated, “Mirsal is yet another step forward in our digital transformation plan we launched for OAB in 2016.It is designed to enhance operations and increase productivity within all departments by creating a competitive environment with high-level criteria of quality and performance. The new system was introduced with the aim of further developing the digital infrastructure within the Bank, which in turn ensures we remain at the forefront of e-banking services both within the Sultanate and the region.”

Marwan Al Khouli, Head of Operations at OAB said, “With Mirsal, we have the necessary tools and information we require to streamline procedures and requirements right from the very moment the order is sent to the moment it is completed. Our new system clearly displays the current order status, completion percentage, and the department implementing it; in addition to speed of completion and total time taken. At OAB we consider our staff our internal customers and aim to offer them fast and high-quality tools to easily accomplish their objectives; and Mirsal is a system that perfectly complements this objective. Its implementation will also in turn have a positive effect on the overall customer service of the Bank.”

Mirsal is an initiative launched by the Banking Operations Department to be applied for all OAB departments and offices across the Sultanate in order to reduce manual work, time consumption, and data errors. The system will also unifies and streamlines work procedures across all OAB branches.

The system will provide decision-makers with accurate figures on all received orders, their number, time of completion, and the amount of work given to each employee. The supervisor, therefore, will be capable of distributing the work evenly as well as easily identify productive employees to reward them.

Mirsal also makes the executive management of the Bank aware of the work completed across all departments and the challenges that obstruct work process. Additionally, it will assist in finding solutions to overcome such obstacles which, in return, will increase productivity and quality.

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 148 ATMs spread across the Sultanate. OAB provides the complete range of financial products and services for personal banking, corporate and investment clients.

Muscat, March 13, 2018: Oman Arab Bank (OAB), in line with its efforts to support community activities, recently sponsored the Azzan bin Qais International School (ABQIS) for their ‘International Day for Charity’ event.

Commenting on the Bank’s sponsorship of the event, Hilal Al Siyabi, Head of CSR at OAB said, “OAB has always been a very community oriented bank and supporting such events, especially those that are charity focused, has always been core aspect of our operations. It is through events like these that we can either directly or indirectly help organisations that continue to do important work in our communities, and touch the lives of those in need.”

The event was held at the school premises in Boushar and saw the attendance of a large of number of people. The charity event consisted of several activities including competitions, performances, and face painting. There was also a souq setup at the venue. Also participating in the event were a large number of social media celebrities.

As part of its sponsorship, OAB set up a stall at the event grounds where it showcased its various products as services; particularly its children’s accounts and the accompanying child education savings plan.

“Our child education savings plan was created with the aim of providing parents with an effective means to helps save for their children’s education and build a brighter future for them. It utilises a completely autonomous system for carrying out monthly debits from the parent’s account to the child’s account, thereby offering absolute simplicity and convenience,” added Hilal.

As part of this Savings Plan, parents with accounts at OAB can now open an account for their children, following which a predefined amount will automatically be transferred from the parent to the child’s account at monthly intervals. The monthly savings amount can range from as low as OMR 25 to a maximum of OMR 5,000 and can be amended by the parent at any time without any additional charge. Under the plan the account will benefit from a high interest rate of 1.75% per annum on the monthly deposit balance. As a further value added benefit, the plan offers bonus interest, calculated at 1.25% per annum, once every three years. This bonus is applied above the existing interest rate and is automatically awarded following regular monthly deposits for 36 consecutive months.

In addition to the high interest rate and bonus interest awarded every three years, the plan offer several other benefits. For starters, the account is entitled to take part in the Hassad Savings scheme with a chance to win cash prizes every month as part of the special draws for children. The plan also comes with free life insurance which covers up to OMR 50,000 in case of any unforeseen incident that may occur to the parent. This allows parents to rest assured of the continuity of monthly payments to the account.

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 148 ATMs spread across the Sultanate. OAB provides the complete range of financial products and services for personal banking, corporate and investment clients.

Appointment of customer care managers at all OAB branches

Muscat, March 21, 2018 – Taking a further step in fulfilling the objectives of their transformation strategy, Oman Arab Bank (OAB) launched a new customer care initiative. The campaign aims to make the Bank one of the leading banks chosen by customers in the Sultanate. To facilitate this strategy, OAB will be appointing a customer care manager in each branch who will be responsible for ensuring that the customers have an enhanced banking experience.

Commenting on the launch of the new campaign, Ahlam Hamed Al Wardi, the Head of the Customer Quality Assurance Department at OAB said, “Over the course of the past four years, OAB has been successful in executing its transformational strategy that aims at positioning the Bank among the top preferred banks by the customers. Keeping in line with this approach, we are introducing a new customer-focused campaign for 2018. This campaign seeks to maintain the relationship between the Bank and its customers, and ensure that they are satisfied with the services provided to them. The campaign will also oversee the assignment of a customer care manager at all our branches. The managers will be in charge of following-up on customer services and on the feedback received, both positive and negative. They will be the medium for a two-way channel of communication between the Bank and its customers. They will be distinguished by a special uniform and nominal card, for easy identification.”

“Additionally, there will be a board near the main entrance of each branch showing contact information to allow customers to share their opinions and suggestions. Customers will be notified within 24 hours when their message has been received and corresponding action will be taken to find solutions to address any issues or queries. We believe that this will increase the quality of services we offer and improve customer satisfaction levels across all OAB branches,” Ahlam Al Wardi added.

The campaign was initiated earlier this year and involved various preparations, including the implementation of workshops for customer care managers and other practical activities, regionally.

Ahlam Al Wardi further noted, “We at OAB are dedicating all our efforts to achieve the goals of the Bank’s transformation strategy, including the “Customer Satisfaction is a Priority” ideal, and we are confident that we will be able to meet the requisite expectations. We are also working on developing plans and programmes, which are customer-oriented, to facilitate a unique banking experience for the Bank’s loyal customers.

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 across and 148 ATMs spread across the Sultanate. OAB provides the complete range of financial products and services for personal banking, corporate and investment clients.

Muscat, March 25, 2018: As part of its commitment towards conservation of the environment, Oman Arab Bank (OAB) commemorated Earth Hour this year by switching off all lights at its head office for one hour on Saturday, March 24. In addition, OAB staff and their families were also invited to a candle-lit event in commemoration of the event and to spread awareness on the need to conserve energy.

Commenting on the Bank’s participation in Earth Hour, Hilal O. Al Siyabi, Head of Corporate Communication said, “There is much more to the Earth Hour than just switching off lights. By hosting such an event, we are not only showing our commitment and support towards protecting our planet, but are also helping spread awareness on the impact wasteful energy consumption has on our environment. However, this year we wanted to take it a step further. This is why we decided to invite our staff, together with their families, to join us in a celebratory candle-lit event at the head office.”

This two-part event comes as part of OAB’s ongoing CSR initiatives, reflecting its commitment toward environment conservation. The Earth Hour event saw the Bank switch off all lights at its Head Office, from 8:30pm to 9:30pm, on March 24. During this time, only candle lights were used for lighting and a live band, who used no electrical equipment or instruments whatsoever, provided the entertainment for the evening.

“As with most of our other initiatives we once again encouraged our staff to participate and make this initiative a success. As such, would like to take this opportunity to thank each of them, as well as their families for their attendance. We sincerely hope that this initiative inspires others to do the same and we ourselves look forward to once again hosting similar initiatives in the future,” added Hilal Al-Siyabi.

In addition, OAB has continued to introduce a number of technology driven initiatives that aim to protect the environment while interacting with its customers including e-statements and SMS notifications among others, in order to save on paper. It also fallows a similar principal for internal communications amongst staff, keeping paper usage to a minimum. The Bank’s focus on environment and energy conservation is also evident in the environmentally friendly technology installed at its Head Office. These include auto sensors throughout all offices and corridors, which means that lights are automatically switched off when no one is present and as a result, a considerable amount of power is saved on a regular basis.

OAB 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 148 ATMs spread across the Sultanate. OAB provides the complete range of financial products and services for personal banking, corporate and investment clients.

• An African tree performs world music night in Muscat
• Arabesque International is presenting a night of world music to be performed by the German ensemble Jacaranda
• Five German Musicians perform on 25 instruments at the Auditorium of the Ministry of Education in Wattayah
• Five musicians from Brandenburg to give workshops in Omani schools
• Arabesque’s outreach project reached 4000 Omani school kids

Under the patronage of H.E. Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arabesque International, in collaboration with the German Embassy in Muscat, and Oman Arab Bank’s sponsorship, organizes a world music night on Sunday 31^st, January 2016 in the Auditorium of the Ministry of Education in Wattayah at 07:30 p.m. concert marks the third event of the second season of the Muscat Chamber Music Series which is to be performed by the German ensemble Jacaranda.

This came during the press conference that was organized by Arabesque International yesterday 24 January 2016 at the headquarter of Oman Arab Bank in the presence of: H.E. Hans Christian Freiherr von Reibnitz Ambassador of the Republic Federal Republic of Germany to the Sultanate, Ahmed Abouzahra, General Manager of the Arabesque International, and Mr. Amin al-Husseini, the Chief Executive of Oman Arab Bank.

“The Night with world music by Jacaranda Ensemble” is the third concert of the second season of the Muscat Chamber Music Series which is a non-profit project that was launched in April 2015. We believe in the importance of music and the benefits it can offer to people beyond the entertainment. We believe that music develops the intellectual and the critical thinking of oneself so we lunched this project to give a chance to the Omani musicians, music students and younger generations to meet international artists and get introduced to different music genres from different cultures.” said Ahmed Abouzahra, General Manager of Arabesque International.

Workshops, More than just music 

As we all know the essential part of the project’s vision is to bring professional artists to stay in Muscat for nearly two weeks before the concert to conduct musical workshops with schools and university students. These workshops will take place on Sunday 27^th, January in the British School at 10:00 and in PDO School at 14:00 and on Monday 28^th in GUtech at 13:00 other workshops will follow in different public and private schools as well as universities and colleges with the aim to offer the opportunity for the young talents to benefit from this non-profit musical and outreach project, which is considered the first of its kind in Oman.

H.E. Hans-Christian Freiherr von Reibnitz, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Muscat said about the project: “I am delighted to see the Muscat Chamber Music Series taking off with style. Music is an extraordinary pleasant way to establish an intimate dialogue: Musicians do not speak to ears only but also to souls and minds!”

“I am happy to see German Musicians coming to Muscat not only to perform music, but to do workshops with Omani students and children. The German ensemble ”Jacaranda” with outstanding musicians of the Brandenburg Symphony Orchestra will perform as “musical ambassadors” under the auspices of H.E. the Federal Foreign Minister of Germany, Dr. Steinmeier.” he said.

Social Responsibility 

“Oman Arab bank was one of the first supporters of the Muscat Chamber Music Series organized by Arabesque International “, Said Amin Al Husseini, the Chief Executive Officer of the Bank”. He then pointed out that “we believe in the importance of the project’s concept as a whole and its reflection on the society especially the school students who are the backbone and prospect of the future. This project is not only giving them a chance to get introduced to the world of music genres, but also gives them a chance to learn from professional artists. They wouldn’t have got such a chance to meet these artists except from Arabesque’s project. The artists come and stay in Muscat from 10 days to two weeks to work with the students of music and arts. Therefore, the project discovers new Omani talents having a promising future.”

“Over thirty years, Oman Arab Bank believes in the social responsibility towards the community by assigning part of the profit to serve and benefit the community which our success would have never been achieved without doing this. The bank used to give a financial support to some associations that are doing the same social role, but we recently decided to dedicate our support directly to the art, music, and sport projects.  We found in Arabesque International’s non-profit project, Muscat Chamber Music Series, what we aimed at, so the bank accepted to support the project believing in its importance.” said Amin el-Husseini

Jacaranda Ensemble 

“The ensemble consists of five musicians, principals of the Brandenburg Symphony, who have put together an unusual ensemble as a result of a desire to experiment with new sounds. The instrumentation of this ensemble clearly demonstrates this idea: Alpenhorn, didgeridoo, saxophone, and percussion, instruments whose origins often are thousands of miles apart, which are woven through a mixture of composed and improvised music into a musical tapestry. Through its music, the Jacaranda Ensemble builds a bridge between the cultures of the world. The positive response of the public as well as international respect has confirmed the unusual concept of the Jacaranda Ensemble. Concert tours within Germany and abroad, as well as a positive reaction from the media are the visible results of this artistic endeavour.

The “Muscat Chamber Music Series” 

“Arabesque International launched the Muscat Chamber Music Series believing in the role of education, arts and music as a driving engine for the development of nations with the to communicate with the new talents through this type of music that is traditionally performed by a small group of instrumentalists, in a relatively small space. In order to pursuit this goal, Arabesque invites experienced high-quality chamber music ensembles to Muscat, for a period that ranges between one and three weeks, to provide educational and musical activities in schools. “said Ahmed Abouzahra

“The first season was being organized since September 2014. There were three pre- launches concerts. Then the opening of the Muscat Chamber Music Series Season I took place in April 2015 where some of the musicians of the renowned Kremerata Baltica Chamber Orchestra gave workshops to students of different ages from different schools and a master class to professional musicians from the Oud Hobbyists association. On April 9th, Kremerata Baltica Chamber Orchestra performed the opening concert of Season I at TAISM (The American School International Muscat) in front of an absolutely delighted audience of all ages. Mitja Quartet performed in the final concert of season one in May 2015 at the Zubair Museum after making a series of workshops to many students from different schools.“ said Abouzahra

Arabesque International

Arabesque International is a performing art promoter and event organizer with its head office in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. Founded in 2012 by the Egyptian German pianist Ahmed Abouzahra, General Manager of East West Art Promotion (Germany, Egypt). In July 2014, His Highness Sayyed Mohamed bin Salim Al-Said took over the partnership in Oman. Since its establishment in January 2012, Arabesque International brought numerous international art institutions in prestigious locations in Oman (Royal Opera House Muscat, Muscat Festival and Al Bustan Palace Hotel); Egypt (Cairo Opera House, Alexandria Opera House); Bahrain (Manama Cultural Hall, National Theater, Spring of Culture Festival); Qatar (Doha Opera House) and Lebanon (Beiteddine Festival); Emirates (Abu Dhabi Classics) and Jordan.

For more info or interviews please contact or 2449 4553 / 9747 8300 or info@arabesqueint.com 

Free Admission
For reservations please call 2449 4553 / 9747 8300
Or email us on info@arabesqueint.com
Children under the age of 7 are not admitted 

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