Business Club

IKEA celebrates its 3rd anniversary in Jordan, thanking Jordanians and offering them an anniversary sale with up to 50 per cent in discounts.  

Since opening its doors on March 6th, 2014, IKEA Jordan has helped the many people of Jordan to create a better everyday life at affordable prices, offering them beautiful, and well designed, good quality home furnishing solutions.

Commenting on IKEA’s history in Jordan, Carsten Ebel, store manager of IKEA Amman, said: “For the past 3 years, we have offered our customers a fun day for the whole family, with more than 3 million visitors.

We are delighted to have reached this anniversary together, and we will continue to welcome them for many years to come.

We are proud of the rich relationship we have with the Jordanian community. Since 2014 to today, we continue to support different social initiatives.”  The Jordanians can enjoy the sale campaign until May 2, 2017.

There will be activities & prizes in the store to be announced on IKEA’s website and its social media networks.

Hilton has announced the official opening of Hilton Dead Sea Resort & Spa.

The opening marks the first Hilton Hotels & Resorts property in Jordan. Located at the lowest point on Earth on the eastern shores of the Dead Sea, the 285-room contemporary hotel serves as an exclusive resort of choice for the discerning international and local travellers.

The project is an addition to the Hilton portfolio as it works to deliver distinct hospitality experiences to travellers from around the globe.

Air Arabia Jordan, the Kingdom’s leading low-cost carrier, on Tuesday announced the launch of a new route to Tbilisi from Amman, becoming the first regular flight to directly link Jordan with Georgia. Tbilisi caters to travellers eager to discover the crossroads between Europe and Asia.

The bi-weekly flight is scheduled to start operation on April 6, every Monday and Thursday, departing from Amman International Airport at 03:35, and arriving at the Shota Rustaveli Tbilisi International Airport at 07:15 local time.

The return flight will leave Tbilisi at 08:05, reaching Amman at 10:00 local time. The launch of this service will increase the number of tourists in Jordan, and contribute to strengthening trade and bilateral relations between both nations

INVESTBANK, the leading bank in innovative banking solutions, signed a strategic partnership agreement with Al Marji’ Publications, publishers of Jordan’s only parenting magazines, Family Flavours and Nakahat ‘Ailiyeh.

“We are always happy to continue leveraging our innovative banking solutions to build family-based tools that assist in day-to-day and month-to-month budgeting.

Through our strategic partnership with Al Marji Publications, we will be able to emphasise the important role that responsible financial planning plays for both parents and children to thrive and succeed,” said Muntaser Dawwas, INVESTBANK’s CEO.

Over the years, INVESTBANK and Al Marji’ Publications have been working in partnership on innovative strategies to promote banking options for families in Jordan.

The 2017-2018 agreement highlights the same spirit of cooperation with a focus on providing parents with expert advice in fields relating to parenting, including financial planning. 

"We are so pleased with the results of our partnership with INVESTBANK,” stressed Hind-Lara Mango, Al Marji’ Publications’ publisher and managing director, noting that “through the parenting sessions we recently held with the bank and which we will maintain as part of this new agreement, we continue to connect specialists in various fields, including finance, with families”. The bank understands the investment advice families need on a daily basis.

This is why INVESTBANK has partnered with Al Marji’ Publications to provide insight on new money handling and financial tools to suit family lifestyle needs.

Reaffirming its role as a stakeholder in the Marina industry, Ayla Oasis Development Company took part in this year's 11th Middle East Yachting conference in Dubai.

The annual conference is an opportunity for global experts, industry authorities, and boating enthusiasts to catch up on the latest trends, technologies and plans. 

Captain Munis Al Momani, Ayla Marina manager, who represented the company at the event and was one of the panelists, said: “While the GCC countries house the region’s most popular marinas, Ayla has single handedly managed to put Jordan on the yachting map.

Our internationally accredited marina provides services that meet the highest global standards, and is fast becoming a destination for yacht and boat lovers from every corner of the region.” Momani added that Marinas play a vital role in the local economy.

This year's Dubai conference featured panels on a broad range of topics about the sector’s development in the region. 

Ayla Marina is part of Jordan's largest mixed use development that is also home to a state-of-the-art golf course, designed by the legendary Greg Norman, residential units, as well as dozens of local and international boutique stores, meeting customers’ expectations.

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., announced that it won 49 iF Design Awards, including one Gold award, at the world-renowned International Forum Design Awards 2017.

Thirty-five of the awards were given for superior product design, four for professional concept design, seven for communication design, and three for packaging design.

“Upgrading a product is easy but upgrading consumer lifestyle is difficult. We will continue to strive for design that entertains and fulfills the lives of our consumers through consumer-focused innovation,” said BK Yoon, president and CEO of Samsung Electronics and the Head of the Corporate Design Centre at Samsung.

Samsung received the Gold award for the ArtPC Pulse, a premium desktop computer with advanced expandable modules. 

Mastercard, a leading technology company in the global payments industry, recently concluded the inaugural edition of the Mastercard MENA Leadership Forum that brought together senior banking officials from across the region for four days from March 5 to 8, in London, UK.

Hosted by Mastercard as a customer engagement event offering key industry players a platform to explore new ideas, share the latest insights and discuss new opportunities of growth, the Forum drew attention to the digital future of the payments industry.

The forum’s sessions focusing on the theme, “Building the Digital Future”, was opened by Leonard Brody, a Canadian entrepreneur, venture capitalist and author, with a session on how the current era of innovation is impacting the world of banking and the steps banks and entrepreneurs need to take to stay competitive and relevant in today’s fast-changing world.  

“The Power to Inspire” was the main theme of Wednesday’s International Women’s Day gathering of some 50 high-powered women hosted by Al Marji’ Publications.

“It is always inspirational to meet women who have succeeded in the Arab world,” Hind-Lara Mango publisher and managing director of Al Marji’ Publications commented on the occasion.

Some pioneering women were honoured at the gathering, including HRH Princess Rajwa Bint Ali, according to a statement received by The Jordan Times on Thursday.

At the event, advocate and former minister Asma Khader, who is a human rights’ activist, reflected on the achievements of Jordan's “first” female lawyer Emily Bisharat.

Moreover, Suhair Al-Ali, head of the Social Security Investment Fund, reflected on her career in the private and public sectors as a former minister, senator and head of an international bank.

J. Walter Thompson Innovation Group MEA has recently released its Future 100 Trends and Change to Watch in 2017 report, which highlights the top 100 consumer trends driving change across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) today. 

Gene editing, new mental health, halal tourism and the year of giving are just a few of the trends that describe a region advancing social change for itself and others, through diversity and inclusion.

For brands wishing to keep pace, and tune in to current consumer attitudes, the report is a must read guide about sectors and personal needs that have been ignored for way too long.

Authored by Mennah Ibrahim, the 100 trends are categorised into 10 major consumer categories, including travel & hospitality, retail, health, and food & drink.

AMMAN — Al Manara Hotel and the Westin Saraya Aqaba Hotel have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Under the MoU, the two hotels will work to strengthen the country’s tourism facilities and services, improve the management and promotion of tourism sites, boost marketing efforts and encourage the tourism sector.

Both hotels will offer more than 500 new rooms and suites in Aqaba and will introduce over 10 new food & beverage outlets and a wide range of leisure facilities.

In remarks, Ibrahim Osata, chief of party of USAID Building Economic Sustainability through Tourism, said: “We, at the Building Economic Sustainability through Tourism Project, aim to develop the local economy in an efficient and sustainable way by focusing on developing youth energies.

We hope that this fruitful cooperation with Starwood Aqaba Hotels will help in improving the tourism and economic sectors.