Business MONDAY 28 DECEMBER 2020 HolidayH sales tick up as shoppers iinvest in their homes The surge in online spending and the early shopping wasw a testament to the holiday season and strength ofo retailers and consumers alike. SteveS Sadove SSenior advisor for Mastercard BUSINESS | 03 QSE 10,564.33 +26.17 (0.25%) FTSE 100 6,502.11 +6.36 (0.098%) DOW 30,185.86 +56.03 (0.19%) BRENT $47.76 (-0.36) Qatar, India enjoy strong economic relations THE PENINSULA — DOHA environment. QC Chairman Sheikh He expressed his hope that Indian External Affairs Minister, Khalifa bin Jassim said the meeting would help in fos- Dr. S Jaishankar praised the that the two countries’ tering cooperation ties and close relation linking his exploring new areas of cooper- country with the State of Qatar, bilateral trade reached ation and partnership between terming them as ‘historic and $10.5bn, while it stood at business sectors of both robust’, stressing his country’s $6.3bn at the end of the countries. interest in developing cooper- third quarter of this year On his part, Sheikh Faisal ation ties with Qatar in despite the current bin Qassim Al Thani lauded the economic and commercial strong relations between both areas, as well as attracting more circumstances of countries in economic and com- Qatari investments to India. COVID-19. mercial fields, noting that most This came during a meeting Qatari businessmen have held yesterday with officials business partnerships with from Qatar Chamber (QC) and counterpart and identifying Indian companies, and they Qatar Businessmen Association investment opportunities have Indian managers in their (QBA) in Sheraton Hotel. available on both sides. companies, stressing that India The meeting was attended During the meeting, the was the first commercial desti- by QC Chairman, Sheikh Khalifa Indian Minister reviewed the nation for Qatari bin Jassim Al Thani and QBA efforts made by India to contain businessmen. Chairman, Sheikh Faisal bin the spread of COVID-19, noting Sheikh Faisal also empha- Qassim Al Thani. that Indian economy has started sized the Qatari businessmen’s QC Second Vice Chairman to recover from the repercus- India’s External Affairs Minister, Dr. S Jaishankar, during a meeting with QC Chairman Sheikh Khalifa firm desire to strengthen coop- Rashid bin Hamad Al Athba and sions of crisis. bin Jassim Al Thani; QBA Chairman Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani and other dignitaries. eration relations with their QBA First Vice Chairman He called upon Qatari busi- Indian counterparts, expressing Hussain Al Fardan also were nessmen and investors to invest partner for Qatar, while Qatar launch direct marine route with QC Chairman emphasized his hope that mutual visits present at the meeting, in India which offers a variety is the largest supplier of liq- Hamad Port in the very that the Qatar Chamber supports between them will be resumed alongside with many QC board of opportunities in various eco- uefied natural gas (LNG) to beginning of the siege. forging partnerships between after the COVID-19 ends. members and Qatari and Indian nomic sectors. India. QC Chairman Sheikh both sides, noting that there He also said that Qatari businessmen. Ambassador of For his part, Sheikh Khalifa He noted that Qatar has Khalifa bin Jassim also said that exists a large scope of opportu- firms have been present in India to the State of Qatar, Dr. bin Jassim praised the strong managed to curb the spread of the two countries’ bilateral nities for Indian businessmen to international markets, stressing Deepak Mittal was also present. and close relations which linked COVID-19 and benefiting from trade reached $10.5bn, while it expand their business in Qatar, that this offers a good oppor- The meeting touched on Qatar and India at all levels, the siege experiment imposed stood at $6.3bn at the end of the especially that Qatar offers an tunity for them to build suc- reviewing cooperation relations especially the economic and on it for more than years, third quarter of this year despite advanced infrastructure, appro- cessful partnership with Indian between the Qatari private trade fields, pointing out that pointing out that India was the current circumstances of priate economic legislation, and counterparts whether in India sector and its Indian India is an important trade among the first countries to COVID-19. an attractive business or Qatar or in other countries. Ahlibank honours long-serving employees Commercial Bank THE PENINSULA — DOHA strong and steady per- formance in coming years campaign wins Social Ahlibank recognised 60 long- while delivering our Brand’s serving employees who have promise.” been with Ahlibank from 5 to Saad Al Kaabi, Head of Responsibility Award 25 years at its yearly Long Human Resources at Ahlibank Service Award celebratory said: “I am extremely proud of THE PENINSULA — DOHA event. Ahlibank’s long-serving the number of long-serving employees were recognised for employees being honoured on DotSpace, Commercial their loyalty, commitment and this special occasion. At Ahl- Bank’s creative agency, dedication to the Bank’s success ibank, we understand the value has received the Social in the annual event which was and importance of Human Responsibility Award at attended by the CEO, Executive Resource development and we the Arab Media Forum’s and Senior Management and will continue to ensure our 8th Kuwait Creativity employees of the Bank. employees are recognised and Award, for the Hassan AlEfrangi CEO of appreciated for their efforts and awareness campaign Ahlibank said: “Our bank is hard work. Furthermore, Ahl- launched by the Bank Ahlibank CEO, Hassan AlEfrangi honouring a long-serving employee. very fortunate to have com- ibank is committed in devel- during the COVID-19 mitted and loyal staff, who oping its National workforce pandemic. dedicated years of their lives dedication, loyalty and com- Hassan AlEfrangi added: “I with its Qatarization plan, pre- The awarding cer- to serve the bank and its cus- mitment of Ahlibank also take this opportunity to paring Qatari employees with emony was held under tomers. The Long Service employees, and the crucial role wish you all a happy and suc- the knowledge and skills the patronage of Sec- QR code for the song. Award recognises the long- they play in the growth and cessful new year, and together required to succeed at the retary-General of the term contribution and ongoing success of the Bank. as one team, we can maintain Bank.” League of Arab States Ahmed Aboul Gheit and The video and the song reflect a witnessed the presence patriotic and nationalistic feel and of many creative per- convey the message of “staying at Sportstech startups reimagine football experience sonalities in media and home is a national duty” with an advertising from across LANI ROSE R DIZON piece of information to the the region. The event upbeat yet serious rhythm. THE PENINSULA player, and the player is 90 was organized virtually metres away. So we thought for the first time, and Armed with game-changing there must be a solution using attendees watched the lives- very-well deserved award. We technologies, a number of technology for this. And we tream via Zoom. pride ourselves in collaborating sportstech startups in Doha are decided to be the company that The annual event comes with a creative agency like Dot- reimagining the football expe- solves this problem,” added to highlight efforts by Kuwaiti Space that never ceases to rience. A number of the startup Malkawi. and Arab advertising and deliver outstanding, out-of- companies, some of which have Dubbed as ‘the app for the production institutions. “For the-box campaigns.” come from as far as the US, UK, best football fans’, Spanish you Qatar” is a production DotSpace is an integrated and Spain, are also seeking to startup Fancision, which video Commercial Bank advertising agency founded in showcase their innovative solu- merges fan engagement and launched months ago in col- 2011. It differentiates itself by a tions at the upcoming World Armony’s CEO, Mo Malkawi (left), and Fancision’s CEO, gamification, has also come to laboration with DotSpace, to digital-first mindset and Cup in Qatar. Alejandro Echeverria Doha to introduce its tech- raise awareness on the modern approach to the mar- Armony, a London-based nology to the Qatari market. importance of staying at ket’s needs, and lives outside sportstech startup which has games or training sessions. SportsTech’s (QST) Demo Day The company has already home to limit the spread of the box and develops brilliant created the world’s first and “We hope to have the patent recently. entered the Spanish and Latin COVID-19. ideas, content and brand only coach-player wireless by the third quarter of 2021, Armony’s technology, American markets, and now The video and the song experiences. communication system for while the technology has been which connects a smart seeks to grow in the region with reflect a patriotic and nation- The Advertising Creativity football and other sports, is one developed a year and a half ago. hardware to a software, pro- Qatar as its base. Fancision aims alistic feel and convey the Award is one of the region’s such company. Its patent- It’s been tested and proven. And vides live wireless verbal com- to penetrate an $8.4bn market message of “staying at home is most prominent events that pending technology, which is the feedback was amazing. munication wherein coaches looking to provide a fully enter- a national duty” with an upbeat attend to Arab Media. The already being used by a number When coaches used it, they can immediately relay instruc- taining experience for the fans. yet serious rhythm.