Conceived as a good-luck charm in the heroic period of motorsports, the Quadrifoglio (four-leaf clover) – written with a capital ‘Q’ – has distinguished the sports and industrial history of Alfa Romeo, and has become the logo for race cars and for the Italian marque’s more powerful and exclusive road vehicles. Today, the standard-bearers in the new Alfa Romeo generation are the Giulia and Stelvio models, both of which bear the legendary Quadrifoglio badge, which certifies their qualities in terms of class-topping performance, handling and weight/power ratio, specific external and internal features, exclusive power-plants and a genuine Alfa Romeo sound. They needed to be put to the test and the opportunity came with an invitation to a special media soiree for an ‘Alfa Romeo Golf Experiential Day’ in the UAE. It meant travelling the night before and to keep within the theme, the organisers of the trip insisted on putting the guests up at the Palazzi Versace Dubai Hotel. The rooms have been designed by the Italian luxury fashion company and the five star property allows guests to experience ‘luxury and fashion’ on the creek. As logos were going to play an important part on this trip, it should be noted that the Versace uses the head of Medusa, a Greek mythological figure. The logo came from the floor of ruins in the area of Reggio Calabria that the Versace siblings played in as children. Founder Gianni chose it because she made people fall in love with her and they had no way back. He hoped the company he founded in 1978 would have the same effect on people. The selection of Giulia and Stelvio Quadrifoglio models parked outside the hotel did not look out of place and within seconds of sitting behind the wheels of both vehicles, which each come with a BD40,000 price tag, my heart was melting Medusa-style too. I’m not the only one, some of the world’s most critical motoring journalists have waxed lyrical about these beasts, so I don’t feel guilty about feeling overwhelmed by their style, grace and acceleration … but more of that later. The good lady wife, Kathryn, and my golfing buddies, may have guffawed at the very idea of me being invited on a combined test drive and playing experience. For some unknown reason, she thinks I’m a dreadful driver blaming me for every scrape, prang or near-miss … and the players at the Royal Golf Club (RGC) and Awali will never let me live down the day I landed one of their compatriots in hospital after he walked behind me as I was practicing a swing. Accidents happen, people. After booking in after a business class flight of less than an hour and resting in my Versace-attired room, I joined a select group of writers for Part One of the motoring experience on a trip behind the wheel of a red Stelvio Quadrifoglio to the Arabian Ranches Golf Club (ARGC), managed by Troon, the company associated with our own RGC. It was a game of ‘follow the leader’, which was quite handy as although I’m used to the highways of Bahrain and Europe, Dubai has followed the US-style of multi-lane mystery and guaranteed mayhem. Within 10 minutes we were stuck in a giant traffic jam after a lorry had crashed on its side spilling its load and one-hour later we were still no closer to our destination. At least it gave me and my passenger, a smashing chap called Mohammed from Oman, who I thought was very sporting in letting me get first drive of the machine, the chance to get to know the car. Fortunately, he was totally oblivious of my driving mishaps both on the road and on the golf course. It gave us a chance to admire our fully loaded test car, even the standard leather front seats had been exchanged for a pair of carbon fibre-backed buckets. They do a great job of keeping driver and passenger in place and go a long way to giving the interior a sporting feel. On both vehicles, the interior had been tailored like an exquisite bespoke suit, with craftsmanship and premium materials – carbon fibre, leather and Alcantara, a microfibre material manufactured and marketed in Milan. As expected, cabin refinement is superb and the Quadrifoglio gets plenty of standard kit, including a state-of-the-art infotainment system, a rear-view camera, front and rear parking sensors, an electric sunroof and 14-speaker sound system. When the traffic finally cleared, we had to make up for lost time. The Stelvio, Alfa Romeo’s first-ever SUV, is a premium mid-size vehicle. The renowned Italian approach to design has created an un-precedented and unmistakable vehicle that combines the comfort and the roominess of its category with the driving pleasure and the sporty performance that only a true Alfa Romeo can offer. Designed for driving enthusiasts, it screams new standards in performance, style and technology. The high performance 510hp Stelvio Quadrifoglio has been recognised as the fastest production SUV around the famous German Nürburgring track, holding a record lap time of seven minutes and 51.7 seconds. But, as an SUV, it must also be comfortable, safe and spacious enough to collect the children from school and do a weekly shop on the way home. It ticks all the boxes and there’s room in the boot for the golf clubs, of course. Regarded as one of the Middle East’s most popular and best conditioned golf destinations, ARGC helps showcase the Alfa Romeo brand’s traditional values of passion, sporty style, exquisite taste and performance, all of which are perfectly encapsulated by the latest generation of exciting vehicles - the Giulia and Stelvio. I did not let Bahrain down. We practiced on the driving range and on the putting green and when it came to the media competition on a golf course simulator the lucky Quadrifoglio exposure was working overtime on my swing. Hitting my drive sweetly to a putting distance from the pin, the only person closer was a professional who stepped up at the end of the show … but not before I’d run a lap of honour around the tables in the restaurant next door celebrating victory. With my head down from the clouds, we set off back to the hotel with Mohammed driving as I bored him with tales of perfect golfing positioning. Later, alone in my room, under my divine Versace duvet, I dreamed of fast cars. In the morning that dream became a reality. We set off on a road test adventure in the desert on a straight stretch of road away from the crowds. This might be the first-ever SUV to wear the coveted cloverleaf badge, but the Stelvio Quadrifoglio means something even greater for Alfa Romeo. It’s the second stage of a momentous return to form and the ‘exclamation point’ to follow the red-blooded Giulia Quadrifoglio saloon that reaffirmed the brand’s ability to produce true performance cars. The Stelvio is every bit as aggressive and explosively powerful as its extended wheel arches, angular bonnet vents and enlarged quad tailpipes suggest, with an equally intoxicating soundtrack to match, as the videos on my test drive experience prove. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio sounds mean enough in Dynamic mode, but the gloves come off completely when Alfa’s DNA drive knob is dialled up to Race: upshifts sound like gunshots and the engine truly roars. The performance figures are equally dramatic. The Giulia and Stelvio Quadrifoglio, with their all-aluminium 2.9-litre V6 bi-turbo petrol engines deliver 510 horsepower and 600 Nm of torque and are fitted with an 8 speed automatic transmission. The Giulia Quadrifoglio guarantees thrilling performance: a top speed of 307 km/h and 0-100 km/h acceleration in just 3.9 seconds. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio reaches a top speed of 283 km/h and ac-celeration from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.8 seconds. I swapped over for a drive in a beautiful blue Giulia Quadrifoglio later in the morning. The technology behind it has been created to enhance performance and to give great driving sensations. The human /machine relationship is always at the core of all innovation, according to the technicians, to create a car that is a ‘natural extension of the body, the mind and the heart of the driver’. The new Giulia Quadrifoglio isn’t just the fastest road sedan ever produced by Alfa Romeo. The most important emotion at the wheel that this car can deliver is pure thrills. Everything is engineered for uncompromising driving pleasure. The powertrain system is more than a showcase for the best power-to-weight ratio in its class, it’s a study in how to use that power. Its perfect 50:50 weight distribution creates optimal balance and showcases the advantage of a rear-wheel-drive system in a front-engined vehicle. By pairing rear-wheel drive with the front-mounted, all-aluminum six-cylinder engine, the Alfa Romeo engineering team was able to carefully distribute weight throughout the chassis. On this particular jolly jaunt, I was now sat next to one of the marque’s representatives who insisted I put the ‘pedal to the metal’. I did and ‘wow’ … so that’s why it holds the other Nürburgring lap time record … for the fastest sedan. The Giulia Quadrifoglio represents more than the most powerful this car maker ever created for street use. It represents a convergence of engineering and emotion that can only belong to a brand as fabled as Alfa Romeo. Here’s to a sports badge born 106 years ago that still stands for something totally original today: a passion for motoring unlike any other. Visceral. Energetic. Technological. Crafted. Viva l’Italia! BACKGROUNDER The story of Alfa Romeo’s Quadrifoglio badge starts with driver Ugo Sivocci who was quick but often not able to secure victory, earning him the reputation as a driver who never had Lady Fortune on his side. In 1923 he was so fed up that he decided to add a symbol of luck to his Alfa Romeo racing car: a four-leaf clover. Sivocci won the 1923 Targa Florio and, apart from his talent behind the wheel, it seemed as though the Quadrifoglio helped win him the race. But was the symbol to overcome superstition or for some other reason? As historians write, the clo-verleaf may have been a way for spectators, road users and other competitors to more quickly see Sivocci’s car from a distance as the roads raced at the time were often unpaved and dusty. Sivocci tragically died later that year during practice for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza … the now well-known symbol hadn’t yet been painted on his Alfa Romeo P1 race car. His death was recognised in a symbolic change to the Quadrifoglio: before Monza, the clover sat inside a white diamond, each point said to represent each of the Alfa Romeo factory drivers. When Sivocci died, one of the points was removed, creating the Quadrifoglio triangle emblem that continues to this day. It is now used as a symbolic link to Alfa Romeo’s rich racing heritage, the four-leaf clover can be seen on sportier trim levels of the company’s sedans, coupes, and hatchbacks. Facebook is finalising plans to launch its own crypto-currency next year and pioneers in the sector believe the move will bring more devotees to the banking disruptors and make FinTech a mainstream payment choice. The social media giant is planning to set up a digital payments system in about a dozen countries by the first quarter of 2020, as highlighted on GDN-online, the popular portal of our sister newspaper. A new digital payments system would be launched in about a dozen countries, starting early next year, the BBC reported on its website. Previous reports have said Facebook has been taking a serious look at block chain technology under its Project Libra, in part to tackle doubts about privacy among its many users following a series of scandals. But the targetted date appears new. The BBC said Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg met Bank of England governor Mark Carney last month to discuss the opportunities and risks involved in launching a crypto-currency, plus officials at the US Treasury. Facebook’s currency, which has been referred to internally as GlobalCoin, would be a digital unit pegged to the dollar in contrast to more anarchic means of virtual payment such as bitcoin. With more than two billion users across its platforms, which include WhatsApp and Instagram, Facebook could have the clout to take a crypto currency mainstream, analysts’ suggest. Garrick Hileman, a researcher at London School of Economics, said the GlobalCoin project could be one of the most significant events in the short history of crypto-currencies. Conservatively, he estimated that around 30 million people use crypto-currencies today. That compares to Facebook’s 2.4 billion monthly users. Entrepreneur Jamal Al Mutawa, the man behind the only live crypto-currency automated teller machine (ATM) in the MENA region, couldn’t agree more. “It will bring practical awareness to many more people about crypto-currencies, their use and convenience,” he said. “If Facebook does it right, it will also set the standard for a more friendly, easier user experience, right now the crypto wallets are all right but might scare or confuse some people. “I see it similar to the introduction of the Web Browser that opened the internet to everyone-else, when previously it was an area only for academics and some corporations.” The Crypto ATM from Basket SPC at Bahrain FinTech Bay, inside the Arcapita Building, allows people to buy and sell crypto-currencies or coins using cash. Jamal, a former business support systems / operations support systems director at Zain Group, said that although his new business was still in the Central Bank of Bahrain’s ‘sandbox process’, he is confident that once the bank sees the operation as ‘competent and following the conditions set forth by the CBB’, Basket will be allowed to operate in Bahrain, as reported in FinTech Focus. “Distribution is a challenge especially for the unbanked,” he said. “A crypto ATM is the perfect on-boarding tool for the unbanked or small amounts.” ONE of the region’s leading Christian ministers, known as ‘Father Bill’ in Bahrain, will be officially installed as Dean of St Christopher’s Cathedral on Saturday at a ceremony in Manama. Although he takes up his new role for the first time following the departure of The Very Reverend Chris Butt, the American has close connections to the kingdom as part of a 44-year-long passion for the Middle East, where he got engaged to his beloved wife, Edie. “Because I’ve been visiting Bahrain for more than 30 years there aren’t actually ‘first’ impressions at this point,” he told GulfWeekly. “However, I can say that as I settle in I’m finding Bahrain is more relaxed than other places we’ve lived. “We feel very welcomed by those we have met, and especially by the people of St Christopher’s. I’m sure living here will be very fulfilling. “I’m somewhat surprised to find that there is no need to speak Arabic since all of the Bahrainis I’ve met speak English well. Nothing is far away, so getting to and from places is easy. “We like living in the old part of Manama and the ability to walk to many places. I’m particularly encouraged with the historic openness among Bahrainis to embracing the expatriates in their midst, and the acceptance of non-Islamic religious traditions. “St Christopher’s is a welcoming community. All are welcome regardless of nationality, ethnicity, or your church background. I speak English and American and can spell both! Learning of cultures and making friends from all over the world has been a lifelong joy. I look forward to making many friends here.” Father Bill spent time looking after the St Christopher’s community two years ago when Dean Chris was on sabbatical and was also made an honorary Canon of the Cathedral. So how did a young man born in 1952 in Omaha, Nebraska fall in love with the Middle East? It all started when he went to Egypt in the autumn of 1972 for a ’study abroad’ term and simply enjoyed it thoroughly. “It was all so different, invigorating and challenging,” he said. “I had an immediate respect for Islam, while at the same time finding that the contrast of living as a Christian in an Islamic culture where religious identity is part of everything – as opposed to the secular culture of the United States – affirmed my desire to make my own Christian convictions real in my daily life, not just when I was ‘in’ church. “It happened that the university offered me the position of running the study abroad programme for the ’73-’74 academic year. Experiencing the 1973 war between Egypt and Syria and Israel really challenged my inherited biases about ‘the Middle East’ crisis. After that one job followed another. It’s been a wonderful life.” It’s also been a life with a mission to enlighten the many Christians who only know Islam from tragic headlines and inappropriate stereotypes. His highly-acclaimed book Islam: A Christian Understanding (originally titled Islam: A religion, A Culture, A Society) is considered a ‘must read’ particularly for newly-arrived servicemen based with the US Navy in Juffair and expat businessmen settling into the region. “After studying Islam while I was in Egypt, I have continually read and engaged with Muslims to try and understand Islam as Muslims understand being a Muslim,” he explained. “Of course, in that process I became more aware of the cultural filters we all engage in comprehending something new and strange. “For years I have found myself explaining the difference between Christianity and Islam to people in my parishes and at conferences. I am particularly motivated to encourage interfaith understanding because of all of this.” Father Bill certainly does not lack experience, having held positions in Saudi Arabia with an oil giant during particularly challenging times and helping to establish the first Christian church in Qatar … political hotspots by any measure. “Every country has its own particularities,” he said. “Bahrain will be my sixth country of residence. Learning the things that make life here different from other places is all part of the adventure – here and everywhere else. Each country has its own challenges. “It happens that the years we lived in Saudi Arabia were difficult for everyone, including the Saudi citizens, because of the eruption of terrorism in the country. Expats and Saudis alike suffered. “My role as a morale officer for ARAMCO meant that I was in touch with many who were affected; victims, survivors, relatives, and the way the abrupt impositions of security changed the way we all lived. “We all did our best to maintain ‘life as normal’ as much as we could. We have many happy memories of our time there and the friends we made. “I can say that I enjoyed the special challenge of really planting a church in Qatar. Because there had been no history of recognised Christianity for centuries, unlike Bahrain and Kuwait and Oman, working with the government to establish infrastructure and understanding was very rewarding. Creating legal foundations for the Church to function was a mutual adventure for us and for the Qatari government.” He will also continue to be Archdeacon in the Gulf where he has a glowing reputation as a ‘techie’ and a much-valued colleague and friend of The Right Rev Michael Lewis, Bishop of the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf, who will be flying into Bahrain to lead the formal celebration of his installation at St Christopher’s Cathedral. “It will be a juggling of priorities, urgencies and important matters all of the time,” said Father Bill. “It won’t be easy to do both as well as if I had one or the other responsibility alone. However, the people of St Christopher’s and the bishop are all working with me to be helpful in every way. It helps that I’m something of a workaholic.” The Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf comprises a huge geographical area, including Cyprus, the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq and Yemen and the bishop is keen for his man to continue ‘discharging his wider responsibilities and bringing to bear his wisdom and unrivalled experience in the region from this new location’. The new dean’s full title is The Very Reverend and Venerable Dr Bill Schwartz, OBE – he was made an honorary Officer of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in 2006 to recognise his work in the region – but he’s not one for airs and graces. “The OBE was awarded in recognition of ‘services to the community’. When I received the call I was very surprised indeed, especially as I am not British,” he said. “At the time and until today I am deeply honoured that Her Majesty extended this honour to me. “I don’t use the full title, which would only be used at very official occasions,” he explained. “Within the Bahrain context people call me either ‘Father Bill’ or ‘Dean’ because here I’m the dean of the cathedral, the local church. Outside of Bahrain where my function for the diocese is the archdeacon role, people call me archdeacon. “Over the years I’ve held different kinds of administrative roles and have attended meetings our diocese has held here. In my responsibility as archdeacon over the past 10 years I’ve also had a particular role in significant liturgical celebrations in the life of the church here. For example, I have participated in various ordinations and installations of Canons – an honorary position extended by the bishop to clergy who have distinguished themselves in a particular way – in the cathedral.” Father Bill is married to Edie and they have four children and two granddaughters. “Edie and I were engaged in Aswan Egypt in the spring of 1976,” he said. “In the summer she went to the States to prepare for the wedding and I went to Ethiopia to work on a development project – a previous commitment - in culturally-appropriate housing in a rural area and low-tech windmill energy. I got to the wedding on time and a week later we were back in Egypt!” In the following summer they moved to Cyprus to join a ministry bringing Christian Arab young people together to learn from each other’s’ experiences in their different countries. This led to increasing involvement in literature distribution and extended even more to introducing information technology (IT) to church people in the region. “Helping and encouraging Arab church leaders to embrace technology in the service of the church was a real challenge in those days. I remember trying to explain how email will become the communication tool of the future – to serious disinterest because of the cost of the modems and the training needed to learn how to ‘do’ emails. But that is all history now!” As part of this ministry he became the IT person for the bishop’s office in Nicosia, Cyprus. In 1989 the bishop at the time asked him to come and work at the office as his administrator – whence he became Diocesan Secretary-Treasurer for the next 10 years. “Early on in that process the bishop also strongly encouraged me to consider training for ordination,” Father Bill explained. “After ordination four years later I carried on in my administrative role, which has always featured strongly in my work for and with the Church ever since.” He did his theological studies for ordination in Cyprus and Wales, with some emphasis on the Orthodox tradition of Christianity. He was ordained deacon in Larnaca Cyprus and ordained priest at All Hallows by the Tower in London. During the 1990s Edie also studied theology and became involved in different kinds of leadership in the parish wherever they lived and has been a licensed Lay Reader in the diocese ever since. Here for the ceremony and to help Father Bill settle in, she will continue to visit Bahrain from time to time, but Edie will be primarily living in the US for family reasons. Taking up pastoral and parish responsibilities since 1999 was something of a natural development at the time, added Father Bill. “Coming to St Christopher’s carries on all of that background seamlessly.” He will be serving in Bahrain for three years before he retires and resettles in the States to be closer to his family at that point. The special service takes place at 6pm at St Christopher’s Cathedral on Saturday, which involves a public declaration of obedience to the bishop as the chief pastor and the bishop licensing him as his partner in ministry in this parish. The members of the parish will also promise to work with him. All of this happens in the context of the Eucharist – a communion service. “And yes, and everyone is welcome,” he said. “There will be a reception afterwards, so it’s good for us to know who is coming to ensure there is enough food!” Technology is the basis of the development of economic sectors, writes guest columnist Brad Smith. Among the fastest advancing technology is insuretech.
This technology promises to revolutionize the insurance industry and ensure consumers access this important service in an improved manner. But did you know that insuretech is prone to cybercrime? Insuretech firms mainly rely on the personal information of their clients to deliver their services. For instance, the data from a fitness application in your smartphone or the wearable technology will be used by the company to tailor services that are geared towards your needs. Health wearables are an important technology as they help you keep track of important health aspects. More to that, they provide important data that will enable your insurer to create an insurance policy that fully meets your needs. However, wearable fitness devices make you vulnerable to security threats. In the past, health wearables could only record your steps. Modern wearables have the capacity to even record intricate details like your bowel movements. This means that crucial data may fall into the wrong hands thus posing a threat to your overall security. With your data insecure, hackers can not only access your private information but can also change it. So, how can you improve your security even as you use fitness wearables? Most fitness wearables and applications put fitness first instead of privacy. This puts users at risk of being attacked virtually or physically. Fortunately, you can still use the fitness wearables and secure yourself using these steps.
Data is a key driver for insuretech. However, it may also be the downfall of this promising technology. Therefore, it is important that fitness apps and wearables have the proper privacy features that will ensure user data is not used for malicious activities. Jumeirah Royal Saray Bahrain’s transparent dome-like structure is a stunning affair, striking in appearance, a triumph of design combined with a welcoming ambience – living up to its grand billing after featuring in this newspaper’s last issue. The look is right and that’s not the only thing that strikes you as sweet … just wait till you get to the desserts … but more of that later! I recall when I first introduced readers to new GM Spencer H. Wadama, he was very excited about the special attraction. “It’s a unique see-through dome and its Arabesque-style will make it the perfect venue for Iftar and Ghabga between friends, family and colleagues.” He was spot on. The grand entrance to the superbly-lit Al Saraya Tent, has the added bonus of a majestic Mercedes-Benz on display supplied in partnership with Al Haddad Motors. The experience oozed excellence from the start and it passed the taste test with flying colours too thanks to the talents of Executive Chef Jocelyn Argaud. With 19 years of experience in French Michelin star restaurants and international fine dining establishments, he also boasts a royal seal of approval having dished up delights exclusively for members of a Gulf state’s royal family too, according to reliable sources. There were touches to the buffet that were quite unique to the property in both content and appearance, although all the expected break-fasting favourites were available in abundance. My favourite was a delicate Seafood with Garlic Croutons offering, fabulous with a crunchy helping of fresh salad on the side. The flavoursome Mushroom Soup also made for a nice alternative to the usual Lentil. Just outside the tent were live grilling stations, featuring magnificent meaty lamb chops amid the Arabic Mixed Grill options, cooked to perfection, and superb with a help of freshly-sliced succulent shawarma. There’s something for everyone, of course, with a pasta station with Italian classics, a sushi station and even a fresh fruit station too, alongside Indian and oriental chicken dishes, and the obligatory Lamb Ouzi. I was sharing my table with a colleague who has recently undergone surgery and I was reeling from far worse, the dreaded remains of ‘man flu’. We didn’t look the healthiest of fellas but like true troopers we soldiered on. The multi-choice ice-cream station and the desserts selection were a delight with Tiramisu, Karabij with Pistachio and chocolate cake on offer, but then we spotted the Apple, Date & Almond Crumble and the Sticky Toffee Pudding and suddenly everything was all right with the world. Now, I like to consider myself a Sticky Toffee Pudding connoisseur and I have never seen a finer example as chef’s special creation. Normally, you have to spoon out or cut into a slab of pudding. Not here. There were individual mountains of magnificence ready to be placed on the plate with a spoon of delicious sauce. It looked good and tasted even better. Jumeirah Royal Saray Bahrain, the beach property in Seef, may be a newcomer to the Ramadan scene on the island, but first impressions certainly show there’s a serious contender in town for holy month honours. Iftar is priced at BD27net, Ghabga is BD29net, a double package for BD50net and children, aged between four and 12, eat for half price and there’s traditional live Arabic music to enjoy too. For more information and reservations call 77707070 or email jrsb.brasserieroyale@jumeirah.com LULU today opened its 171st hypermarket, its eighth in Bahrain and first in the historic and vibrant city of Muharraq … and the parent company’s chairman and managing director Yusuff Ali M. A touched down in Bahrain for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The giant store occupies the entire first floor of the revamped and newly-opened Muharraq Central Market and its designers say that the 8,500sqm space has been ‘designed using the latest retail space concepts and most modern technology for ease of shopping and display’. Yusuff Ali said: “It has been our policy to reach nearer to the people.” The new hypermarket aims to ‘live up to the Lulu promise of quality and value’ offering an extensive choice of meat, seafood, vegetables, fruits and herbs, as well as leading brands of frozen and canned products, alongside a wide range of electronic goods. It will also sure to generate enormous customer footfall to the the new Muharraq Central Market which only opened on a trial basis in February, as reported by GDNonline, the popular portal of our sister daily newspaper, the Gulf Daily News. Khalid Al Banafallah, GM of Tashgheel, the company developing the project, said the market will have 61 shops, 24 vegetable vendors, 36 meat vendors, 42 fish vendors as well as the Lulu Hypermarket attraction. Bulldozers started demolishing the then-35-year-old rundown Muharraq Central Market back in 2013 allowing it to finally get a much-anticipated BD1.45 million facelift after four years of delays. All this week staff members of the Lulu team have been busy making final preparations for the big unveiling ceremony and stocking up the shelves with fresh produce. The new Lulu store at Muharraq Central was opened under the patronage of Deputy Prime Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa. Only last December, he also carried out the honours at the 100,000sqft store’s ribbon and cake-cutting inauguration ceremony at The Atrium Mall & Towers in Saar. The royal VIP was joined by Yusuff Ali, the dynamic Indian businessman and philanthropist from Kerala, who said at the time: “It is a sign of our steady confidence in the bright future of Bahrain and our commitment to be a part of the progress of the kingdom.” He has proved it once more with the opening of the eighth hypermarket in Muhurraq, confident that there is room for growth despite having a popular store in nearby Hidd, continuing to work on the successful premise of bringing the brand as close to the people as possible. GulfWeekly covered the opening of the first store in 2007 at Dana Mall in Sanabis. The other stores are in Riffa, A’ali’s Ramli Mall, Juffair Mall and Galleria Mall, Zinj. “I always say, if the shoppers cannot come to Lulu, Lulu will go to them!” he told GulfWeekly in an exclusive interview last year, also explaining why he believed the Lulu concept had proved so successful. “Firstly, wherever we establish our footprint, we embrace the community,” he explained. “We spend time finding out what makes the community tick and we become a part of it. “In Bahrain, for example, you will find that while our core customer service values are the same, our aisles are stocked slightly differently to meet specific area needs. Moreover, every employee from the directors to the shop floor assistant believes that the customer comes first. It is this attention to detail that makes shopping at Lulu a personalised experience and not just an anonymous, impersonal one. That, I believe is our unique selling point.” Yusuff Ali revealed that Lulu’s total investment in the kingdom had already crossed BD125m. He was quick to praise the local workforce too saying they formed the ‘nucleus’ of operations and were ‘a key’ to the company’s success. There are more than 1,200 Bahrainis who work in the group, he added, and he was ‘proud to say’ that Bahrainis have proved successful in managerial and specialised positions not only in the kingdom but across the Lulu network. Muharraq should prove a hot location too. It is the predominate city of Bahrain’s second largest island. The capital of Bahrain from 1810 to 1923, the peak years of the pearling economy, it sits just above sea level over an area of about seven square miles. Muharraq literally means ‘the place of burning’. Muharraq has existed since the Dilmun era some 5,000 years ago but came to prominence in historical records when Bahrain came under the domination of the Seleucid Greeks. The town’s geographical position, abundant supply of underground water and convenient anchorage for ships made it an important natural gateway to Bahrain. The decline of the pearling economy and the almost simultaneous discovery of oil and gas resources in Bahrain saw Muharraq’s role diminish, and that of the city of Manama, located just across the harbour on the main island of Bahrain, expand. The development pressures on the new capital, however, helped Muharraq retain much of its atmosphere. Despite a great deal of modern construction, in most parts of Muharraq city, the street pattern remains the same as in the pearling era, characterised by a maze of narrow, often picturesque alleyways. And it now boasts a pearl of a hypermarket. The only live cryptocurrency automated teller machine (ATM) in the MENA region has been unveiled in the kingdom and its operator is confident that one day they will be an everyday feature within malls and on high streets across the globe. The Crypto ATM from Basket SPC at Bahrain FinTech Bay, inside the Arcapita Building, allows people to buy and sell cryptocurrencies or coins using cash. Right now it is supporting Bitcoin and Litecoin – the two best known – and others can be added. Basket is the brainchild of founding entrepreneur Jamal Al Mutawa, a technologist, highly-regarded telecom professional, Bitcoin investor and blockchain authority. “I believe it (the ATM) will become common,” he said, “once more adoption takes hold and shops and commercial establishments realise how useful it is since it is person-to-person with no intermediate, coins received are immediate with no clearing period, and fees are minimal compared to other established payment networks. “I see changes and developments in the cryptocurrency world very similar to the time when the internet became mainstream and popular. “A lot of very smart people are building platforms and providing solutions that a few years back would be considered impossible. As an example of one of many, a new innovation using Bitcoin and other similar coins is the Lightning network. “This allows you to pay very small amounts almost immediately. One use for this is that there would be no need for a person to subscribe to a video service like Netflix with a monthly fee. Instead you pay as much as has been consumed – if it was five minutes of a film, you’d pay just for that.” The ATM development created a storm of interest across social media as soon as details were outlined by a Bahrain FinTech Bay executive on LinkedIn. The reaction was overwhelmingly positive, with one top banker describing the move as ‘revolutionary’ and suggesting it would contribute further to the ‘development, awareness and acceptance of the crypto-eco system’. A communications specialist simply said ‘proud’ and a payments & cards products manager described it as ‘such a beautiful machine’. Anyone can use the ATM once they have gone through the registration process of ‘taking a selfie’, providing their mobile number and being approved. “Your crypto coins are referenced using a crypto wallet, usually in the form of a mobile app, the wallet accesses the blockchain and sees how many crypto coins you own,” Jamal explained. “Cash / paper bills are used to buy these crypto coins and vice versa, crypto coins can be sold to the machine and cash is paid out by the ATM.” Jamal describes cryptocurrencies today as a form of ‘digital gold’ where owners keep their money in a manner that is ‘always available’ to them. “It is also used for speculation, it can be used for remittances and transfers and is very easy and reliable and low cost,” he said. “It is possible to use it for online commerce and more and more e-commerce sites see the benefits and are adopting it.” For the uninitiated, a cryptocurrency is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange that uses strong cryptography to secure financial transactions, control the creation of additional units, and verify the transfer of assets. Although he lives in Kuwait, Jamal considers Bahrain as his ‘second home’ as he lived here for a few years during his past work with Zain Group. “I came to Bahrain with my Crypto ATM project because they welcome new initiatives in FinTech similar to mine and have a very robust and comprehensive approval roadmap for these projects.” Jamal, a former business support systems / operations support systems director at Zain Group, said that although his new business was still in the Central Bank of Bahrain’s ‘sandbox process’, he is confident that once the bank sees the operation as ‘competent and following the conditions set forth by the CBB’, Basket will be allowed to operate in Bahrain. Basket S.P.C. is a ‘Bahraini company’ he said, adding: “Our aim primarily is to roll out and manage Crypto ATMs in Bahrain, and expand wherever the regulatory environment is friendly and welcoming in the MENA region. “We will also include more coins on our ATMs, including local currencies when they become digital.” The move has delighted the crypto-pioneers at Bahrain FinTech Bay. CEO Khalid Saad said: “Basket is currently testing their solution under the Central Bank of Bahrain’s Regulatory Sandbox. This is a great addition to Bahrain’s growing crypto ecosystem.” Bahrain FinTech Bay recently celebrated its first anniversary confident it can continue accelerating local early-stage FinTech companies to their next stage of development, as well as attracting foreign ‘growth-stage’ FinTech companies to Bahrain. Since its launch, to date, it has attracted 75 local and international partners, eight venture acceleration platform partners and published several in-depth market ecosystem reports. After successfully creating a physical hub located at Bahrain Bay for co-creation and the sharing of resources and ideas, it has ambitious plans to attract even more young FinTech brains into the arena. As reported in FinTech Focus, The CBB has granted a number of licenses under the sandbox regulation framework in the kingdom, setting the stage for much-awaited acceptance by regulators, banks and currency exchange houses in the region that have been weary of transacting with digital currencies. A regulatory sandbox is a framework and process that facilitates the development of the FinTech industry in a safe and calculated way. New business models in the sector can create regulatory ambiguity, therefore, regulatory clarity is critical to innovators in order to bring compliant services to market. In effect, the sandbox creates a virtual safe space in which both start-ups and established businesses can trial and refine innovative products, services, platforms and business models in a live but controlled environment, where risks to customers and the wider financial system are mitigated, giving regulators time to adapt legislation as needed. Whilst in the regulatory sandbox, companies are required to adhere to CBB regulations including Know Your Customer, Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism, as well as follow appropriate disclosure, protection and compensation requirements related to their customers. The move has marked the arrival of a new wave of forward-looking regulation around digital asset trading in the region that is geared toward creating an environment to encourage FinTech innovation and inclusion, while ensuring the best interests of the nation, the banking system, investors and customers are protected. A short-lived unofficial Crypto ATM is believed to have been set up in Dubai back in 2014 but was unlicensed and closed down. That is why Bahrain can proudly boast ‘the only live one in the region’ and under the framework of the regulator. “These ATMs will grow in popularity down the road,” Khalid also predicted. In fact, the number of crypto ATMs installed worldwide has surged past the 4,000 mark, data from industry statistics aggregator Coin ATM Radar indicated earlier this year. Around 70 per cent are located in North America, 23 per cent are in Europe, and 2.6 per cent in Asia. 1.3 and 1.1 per cent are in Oceania and South America respectively, and just 0.2 per cent are located in Africa. Within Asia, Hong Kong has the lion’s share of them – accounting for 0.8 per cent of machines worldwide – while in Europe it is Austria (6.4 per cent), closely followed by the UK (4.8 per cent). While the vast majority support Bitcoin (BTC) – 99.9 per cent, or 4,162 – 64.6 per cent support one or more altcoins. These break down to 59.5 per cent support for Litecoin (LTC), 49.3 per cent support for Ethereum (ETH) and 33.9 per cent support for Bitcoin Cash (BCH). Dash (DASH) is supported by 17.9 per cent of ATMs, while Monero (XMR), Dogecoin (DOGE) and ZCash (ZEC) are each supported by three per cent or less. Conspicuously absent from Coin ATM Radar’s global statistics is India. Last November, the developers of the country’s first Bitcoin ATM were arrested in the city of Bangalore under criminal charges due to its ATM label, as the machine was not strictly an ATM but a device that aimed to allow crypto-users to circumvent banking channels. The arrests came after the Reserve Bank of India’s spring 2018 prohibition on banks’ dealings with crypto-related firms. Earlier this month, Cointelegraph reported that Bitcoin ATM manufacturer Lamassu has relocated to Switzerland, due to regulatory difficulties in other countries. For more details, follow @basketbahrain on Instagram The Ritz-Carlton, Bahrain welcomed world-renowned oceanographer Jean-Michel Cousteau for a two-day interactive session, taking young audiences and adults alike on a ‘land to sea’ journey, unveiling his life-long expeditions and explorations of unique ocean environments and the natural wonders of the world. As reported in GulfWeekly, the campaigner arrived in the kingdom straight from high level talks to ‘Save the Russian Whales’ captured illegally to be sold to theme parks in China. He was on his first visit to Bahrain as part of a global Ritz Kids environmental programme. In an emotional address to the audience of young people and their families, he clutched a copy of this newspaper in his hand, and said he was deeply moved by the coverage as he was keen to spread the message around the globe. Amongst the audience was British expat schoolgirl Charlie Axtell. The 15-year-old from Saar gave up precious time from her studies as she revises for her GCSE examinations to attend one of the insightful Cousteau sessions. Charlie, who is torn between a career in marine biology and architectural design, was delighted to note that the star guest was qualified in both subjects. Whatever her future path she remains determined to passionately campaign on behalf of the planet. This is her report: Oceans are one of the earth’s most valuable resources. They cover more than 70 per cent of our planet and govern the weather, clean the air and provide a living for millions while helping feed the world. They house most of the life on earth ranging from microscopic algae through to the largest animal on the planet, the blue whale. Yet we are bombarding them with pollution. Choking plastic, discarded nets and leaking oil are amongst the countless ways humans find to destroy the beautiful blue planet. Micro-plastics and even finer degraded particles have been traced in the darkest depths while whales and dolphins are being washed ashore suffering from new diseases. Species have become extinct while ecosystems are destroyed. After generations of neglect at least we now have a voice. In some countries tougher protection for waterways is the Number One concern of the electorate, ranking above child poverty, rising costs or housing shortages. The ability to fish and swim in rivers is a birthright. Greta Thunberg may be the modern face of environmentalism (the Swedish schoolgirl climate activist has been described as a role model for worldwide student activism and is famous for having initiated a school strike for climate movement last year that surged globally) yet the Cousteau family name has legendary status. Jean-Michel, 81, the son of the late legendary pioneering sea adventurer Jacques, visited the Ritz-Carlton, Bahrain last week. Despite spending only a brief time in the kingdom, he had the opportunity to educate hundreds of people, including more than 300 schoolchildren. Starting by highlighting one of his campaigns featured on the cover of GulfWeekly, he spoke passionately about the need to make a bridge between the main issues facing us today and the impact current decisions will have on the future – hence the need to heavily involve students. He pointed out that 12 of the last 20 years have been the hottest on record and the effect of this on the diminishing life in the oceans. Cousteau also established a link to the audience by showing the connection between all water sources, stressing the importance of our ‘one water system’ by referring to the fact that more than 55 per cent of the human body consists of water. His mantra is ‘we cannot protect what we cannot understand’. He appeared particularly impressed by the development of a new Exosuit that will allow exploration to new depths of the ocean. There is so much that needs to be done it can all seem daunting. You may be asking: ‘what difference can I make?’ Governments and industry need to take action. It is not acceptable to place the burden of responsibility on someone-else, pointing the finger at each other. Yet they are often motivated by the will of the people. I challenge you to take a decision today that will have a positive impact on saving our planet. Inspired by Cousteau, I have already written to a charity to encourage them to help educate and collect data to support his work. What will you do? The oceans may roar, but they cannot speak for themselves – they need our help. Bahrain FinTech Bay’s National FinTech Talent Programme (FTP) has officially kicked off with its first batch of 25 Bahraini candidates. The first cohort will be part of a specialised roadmap that will offer unique opportunities to develop their professional skills and gain insightful experience in the latest FinTech trends and technologies on a global scale. The programme started accepting applications in early January and a successful batch of 50 ‘high-calibre’ candidates progressed to an exclusive career fair exposing them to around 15 employers, including speed networking, as well as breakout sessions, at the event. Following the candidate’s performance at the FinTech and Innovation Career Fair, 25 candidates have been placed within FinTech and innovation-related internship roles for a period of six months. The accepted candidates start their journey by receiving mentorship from global partners of Bahrain FinTech Bay and will complete training on FinTech verticals focusing on block-chain and artificial intelligence run by SettleMint, Blockchain Academy Global and TAIGER A.I. Academy. In parallel to their internships, candidates will be enrolled on a three-month professional development course in FinTech delivered by the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. The semi-annual programme will be delivered in a combination of live and online modules certified by Georgetown. The certification comprises of seven modules and four case-studies led by Professor Jim Angel, Associate Professor of Finance, and co-inventor of 12 FinTech patents. He said: “The financial services industry is undergoing a fundamental transformation. New technology enables us to offer services, products and interact with consumers like we could never do before.” Additionally, the course will be hosting local and international guest speakers, the entrepreneurial community and ‘thought leaders’ from the financial services industry. Khalid Saad, CEO, Bahrain FinTech Bay said: “As the FinTech ecosystem in Bahrain and the region transforms further, the development of talent to continue and sustain such transformation is key. “Initiating the region’s first National FinTech Talent Programme with Tamkeen is a key step in the development of such talent. “Through training and job placement opportunities within our partner network, we aim to develop a generation of leaders that will be able to take the industry forward and support Bahrain’s transition into a knowledge and innovation driven economy.” Bahrain FinTech Bay is considered the leading hub in Middle East, conveniently in the Arcapita Building on Bahrain Bay. It provides a physical hub to incubate insightful, scalable and impactful FinTech initiatives through innovation labs, acceleration programmes, curated activities, educational opportunities and collaborative platforms. Bahrain FinTech Bay partners with governmental bodies, financial institutions, corporates, consultancy firms, universities, associations, media agencies, venture capital and FinTech startups with the aim of bringing the full spectrum of financial market participants and stakeholders together. The National FinTech Talent Programme focuses on the development of Bahrain’s FinTech ecosystem and ensures Bahrainis master the skills and knowledge to capitalise on the new opportunities created by FinTech disruption. It’s a one-of-a kind FinTech initiative for Bahraini university graduates, who will have the opportunity to develop their professional skills and gain insightful experience in the latest FinTech trends and technologies on a global scale. For more information on the National FinTech Talent Program, visit www.fintech-institute.com/ftp FACT FILE Professor Angel, known as ‘Dr Jim’ specialises in the market structure and regulation of global financial markets, and he has visited more than 70 financial exchanges around the world. He teaches undergraduate, MBA and executive courses, including Investments and Capital Markets. Dr Jim has testified before the US Congress about issues relating to the design of financial markets. In addition, he has been quoted in hundreds of newspaper articles and has appeared numerous times on radio and television. Dr Jim began his professional career as a rate engineer at Pacific Gas and Electric, where he worked on FERC and CPUC related issues. Along the way he has also worked at BARRA (later part of Morgan Stanley) where he developed equity risk models. He has also served as a Visiting Academic Fellow in residence at the US National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD – now FINRA) and also as a visiting economist at the Shanghai Stock Exchange. He has also been chairman of the Nasdaq Economic Advisory Board, a member of the OTC Bulletin Board Advisory Committee, and has served on the board of directors of the Direct Edge Stock Exchanges (later part of BATS Global Markets). From 2012-2014 he was a visiting associate professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Professor Angel is a co-inventor on 12 FinTech patents. He is now Associate Professor at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University which boasts a Master of Science in Finance (MSF) programme, renowned for helping to transform today’s best professionals into rising industry leaders. It was created by the distinguished faculty of the McDonough School of Business. |
Stanley Louis SzecowkaEditor/Journalist & Blogger, Restaurant & Motors Reviewer, FinTech Writer, Manager, Trainer. |