KUWAIT CITY, July 1: KPMG recently released its fourth edition of the KPMG listed banks results report, which analyses the fi nancial results of leading commercial banks across the region, providing indus-try leaders with succinct analysis, insights and forward-looking views. The 2018 report, titled ‘Embracing digital’ highlights that Kuwait’s banking sector stood in a healthy fi nancial position at the end of 2018, with an overall 19.3 percent increase in profi ts compared to 2017. This growth was mainly due to higher net interest income which increased by 11.0 percent in local currency terms.

With a banking landscape of 11 locally incorporated banks and 12 branches of foreign banks, Kuwait’s banking sector total listed assets stood at US$264.5 billion in

2018, which was 5% higher than at the end of 2017. Kuwaiti banks

continue to observe declining non-performing loan (NPL) ratio, with an average NPL ratio of less than 2%, which is the lowest amongst GCC banks.

Speaking about the report, Bhavesh Gandhi, Partner in Audit and Head of Financial Services at KPMG in Kuwait commented, “Kuwait banks have observed one of the best years with all banks showing double digit growth in net profi t compared to 2017. Total as-sets grew at a healthy 5.0 percent, with the cost-to-income ratio (CIR) showing a declining trend as banks focus on effi ciency and use of technology and deployment of digital strategies to bring costs down”.

As global developments increase, the regulatory agenda continues to evolve on local, regional and inter-

national levels, to adapt to change as previously predicted. Bhavesh commented on the new regulatory guidelines in 2018, “CBK raised the discount rate from 2.75% to 3.0% on the back of the US Federal Reserve hike. Furthermore, the CBK has issued instructions for regulating electronic payments, a regulatory sandbox framework, and revised rules and regulations for granting consumer and installment loans/ fi nance.”

Bhavesh proceeds to elaborate on the effects of the digital era on regulatory standards, stating, “With the changing fi ntech landscape globally as well as regionally, we expect the regulatory authorities to issue regulatory guidelines/ frame-work. Any fi ntech regulations will need to be benchmarked against the framework/ guidelines that are is-

sued by other regulators within the GCC to ensure a level playing fi eld for Kuwaiti banks.”

The digital agenda for banks in Kuwait is expected to increase as Kuwaiti banks continue to invest in digital banking channels, infra-structure and solutions in 2019. This will involve investments in new age technologies such as intelligent automation, block chain and artifi cial intelligence (AI). It is anticipated that Kuwaiti banks will see increased acquisition of custom-ers through digital channels across most of the product offerings.

Furthermore, the report saw that countries across the region have either talked of or experi-enced mergers in 2018. Kuwait experienced relatively one of the biggest mergers in the Middle East Bhavesh said, “One of the largest

Islamic banking groups, Kuwait Finance House (KFH) announced its intention to acquire Bahrain-based Ahli United Bank (AUB). This acquisition will be the fi rst cross-border banking transaction in the GCC and will create the largest banking group in Kuwait and the sixth largest banking group in the GCC.”

Looking forward, the report high-lights a positive outlook for the year ahead (2019), with the expectation that Kuwaiti banks will continue to grow and report higher earn-ings. This growth will be driven by more lending as the government continues with project spending and consumer confi dence improves. Furthermore, it is expected bank earnings may get a boost based on the increase in limit for consumer loans by the CBK in late 2018.

ARAB TIMES, TUESDAY, JULY 2, 2019

16

Bhavesh

KPMG report highlights fi nancial results of local banks

Team praised for its over 100 initiatives during Ramadan

Innovative service offers ease and convenience

Bright future for Kuwait banking sector as it embraces digital era

KFH organises honoring ceremony for voluntary team

VIVA partners with entertainment platform Starzplay

KUWAIT CITY, July 1: Kuwait Finance House (KFH) organized an honoring ceremony for its volun-tary team in recognition of their ex-erted efforts during the holy month of Ramadan which culminated in successfully carrying out over 100 voluntary, social and awareness initiatives under “Increase Good Deeds in Ramadan 5” campaign.

The honoring ceremony was held in the Sheraton Hotel in the pres-ence of Group CEO Mazin Saad Al-Nahedh, Chairman of Fatwa and Sharia Supervisory Board, Dr Sayed Mohammad Al-Sayed Abdul Razzaq Al-Tabtabai as well as several executives and offi cers at the bank.

The recognition refl ects the true embodiment of the communication between executive management and employees, as it encourages the concept of giving and dedication.

Dr Al-Tabtabai said that KFH voluntary team initiatives contrib-uted to bringing happiness to the society, pointing out that this is one of the best ways to approach Allah.

He praised the great effort exerted by the KFH volunteer team during Ramadan, noting that it was sincere towards Allah and stemmed from the passion to volunteer.

He added: ”We monitored and followed up your voluntary initia-tives in more than one location with a record time to distribute more than 1000 daily iftar meals, organizing Taraweeh and Tahajjud prayers, providing hospital-ity services, organizing Gergian activities, visiting hospitals, organizing staff events and many other voluntary and social initia-tives. All these efforts had positive impact on society. Your initiatives and KFH program in Ramadan were welcomed and praised by so-ciety either directly, indirectly or through our social media channels. This is a source of pride for us and for you and for KFH, which puts the highest priority on sustainable social development, promoting voluntary work among youth and achieving leadership in social responsibility.”

He stressed that with the help of Allah Almighty, institutions that carry out voluntary and humanitar-ian work are destined to succeed, noting the importance of charity, whether through distributing iftar meals, visiting patients in hospitals or other initiatives. Giving food is the best work that human being can do because generosity is by giving

KUWAIT CITY, July 1: VIVA, Ku-wait’s fastest-growing and most de-veloped telecom operator, launched the Direct Carrier Billing with Star-zplay, the region’s leading SVOD (subscription on demand) entertain-ment platform. The new service al-lows VIVA’s postpaid and prepaid customers to purchase movies and TV shows without a credit card. All purchases will be charged directly to customers’ monthly bills or prepaid accounts, providing a convenient an easy and faster payment option. A signing ceremony was held recently at VIVA headquarters on between VIVA and Starzplay.

Commenting on the partnership, Ms. Haneen Al-Fulaij, Acting Chief Consumer Offi cer at VIVA said: “We strive at VIVA to provide our customers with the latest products and services, thus we built this part-nership with Starzplay to come up with an innovative service that offers ease and convenience.”

Danny Bates, Chief Commer-cial Offi cer and Co-Founder at Starzplay, added: “This latest tie-up with VIVA demonstrates three things – our commitment to the Ku-wait market, our unswerving focus on the customer and the importance of partnerships for Starzplay as a business as we continue to expand across the MENA region and be-yond.” He added: “We look forward to working closely with VIVA to ensure we are providing its custom-ers with exactly what they are look-ing for – unrivalled content with fl exible payment options, making their lives easier.”

Starzplay is a subscription video on demand (SVOD) service that streams thousands of blockbuster

Immerse into perfect escapethis summer with Talise Spa

Dr El Morsy, consultant orthopedicand surgeon to visit New Mowasat

Summer Delight at Jumeirah

3-day visit from July 13-15

Dr Ahmed El Morsy

District Hospital, UK; noting that the visit will be during the period July 13 - 15 and that appointment will be available according to priority of the reservation.

Treat yourself to exclusive Talise Spa at Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel & Spa.

KUWAIT CITY, July 1: This summer, treat yourself to exclusive spa indul-gences at Jumeirah Messilah Beach Ho-tel & Spa. Suffused with peaceful beau-ty and focused on sensory experiences to offer the perfect escape, Talise Spa is nestled within an exclusive environment designed for your utmost rejuvenation and relaxation.

Experience a blend of luxury and well-being by indulging in an exclusive new 120-minute treatment, Amra 24kt Golden Opulence. The ultimate in opu-lence and splendor, this ritual engulfs the senses and engages the mind to the most enigmatic experience. The journey starts with a 24kt Gold foot ritual to ease the pressures of the day, then relax and unwind with the aroma of sumptuous elegance of rich amber top notes of ef-fervescent citrus on a sumptuous heart of aromatic herbs, perfectly nestling on a base of rich woods and musk. After a complimentary body cleanse, the body is drizzled with pure 24kt Gold Body Oil and massaged with AMRA 24kt Gold Plated Hot stones. The journey concludes with the body being encap-sulated by the Golden Splendor of AM-RAs infamous precious drops of gold, leaving the skin captivating and you radiant.

Embrace vitality, beauty and achieve exquisite inner balance with the 120-minute treatment Summer Delight. This is a perfect experience commenc-ing with the cleansing Moroccan Ham-mam, followed by a relaxing full body

massage before concluding with an up-lifting foot ritual.

Guests looking for a truly indulgent and relaxing experience this summer can opt for the 90-minute treatment, Top to Toe. Start your experience with a full body muscle melting massage to release muscle tension, continuing with a soothing scalp and foot massage and concluding with a nourishing personal-ized facial.

Recreate a synergy of mind, body and soul with the Summer Soother treat-ment that promises to make you radiant, hydrated and luminous. The luxurious 90-minute ritual includes full body ex-foliation followed by a relaxing body massage and fi nished with a revitalizing foot treatment and soothing body butter application.

Ladies and gents can re-energise with exclusive membership packages at Tal-ise Spa. Members will have unlimited access to a state-of-the-art gym, hydro pool, sauna, steam, snow room, expe-rience showers and the Himalayan salt room. They can also pamper themselves with their array of complimentary treat-ments including one session each of The Cure Facial, Ultimate Aromatherapy Experience Massage, three Yoga ses-sions, access to the Spa Wellness classes and more exciting benefi ts.

Reservations and inquiries about Tal-ise Spa memberships can be made by calling Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel and Spa direct line +965 2226 9688 or emailing JMBTalise@jumeirah.com

KUWAIT CITY, July 1: Dr Ahmed El Morsy, Consultant Orthopedic and Shoulder and Upper Limb Sur-geon at Salisbury District Hospital, UK, will visit the New Mowasat Hospital. The visit will be for 3 days (July 13-15)

Dr Ahmed El Morsy is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (FRCS Tr & Orth) and a fellow of the European Board of Trauma & Orthopedics (FEBOT). Dr Ahmed El Morsy has extensive experience in shoulder and elbow surgeries, shoulder arthroscopy and sports injuries, shoulder instability, and complex shoulder, elbow and wrist injuries.

Alia Al-Sayed, the Director of Business Development and Market-ing at the new Mowasat Hospital, welcomes Dr Ahmed El Morsy, Consultant Orthopedic and Shoulder & Upper Limb Surgeon at Salisbury

Al-Tabtabai speaks at the honoring ceremony.

KFH official honoring the voluntary team.

Officials honoring the voluntary team.

A photo from the event.

Hollywood movies, TV shows, doc-umentaries, kid’s entertainment and same-day-as-the-US series – plus dedicated Arabic and Bollywood content – to 21 countries across the Middle East and North Africa.

It utilizes advanced technology to provide a premium viewing experi-ence with full HD and 4K content sourced from some of the most im-portant studios in the entertainment business, such as 20th Century Fox, CBS, Disney, Lionsgate, Paramount, Showtime, Sony, Starz, Universal and Warner Bros. Starzplay also delivers amazing value – for a low monthly fee subscribers can enjoy unlimited ad-free access to a wide choice of entertainment. Developed exclusively for the MENA region, Starzplay features one-click Arabic subtitling plus Arabic and French audio options.

Additionally, the service allows customers to watch anytime, any-

where on an iOS or Android de-vice, supports Mac and Windows browsers, and streams via Apple TV, Chromecast, a PS4 console or directly to a Samsung smart TV. Available on regional IPTV servic-es, Starzplay is continually adding support for numerous other gam-ing and smart devices, and allows downloads for offl ine playback. For the ultimate convenience Starzplay also offers new subscribers a free trial as well as abroad range of pay-ment methods including credit card and mobile operator billing, with a ‘no contracts – cancel anytime’ proposition.

To fi nd out more, customers can follow VIVA’s offi cial platforms on social media, visit one of VIVA’s stores, or VIVA’s offi cial website at www.viva.com.kw , or access round the clock assistance from team of specialists available on the VIVA’s customer care line 102.

the most precious possessions you have, and the most important thing man has after his religion is his body.

Al-Tabtabai thanked the Execu-tive Management for their support for such initiatives, stressing that their ultimate support is the key to the success of carrying out over 100 social and voluntary initiatives during Ramadan.

Meanwhile, Group Chief Execu-tive Offi cer at KFH, Mazin Al-Nahedh expressed his pride in KFH

voluntary team’s achievements and efforts during Ramadan which de-livered positive results and received the community recognition.

He said that the success in car-rying out more than 100 different voluntary, awareness and social initiatives during Ramadan, clearly refl ects their dedication and passion for volunteering.

He confi rmed that the participa-tion of the executive management in some voluntary activities under KFH Ramadan program refl ected

senior management interest and en-hanced the communication strategy to achieve the common objectives of KFH.

Al-Nahedh mentioned that KFH excellence in achieving social responsibility goes hand in hand with its excellence in banking and leadership in the Islamic fi nance in-dustry and drives it to maintain the leadership. This can be achieved by more effort and dedication to work so that KFH can remain a world leader in Islamic fi nance.

General

■ Photography is allowed inside the Grand Mosque (please note that disre-spectful poses are strictly prohibited).

If you would like to book a tour, please contact us:

Tel: 22980813/ 22980815/ 22980812 Email: gmvisits@gmail.com Fax: 22473708

❑ ❑ ❑

Share your story with Amricani: Do you or any of your family members, acquaintances or friends happen to have a story with the American Missionary hos-pital in Kuwait (Mustashfa Lemraicani) during the years from 1914-1967, the offi cial period of offering medical services in Kuwait?

Please share with us your story or your memory during those old days by writing the event and sending it to the following email address: Mystory@darmuseum.org.kw

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