62 August 2019 www.bahrainthismonth.com business bites National carrier, Gulf Air, has appointed Shams Al Doseri as country manager for its Addis Ababa, Ethiopia station. The first Bahraini woman to run a station, she has eight years of airline sales experience in the Bahrain hub. The airline has been flying to the African nation since 2011. She said: “I am very proud and delighted to take this challenge and be the first Bahraini woman in Gulf Air to represent the national carrier outside the Kingdom. This assignment is of a national nature to me as I will not only promote my airline but also promote my beloved country to the world by encouraging more passengers to fly Gulf Air to or via Bahrain.” The airline has also announced Mohamed Al Hamer as country manager for its Colombo and Male stations making him the youngest person ever to hold the position for Gulf Air in the Asia Pacific region. He will represent the national carrier in Sri Lanka and the Maldives as well as managing the airline’s office in Colombo after gaining extensive knowledge within sales, network and revenue management departments at the headquarters in Bahrain. National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) announced another period of continued growth reporting a net profit of BD40 million and an operating profit of BD44.7 million for the first six months of the year ended 30 June 2019, an increase of 8.7 per cent and 17.3 per cent respectively on the prior year period. This was achieved despite provisions (funds set aside for anticipated future losses) of BD4.7 million, which were more than double the provision amount in the corresponding period in 2018. For the second quarter of 2019, the bank’s net profit increased by 14.6 per cent, to BD19.6 million, compared to BD17.1 million for the same period last year. NBB chairman, Farouk Yousuf Khalil Almoayyed (pictured), said: “NBB continued to deliver strong growth and performance throughout the first half of 2019. Record results once again reflect the ongoing success of our strategy and the achievements made in transforming the bank with a focus on modernisation and further diversification and digitalisation of the business. Bahrain’s national origin exports increased by six per cent during the second quarter of this year to BD595 million compared with BD561m for the same period last year, according to the latest report from the Information and eGovernment Authority (iGA). The report, which includes data on balance of trade, imports, exports and re-exports (national origin), said that during the quarter, the top 10 trading partners accounted for 78pc of the value of the Kingdom’s national origin exports . New Airline Appointments Bank Profits Rise National Exports Climb Shams Al Doseri Mohamed Al Hamer
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