66 November 2018 www.bahrainthismonth.com germanbites Bahrain’s Al Baraka Banking Group chose Germany for the first stop in the roll-out of its Insha digital banking services in Europe. Launched through the Islamic lender’s Turkish subsidiary, Albaraka Turk, Insha offers interest-free digital banking services aiming to cater to the Muslim community with Shari’a compliant banking services. Initially, Insha will offer basic services, including bank account management, debit cards, money transfers and online payments available in English, German and Turkish, with Arabic to be added soon. Users can download the Insha app from the app store and Google Play. Deutsch Digital Bahraini artist Leena Al Ayoobi’s works have gone on display at the German Orthopaedic Hospital in Salmaniya after she was chosen as the organisation’s Artist of the Season for autumn. Leena is an artist and designer, founder and owner of Dar Alfann, and a member of the Bahrain Art Society. Her work is influenced by her Arabian culture and traditions with a touch of Japanese manga style. The exhibition is part of the hospital’s efforts to support and encourage local artistic talents. CEO Dr Heiner Abel says: “The German Orthopaedic Hospital is delighted to be associated with Leena and her wonderful, colourful artwork, and we believe that it will add some liveliness and Arabesque flair to our Europeanstyle hospital for the next few months. It also serves to highlight the strong bonds between Bahrain and Germany.” German luxury brand Aigner’s creative director Christian Alexander Beck visited Bahrain, alongside Kuwaiti influencer Ascia Al Faraj, for the launch of the brand’s Aigner Wunderkammer collection at its City Centre Bahrain store. The collection, created in collaboration with mixed-media artist Quentin Jones, features impressions from across the world in a succession of bright colourful patterns in extraordinary collages. Aigner’s senior management also attended the launch, demonstrating the importance the brand places in the Bahrain market. German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen was due to attend the Manama Dialogue 2018, which was taking place as we went to press. The minister, who has previously been tipped as a successor to German leader Angela Merkel, was expected to discuss her government’s decision to halt arms sales to Saudi Arabia in the wake of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Encouraging Local Talent Star Designer in Town Big Gun in Manama In its second large-scale German investment announcement in recent months, Bahrain’s Investcorp revealed that is has purchased a modern office campus in Eschborn, Frankfurt Rhein-Main, at a price of USD99.5 million. The newly renovated KO Campus is a modern complex in the town’s commercial area, comprising three office buildings of around 40,000sq/m, housing tenants across the manufacturing, retail and technology sectors. In April, Investcorp announced its first German real estate deal, the purchase, in conjunction with Continuum Capital Investment Management, of the Stuttgart-based Burocampus Wangen. Of the KO purchase, Investcorp’s co-CEO, Hazem Ben-Gacem, says: “This acquisition forms an exciting addition to our diversified portfolio of prime assets, and we believe that we are well-positioned to add value to this investment. We believe we are on the right track to continue to identify opportunities in the sector.” Major German Property Investment
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