BRITISH AMERICAN REPOSITIONS ITS BRANDS AHEAD OF ACCELERATED REGIONAL EXPANSION PLAN

 

British-American Investments Company (Kenya) Limited has today unveiled its new brand identity that will be adopted in all markets that the company is currently operating in. The company, which has been known as BRITAK in Kenya for close to 30 years, will now be known as BRITAM, and its logo will respectively change. The group will however retain its legal name, British American Investments Company (Kenya) Limited, as listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange.

Making the announcement, BRITAM Group Managing Director said, “Today we are unveiling our new corporate identify, which will in effect put this organization in a more strategic position to address, meet and even surpass the demands of a fast changing operating environment and customer sophistication,” adding that the rebranding will also create a unified and cohesive culture across all business units and countries of operation.

Wairegi also noted that the launch of BRITAM gives the company the needed platform to accelerate the regional expansion plans.

The company, has been in operation for close to fifty years with  operations in Uganda and South Sudan which are already operating as BRITAM and plans are underway to launch subsidiaries in Rwanda which will also operate as BRITAM. Subsidiaries in Kenya will still operate within their legal operating names: British-American Insurance Company (Kenya) Ltd and British-American Asset Managers Ltd.

“The launch of BRITAM, will help us harmonize all our businesses into one company, one brand with a common vision which will   help the company communicate in one language without losing our company values,” said Wairegi, adding that, “our vision is to be the most trusted financial services company and we believe that our successful past will lead us to a great future”.

The launch of BRITAM comes at a time when the company has recovered from a turbulent economic environment, recording a profit before tax of KShs. 1.8 billion for the half year ending 30^th June 2012, as compared to a loss of KShs.109.6 million reported during the same period last year. The company recently  announced the establishment of a Shs 10 billion property fund in an effort  to grow its real estate portfolio.

New Sony Xplod CD/DVD Car Audio Receivers Connect Listeners to their Music like Never Before

 

Integrate your smartphone to your car’s music system seamlessly with the Five New A/V Receivers for Rich Audio, Video, Navigation and More

(Tanzania, 10^th August 2012) – Sony, the leading consumer electronics brand, today announced the launch of five new Xplod A/V receivers (XAV-701BT, XAV-741, XAV-601BT, XAV-64BT, XAV-63).

Offering enhanced iPod/iPhone control, a wide range of smartphone and USB connectivity options, multi-channel surround sound and more, Sony’s latest in-dash receivers provide rich, immersive music and video experiences while on the move, taking in-car entertainment to new heights in a stylish, interactive package.

The new Passenger App Control allows users to connect an iPod® or iPhone® via USB to display their favourite TV shows, movies, and compatible applications onscreen. Bluetooth connectivity on the XAV-701BT, XAV-601BT and XAV-64BT with an external microphone completes the package, enabling true hands-free calling while driving.

The XAV-701BT/741/601BT A/V receivers feature high-quality WVGA panel displays with full touchscreen capability and a variety of ways for passengers to share their favourite multimedia when on the road. Meanwhile, dual USB connectivity allows for simultaneous connection to USB mass storage devices such as the Walkman® digital music player for music playback and control over the display of album artwork and playlists.

In addition to that these receivers also offer universal smartphone connectivity to any MirrorLink™-certified smartphone. Once connected, drivers can play music, make and take phone calls, as well as control smartphone-based navigation services and applications, all from the receiver’s 6.1-inch or 7-inch touchscreen. The application achieves full smartphone integration without compromising driving safety. MirrorLink™ is a technology standard developed by the Car Connectivity Consortium that enables the streaming of smartphone content to in-dash receivers, facilitating control of applications and music on the receiver’s touchscreen.

With these new receivers Sony is redefining the in-car audio-visual experience, and creating seamless linkages with customers’ phones and their cars. Each receiver uses Sony’s proprietary Advanced Sound Engine with full digital processing and Virtual 5.1ch to deliver powerful surround sound, truly bringing the theatre into the car. Visuals are equally stunning, powered by an extremely advanced GUI design that offers a super-fast response, a 6-Pre-set Visualizer, customizable wallpaper, and variable illumination to match any car’s interior. For added theft protection, the 601BT includes a fully detachable faceplate, rendering the receiver useless without it.

Delivering premium functionality at a market-friendly price, the XAV-63 and XAV-64BT offer a number of improvements typically found only in more expensive A/V receivers. Like the high-end models, these two receivers come with 6.1 inch high-quality WVGA displays, enhanced fast-response GUI design, iPod®/iPhone® Passenger App Control, and Sony’s own Advanced Sound Engine with full digital processing for ultimate sound versatility. iPod® video playback, simultaneous USB connectivity, Digital Clarity Tuner and Bluetooth (64BT only) complete the package.

The new range of Xplod A/V receivers is currently available across Sony showrooms and other leading electronics retailers in Kenya and Tanzania.

-ENDS-

About make.believe

“make.believe” (make dot believe) is a Group-wide brand message that unites Sony’s communications initiatives across electronics, games, movies, music, mobile phones and network services. “make.believe” symbolizes the spirit of Sony – the power of creativity, the ability to turn ideas into reality and the belief that anything you can imagine, you can make real.

About Sony Middle East and Africa

Sony Middle East and Africa is a 100% subsidiary of Sony Corporation and is the regional headquarters for the Middle East and Africa regions. The company is engaged in the business of Sony Consumer Electronics, VAIO laptop computers, Computer Peripherals, Data media, Recording Media and Energy (Batteries), Mobile Electronics (Car Audio) and Computer Entertainment (PlayStation) products in more than 40 countries in the region.

Apart from stock operations in the Jebel Ali Free Zone Establishment in Dubai, Sony Middle East and Africa leads execution of various logistics, sales, marketing, advertising and customer services activities through its business partners and representative offices. A network of representative offices in Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan, in addition to well over 250 accredited third party service centers reinforces Sony’s presence in key markets in the region.

For further information, please visit www.sony-mea.com

 

 

Turkish Steel Exporters to hold Business Talks with Government, Private Sector



Mr. Namik Ekinci, the Chairman of the Turkish Steel Exporters Association that will be meeting top government officials and private sector steel dealers next week.

A high-powered delegation of Turkish steel exporters is set to visit Kenya next week to meet with government officials and private sector commercial importers and industrial users of steel on possible business partnerships.



Kenya is currently a net importer of steel and has suffered heavily due to global foreign exchange shocks and a partnership aimed at increasing supply for the commodity would be a welcome reprieve.

The delegation comprising 22 Turkish steel manufacturers and exporters will arrive in the country on September 16^th led by Mr. Namik Ekinci, the Chairman of the Turkish Steel Exporters Association.

According to the delegation’s itinerary, the team will hold meetings with key ministries in the country charged with implementing infrastructure projects which require a heavy input of steel and regulating mining activities. These ministries include Nairobi Metropolitan, Industrialization, Trade and the Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources. Apart from Nairobi, the team is also expected to meet private sector dealers in steel at the Coastal town of Mombasa.

“We are coming to make contact with relevant government departments and private sector players who deal in steel. We are optimistic that these discussions will further cement the vibrant trade relations that Kenya and Turkey have enjoyed over the years,” said Mr. Ekinci.

The Turkish companies represented are offering a wide range of flat and long steel products to Kenyan buyers, including HR/CR coils, diamond and tear-drop pattern plates, wire rods, billets, beams, bars, hollow sections, tubes, pipes and other steel products.

 

Kenya is currently enjoying a construction boom heightening the demand for steel and related products. This boom has seen a sharp rise in the prices of steel.  For instance, the price of the twisted bars, the universal beams used to make reinforcement frames for tall buildings, has increased by 25 per cent to KSh120 a kilogramme from KSh96 a kilogramme in May this year.

 

Statistics indicate that steel imports have grown by more than 100 per cent in the past five years from KSh21 billion to KSh43 billion driven by increased investment in the construction sector and infrastructure projects.

 

Turkey has emerged very strongly on the global steel market and is today the second largest crude steel producer in Europe, and tenth largest in the world. Total crude steel production was expected to reach 38 million tons at the end of 2012, with exports or around 18.1 million tons worth US$ 15.4 billion in 2011. Turkish steel has been in several high-profile projects around the world, including the Al Burj tower in Dubai, at 1,050 meters the world’s tallest building, the Dubai Underground Project, Heathrow Airport terminal extension, Turkey-Greece natural gas pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan crude oil pipeline. Turkish steel is also used in car manufacturing of Toyota Corolla and Verso, Honda Civic & City, Hyundai Accent & Matrix, Renault Megane & Clio and Fiat Albea, Palio Doblo & Linea.  

Steel Exporters’ Association was established in October 2005 with the basic aims of increasing exports and facilitating the business of its 550 member firms. The Association maximizes Turkey’s steel export potential by undertaking studies on harmonization of types, qualities and quantities of exportable products with importing countries’ needs, organizing trade missions to potential export markets, bringing buyer missions to Turkey, organizing seminars, fairs and exhibitions, resolving problems faced by member firms arising from export transactions and carrying out other activities to support its members and their business.

 

LG Electronics, TP Vision and Toshiba Expand Market Reach with Smart TV Alliance

 

New Alliance Members Bring Wealth of Knowledge and Experience to Smart TV Universe

Smart TV Alliance, launched in June this year by founding board members LG Electronics and TP Vision with Toshiba joining shortly after, has expanded with new members with expertise from different areas of the Smart TV industry. As it continues to expand its market reach, the Smart TV Alliance will publish specifications for its software development kit (SDK) 2.0 on its official website www.smarttv-alliance.org. The actual SDK tool will be made available by the end of the year for use by developers.

In addition to Smart TV manufacturers, organizations that contribute in different ways to the Smart TV experience have also joined the Alliance. Qualcomm and MStar will bring their expertise and understanding in hardware design to the consortium while Obigo, a leading web browser provider and application developer, will provide valuable input from a developer’s perspective. And YuMe, a provider of video advertising software and services, will deliver knowledge and experience from the advertising community. 

“The expanding membership of the Smart TV Alliance is clear indication that these companies recognize the value of this Alliance,” said Richard Choi of LG Electronics, President of Smart TV Alliance. “This is an industry coming together to solve a common problem, which has clear benefits for the consumer. The diversity of the Smart TV Alliance is reassuring because it shows that this is an industry movement, not just an initiative from TV manufacturers.”

Demonstrating that developing common Alliance specifications is not an exercise in theory only, Obigo has developed apps based on Alliance SDK 1.0 specifications that run consistently on TV sets from Alliance members. Consumers will be able to enjoy these apps, including Accuweather and Vilanoise, when they become publicly available in September. In addition, more apps will be developed and become available through Smart TV Alliance members.

“This is an important step for the industry. Being able to work with a much larger install base presents great opportunities for us,”stated David Hwang, President of Obigo. “Now we can put our energy into making our apps better instead of testing the same app on many different TV sets. We can be a lot more productive this way.”

As different communities in the Smart TV industry come together, the Smart TV Alliance will announce the SDK 2.0 specifications on its website, which will be supported by 2013 products from member companies. By looking at these specifications, developers will be able to understand what capabilities to expect on 2013 products and plan their application development accordingly. After the specifications are announced, the SDK software tool will be available for download from www.smarttv-alliance.org.

 

 

Emirates unveils special fares, hotel deals to Kenyan travellers

 

Emirates, the world’s fastest growing airline, has announced a series of new special fares for travel out of Nairobi,  representing several tiers of savings going up to a massive 30 per cent.

 

The offer is open to economy class of tickets booked on Emirates between September 1^st and October 15^th 2012 for travel period between September 20^th and December 5^th 2012 and covers 17 popular destinations in North America, Asia and the Middle East.

Unveiling the promotional fares, Emirates Vice President for East Africa Khalid Bel Jaflah said: “These special fares provide an opportunity for our regular customers as well as those who have not experienced Emirates before to enjoy our award-winning product and value additions at a significant saving.”

 

The 17 destinations promoted with special fares include Dubai, Muscat, Doha, Bahrain, Kuwait City, Riyadh and Dammam in the Middle East;  New Delhi, Chenai, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram,  Peshawar, Islamabad, Lahore, Dhaka and Colombo in Asia; and  Washington DC in the United States.

 

The special economy class return fare to Dubai costs USD495 down from USD670, a 27 discount. A return economy ticket to Muscat, Doha, Bahrain and Kuwait City also costs USD495, while an introductory economy class fares to Washington D.C. is USD 1170.   The discounted fares to Riyadh and Dammam now start from USD605, to Delhi from USD940, to Chenai from USD930; to Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram from USD685 and to Islamabad, Peshawar, Lahore, Dhaka, and Colombo from USD990.

Discounted hotel stays

Besides the special fare offers, Emirates passengers also have a chance to enjoy a number of exclusive savings at hotels in Dubai when booked before September 10, 2012.

The offer is available to all classes of passengers for travel between now and October 15, 2012, and includes stays in Dubai’s Atlantis the Palm Jumeirah, and four Emaar properties across the emirate, including The Address Downtown Dubai, The Address Dubai mall, The Address Dubai Marina and The Address Montgomerie Dubai. Guests at Emaar properties will also receive a complimentary pass to the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo at Dubai Mall during their stay.

“More and more of our passengers choose to make Dubai their final destination in order to see this amazing city for themselves. Our hotel offer is designed to help Emirates’ guests reach their goal in luxury. We chose to work with The Atlantis and Emaar properties in order to satisfy the high-end expectations of our passengers as these hotels reflect Emirates’ premium onboard service,” Mr. Jaflah said. 

The winner of more than 500 top international awards, Emirates operates 14 flights a week out of Nairobi. The airline operates 180 wide-body Airbus and Boeing aircraft to 125 destinations in 74 countries. Over the next six months, the airline will launch a further five destinations:  Washington DC. On 12 September, Adelaide on 1 November, Lyon on 5 December, Phuket on 10 December and Warsaw on 6 February 2013.

For more information customers can log onto http://www.emirates.com/ke to check all the terms and conditions of this promotions.

LG UNVEILS PREMIUM IPS MONITORS PERFECT FOR BOTH GRAPHICS PROFESSIONALS AND ENTERTAINMENT ENTHUSIASTS

With 21:9 Cinematic Screen and WQHD Resolution, New IPS Monitors
from LG Offer Enhanced Multitasking and Superb Multimedia Performance                         

 

BERLIN, Aug. 28, 2012 – LG Electronics (LG) unveiled two new premium IPS moni-tors today at the IFA tradeshow in Berlin, the EA93 and EA83. The EA93 is designed to enjoy variety of entertainment and the EA83 is specifically crafted to handle graphics-intensive applications. The most noticeable feature on the EA93 is the cinematic screen, a 21:9 display – the same ratio used in real movie theaters –that works as a superb solu-tion for home entertainment and multitasking. The EA83 lets consumers take advantage of Wide Quad High Definition (WQHD) resolution (2560x1440 pixels). WQHD offers ample screen real estate for power users looking to multitask and provides one of the widest color spaces available. The monitor accurately reproduces 99 percent of the Adobe RGB color palette, providing graphics experts with a superior level of imaging quality.

“Through continuous innovation of our IPS monitors, we are raising the user experience to a whole new level for home entertainment and graphic professional use,” said J.J. Lee, Executive Vice President and Head of the IT Business Unit at the LG Home Entertain-ment Company. “The EA93’s immersive 21:9 cinematic screen and the EA83’s advan-tages when it comes to advanced graphics applications make these newest monitors compelling additions to our premium IPS monitor line-up.”

Ideal Multimedia and Multitasking Solution
The 29-inch EA93 boasts 2560 x 1080 resolution, and since the aspect ratio is identical to that of a typical movie theater screen, contents are shown just the way they were in-tended. But it isn’t only the size of the screen that makes the monitor so adept with mul-timedia, the EA93 accurately captures 100 percent of the defined sRGB color space, and the monitor delivers 300nit brightness for higher quality, more lifelike colors. Put sim-ply, IPS technology plus a cinematic screen is the ideal combination for entertainment.

The extra-wide screen is also useful in work situations, helping to improve productivity. The 4-Screen Split feature can divide the display into four segments, transforming the monitor into an advanced multitasking tool. The additional Dual Link-up function al-lows two devices to connect to the monitor simultaneously. Sharing files from two de-vices at the same time - a PC and a smartphone - has never been easier.

Graphics Powerhouse
The EA83 was designed to be a comprehensive monitor solution for filmmakers, pho-tographers, designers, and other graphics experts by providing a combination of supe-rior resolution and lifelike colors. The WQHD (2560x1440 pixel) high resolution IPS monitor provides vivid picture quality while featuring one of the widest color spaces in its category. Expressing colors not available within sRGB, the EA83 is able to display 99 percent of the Adobe RGB color space and gives graphics professionals the exact colors they’re looking for. LG’s innovative IPS monitor is capable of producing images that are practically identical to their real-life counterparts. The EA83 ships with soft-ware and hardware color calibrators, enabling graphics professionals to ensure that the screen always displays the most accurate and natural colors.

Visitors to IFA will be able to experience both the EA93 and EA83 IPS monitors first-hand at the LG Electronics stand in Hall 11.2 of Messe Berlin.

Specifications

EA93

Screen Size 29-inch
Format 21:9
Resolution 2560 x 1080
Color Gamut sRGB 100%
Panel Type IPS
Brightness (Typ.) 300nits
Contrast Ratio (Typ.) Mega
Viewing Angle (Ver./Hor.) 178/178
Response Time 5ms GTG
Interface DVI-D Dual x 1, HMDI x 2 (MHL), USB3.0 (1 Up / 3 Down), Display Port x 1, PC Audio In, Headphone Out
Speaker 7W x 2
Stand Tilt
Features MHL, 4-Screen Split, Dual Link-up*, Super Energy Saving, PBP(Picture-by-Picture), PIP (Picture-in-Picture), Auto Ratio Control (Original, 21:9), Wall Mount (100 x 100)
Color Calibration True Color Finder (S/W)

EA83

Screen Size 27-inch
Format 16:9
Resolution 2560 x 1440 (WQHD)
Color Gamut Adobe RGB 99%
Panel Type IPS
Brightness (Typ.) 350nits
Contrast Ratio (Typ.) Mega
Viewing Angle (Ver./Hor.) 178/178
Response Time 5ms GTG
Interface DVI-D Dual x 1, HDMI x1, USB3.0 (1 Up / 3 Down), Display Port x 1 Headphone Out
Stand Slim Height Stand (Pivot, Tilt, Height Adjustment)
Features Dual Link-up*, PBP(Picture-by-Picture), PIP (Picture–in-Picture), Adapter Holder, Super Energy Saving, Wall Mount (100 x 100)
Color Calibration True Color FinderPRO (S/W), External Calibrator, Factory Calibration

* At least one DisplayPort required for Dual Link-up features.