HiPipo Money

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Retains #1 ranking in the Middle East, brand value up 34 per cent

Dubai, UAE: 20 February, 2014: Emirates, a global connector of people and places, is the most valuable airline brand worldwide for the third consecutive year, according to The Brand Finance Global 500 report for 2014 that was released this week.

The airline, now at the 234th position in the list, is also the most valuable brand in the Middle East for the fourth consecutive year, and is currently valued at US $5.48 billion, an increase of 34 per cent over its 2013 value.

“A strong brand is an important business differentiator, and that is why Emirates has continually invested in our brand over the years. We are delighted that our brand valuation has increased and that Emirates has retained its top position, because this reflects our success in engaging our customers, and remaining relevant to them in a fast changing and highly competitive global environment,” said Boutros Boutros, Emirates’ Divisional Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, Marketing and Brand.

“Emirates flies more passengers over longer distances than any of its rivals and has become the standard by which other airline brands are judged. As employees of the Middle East’s most valuable brand, Emirates’ staff are ambassadors for the whole region, building bridges and good relationships across cultures with their impeccable service,” said David Haigh, Chief Executive, Brand Finance.

Emirates’ brand platform ‘Hello Tomorrow’ connects people and cultures by creating relevant and meaningful experiences that are shaping our world. It is an intrinsic part of airline’s aspirations to evolve into a global lifestyle brand – not just offer a way to connect people from one point to another, but work as a catalyst to connect people’s hopes, dreams and aspirations. A global audience now has diverse ways of engaging with Emirates through iconic sponsorships such as the FIFA World Cup™ and Formula One, to its many social media platforms.  Emirates is now one of the most engaged brands on Facebook not only in the airline category but amongst other lifestyle brands, with posts about its fleet, products, sponsorships and crew. Emirates is also the world’s largest airline on LinkedIn, and has an active presence on YouTube, Instagram and Google Plus.

With a fleet of 212 aircraft, Emirates operates services to 141 destinations in 80 countries from Dubai. With a multi-cultural work force which is made up of more than 48,000 people from over 160 different nations, Emirates embodies the spirit of the brand and its evolution is embedded internally with an outlook that celebrates the new, the pioneering and innovative in the world – empowering people to explore, engage and live.

Brand Finance, the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy, releases its annual Brand Finance Global 500 report which assesses the dollar value of the reputation, image and intellectual property of the world’s foremost brands across diverse categories. The ranking also considers in its valuation, a number of relevant attributes such as emotional connection, financial performance and sustainability, economic growth rates, revenue forecasts and analysts’ insights, amongst others.

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Moving along its new preposition of leading the delivery of a bold new digital world, MTN Uganda through its MTN Business platform has launched a new business positioning which advocates for fresh and new methods of doing business with the sole aim of helping business owners achieve progress and growth.

The MTN new business campaign comes against the backdrop of a series of SMS Business trainings that saw over 1,000 SMEs in Gulu and Mbarara benefit from MTN Business trainings in the last quarter of 2013.

Talking about the New Business Campaign, MTN Chief Marketing Officer Ernst Fonternel said in the new world, there is need for new thinking adding that MTN is leading the way in handing down to its customers in the business world, the New World thinking using the analogy of the coffee brewing process which requires the right steps for a good product.

He said: “This is the real deal. It is a world where people in business will always be connected to their businesses and their key account manager is just a phone call away. It is a world of solutions that meets and grows your needs. We are employing the latest technologies in addition to provision of next level support which we are optimistic will make small businesses bigger and big businesses better”

“You will agree with me that old ways of doing business can hold people back, while new ways have the potential to drive people forward and that’s exactly what the solutions offered by MTN business is all about. In the new campaign we demonstrate the “new ways” across various different business sectors in the value chain using the analogy of the journey of coffee along the value chain from bean to cup, as we tell the success story”. Fonternel added

To supplement the New Business Campaign, MTN has also launched a promotion where 4 lucky winners will win a fully connected office. The following “Fully connected Office” prizes are available

1^st Prize: 1 Desk Computer, 1 Laptop, 2 Tabs, 2 Fixed Lines, 2 LTE Routers and a 2Mbps MTN Broadband connection for 12 months.

2^nd Prize: 1 Laptop, 2 Tabs and 2 LTE Routers

3^rd Prize: 2 Tabs and 2 LTE Routers

4^th Prize: 2 Tabs and 2 LTE Routers

Fonternel said the launch will be characterised with customer engagement tents in the 6 popular malls in Kampala where a cup of fresh coffee will be served to all customers who visit the tent.

Fonternel said the campaign which is premised on the journey of coffee with a theme “meet over coffee”is MTN’s ways of reaching out to its diverse base of customers with innovative solutions to help them better their lives.

MTN has also continued to provide products and services aimed at making the lives of the business community as well as SMEs a whole lot more efficient like MTN Cloud services that is a one-stop shop for all business related data/software solutions.

Over the years the SME market has experienced exponential growth and has become an important element of Uganda’s economic growth. This background has led MTN to consistently support this vital and delicate sector of the economy.

About MTN Uganda

Launched in 1998, MTN Uganda is the leading communications operator in Uganda, offering Mobile and Fixed telecommunications, Mobile Money Services and Internet Service Provisioning. As of 30 September 2013, MTN Uganda recorded 8.4 million subscribers across Uganda. Visit us at www.mtn.co.ug and for our football fans www.mtnfootball.com. Customers can also follow us on www.youtube.com/mtnug and www.twitter.com/mtnugandacare for assistance.

About the MTN Group

Launched in 1994, the MTN Group is a leading emerging market operator, connecting subscribers in 22 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The MTN Group is listed on the JSE Securities Exchange in South Africa under the share code: “MTN.” As of 30 September 2013, MTN recorded 203.8 million subscribers across its operations in Afghanistan, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Cyprus, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Republic, Iran, Liberia, Nigeria, Republic of Congo (Congo Brazzaville), Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan,South Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Uganda, Yemen and Zambia. More info on www.mtn.com

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• BA to host charity Mini soccer tournament to raise funds for needy children in Uganda and other parts of the world
• Tournament to become an annual event on the Corporate league calendar
• BA to donate a revolving trophy which will be played for as a season opener for by Corporate League teams

British Airways and the Corporate League have entered a partnership to raise funds for disadvantaged youngsters in Uganda, through ‘Flying Start’ a BA and Comic Relief charity partnership initiative that raises fundsforunderprivilegedchildren all over the world.

Fundraising for the charity will be done through charity mini soccer tournament to be held at the Kyadondo Rugby Club on Sunday 23^rd February, 2014 featuring top Ugandan corporate teams with each team donating one million shillings to participate.

Making the announcement during a press conference at the British Airways offices, Faith Chaitezvi,British Airways Country Commercial Manager, Uganda said “we have entered this partnership with the corporate league because our goals, objectives and values are aligned. The corporate league is a solid organisation with a long and proud record of supporting charitable causes by bringing corporate companies together; BA has always believed that the best way of achieving tangible results in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility is by pooling resources together with likeminded partners”.

She continued “We appreciate that so many of the leading corporate companies have already registered for the tournament and willing to give back to the community, this is a welcome sign; we encourage many more companies to come and join us as we raise money for this cause which is a continuation of projects we have supported in the past”. Previous CSR projects BA has sponsored in Uganda include mosquito nets donation project in Hoima district where BA gave away thousands of nets to families in area’s afflicted by Malaria and a vaccination programme in Kawempe division.

Commenting on the partnership, Richard Kawere, Chairman  of the Corporate League said  ”We happy to join BA and other companies to raise money for this noble cause and are excited to add another activity to our annual Calendar. The BA charity soccer tournament marks the beginning of another highly competitive year for the Corporate League which is now in its 12^th season, we believe this charity league opener will become a much anticipated season curtain raiser in the years to come.

Talking about the composition of the teams Richard noted that each team would be made up of seven players one of which must be female with three substitutes, a team coach and a team manager. The winning team will receive the BA Charity Shield and a British Airways World Traveller return air ticket to fly to London, while all its members will be awarded with medals. The best female and male players, best goal keeper will also receive awards. Some of the teams who have already confirmed participation in the tournament include Civicon Group, G4S, AAR, DFCU Bank, SSL Logistics to name but a few.

Commenting on the partnership Faith expressed her gratitude to AAR Health Services who are sponsoring the first aid and medical requirements and G4S who are donating security support for the day.

“Our partnership with Corporate League is one that embraces a common value of Corporate Social Responsibility for which all the corporate companies participating in the annual league passionately share. As British Airways we are glad to be a part of this event which we have agreed to sponsor as an annual revolving trophy.  Faith concluded.

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Taipei became Emirates’ newest passenger destination when flight EK366 arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Monday inaugurating the airline’s daily non-stop service from Dubai International Airport.

“Emirates and Taipei began their partnership in 2003 when Emirates Skycargo launched freighter services from Dubai. I am proud that we have been able to increase our commitment and begin daily, non-stop passenger’s services from today,” said His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline & Group. 

“Dubai and Taipei are very similar, both are important trading hubs and today’s link will help to build on bilateral trade. We have been working hard to promote Taipei across our network and I am confident that the influx of business and leisure passengers will continue to grow,” added Sheikh Ahmed.   

Joining Sheikh Ahmed on the inaugural flight was Mr Ali Mubarak Al Soori, Emirates’ Executive Vice President – Chairman’s Office, Facilities/Projects Management and Procurement & Logistics; Mr. Mohammad AlGhaith;  Mr Nabil Sultan, Emirates’ Divisional Vice President, Cargo; MrRavishankarMirle, Emirates’ Vice President Cargo Commercial; MrAbdulhameed Ma, Director General, Commercial Office of Taiwan; MrShyhPerng Chang, Director, Taiwan Trade Centre, Dubai; Mr Jason Lai, Deputy Director General, Commercial Office of Taiwan;Mr Simon ChihHua Han, Chairman, Taiwanese Community; Mr Adel Ghafan Al Basti, Senior Executive Director – Engineering, Dubai Airport Freezone along with a group of media from the UAE and the GCC.   

The flight was greeted in Taipei with a traditional water cannon salute and the passengers were welcomed by Mr Yin Chen-Pong, Chairman of Taipei Taoyuan Airport Authority, Barry Brown, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations East and Edwin Lau, Emirates’ Vice President Hong Kong and Taiwan. 

The inaugural flight to Taipei was operated by Captain Ali Al Jallaf from the UAE along with First Officer Wen Haw Chi from Taiwan and First Officer ShehabHamza also from the UAE. Captain Hao Chen Huang and First Officer Amy Li Lyons, both from Taiwan, operated the inaugural flight from Taipei along with First Officer Peter Hutchings from the United Kingdom. 

Emirates’ Taipei service is operated by a Boeing 777-300ER, equipped with eight luxurious private suites in First Class, 42 lie-flat seats in Business Class, and generous space for 304 passengers in Economy Class. In-flight passengers enjoy gourmet cuisine in all classes, served by Emirates’ multinational cabin crew of over 132 nationalities, including Taiwanese.  

The aircraft also features ice, Emirates’ award-winning inflight entertainment system which has over 1,600 channels showing the latest blockbusters, subtitled Hollywood films, music, TV and games. 

Taipei, home to nearly seven million people, is an economic and cultural centre with renowned sights, attractions and a myriad of shopping options. The destination is famous for producing and exporting electronics, textiles, plastics and rubber, optical and photographic instruments and chemicals. 

As a tourist there is plenty to do in Taiwan, with eight national parks and 13 national scenic areas visitors can enjoy trekking in the magnificence of the cliffs at Taroko Gorge; taking a ride on the Alishan Forest Railway or hiking up to the summit of Northeast Asia’s highest peak, Yu Mountain. 

Emirates now operates services to 141 destinations in 80 countries from Dubai. So far in 2014 Emirates has launched flights Kiev and from 10th March will fly non-stop to Boston from Dubai, the airline’s ninth destination in North America.