No.14, March 2007


Responsible Editor: Mrs Renate HUSSEINI, member of the Board and Coordinator.

Editorial

Dear member of SGBGJ,

Several outstanding events have taken place in the last few weeks (see below  under the heading " Highlights of the past") and more is to come, even if -unfortunately - we had to cancel the planned visit to the Tayma archeological excavations as a consequence to the killing of several French expatriates in the region north of Medina. It is very sad and our compassionate thoughts go out to the families of the victims.
I am sorry to announce that for some private and family business I will be out of the Kingdom for several weeks, starting next Saturday. But you can always reach me by email to sgbgjrh@gmail.com


Future Events
Concert : "The Boogie Man":  Vince Weber
Thursday, 15th of March, 8.00 p.m., Italian Club
Come and swing with us to the lively boogie-woogie music of this very talented German artist.  He plays the piano and sings at the same time..... quite a feat!
Entrance fee is 100.- SR /  But  free entrance for SGBG 2007 members. Please retain your seat by email to sgbgjrh@gmail.com


Highlights of the Past

'Germany through Arabian Eyes'
Photo exhibition by the Saudi photographer Abdul Rahman Alhasani. Wednesday, 7th of February at 8.30 p.m.

Visit:
National Prawn Company, Thursday, 1st of March 2007.

Thanks to an extensive protection of our convoy by security forces we were able to go ahead as planned with this outing in spite of the recent very sad events in northern Saudi Arabia. Our group composed of 7 cars set out for Al-Lith around 8.15 in the morning and upon arrival we were greeted by Mr. Dieter Moeller, our host at NPC.
A very instructive Powerpoint presentation of all stages of this fully integrated Shrimp Farming Project, from hatcheries (located on a very well protected island to avoid any contamination),  to the shrimps growing to full size in 10 different farms in very large ponds (approx. 300 x 300 m) , to harvesting during the night when the shrimps are attracted by a very strong light, to processing and packaging the harvested shrimp in a large variety of conditioning (raw or cooked, frozen or fresh, with heads and shells, without heads but with shells etc. etc.) ,
was completed by explanations concerning the composition of the shrimps' feed, the seawater intake, the flow of the fresh water from a feeder canal into the ponds, the clearing of the waste water by sedimentation and many more aspects of this huge project. The whole area covered actually stretches out on more than 35 km of land, and there are plans for an extension over an additional 45 km.
After a virtual tour of the whole area on a big model we set out on a visit of the installations with a demo of the harvesting as a highlight. Then we spent quite a long time at the processing plant watching the washing, sorting and packaging of the shrimp and finally enjoyed an excellent lunch buffet, with all sorts of  shrimp dishes.
On the way back to Jeddah we faced a strong sandstorm and our cars' paint suffered quite a bit, but all of us were very happy to have had such an interesting day out. We are deeply grateful to Mr. Moeller for the perfect organisation of this visit.

Members' Corner:

As most of our upcoming projects are limited regarding the number of participants, we are obliged to prefer members having paid their 2007 membership fee. Consequently, you should not hesitate any more to become a fully fledged 2007 member of SGBG.
Important :  Please note that 2006 members wishing to continue their membership in 2007 do not need to send a new application form; they simply pay their new membership fee and eventually inform us about any change in their data (new phone number, new e-mail address, new company etc.)

Business News

• Saudi Arabia's International Trade Fair

• Saudi Arabia's 25th Multi-Sectoral Trade and Franchising Expo for Light Industries & Machinery, Consumer Goods, Giftware, Clothing, Textiles, Leather Goods, Fashion Accessories, Cosmetics and Perfumes.

German Language Center

DEUTSCHE SPRACHKURSE            GERMAN LANGUAGE COURSES
 Sprechen Sie Deutsch?

Actually there is a session in progress which lasts from 24.02 - 04.04. 2007

Enrolment and information :  Please contact the office at the German International School  in Jeddah.
Phone : 02 691 35 84
E-mail : office@German-School-Jeddah.org

Office hours: Saturday to Wednesday from 8.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.
 

Miscellaneous: Found on the Internet

We continue the series of Board members' company Websites with:

http://www.saparabia.com/ , the company of  the Enany family

Headquartered in Walldorf, Germany, SAP is the world's largest inter-enterprise software company, and the world's third-largest independent software supplier overall. SAP employs over 27,800 people in more than 50 countries. Founded in 1972, SAP is the recognized leader in providing collaborative e-business solutions for all types of industries and for every major market.

Established in 1994 in Jeddah and Dubai, SAP Arabia has enjoyed huge success while in charge of distributing SAP solutions in 19 countries in the Middle East and North Africa including (Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, New Palestine, Oman,  Qatar, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen) .

SAP Arabia has offices and training facilities in Jeddah, Dubai, and Cairo dedicated to bring support services closer to customers and partners across the Middle East & North Africa.

In the Middle East, SAP Arabia increased its market share from 30.2 per cent in 2004 to 33.1 per cent in 2005 while its nearest competitor has a market share of 23.3 per cent. Total spending on software solutions in the MENA region reached $187.35 million in 2005, representing an increase of 16 per cent year-on-year and is expected to be worth around $ 371.08 million in 2010. Saudi Arabia was the largest market with 43.9 per cent share and the UAE second with 26.8 per cent share of the regional market in 2005.

The website as such is well designed but does not offer any specific information on SAP Arabia; it is mostly a SAP website where only the contact data and some Middle Eastern press releases were added.