· Company also ranked 1st in three other categories: Best Website in Kuwait, Best Website for Media and Best Website for Social Media
· Largest 80 companies in the region ranked by 500 international business journalists, analysts and investors based on a protocol of 140 criteria
Abu Dhabi, 13 December 2010
Zain, the leading mobile network operator in the Middle East, ranked first in four categories in the second “GCC Webranking” survey of the largest 80 leading companies by market capitalization in the GCC, conducted by Hallvarsson & Halvarsson’s (H&H), the leading online corporate communications agency (and a member of the King Worldwide Group), that specializes in such rankings across the globe.
www.zain.com was awarded the Best Corporate Website in the Middle East; Best Website in Kuwait; Best Website for Media and Best Website for Social Media at a ceremony held in Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital.
Zain moved from last year’s third position to take the top spot in the Best Corporate Website category, while for the second year running Zain was ranked first in Kuwait, where the company was founded and where it is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange. It was the inaugural year for both the Media and Social Media awards. Zain is striving to engage all its customers in the social media world by being very active across many of its operations on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube as well as actively communicating with the blogger community across the region.
The sites of those shortlisted were assessed according to 140 criteria, gleamed from H&H’s annual survey of over 500 international business journalists, analysts and investors, to identify what information and functionality they value most highly from a listed company’s corporate website.
Zain Group’s Chief Commercial Officer Bashar Arafeh said that the recognition was yet another demonstration, not only of the impact the Zain brand has had over the past three years but also in the way it has captured the public, media and investor community’s imagination. “The Zain brand is a fixture in the Middle East’s corporate landscape. As this region enters a new and exciting phase in its development, it is brands like Zain that will be remembered as pioneers in the GCC’s economic diversification in the early 21 century.”
Staffan Lindgren, Executive Partner of H&H said that the number of international investors eyeing up Gulf opportunities is increasing by the day and online communication is an area that regional companies in the Gulf cannot ignore. “Zain has gone the extra mile. As a telecom company, it has demonstrated that it understands the importance of a strong online presence for the media, analyst and investor community as a key aspect of any successful investor relations strategy. It also has recognized the necessity of social media in catering for all ages in today’s increasingly online era.”
This year’s event was supported by the Middle East Investor Relations Society (MEIRS), which is dedicated to promoting excellence for investor relations standards across the region.
Note to editors:
The criteria and how companies are evaluated: The H&H Webranking protocol consists of 140 criteria divided into 11 sections, for a maximum score of 100 points. The most heavily weighted section is the financial information making up 30% of the final score.
H&H Webranking protocol by section
1. Technology
2. Functions
3. Start page
4. General information
5. Press
6. Financial information
7. Corporate Governance
8. Corporate Social Responsibility
9. Contact
10. Calendar
11. Careers.
About H&H and King Worldwide:
King Worldwide is the leading global Financial Communications and Stakeholder Management firm. The King Worldwide family comprises of leading proxy solicitation company D. F. King & Co., Europe’s fastest growing financial communications consultancy M:Communications, the top-ranked Nordic investor relations and online communications firm Hallvarsson & Halvarsson, the premier capital markets intelligence company Capital Precision, a leading alternate asset investor and media relations consultancy Broadgate Consultants, premier international investor relations consultancy Taylor Rafferty and Donlin, Recano & Co., a leading bankruptcy claims and noticing agent. King Worldwide employs over 900 staff serving more than 1,000 clients through our offices in New York, Chicago, London, Stockholm, Moscow, Dubai, Hong Kong and Taipei.
About Zain
Zain is a leading telecommunications operator across the Middle East providing mobile voice and data services to over 35.3 million active customers as of 30 September 2010 with a commercial presence in 8 countries. Zain operates in the following countries: Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Sudan. In Lebanon, the company manages ‘mtc-touch’ on behalf of the government. In Morocco, Zain has a 15.5% stake in Wana Telecom, now branded ‘INWI’, through a joint venture. Zain is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (stock ticker: ZAIN) with a current market capitalization of KWD 6.3 billion (US $22 billion) as at December 13, 2010.
