Mashreq creates 21 Millionaires in first half of 2009
11 July 2009
Doha, Qatar, July 11, 2009 – Mashreq announced today that as a result of the launch of MashreqMillionaire’s “a million every Thursday” campaign in February 2009, 21 new millionaires have been created by the unique risk-free savings scheme during the first half of 2009. Designed by Mashreq, the MashreqMillionaire savings scheme has promised to create greater investment opportunities for its customers, with the added incentive of better chances for them to become millionaires.
With a new product strategy and focus unveiled during the first quarter of the year, MashreqMillionaire now operates a weekly draw each Thursday with an 'Invest today, win tomorrow' philosophy. MashreqMillionaire provides greater flexibility for customers saving plans in light of the current economic climate, which requires banks to provide customers with improved savings options.
"The challenging economic environment has made customers re-evaluate their investment strategies and focus, with greater emphasis on how they can get the most value out of their money," said Gary Mond, Senior Vice President of Retail Banking in Mashreq. "While cutting back on their spending, customers have begun to question a host of decisions that are usually taken for granted. In a bid to support the community within which we operate, we encourage customers to invest in MashreqMillionaire which is a capital guaranteed plan that allows them the chance to save and be substantially rewarded."
One of the many weekly winners during June was Mashreq Qatar customer Mr. Ali Abdullah Al Bulushi, who works at Doha International Airport for the Qatar Jet Fuel company. He had purchased MashreqMillionaire certificates from the C-Ring branch and is now the lucky winner of QR 1,000,000!
When Mashreq tried to contact Ali to inform him about the good news, they realized that he was vacationing abroad during the summer. The Mashreq team obtained his contact information abroad from his employer and called him up to inform him that he had won QAR 1,000,000. Ali initially thought that this was too good to be true, and his first question was, “Is this a practical joke?” – Ali had actually forgotten that he had purchased 5 MashreqMillionaire certificates from Mashreq way back in 2003! When Ali was told that this was no joke and he had really won QAR 1,000,000, he still still couldn’t believe his luck and asked his family in Doha to visit the Mashreq branch and verify the good news themselves. When asked what he would do with the QAR 1,000,000, Ali said that he would leave his winnings in the MashreqMillionaire savings scheme since now he had many more chances to win.
"Each of our winners has a unique story to tell, and each has had their lives enhanced through our savings scheme. It is extremely rewarding to provide customers with a product through which their lives can be dramatically changed for the better," added Howard Kitson, Country Head of Mashreq Qatar. "Mashreq is a bank on the move, and we continue to simplify our processes and provide value added services, and creative and rewarding products to all our customers."
Having distributed almost QAR 280 million in its lifespan of fourteen years, Mashreq's legacy of innovative offerings has inspired product development throughout the region. It has created over 170 millionaires since its inception across many nationalities and will continue to do so through weekly draws.
As summer holidays begin, this is a great time to invest in MashreqMillionaire. A QR 1,000 deposit in MashreqMillionaire could win customers QAR 1,000,000 every week while they are on vacation!
The next draw to create the 24th millionaire for the year will be held on Thursday 16th July 2009. MashreqMillionaire certificates are available at all Mashreq branches and Mashreq's banking customers can also purchase online via http://www.mashreqbank.com.qa.