National Bonds goes weekly

National Bonds, the UAE's raffle-cum-savings-scheme, is announcing weekly winners of Dh1m each from here on out. It had been doing a monthly draw. The company, a Dubai-government-owned enterprise, takes the money people invest and puts most of it in safe places. A good portion of its funds, however, go towards more-risky ventures that stand to turn a profit - and potentially a big one. The bonds last year returned investors over 7 per cent, a great number in this less-than-stellar economy. The year before, they delivered over 6 per cent. In all likelihood, the increased frequency of draws represents an effort to get more people to invest. In any case, it's a type of Shariah-compliant investment that's been growing quickly in popularity these past few years, as Bradley Hope reported recently in The National . National Bonds announces major changes to draw format Dubai, UAE 03 May 2009: National Bonds Corporation, the UAE's innovative Shari'a compliant National Saving scheme has announced a major revamp to the draw format of its popular saving scheme by changing the draw from a monthly to a weekly format. This new structure is aimed to encourage more people to save and reward them by becoming Millionaires every week. National Bonds Corporation has taken the lead role to promote the savings culture and strongly believes that by increasing the draw frequency it will help bondholders to achieve their short and long term goals. The first weekly National Bonds Millionaire will be announced on 9 th May 2009 and from then on every Saturday of the week. The increase in the frequency of its draws follows the remarkable success that National Bonds achieved for all its bondholders with the highest annual profit rate of 7.07 percent in 2008, up from an already impressive 6.03 % in 2007. At present, National Bonds has a customer base of over half a million bondholders across 91 nationalities, and expects sales to grow by 100% in 2009. Announcing the new draw structure, Mr. Mohammed Qasim Al Ali, CEO of National Bonds Corporation, said: "National Bonds has just got more rewarding, we already have 37 Millionaires since our launch in March 2006, and with this new weekly draw structure we hope to fulfil the aspirations of many more of our bondholders and see even more "Millionaires" in the National Bonds family. Through our new weekly prize draws, we will reward over AED 60 million in prize money and make 39 Millionaires in 2009. I know that this new change will be enthusiastically welcomed by our bondholders and let many more of you share in the success of National Bonds". Under the new format, there will be 101 prizes every week and will be distributed across different prize categories AED1 million, AED10,000, AED5,000, AED1,000 AED500. This amounts to an impressive AED1,155,000 in total prize money each week. Bondholders eligible to win the grand prize of AED1 million every week are those with minimum savings of AED10,000. While all bondholders regardless of their savings amount, are eligible for the remaining 100 prizes. Mr. Al Ali added that due to the growing popularity of the scheme, and despite the current economic climate felt around the world, or perhaps because of it, "our bondholders are wisely choosing to use National Bonds as a safe option for their money, using our Shari'a compliant products to protect their savings". "As a socially responsible organization, we have taken the lead in encouraging people to save and plan for a secure future. National Bonds combines above-benchmark returns with the security of a government-owned financial institution that is licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of the UAE. For these reasons, National Bonds is a trustworthy and an extremely safe way to grow your savings. "This year, National Bonds is committed to increase the number of savers and hope the existing bondholders increase their bond value through numerous initiatives like the new draw format, and further expansion of the distribution network and introduction of innovative products and services". National Bonds can be purchased from nearly 500 outlets nationwide, including exchange houses and banks, online at www.nationalbonds.ae or by calling toll free 800-BONDS (26637) For more information on National Bonds call Toll free 800-BONDS (26637)