The press conference was held in the presence of His Excellency Mr. Koichi Kawakami Ambassador of Japan in Lebanon, His Excellency Deputy Serge Tor Sarkissina, Mr. Jean Asmar President of Hazmieh Municipality, Mr. Michel El Murr President of Zalka Municipality, Dato Akira Okabe Senior Managing Director & Member of the Board of TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION, overlooking after Middle East, Africa, Latin America, Asia & Oceania operation, Mr. Jim Sakaguchi General Manager Middle East Division, Mr. Shuji Eguchi Chief Representative Sales & Marketing, Bahrain representative office and press and media representatives. The Master of Ceremony, famous TV anchor Mr. George Kordahi held the opening speech of the event followed by Mr. Pierre Boustany welcoming all his guests to the prestigious new facility in Zalka. Mr. Philip F. Boustany, Managing Director of BUMC, spoke about the new premises on Zalka Highway, a unique spacious piece of architecture, environmentally friendly built as per the latest technologies.Mr. Boustany revealed his vision to attract young people toward the newest sporty vehicles from TOYOTA and LEXUS as well. Mr. Philip is the first descendant of Boustany’s family 4th generation bringing a new perspective to the mother company. Mr. Bernard Bridi, LEXUS Brand Officer, spoke about the luxurious LEXUS brand focusing on the aesthetics, design and performance offered by LEXUS in redefining luxury. He also spoke about the state-of-the-art LEXUS showroom where all senses are teased to reveal the “Pursuit of Perfection”. Dr. Fred G. Boustany in his speech focused on the attributes that differentiate TOYOTA from its competitors, among them: Safety, Resale Value, Maintenance and prices of Spare Parts. All these elements combined stand out to make TOYOTA, customer’s first choice. Dr. Boustany also revealed BUMC’s newest project in Hazmieh which will be completed by 2012 and which will be one of a kind Eco-Architecture construction challenging the global warming and protecting the environment just as a hybrid car. Dr. Boustany spoke as well about the innovative hybrid technologies offered by the mother company where 50% of TOYOTA and LEXUS line-up of BUMC will be Eco-Friendly (Hybrid & Electrical) in the 5 years to come. And last but not least, the presence of Dato Akira Okabe at this exclusive conference made it special as he spoke about the exceptional relationship with BUMC and the continuous improvement and tremendous efforts that keep the two brands LEXUS and TOYOTA as market leaders, thus, winning the highest “International Awards of Excellence” and the highest “Customer Satisfaction” for decades. BUMC has and will always be a leader and one of the most admired corporations with a Strategic Horizontal Management System that encourages open communication between Board Members, Top Management and Stakeholders