Moody's appoints General Manager to its Dubai office

Dr El-Nakla will oversee Moody's operations in the Middle East with responsibility for directing and coordinating the company's business as well as the regulatory and key client relationships in the region.

Dr El-Nakla's appointment follows the official opening of the rating agency's office in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)earlier this year.

"Dr El-Nakla has worked in the banking sector for 19 years, mostly in the Middle East, and brings extensive understanding of local capital markets. His strong credit management and financial analysis skills will serve him in good stead in his new role at Moody's," said Mr Frederic Drevon, Head of Moody's Investors Service in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

"His appointment to our Dubai office is a key milestone in Moody's historical commitment to the Middle East in general and the GCC region in particular," added Mr Drevon.

"Moody's believes that conventional debt and Islamic Finance markets will be critical to the future of Middle Eastern capital markets," stated Dr. El-Nakla.

"This year has seen a tremendous boom in the number of credit ratings that Moody's has assigned in the region, and we expect this trend to continue as key regional companies look to establish international credibility and financing."

Dr El-Nakla joins Moody's from the Arab National Bank in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where he was Deputy General Manager and Credit Controller. Prior to that, Dr El-Nakla worked for Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation as well as Arab Bank plc in London in various
positions.

Dr El-Nakla holds a PhD in Numerical Analysis from Loughborough University of Technology (UK), and also holds undergraduate qualifications in computer science and mathematics from Dundee University (UK) and Garyounis University (Libya), respectively. Dr El-Nakla speaks Arabic and English fluently.

Today's announcement follows the ongoing posting of senior Moody's analytical staff to the rating agency's DIFC office over the past ten months.

"This allocation of analytical talent is a direct response to the growing needs of local clients and the vast potential Moody's sees in the region," noted Dr El-Nakla.

The analysts already based at Moody's DIFC office include Mr Philipp Lotter, Vice-President/Senior Credit Officer with responsibility for corporate ratings; Mr Peter Carvalho, Vice-President/Senior Analyst with responsibility for bank ratings; and, most recently, Mr Tristan Cooper, Vice-President/ Senior Analyst with responsibility for sovereign ratings in the region.

"We expect to continue to move more analytical resources to the Gulf as we see further growth in the areas already covered, as well as increased demand for Moody's ratings in the areas of Funds, Insurance, as well as Project and Structured Finance," added Dr El-Nakla.