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DIFC Forum, Sustaining growth requires breakthrough thinking and new ideas, says HE Dr. Omar Bin Sulaiman

  • United Arab Emirates: Monday, November 24 - 2008 at 16:52
  • PRESS RELEASE

His Excellency Dr. Omar Bin Sulaiman, Governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and Vice Chairman of the UAE Central Bank today said breakthrough thinking and ideas are necessary to sustain the growth of the region's economy in the face of the global financial crisis.

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He was speaking at the DIFC Forum, the second major business conference that forms part of DIFC Week, the Dubai International Financial Centre's (DIFC) prestigious annual series of business events.

HE Dr. Bin Sulaiman, said:
"In a time when we took growth as a given and rewards as inevitable, traditional management methods were more than good enough. Today, however, sustaining growth requires breakthrough thinking and new ideas. This is our challenge, and yours. People say problems are the mothers of solutions. But, I say crisis is the mother of opportunities."


"Over the past decade, Dubai has been synonymous with the term 'opportunity'. The evidence is all around us, and all of you contributed to it. If we are to benefit from this positive energy, I urge you all to place your old habits and comfortable ways of doing business aside, and listen to each other with open minds. Only then will we unleash the creative thinking that is required to come up with exceptional solutions to the exceptional crisis that we face today," he added.

HE Dr. Bin Sulaiman further said that the global community is entering uncharted waters and therefore facing uncertain times. "As we all know, uncertainty and risk are inherent in the nature of the financial system itself. None of us can forecast the future, not today and not tomorrow. Not in the best of times, nor in the days of greatest challenge. We can manage risk but we cannot obviate it. This is our eternal challenge," he said.


The DIFC Forum, is discussing critical issues like the impact of the global financial crisis on the region, the next generation of Islamic Finance, emerging markets in and after the financial crisis, and energy geopolitics in an era of structural change. Later in the session, HE Mohamed Alabbar, Chairman, The Advisory Council, Government of Dubai and Chairman, Emaar Properties delivered the key note address at the DIFC Forum, where he reiterated that Dubai will take every possible measure to safeguard itself from the global financial crisis.

With over 70 speakers from the world's major international markets, 21 separate sessions, and a televised debate on how to get confidence back in the global financial markets, DIFC Week will address the most important issues faced by businesses in the region both in the current financial climate and in the future. Topics to be discussed at the four-day event include growth strategies, opportunities and major challenges for family businesses both locally and internationally, the economic outlook for the world and the GCC in 2009, attracting foreign investment and human capital in the Arab world, and the practicalities of establishing operations in Dubai.

Closing DIFC Week will be a Conference on 26 November titled: 'The Inside Track on Dubai', which will involve a series of commercial, regulatory and teaching streams that discuss the practicalities of establishing operations in Dubai covering issues such as raising capital and understanding cultural aspects of living and working in the Emirate.

DIFC Week is proud to be supported by its Platinum Sponsors including Deutsche Bank and Abraaj Capital, and Sponsors who include Itau Securities and Goldman Sachs . In addition, the DIFC Week Conference is sponsored by Alvarez & Marsal, Conyers, Dill & Pearman, Emirates NBD, Grant Thornton, HAYS, International Compliance Training (ICT) Middle East, Kershaw Leonard, Latham and Watkins, M: Communications, Norton Rose and Union Properties while the DIFC Week Gala Networking Reception is sponsored by SungardThe DIFC Summit is run in association with the Tharawat Family Business Forum.

DIFC Week is also grateful for the active support and involvement of its Knowledge Partners who include Al Tamimi & Company, British Business Group, DIFC Centre of Excellence, Oxford Analytica, Simmons & Simmons, Young Arab Leaders, and DNM connect; its Media Partners which are, AME Info, Arabian Business,, Al Arabiya News Channel, CNBC, Dow Jones, Dubai Eye, Financial News, The Times, The Sunday Times, SAB Media, The Wall Street Journal, Oxford Business Group and Zawya; as well as DIFC Week's Joint Marketing Partner, Dubai Corporate Counsel Group..

In addition, DIFC Week also expresses its gratitude to Itau Securities, the Sponsors of the DIFC Week Golf Championships.
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Notes and media contacts

About DIFC:
The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) is an onshore hub for global finance. It bridges the time gap between the financial centres of Hong Kong and London and services a region with the largest untapped emerging market for financial services. Since November 2004, over 650 firms have registered at DIFC. They operate in an open environment complemented with world-class regulations and standards. DIFC offers its member institutions incentives such as 100 per cent foreign ownership, zero tax on income and profits and no restrictions on foreign exchange. In addition, their business benefits from modern infrastructure, operational support and business continuity facilities of uncompromisingly high standards. In March 2008, the City of London's Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) ranked Dubai as the region's fastest growing financial hub.


About Tharawat Family Business Forum:
The Tharawat Family Business Forum is a network of family-owned enterprises in the Arab World. The organisation provides a platform for the exchange of ideas and experiences on business and management issues related to family businesses in the Arab world. Tharawat's vision is to become the first-choice networking and mutual-assistance forum for family businesses in the Arab world. Through its network of members, Tharawat aims to encourage collaboration and alliances among family-owned and controlled firms in the region.

It provides its members specialised education and helps them leverage business opportunities in the region and beyond. The forum seeks to bring a new focus on the business, social and cultural challenges facing family firms in the region. It promotes and sponsors research that helps advance the sustainable development of family businesses. It also works to raise public awareness of new developments within the family business sector. The Tharawat Family Business Forum has a governance structure designed to guarantee the transparency of its activities and its receptivity to high-quality inputs from both members and external experts. The members of Tharawat constitute an innovative and committed community of family-owned businesses, working together to improve collaboration, business growth, and prosperity.

About Deutsche Bank:
Deutsche Bank is a leading global investment bank with a strong and profitable private clients franchise. A leader in Germany and Europe, the bank is continuously growing in North America, Asia and key emerging markets. With 81,308 employees in 75 countries, Deutsche Bank offers unparalleled financial services throughout the world. The bank competes to be the leading global provider of financial solutions for demanding clients creating exceptional value for its shareholders and people.

Deutsche Bank's commitment in the MENA region is more than a century old, beginning with the Bank's financing of the construction of the Baghdad railway. Deutsche Bank opened its first office in Cairo in 1959, followed in the early seventies by an office in Bahrain. In 1999, Deutsche Bank embarked on a regional expansion drive across the GCC which began with the opening of an office in the UAE's Capital Abu Dhabi in 1999, followed by two offices in Dubai: a representative office inaugurated in 2001 and a branch at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) in 2005.

In April of 2006, Deutsche Bank opened a branch in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in the capital Riyadh. In November of 2007, Deutsche Bank opened its branch in the Qatar Financial Centre in Doha. Deutsche Bank AG in the MENA region offers the full range of investment banking, asset management; private wealth management; and global transaction banking services. Deutsche Bank AG is well recognized for its leading role on some of the most prestigious regional transactions. The Bank is the recipient of several regional and international awards in recognition for its achievements in investment banking and Islamic finance in the region.

About Abraaj Capital:
Dubai-based Abraaj Capital is the largest private equity company in the Middle East and North Africa with more than $7.5bn of assets under management. Established in 2002, the company has led the way in developing the private equity industry in the region. Abraaj Capital Ltd. is licensed by the Dubai Financial Services Authority, which operates according to international regulatory standards. The company's more than 165 'best in class' employees are drawn from the global talent pool, and span more than two dozen nationalities. Abraaj Capital invests in the growing Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region and has executed some of its landmark deals. These include the $1.41bn purchase in 2007 of Egyptian Fertilizers Company, the largest leveraged buy-out in MENA. Abraaj Capital has won several industry awards, including 'Middle Eastern Private Equity Firm of the Year' from Private Equity International (2005, 2006 & 2007). On average, Internal Rates of Return exceed 50%.

For further information, kindly contact:
Iman Ahmad
Regional Media Relations Manager
DIFC
Level 14, The Gate
P.O. Box 74777, Dubai, UAE
T: +971 4 362 2685
F: +971 4 362 2333

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