Middle East's biggest financial services event gets bigger

More than 100 exhibitors and 250 financial institutions from 33 countries attended MEFTEC 2004 at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre last November. With a 40% increase in the available exhibition space and an expanded conference programme, MEFTEC 2006 promises to be bigger and better.

"MEFTEC has exceeded our expectations both in terms of annual growth and its growing importance as an international forum for financial services professionals. Thanks to its tight focus and high quality of participation, the event has already become a byword in the region's financial industry,"

said Shaikh Duaij bin Salman Al Khalifa, Asst Undersecretary for Foreign Trade at Bahrain's Ministry of Industry and Commerce and Vice Chairman of the Bahrain Convention & Exhibition Bureau (BCEB), while addressing a news conference in Manama today.

Announcing Bahrain Monetary Agency's continued support for the event, Dr Abdul Rahman Saif, Executive Director, BMA, said: "The growth of MEFTEC is a reflection of the region's booming financial sector and underscores Bahrain's status as the pre-eminent financial hub of the region. At BMA, we are delighted to be associated with MEFTEC and will continue to extend our full support to the organisers."

The three-day exhibition and conference, organised by UK-based Media Generation Exhibitions Ltd in association with BCEB, is taking place at a time when the region's financial services industry is in the midst of an IT spending boom. Recent IDC research indicates the region's banks will continue to represent the largest single industry vertical in items of overall IT investments over the next five years. Current regional demand for financial technology is estimated at US$ 1 billion, with annual growth rate of 12-15%.

On display at MEFTEC will be a full spectrum of solutions for back-office operations, front-office processes, enterprise application integration, customer management, business intelligence, communications, risk management, security, payment systems and outsourcing.

"Based on the feedback received from last year's exhibitors, we have decided to widen our target audience to include decision-makers from the mainstream business functions. In addition to chief information officers, we will also be targeting heads and senior managers of operations, retail banking, corporate banking, treasury and risk management, so that exhibitors have an opportunity to meet senior executives from both business and technology domains," said Paul Stott, Managing Director of Media Generation.

The 2006 MEFTEC Conference, held under the theme "Moving from Technological Possibilities to Top-line Growth" is expected to assemble 40 top-notch speakers from across the world and is being put together under the guidance of Maris Strategies Ltd, led by its CEO, world-renowned thought leader and author, Joseph DiVanna.

In addition to exhibitors from 16 countries, and national pavilions from Pakistan and Bahrain, MEFTEC 2006 also boasts an unrivalled roster of sponsors, including Microsoft Corporation, ProgressSoft, HP, Misys, Tata Consultancy Services, LogicaCMG, Lightspeed Communications, 2Connect, Temenos, i-flex Solutions, ITS, VeriSign, Sybase, Nucleus Software and Naizak. Key media supporting the event include The Banker, Banker Middle East, IBS, FX&MM and Bobsguide.

Commenting on Microsoft's participation as a Headline Sponsor, Samir Benmakhlouf, Country Manager, Microsoft Bahrain said:

"MEFTEC is a key event for Microsoft and we are delighted to participate again this year. Microsoft is making giant strides in the financial services industry in the Middle East region. Our participation in the exhibition and conference helps us make further progress towards our vision of enabling financial institutions to respond quickly to market and business needs with their IT infrastructure. We look forward to a hugely successful MEFTEC for everyone involved."

MEFTEC takes place 13-15 February, 2006 at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre, Hall 2.