• In line with UAE’s new corporate governance law to be introduced in April 2010
• Grant Thornton UAE gold sponsors of 4^th Annual Corporate Governance Congress in Dubai

Highlighting its commitment to best practice auditing and management practices, Grant Thornton, one of the world’s leading independently owned accounting and consulting firms, supported the Fourth Annual Corporate Governance Congress in Dubai last week. The congress, held between February 28-March 4, provided key insights into challenges and opportunities for the UAE in preparation of new corporate governance laws to be introduced next month.

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Deep structural changes and changing attitudes toward risk are driving long-term growth in the insurance sector within the Middle East and North Africa region, said HE Ahmed Humaid Al Tayer, Governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).

Speaking at a reception hosted by DIFC yesterday for delegates of the inaugural World Space Risk Forum, a bi-annual conference that brings together professionals in the space business, the DIFC Governor said: “The region’s huge programme of infrastructure spending on energy, water, transportation and petrochemicals is creating mega projects that require insurance and reinsurance services.”

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Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) announced today the launch of Al Islami Muthmir, a distinctive investment plan that offers a built-in family takaful cover. The latest addition to DIB’s range of Sharia-compliant investment products, Al Islami Muthmir is a medium- to long-term plan that offers investors access to a range of top performing Sharia-compliant funds.

Ideal for high net worth individuals, Al Islami Muthmir is a single contribution investment plan with a minimum contribution of AED 100,000 or USD 30,000 and no fixed term. Based on the Wakalah principle of Islamic banking, the plan allows customers to invest in a selection of funds based on their investment needs and risk appetite, and can be partially or fully withdrawn at any time.

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Peak Ridge Capital, a leading alternative asset management company, today announced the appointment of Gary King as a Senior Strategic Advisor.  He will assist in the firm’s continuing expansion of its alternative investments platform and its introduction to the MENA region.

Gary King has more than two decades of international experience across the energy and financial sectors, working for leading companies such as Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), Neste Oy, Morgan Stanley, and Macquarie Bank.  He is a pioneer in the Middle East private equity sector and was instrumental in developing the Standard Bank/GIB GCC Energy Fund. This was the first fund established in the GCC to invest exclusively in the energy sector and one of the first companies to be incorporated and licensed within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). He has also had an influential role in developing and implementing other regional private equity initiatives focused on energy, natural resources and infrastructure.

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Expansion of bank’s Private Banking services in line with increasing client demand

In line with increasing demand for its bespoke wealth management solutions, Emirates NBD, the largest banking group in the Middle East in terms of assets, announced today the official inauguration of its first Private Banking Centre in Abu Dhabi. Emirates NBD’s fourth Private Banking Center now in operation in the country, complements the bank’s existing presence with three offices in Dubai, an office in London, in addition to the international expansion plan to other regions.

Emirates NBD Private Banking provides clients with a dedicated private banker and a team of investment professionals, offering a portfolio of innovative services across all asset classes, including equity investments, bonds, mutual funds, real estate advisory, trusts and a full range of Sharia-compliant products and services.

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• Abu Dhabi Government department accounting is being unified to ensure improved consistency, transparency and accountability
• DoF has taken lead role in this pioneering and collaborative project
• Over 140 Abu Dhabi government department representatives attend

Following instructions from H.H Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, and H.H Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and under the guidance of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Finance (DoF), DoF has held a workshop on the ‘New Government Accounting Directory’, for local government representatives, complementing its plans to unify all the financial systems across governmental departments in the Emirate.

Inaugurated by H.E Mohammed Sultan Al Hamli, Executive Director at DoF, the workshop was attended by 140 participants including managers, executives, and other representatives of all government departments in the Emirate. DoF is currently implementing a financial systems development project designed to unify the financial and accounting systems used by government departments in Abu Dhabi. The objectives of the workshop was to outline the basis of the new systems, as well as encourage support for an integrated accounting directory, which will be the main reference source for all government departments in Abu Dhabi. Read more

Emirates Money demonstrates commitment to supporting higher education, local community

In line with its commitment to supporting the advancement of higher education and the needs of the local community, Emirates Money, a consumer finance company and part of the Emirates NBD Group, announced today that it served as sponsor of the alumni meeting in Dubai of the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM), the foremost network of graduate business schools in the world’s second most populous nation.

Created by the Government of India with the aim of identifying the brightest intellectual talent in the country’s student community and equipping them with the world’s best management practices, IIM currently provides higher educational training at seven autonomous campuses across the subcontinent.

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Tamweel has requested the resumption of trading in its shares in the next month and is in discussions with the UAE federal government over financial assistance, according Reuters.

The second Islamic Financial Services Mission, organised by Dubai Export Development Corporation, ended in a high note with further dialogues already in progress with state and federal regulators to make legislative changes to support the growth in Australia’s Islamic financial sector.

The recently concluded mission, which aims to strengthen the exports of Dubai’s Islamic Financial products and services, was the largest focused sector outward trade mission planned by EDC, an agency of the Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED), Government of Dubai.

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