MANY of the world’s leading economic and financial experts are gathered in Dubai for the Broader MENA Investment Summit that opens at the Dubai International Financial Centre today (Tuesday, Feb 20).
The two-day event is organised by the World Bank Group’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency and the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit, a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group, in association with DIFC.
Event managers are the Al Iktissad Wal Aamal Group.
The summit covers a wide range of topics including investment opportunities and obstacles, the rise of Islamic financial instruments, regional privatisation trends, the prospects for basic industries, and coping with global competition.
The summit is staged under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Minister of Finance and Industry of the United Arab Emirates, and the inaugural address will be presented by HE Dr Mohamed Khalfan bin Khirbash, the UAE Minister of State for Finance and Industry.
First day speakers include Dr Ahmed Mohamed Ali, president of the Islamic Development Bank Group, and Dr Abdel-Rahman Taha, general manager of the ICIEC/Islamic Development Bank Group.
A session on ‘Investment Challenges in the Broader MENA Region’ will be chaired by Ms Yukiko Omura, executive vice-president of the MIGA/World Bank Group, along with Etisalat chairman HE Mohammad Hasan Omran, HE Sheikh Mohammad Ali Reza, Chairman of Xenel Group, Khalid Howladar, vice-president, Middle East and Islamic Structured Finance, Moody's Investors Service; and Ms Monica Malik, senior economist for the Middle East, Standard Chartered Bank.
Dr Amadou Boubacar Cisse, vice-president operations, Islamic Development Bank Group, will lead the session on ‘Harnessing Islamic Financial Instruments for Project Finance’ while Philippe Valahu, acting director, MIGA, will chair ‘Investing in Infrastructure’.
The second day of the summit will comprise parallel workshops on risk mitigation, as well as matchmaking sessions between investment promotion agencies and investors/ and lenders.
Around 250 delegates are expected, comprising top-level business executives and financiers from the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey, and Pakistan.
About the Islamic Development Bank Group (ICIEC)
The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) is a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IDB), a AAA rated multilateral development institution based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
ICIEC was established in 1994 with the objective to increase the scope of trade transactions from, and to facilitate foreign direct investment into its 36 Member Countries in the Middle East, North Africa, Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. ICIEC fulfils these objectives by providing Islamic Sharia’ah compatible credit and country risk insurance and re-insurance instruments. These products cover a variety of risks including non-payment of export receivables, expropriation, civil wars/disturbances, and breaches of contract.
ICIEC also manages the Investment Promotion Technical Assistance Program of the IDB - a grant assistance program aimed at improving the investment climate of the IDB member countries.
For more details, please visit www.iciec.com
About MIGA
The World Bank Group’s MIGA provides guarantees (insurance) against political risks for cross-border investments into developing countries and emerging markets. With 169 member countries and over $16 billion in insurance issued, MIGA is the largest multilateral agency of this type.
MIGA’s guarantees protect investors against the political risks of expropriation; inconvertibility/transfer; war/civil disturbance/terrorism; and breach of contract. Equity investors and lenders benefit from improved risk/return profiles for projects, and MIGA guarantees are often required before banks will lend to projects in certain markets. MIGA has a special focus on supporting investors and lenders from Broader MENA who are venturing into frontier markets, and has assisted companies from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, and Tunisia for projects in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa.
See www.miga.org for more details.
