Seminar Examines Closer GCC, City Of London Synergy

by Lorys Charalambous, Tax-News.com, Cyprus

13 November 2009

The new realities of a changing global economic landscape and the post-crisis world offer a wealth of opportunities for partnership between the City of London and the markets of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), according to Omar Bin Sulaiman, Governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and Vice Chairman of the United Arab Emirates Central Bank.

“The long-standing links between the United Kingdom and the countries of the GCC will facilitate the many avenues of cooperation before us and will enable the development of strong partnerships to reap the benefits of the new global realities,” Omar Bin Sulaiman told a group of leading London bankers and financiers, including Lord Davies of Abersoch, the UK Minister for Trade, Investment and Business, and Lord Falconer of Thoroton, former UK Chancellor.

In his welcome address, Omar Bin Sulaiman stated: “Our challenge is to identify how these new realities have changed the status quo and opened new windows of collaboration. Equally, we must understand what each side can best bring to the table, in light of how our world is evolving.”

Areas of cooperation that were discussed included:

  • development of GCC debt markets and regional infrastructure financing more generally;
  • further expansion of Islamic finance as an integral part of global capital markets;
  • exploring development of an alternative investment market for the region and a regional payment system;
  • financing sustainable energy and technology projects in the region, as well as looking into a local market for carbon credit trading; and
  • banking and finance capacity building in the region.

Entitled “The GCC and the City of London: Partnerships and Priorities for a Post-Crisis World,” the London conference gathered policymakers, business leaders and the banking and investment communities from both the City of London and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

In his address, Davies thanked the DIFC for initiating the seminar and stressed the importance of such gatherings to ensure ongoing dialogue between the DIFC and the City of London. “London and Dubai are natural partners. The two financial centers share a special bond and with continued collaboration and cooperation, that bond can strengthen even more going forward,” Davies observed, adding: “The UAE and UK trade in 2008 had exceeded GBP1.6bn, much of which has gone through DIFC.”

Some of the key changes enriching potential avenues of cooperation between the City of London and the GCC include substantial GCC market and legal reforms begun over the past five years which have helped the six countries of the Gulf successfully weather the economic crisis, and a wide-ranging economic diversification strategy that has seen the non-oil sector take an increasingly large role within the economy. As a result, the GCC is coming out of the global slowdown on a strong growth trajectory, with the IMF putting real GDP growth at 4.4% for 2010.

Sessions were held on business opportunities in the GCC, the opportunities provided by regulatory reform, the judicial system as a driver of growth, regional financial centers in the post-crisis world, regulatory change and legal and tax issues in the DIFC, as well as sessions on funds and asset management, Islamic finance, banking and brokerage, and family offices.

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