Gulf Merchant Group LLP (GMG), a UK-based international investment house, has announced its expansion into the GCC, offering regional investors financial services in line with international standards. GMG is a corporate finance and asset management company regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), which will have its regional hub in Dubai and offering institutional investors, corporations and high net-worth individuals flexible and innovative products. “The company is responding to the strong demand for solid regional investment banking services,” GMG Managing Partner Nabil Maaloul, said. Key factors driving this demand are the deregulation of key sectors in the regional economies, upcoming privatizations, much needed broadening of private sector ownership and in-flow of foreign direct investments (FDI). “GMG will be one of the strongest financial institutions in the region due to the hand-picked, multi-cultural experienced team of senior executives, who will offer our clients the ability to diversify and expand their investment portfolio,” Maaloul added. GMG will offer corporate finance, capital markets, fund management and private client services.
Corporate Forum
Arab Conferences Company, the “first innovative specialist in the planning, organization, and management of conferences in the Kingdom,” and the UN Development Program have announced that the first Corporate Social Responsibility Forum is scheduled to take place in Riyadh next May. Under the theme “Mandatory or Voluntary,” the forum aims to delve into the intricacies of corporate social responsibility programs while demonstrating practical experiences and showcasing various case studies and models of corporate social responsibility programs practiced both inside and outside of the Kingdom. The two-day meet is expected to draw more than 500 businessmen and women, government officials and CSR practitioners from major Saudi and international companies. “Corporate social responsibility today has become a catchphrase that many unfortunately do not understand. Many believe that it’s merely donating funds to a charity of choice when on the contrary it’s truly about building a long-term and sustainable platform for various programs that address the needs of the society companies operate in,” Arab Conferences Company Chairman Loay Hisham Nazer said.
Orbit
Orbit the Satellite Television and Radio Network has been voted the number one choice in the Middle East for entertainment, according to a survey carried out by Saudi Arabia’s Satellite Guide. Celebrity Arabic entertainers from across the region as well as members of the public in Lebanon and Egypt named Orbit as their favorite pay TV network. “Being voted as the people’s number one choice confirms that Orbit’s programming strategy, driven by our subscriber requests, has proven to be a very successful strategy in the region. That’s not all, the number one choice is about to get even better. Orbit promises many surprises in 2006,” said Ali Ajouz, VP marketing and PR, Orbit Communications Company. “We’ll continue to add value in 2006 while maintaining our competitive edge.” Egyptian actress Aida Abdulaziz, who was questioned in the survey favored Orbit because of its History Channel. Dr Atif Al Abd, the head of the Public Opinion Research Center in the communications department in Cairo University chose Orbit because of its news coverage.
Investcorp
Investcorp President & CEO Nemir A Kirdar has been appointed to the Investments Committee of the UN. This appointment, as one of the nine members of the Committee, was made by the UN secretary-general and was endorsed at the 60th plenary meeting of the UN General Assembly. The UN Investments Committee meets four times a year to review investment policy and to provide advice and recommendations to the secretary-general as fiduciary for the investments of the UN Joint Staff Pension Fund. The Investments Committee comprises nine regular members, chosen from leaders of the global financial community, who are appointed by the secretary-general and confirmed by the General Assembly. Members of the committee are internationally known figures respected for their knowledge on, and experience in, investments. The market value of the assets of the UN Joint Staff Pension Fund is in excess of $30 billion. The fund provides retirement and related benefits to the UN’s international civil servants, serving over 20 UN member organizations, and has some 150,000 participants and beneficiaries.
MEFTEC
As the countdown to MEFTEC 2006, the region’s largest financial industry event, begins, organizers are reporting a flood of interest from the region’s banking and IT communities. Convened under the patronage of Bahrain Monetary Agency Governor Rasheed Mohammed Al-Maraj, MEFTEC is designed to bring together senior business and technology executives from the region’s banks and financial institutions to debate key industry issues and do business with leading technology vendors. “We’re amazed by the strength of the industry’s response to this year’s event,” said Paul Stott, managing director of UK-based Media Generation Group, the event organizer. “The exhibition is now sold out, having recorded a 40 percent growth over the previous year. With 3,500 square meter total space and featuring over 100 exhibitors from 23 countries, this is by far the largest financial technology event outside Europe.” A number of new products and channel alliances are expected to be unveiled at the exhibition by participating vendors. On display at the show will be a broad 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.