The Awards were presented by International Finance Magazine after careful consideration of nominations by a qualified research team. Winners were declared on the strength of their application and past accomplishments.

The winners were felicitated at a glittering event held at Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Sheikh Zayed Rd, Trade Centre 2, إمارة دبيّ, United Arab Emirates from 6 pm onwards on March 24 (UAE time).

Famous for its soaring atrium that’s Dubai’s favourite business spot, Jumeirah offers ample facilities, including 400 rooms and eight meeting suites, 11 dining and nightlife venues, including award-winning restaurants such as The Rib Room and Al Nafoorah, a large ballroom, the Biz Hub, and outdoor venues for business and social events.

With views overlooking Dubai’s financial district and located just a 5-minute drive from Dubai World Trade Center (DWTC) and two minutes from Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC), Jumeirah Emirates Towers is one of the few hotels in the area to offer unlimited complimentary access to Wild Wadi Waterpark and Jumeirah’s private beach throughout your stay.

Over 118 delegates from different countries participated in the gala event. His Excellency Deyad Al Rashidi, Consulate General of Kuwait, UAE, and Mr. Rashid Al Teneiji of the Ministry of Economy graced the occasion.

C-level executives and senior management representatives from finance, banking, asset management, brokerage, insurance, energy, oil & gas, logistics, and utilities, predominantly from the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and Africa participated in these awards.

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Mitch Hopkinson

Mortgage enquiries from overseas buyers and British expats are up 45 per cent in Quarter 4, compared to the previous quarter, revealed the mortgages division of deVere United Kingdom and the deVere Group.

The observation from deVere Mortgages, which offers advice to British expats and foreign nationals looking to buy property in the UK, comes against a shifting political and economic landscape.

deVere Mortgages has received an unprecedented level of enquiries this last quarter.  There has been a remarkable uptick in home loan enquiries in Quarter 4 – and we’ve not yet even finished it.

To analyse these findings, first it should be acknowledged that they are more astonishing given that the government’s change in tax policy regarding Buy to Let in recent years was expected to severely dampened overseas investor interest.

Also Brexit appears not to have dented the UK’s traditional boast of being an attractive country for those residing overseas, largely due to the ongoing fundamental strengths of British residential property investments.

There are, we believe, two key drivers for the increase in Quarter 4.

With sterling down sharply since the Brexit vote, UK property has effectively put a ‘for sale’ sign up for the many overseas investors who want to establish a presence in the UK.  These might include investors simply wishing to diversify their property portfolio, or UK expats looking to buy a place to return to when they retire or to house a child while they are at university.

These investors are looking to buy now while a weak sterling works in their favour. As we appear to be increasingly moving to a ‘soft’ Brexit, sterling has already climbed in recent weeks. The more ‘soft’ Brexit the government becomes, the more sterling will rally.

Another reason to buy now is that UK sterling mortgages have probably one way to go now: up. Record low mortgage rates are being pulled as sterling funding costs go up for the banks and other lenders, reflecting the increased risk of inflation in the economy.

The vast majority of overseas buyers are foreign nationals and British expats in the Gulf Region and East Asia.

In order to meet the growing demand from both UK and overseas buyers, deVere Mortgages looks set to double its headcount of independent mortgage consultants by the end of 2017.

Mitch Hopkinson is Head of Advice & HNW, deVere United Kingdom

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In a survey of 100 UK CEOs, KPMG found that nearly 60 percent believe their ability to do business will be hindered once Brexit takes place if UK privacy rules are not aligned to the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The GDPR has been at the forefront of minds of many CEOs since the European Commission officially ratified the privacy rules in April 2016. This new legislation is the biggest and most impactful change in privacy and data protection regulation in history. In May 2018, when it will be enforced, it will affect organisations in the UK and worldwide that have any dealings with consumers and businesses in EU member countries. If the rules are not met by business, they will face significant sanctions of up to €20M or 4% of global annual turnover – whichever is higher, from regulators.

Mark Thompson, Global Privacy Advisory lead at KPMG said: “The worry amongst this cohort of CEOs is understandable. Once GDPR is enforced in May 2018, it will fundamentally alter the way we live, work and interact with technology, organisations and each other. This revolution will transform the scale, scope and complexity of personal information processed, with personal information being a core component of everything we do.

“Whilst the UK is likely to implement the GDPR, Brexit poses some uncertainty on what GDPR will mean to the UK post-Brexit, it is critical to understand that if the UK is going to continue to trade with the EU this free flow of personal information must be maintained. As such we will need to have an ‘adequate privacy ecosystem’ in operation in the UK which is aligned to the requirements of the GDPR.

“Statements issued by the UK Government suggest that the UK will adopt the GDPR while it negotiates its exit from the EU. What remains to be seen is whether the GDPR is subsequently repealed and replaced with something else.

“The UK privacy regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office, remains adamant regarding the need for strong, equivalent privacy law in the UK regardless of the outcome of Brexit. It therefore seems likely that a GDPR equivalent privacy framework will be here to stay and organisations should prepare accordingly.”

What should organisations do?

Commenting on what organisations should do, Thompson said: “The requirements being introduced by the GDPR are going to require most organisations to make significant enhancements to their privacy control environment and rethink the way they collect, store, use and disclose personal information. These changes are going to be complex and take time, as such, most organisations cannot afford to wait and see what form Brexit takes. Doing so would leave them with insufficient time to prepare.”

There are some immediate steps organisations should take to prepare themselves. These are:

1. Raise awareness at the board level – the board needs to understand the implications of the GDPR and be bought into the need to make enhancements. This should result in the funding being made available to undertake a privacy improvement programme.
2. Understand current state and set desired state – conduct a gap analysis against the GDPR to understand where your organisation is exposed to risk and determine what the risk appetite is.
3. Plan and implement – create a detailed plan to enable the desired risk appetite to be reached and undertake a privacy Improvement programme to deliver against this plan.

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Analysts opine that this could ease out pressure on foreign reserves and improve the country’seconomy.Earlier in October 2016, the kingdom shifted to the conventional global debt market for the first timeand generated $17.5 billion in a bond issue. It was the largest bond issued by an emerging-market country.

In an attempt to reform the economy and dissolve the budget deficits caused by the setback in oil revenue since 2014, Saudi Arabia had sold domestic bonds and drawn on its accumulated reserves.

The official Saudi Press Agency quotes, “The ministry of finance received significant interest for the first international issue of the sukukprogramme with an order book from investors in excess of $33 billion.” There are two shares of $4.5 billion, one maturing in 2022 and another in 2027, reflecting “the strong fundamentals of the Saudi economy”.

Riyadh has anticipates a budget deficit of $53 billion in the current year. In a report this month, Saudi firm Jadwa Investment mentioned that the kingdom’s foreign reserves, which include securities, bank deposits and gold, had dropped to a near six-year low. “Reserves dropped to $514 billion in February, down $10 billion from the previous month and the lowest level since August 2011.Any new international sovereign bond, or indeed sukuk issuance, should alleviate the pressure on foreign exchange reserve withdrawals,” the researchers said.

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Rigby was previously the CEO of GAB Robins UK until Crawford acquired the company in 2014. Since then, Rigby served as the CEO of Crawford Europe and Latin America.  In his new role, he assumes additional responsibility for the Asia-Pacific and United Kingdom regions, and he will serve as a member of Crawford’s Global Executive Management team (GEM).

“I’m confident Kieran is the right person for this role,” said Harsha V. Agadi, President and Chief Executive Officer. “His character promotes both innovation and inspiration, and with his proven track record of leadership and success, I believe he’ll continue to grow our company and build for the future. I look forward to the new ideas and fresh focus he’ll bring to Crawford’s leadership team.”

Rigby, who will be based in London, will report directly to Andrew Robinson, Global Chief Operating Officer, and will be responsible for growing the business, continuing to strengthen Crawford’s global capabilities and realigning the company’s operating model for further efficiency and profitability across the company’s international businesses.

“Crawford’s global presence, strength and breadth of capabilities is unmatched by others in the marketplace,” Robinson said. “We are excited to have Kieran lead, grow and further develop our operations, as well as pursue new and innovative ways to serve our clients.  I look forward to working with Kieran as we realize these ambitions.”

Rigby’s appointment follows the resignation of Ian V. Muress, CEO international, after 16 years of dedicated and loyal service to the company.

“We would like to thank Ian for the contribution he has made to the business and for his commitment to our clients,” said Agadi. “We wish him well as he moves to the next stage of his career.”

“It is a great honor to be given this opportunity,” said Rigby. “This is an exciting time for Crawford & Company. It is also a time to critically examine all parts of our operations to grow our revenue and presence in the marketplace – a marketplace that is rapidly changing and requiring our constant innovation.”

Throughout his career, Rigby has served in senior leadership positions in claims and loss adjusting, and he’s also active in the industry, holding excellent professional qualifications, including Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute, Chartered Insurance Practitioner, Fellow of Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters and past President of the Federation of European Loss Adjusting Associations.

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Replacing Iran’s civil aviation fleet has been one of the biggest economic opportunities in recent times. Despite Iran’s need for new planes to replace those from the sanctions era, it has entered the market at a time when Boeing, Airbus and other small airplane makers are facing a downturn in orders, and are therefore expected to offer heavy discounts.

“Boeing has announced that its IranAir contract is worth $16.6 billion. However, considering the nature of our order and its choice possibilities, the purchase contract for 80 Boeing aircraft is worth about 50 percent of that amount,” said Deputy Transport Minister Asghar Fakhrieh.

The government of President Hassan Rouhani has pushed to finalise aircraft deals to show results from the end of sanctions. He faces criticism at home from hardliners over the cost of the purchases.

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Earlier in the week, Saudi Arabia’s Shura council discussed plans to impose a 2 to 6 percent tax on expat workers’ remittances, following a proposal submitted by former council member Husam Al Angari. He proposed an initial tax of 6 percent for the first five years of the expat’s residency, which would then drop to 2 percent.

The latest statistics from the World Bank show Saudi Arabia accounts for the second highest volume of remittances after the US, with $37 billion in 2015.

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IFM Correspondent

December 23, 2016: Barclays has opened up an opportunity for fintech startups in South Africa, it aims to accelerate the growth of startups in the financial service industry by allowing them to work with financial technology experts in the coming year.

The bank opened the Barclays Accelerator Programme powered by Techstars -“an initiative aimed at uncovering the next M-Pesa or Paypal”. Ten qualifying fintech startups will be given the opportunity to take part in the 13 week programme, beginning in May 2017.

The participants will be given the opportunity to expand their global footprint through Barclays, as well as with Barclay’s extension of its innovative arm in Africa, Rise- that has over 20,000 startups in its network around the word.

Yasaman Hadjibashi, leading the innovation agenda for the bank says: “Africa has tremendous untapped potential to not only pioneer its own creative solutions for its unique contexts, but to also create solutions that the rest of the world can adopt for their own contexts.”

This is the second time Barclays is opening this window for fintech startups after its first venture was successful. The bank previously collaborated with 7 of the 10 startups that participated in the programme.

Barclays says its accelerator programme “offers companies an advantage over others by providing a proven curriculum and lifelong access to the Techstars global network of mentors, investors and venture capitalists”.

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IFM Correspondent

December 23, 2016: Deutsche Bank AG said it reached a $7.2 billion agreement to resolve a year-long U.S. investigation into its dealings in mortgage-backed securities, removing a legal hurdle that fuelled investor angst.

Deutsche Bank will pay a $3.1 billion civil penalty and provide $4.1 billion in relief to consumers under a settlement in principle with U.S. authorities. While the deal is below the Justice Department’s initial request of $14 billion, Germany’s biggest lender still faces U.S. investigations into other matters and potentially expensive civil suits. John Cryan, CEO, Deutsche Bank, has made resolving litigation a priority.

“The financial consequences, if any, of the consumer relief are subject to the final terms of the settlement, and are not currently expected to have a material impact on 2016 financial results,” the bank said.

There were concerns that Deutsche Bank may not be having enough capital when the bank said in September that the U.S. Justice Department had made the opening request of $14 billion and that it had no intention of paying that amount.

Deutsche Bank also faces civil lawsuits related to claims that its traders manipulated key interbank interest rates. It isn’t clear how much more wrapping up these cases will cost.

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Benita James

December 21, 2016: Africa’s demography is showing a visible shift and many analysts have reason to believe that the continent has the largest youth population in the world. A young population is generally considered as beneficial and it is correlated with economic development. The World Bank estimates that this demographic dividend could generate 11-15% GDP growth between 2011 and 2030.

What does this demographic transition mean for Africa? Firstly, the large pool of young population creates domestic demand, which is hugely advantageous to domestic firms. Secondly, there will be a visible increase in the standard of living along with an increase in per capita income.

However, the growing young population in Africa comes with its own set of challenges. An area of concern is the lack of jobs available to young people. According to UN reports, the working age population is poised to more than double in least-developing countries, especially sub-Saharan Africa between 2015 and 2050. Consequently, many of them are forced to take up menial jobs and the continent faces high levels of underemployment.

Africa’s workforce is growing at a faster pace compared to the jobs that are available both in the private as well as public sector. Therefore, encouraging entrepreneurship is of vital importance.

Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, founder and CEO of SoleRebels, says, “Africa must not only create jobs but challenge itself to create great jobs. Africa must create such kind of companies that young people aspire to work for.”

Investment in human capital is critical, as the young people of Africa present tremendous economic potential. A reform in the continent’s education sector would be beneficial as this would equip the youth with the skill set and technical know-how that many jobs require.

This transition has freed resources as there are fewer dependants now. The freed resources can be used to increase per capita spending on higher quality of health and education, ultimately leading to economic growth.

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