News Round

 ‘eExchange’ offers 24/7 remittance service at attractive exchange rates; complements Dubai’s drive to become ‘smart’ city UAE, October 20, 2015 – Al Ansari Exchange, the UAE-based foreign exchange and worldwide money transfer company, has announced the launch of online money transfer portal – ‘eExchange.’ The web-based solution uses a highly secured gateway to enable customers to transfer money online at …

Standard Chartered Bank has successfully completed the first Bank Payment Obligation (BPO) transaction in the automotive industry for Mohammed Naser Al-Sayer and Sons Est. Co., W.L.L. (“Al-Sayer”), one of the largest automotive dealers in the Middle East. The transaction facilitated a shipment of vehicles to Kuwait. Al-Sayer had previously relied on traditional letters of credit for trade settlement and was …

The ICC Banking Commission, the rule-making body for the world’s banking industry has, through its regional representatives, announced a partnership with Global Trade Development Week (GTDW). ICC RBC MENA, which is supported by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, will be a leading participator in GTDW, the leading global trade facilitation event. H.E. Hamad Buamim, president and CEO, Dubai …

Recent SWIFT data shows that the growth in RMB payments is supported by an increasing number of banks. In May 2015, 1,081 financial institutions used the RMB for payments with China and Hong Kong, representing 35 per cent of all institutions exchanging payments with the latter across all currencies. This is a 22 per cent increase in the number of …

The Foreign Exchange and Remittance Group (FERG), comprising of businesses engaged in money exchange and remittances, has highlighted its role in the successful widespread implementation of the Wage Protection System (WPS) launched by the UAE government. WPS was put in place to safeguard worker salary payments by channelling them through selected authorised financial institutions and will cover more than four …

The AW Rostamani group has achieved “operation excellence” by re-engineering its treasury with the assistance of technology, reports SunGard, which has focused on it in a corporate case study.  It says that group treasurer Omar Abu Shaqra has been instrumental in evolving the treasury function from being a small component of the group’s accounting department to being a fully fledged, …

UAE banks are seeking to obtain the largest share in the financing of projects in the Suez Canal region after the opening of the new canal. Sahar El-Damati, deputy managing director and CEO of the risk management sector of the Emirates National Bank of Dubai, asserted that the bank is ready to finance any projects offered for the development of …

Business confidence in the Middle East continued to fall in the second quarter of 2015, but not as quickly as it had in the first three months of the year, according to the to the Global Economic Conditions Survey (GECS) organised by ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and IMA (the Institute of Management Accountants). The slight optimism was …

Chartered accountants organisation ICAEW has called for organisations to improve corporate governance policies and practices in order to tackle the challenges of today’s business environment. In a speech to the Dubai Global Convention on Leadership for Business Excellence and Innovation, the institute’s deputy president, Andrew Ratcliffe, emphasised to government officials and business leaders that companies should rethink how they behave …

SWIFT has announced that the KYC (Know Your Customer) Registry is now available to fund distributors and custodians. A statement said, “In response to an identified need within its community, SWIFT is extending the reach of the KYC Registry beyond correspondent banking to support Know Your Customer compliance requirements for funds distribution and custody services. “The registry offers a unique …

In its continuous efforts to provide the latest banking services, Al Ahli bank of Kuwait has started implementing a new electronic cheque clearing system in Kuwait. It says that this will improve customer experience by reducing the cheque clearing from three days to one working day. A statement from the bank added that not only would this increase efficiency “but …

The annual report of the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) showed a growth in export credit and political risk insurance business volume. During the year 2014, the corporation facilitated $4.3bn of exports and investments for its member countries, representing an increase of 29 per cent compared to previous year. Commenting on the results, Eng …

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has launched the ICC Academy – “setting a new standard for professional education”. Delivered via a digital platform, it will provide rigorous, relevant and applicable business education – “encouraging individuals to reach their highest potential with respect to professional competency and ethical conduct”. The ICC Academy will draw on ICC expertise in specialist fields …

The UAE Ministry of Economy has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Malaysian company KW Group Sdn Bhd, organisers of Global Trade Development Week. His Excellency Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, UAE Minister for Economy, is the patron of this event and has pledged to support and partner with the event for the next three years. Therefore, Global Trade Development …