Does the Middle East have a competitive advantage as an international centre of finance?

In the past, the Middle East has had a secondary role as a financial centre where Europe, North America and East Asia have been at the forefront for financial activity.

With the development of the UAE as a financial centre and the increasing focus on Shar'iah banking; will a more controlled approach be important in the post-crash world?

As the Middle Eastern region develops as a global financial centre, should it play a more active role in the negotiation of financial rules and standards? And should that be the region as a whole or are some countries more suitable than others? How will various financial centres in the Middle East adapt to compete?

Topics covered in the discussion will be:

• Do the region's financial centres differ in approach, methods, and view on regulation from the main centres in New York, London, Hong Kong, and Tokyo?
• What are the barriers to the growth of financial markets in the region?
• Does the Middle East have a completive advantage, and if so where does it lie?
• Shar'iah law is gaining influence, but how will the Middle Eastern region be regulated and what laws would govern it?

Join us for this exclusive webcast where our Complinet Regulatory Affairs Editor Mark Townsend will be interviewing:

Speakers

Ian Johnston

Deputy Chief Executive and Managing Director of the Dubai Financial Services Authority

Ian joined the DFSA in November 2006, to head up the Policy and Legal Services Division. Ian was admitted to practice Law in Australia in the early 1980s and has spent most of his career in the private sector. He held a number of senior positions within the AXA Group and was CEO of one of Australia's major Trustee Companies. During this time, Ian played a leading role in the Trustee industry and served on the National Council of the Trustee Corporations Association. In 1999, Ian joined the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) where he held the position of Executive Director, Financial Services regulation and spent several terms as an acting Commissioner. In 2005 Ian took up a position with the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission as a Special Advisor.

Adrian Jossa

Executive Director Compliance Regulatory Affairs and Resources, Goldman Sachs International

Adrian Jossa joined Goldman Sachs in 2007 as Executive Director and Head of Compliance for the Middle East and North Africa region, based in Dubai. Prior to this, Adrian was working at Deutsche Bank in Dubai, where he was their head of Compliance for the MENA region and General Counsel. Before Deutsche Bank, Adrian worked for the Dubai International Financial Exchange as General Counsel, Head of Compliance and Head of the Membership Department, and for several banks such as Citigroup, and HSBC-CCF and Societe General, in similar functions. He also spent two years with the Conseil des Marches Financiers (now the Autorite des Marches Financiers) in Paris, in charge of international relations and lobbying. He was also a member of the Legal Committee in the French Banking Federation, and more recently participated in the set up of the Dubai Compliance Networking Group. Adrian has a Master's degree in Law from the University of Paris - Assas, and a Master's degree in Finance from Science Po Paris.

Sharon Ditchburn

Managing Director at Capital Advantage Consultants, CPA, LLB, ACIA, MBA.

Sharon is qualified in accountancy and law, and is an Authorised Individual with several DFSA regulated entities including Investment Banks, Wealth Management Firms, Trust Companies and Asset Managers. A full list of registered roles is available on the DFSA official register. Sharon has wide ranging experience at Senior Management Level, including CFO and Company Secretary to several boards on a variety of public and private companies in Australia (BeMaX Resources NL and BeMaX Group, CiTR Pty Ltd and CiTR Inc.) and the UAE. Recent roles include Head of Finance for a national UAE bank (RAKBANK) and Managing Director of Capital Advantage Consultants and The Cragus Group. Capital Advantage was established in 2004 and re-domiciled in Dubai in 2006.

Mark T. Townsend

Regulatory Affairs Editor, Complinet

Mark T. Townsend is a well-known political and financial journalist. For the last four years Mark was Business Editor of Khaleej Times in Dubai. He has reported extensively on business and economic matters in the Gulf and articulated key facts to a diverse audience. He has interviewed leading figures in politics and business including President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan. Last November he headed a UAE media delegation to Pakistan that coincided with the tragic events in Mumbai. In 2008 he reported the visit to the Middle East of US President George W. Bush. He currently co-presents ‘Business Tonight’ on Dubai Eye 103.8FM.

Mark has written widely for international media including the Financial Times, Washington Times, made media appearances on CNN, GeoTV PBS and Voice of America and attended major networking events such as the World Economic Forum. His coverage of DP World’s attempted takeover of P&O is recounted in the book, “The New Silk Road’ (Palgrave Macmillan, April 2009). In 2007 Dubai Financial Market formally commended him for daily coverage of the stock market.

Sponsored by

Capital Advantage is one of the largest firms in the UAE for compliance advisory and outsourcing for regulated financial institutions, and the first UAE firm to provide local expertise in full service corporate governance and investor relations across the complete spectrum of private, public and government entities. Our professionals possess a broad range of internationally recognised banking, finance, law, accounting, risk, corporate governance, and company secretarial qualifications.

Tuesday
July 7th, 2009

10am London time
1pm Dubai time

1 hour

Speakers

Ian Johnston
Deputy Chief Executive and Managing Director of the DFSA

Adrian Jossa
Executive Director Compliance Regulatory Affairs and Resources, Goldman Sachs International

Sharon Ditchburn
Managing Director at Capital Advantage Consultants, CPA, LLB, ACIA, MBA.

Mark T. Townsend
Regulatory Affairs Editor, Complinet