Partners

The Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority is an independent regulatory body established by Article 8 of the QFC Law. It regulates firms that conduct financial services in or from the QFC. It has a broad range of regulatory powers to authorize, supervise and, when necessary, discipline firms and individuals. The QFC Regulatory Authority supervises firms using principles-based legislation based on international standards, modeled closely on that used in London and other major financial centers. Further details are available at www.qfcra.com

The Qatar Financial Centre is a financial and business center established by the Government of Qatar and located in Doha. It has been designed to attract international financial services institutions and major multi-national corporations and to encourage participation in the growing market for financial services in Qatar and elsewhere in the region. The QFC operates to international standards and provides a first class legal and business infrastructure for those doing business within the QFC. The QFC was created by QFC Law No. 7 of Qatar.

Platinum Sponsor

The RBS group is a large international banking and financial services company. Headquartered in Edinburgh, the Group operates in the United Kingdom, Europe, the Americas and Asia, serving more than 40 million customers. The Group provides a wide range of products and services to personal, commercial and large corporate and institutional customers through its two principal subsidiaries, The Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest, as well as through a number of other well known brands including, Citizens, Ulster Bank, Coutts, Direct Line and Churchill. RBS led a consortium which acquired ABN AMRO in October 2007.

RBS in the Middle East

ABN AMRO Bank N.V. is an authorised agent of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc, and has been present in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since 1973. The bank offers comprehensive financial services in the UAE including: Consumer Banking, Business and Commercial Banking and Corporate and Institutional Banking through three domestic branches. The bank has a branch license and operates out of the Dubai International Financial Centre, offering debt, capital markets and advisory services. RBS plc and RBS Coutts currently offer Global Banking & Markets and Private Banking services respectively, through Representative Offices in the UAE and branches in the Qatar Financial Centre.

Gold Sponsor

With headquarters in Amman, Jordan, Arab Bank is the first private sector financial institution in the Arab world, and is today considered the largest financial services institution in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in terms of shareholders’ equity, which reached USD 7.7 billion by the end of June 2009.

Arab Bank is ranked among the largest financial institutions in the world. Moody’s assigned the Arab Bank a Financial Strength rating of A2 and a long-term foreign currency rating of A3, in addition to a stable outlook.

In addition, the international classification institutions Fitch and Standard and Poor’s gave its long-term foreign currency a rating of A-, with a stable indicator.

In 2008 the Arab Bank had a net income of USD1.09 billion before taxes and provisions. At the end of June 2009, clients’ deposits rose by 5%, reaching USD 32.9 billion, while total facilities increased by 8%, reaching USD 22 billion, and assets rose to USD 48.5 billion, an increase of 6%.

Arab Bank provides personal banking, corporate and investment banking, and treasury and assets management services, which are catered to meet the needs of individuals, corporations, government agencies and other international financial institutions.

Gala Dinner Host

Qatar Financial Market Authority (QFMA) was recently established to act as an independent Regulatory Authority of the national Securities markets, with the vision of establishing and maintaining the Qatar Securities Markets as a leading securities markets in the middle east, and ensuring market integrity and fairness by monitoring the trading activity and the market’s participants intervention (listed companies, brokers, individuals etc) in line with best international Standards.

In connection with its mandate, QFMA is taking over from the Doha Securities Markets the regulatory and supervisory responsibilities including setting the regulatory policy for the securities markets, drafting & issuing relevant rules and regulations, admission to listing & licensing authorities, and enforcing relevant Laws & regulations on markets' participants.

In this regard, a transition compliance program is set by QFMA to ensure smooth hand over and for market participants to transit from the existing rules and regulations to the new Legal and regulatory framework to be implemented by QFMA.

Professional Consultancy Partners

Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, a Swiss Verein, and its network of member firms, each of which is a legally separate and independent entity. Please see www.deloitte.com/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and its member firms.

Deloitte provides audit, tax, consulting, and financial advisory services to public and private clients spanning multiple industries. With a globally connected network of member firms in 140 countries, Deloitte brings world-class capabilities and deep local expertise to help clients succeed wherever they operate. Deloitte's 165,000 professionals are committed to becoming the standard of excellence.

KPMG Forensic’s is a strong, global network of nearly 2,000 experienced professionals who use accounting, investigation, intelligence, technology, economics and deep industry skills alongside consistent, global methodologies to help reduce reputational risk and commercial loss. Our teams are located in the major developed markets as well as the key emerging economies in The Middle East, Africa, and Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, and South America.

Some of the world’s leading enterprises look to KPMG as a trusted adviser who can provide the tools and services needed to keep on top of the major risks they face. We offer robust, practical advice to help clients deal with difficult and complex issues such as:

• fraud, misconduct and corruption
• tracing funds, assets, companies and individuals
• commercial disputes
• regulatory compliance
• managing risk on buying or selling a business
• intellectual property and contract governance
• preventing and detecting fraud or financial crime

Professional Legal Partner

Baker Botts L.L.P. is a leading international law firm located in 13 global offices. With approximately 750 lawyers, Baker Botts provides a full range of legal services to regional, national and international clients.

Recognized for its energy, intellectual property, corporate, litigation, tax and environmental practices, the firm is renowned for its ethical standards, legal abilities, industry experience, client service and dedication to the communities in which its people work. Founded in 1840, Baker Botts has advised clients in over 100 countries around the world for almost 170 years.

In the Middle East, Baker Botts has offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Riyadh. They assist clients with corporate, banking, finance and Islamic finance, capital markets, telecommunications, government contracts and dispute resolution matters. They also assist clients in a number of energy industry sectors, including oil and gas exploration and development, oil field services, power, liquefied natural gas, petrochemicals, pipelines and gas-to-liquids.

Institutional Partner

The GCC Board Directors Institute is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to making a positive impact on the economies and societies of the Gulf region by promoting professional directorship and raising the level of board effectiveness. BDI was set up through close collaboration between leading regional corporations: Emirates NBD, Investcorp, SABIC, Saudi Aramco and Zain; and professional advisory firms: Allen & Overy, Heidrick & Struggles, McKinsey & Company and PricewaterhouseCoopers. It also has the support of several regulators: the Capital Market Authorities of Saudi Arabia and Oman, the Central Bank of Bahrain, the Securities and Commodities Authority of United Arab Emirates and the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority.

BDI’s objectives are to:

• Build greater regional awareness of the importance of corporate and board governance by creating a forum for discussion and providing a collective voice for its members.
• Create a regional network of board members by providing venues and facilitating networking between regional board members, professional advisors, senior executives and regulatory experts.
• Develop the capabilities of senior GCC board members who will then act as role models to other directors.
• Disseminate high-quality board governance knowledge by developing proprietary regional board governance content and sharing best practices.

Lunch Sponsor

ICA is the leading global provider of professional certificated qualifications and training in anti money laundering (AML), compliance and fraud/financial crime prevention. For novice and experienced practitioners alike, the ICA certificate and diploma courses are a benchmark of excellence.

ICA's internationally recognised qualifications enhance the knowledge and skills of individuals, improve business practice and minimise risk.

Endorsers

Simmons & Simmons is a world-class law firm, providing clients with commercially aware legal advice, whenever and wherever they need it. We have over 2,000 legal staff in 20 offices situated in key business and financial centers across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

We understand that our firm is only equal to the strengths of our people and place great emphasis on recruiting and retaining lawyers who meet our high standards. Our philosophy of international growth has been to build practices around local lawyers who understand the country's culture, business and language. In doing so, we believe that we have succeeded in achieving the right balance between respecting local cultures and delivering a global service.

Simmons & Simmons has demonstrated its commitment to the Middle East for more than 30 years. Between 1994 and 2005, Simmons & Simmons opened three offices in the Middle East - Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Qatar. We now have 50 lawyers working in the region, providing a wide range of services for our clients.

Our services in the Middle East include projects, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, corporate governance and a full finance practice including a specialist Islamic finance team.

UAE Banking and finance firm of the year. Asian Counsel Awards 2007

Recommended for corporate, banking and finance work. PLC Which Lawyer? UAE 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009

"The Simmons & Simmons team were instrumental in the success of this acquisition and provided their usual high standard of seamless cross border support." CEO of TAQA

"Simmons & Simmons played a vital role in this transaction, which involved the acquisition of drilling rig businesses in five different jurisdictions spanning the Middle East and the sub-continent." Head of Project Finance at Bank Muscat

The Dubai Financial Services Authority is the sole independent regulator of all financial and ancillary services conducted through the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a purpose-built free zone in Dubai.

The DFSA’s regulatory mandate covers asset management, banking and credit services, securities, collective investment funds, custody and trust services, commodities futures trading, Islamic finance, insurance, an international equities exchange and an international commodities derivatives exchange.

QInvest, Qatar’s leading investment bank, was licensed by the Qatar Financial Centre Authority in 2007 and is regulated by the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority. The Bank has authorized and paid-up capital of US$1billion and US$500million, respectively. The shareholder structure includes institutional investors as well as prominent local and regional individuals.

Through its Chairman H.E. Sheikh Jassim Bin Jabr AlThani and CEO Shahzad Shahbaz, QInvest has created an investment banking capability operating under Sharia'a-compliant structures which operate in the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey, South Asia and South-East Asia as well as pursuing opportunistic transactions globally.

QInvest is developing selected investment products that can be offered to third party investors through funds and co-investment opportunities. The QInvest team originates investment ideas by leveraging QInvest’s local and global network of relationships. Product expertise includes: private equity, listed equities, pre-IPO, PIPEs, equity linked, mezzanine/subordinated credit and Sukuk. Areas of expertise include mergers & acquisitions, corporate finance advisory, equity capital markets, debt capital markets, leveraged finance, real estate finance, asset and liability management, debt restructuring.

Business lines include Investment Management, Investment Banking, Private Client Services, and Placement & Distribution, and will soon include a best-in-class brokerage, rolled out in partnership with Panmure Gordon PLC,UK. Together, these units provide expertise in disciplined portfolio structuring, as well as an active advisory service, shaped around the client’s investment preferences and risk appetite dedicated to connecting investors with high value investment opportunities across its broad product range to match their investment profile in terms of risk appetite, asset class preference and time horizons. QInvest works with a range of investor clients including sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, pension funds, corporate asset managers, family offices and high net worth individuals.

CCL has been guiding firms through the complexities of financial services regulation for over 20 years and was the first purely compliance based consultancy firm to establish offices in the GCC.

To date, with offices in Dubai, Doha and London, the CCL Group has helped over 500 organisations become authorized globally.

As compliance is all we do, you know you’ve got experienced professionals working on your behalf to assist you in all aspects of compliance, from establishing your firm to meeting your ongoing requirements as your firm grows.

Our Directors and Consultants all have extensive experience in the financial services industry as former Compliance Officers or Regulators from a wide range of firms and types of business.

CCL provides a comprehensive range of regulatory compliance services including:

• Authorization
• Compliance Advice
• Documentation
• Compliance Outsourcing
• Anti-Money Laundering
• Risk Management
• Corporate Governance
• Regulatory & Compliance Training

As the leading corporate governance recruitment specialist in the Middle East, Barclay Simpson is proud to sponsor the 4th Annual GCC Regulators' Summit. The corporate governance market continues to be in the global spotlight. Its development in the Middle East region will without doubt be a major factor in how businesses deal with the challenges ahead, both locally and internationally. As a key partner of Barclay Simpson, Complinet offers an invaluable resourcing tool and an important insight into the technical corporate governance market. Barclays Simpson looks forward to contributing towards the success of the summit which plays an important role in promoting good corporate governance in the region.

Contact Matt Crocombe on +971 44 01 9809, mc@barclaysimpson.com

We are the leading global specialist Compliance recruitment consultancy, our UK office compromising six former Compliance Officers (our MD is a Chartered Accountant and previously Deputy Head of Group Compliance for a FTSE 100 Insurance & Investment Management Group) and as all Compliance professionals by background, firmly believe in offering an ethical & professional service compared to the sales-driven approach of our competitors. Additionally as technical experts too, our services include advising on the balancing of criteria expected for a particular role and/or salary level, as well as the structure of a role or department including compiling job specifications if required.

Having started been recruiting Compliance staff in the GCC region since 2005 (opening our first Dubai office that year) in 2007 we teamed up with CCL Ltd (the regions leading specialist compliance consultants) in Dubai & Qatar, in order to service our GCC business effectively. Additionally we have offices in Hong Kong and Sydney which will assist with sourcing and interviewing candidates from Australasia & the Far East (and will be opening in the USA shortly to similar advantage). www.compliancerecruitment.com

With over 35 years of unrivalled experience Afridi & Angell is a premier, high quality law firm with a diversified regional and international practice based on conventional and Islamic financial services, infrastructure and project finance, private equity, maritime and transport law, insurance, litigation support, arbitration, capital markets, real estate and construction.

The firm is the United Arab Emirates’ exclusive member of Lex Mundi, the world’s largest and pre-eminent association of independent law firms. Comprised of more than 160 member firms, Lex Mundi is the 'Mark of Excellence' for legal services globally.

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Investment Community Partner

Zawya focuses on the developing business and investment environment in the Middle East. The company provides professionals with the means to identify, assess and monitor business and investment opportunities in both the public and private markets.

Thousands of premium members use Zawya’s information resources, technology applications and online network to better connect to opportunities across the GCC, Levant, Iraq and North Africa. Zawya operates through two separate divisions, Professional Investors and Business Development Services, specifically set to empower members according to their needs.

Headquartered in Dubai, Zawya also has presence in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Lebanon.