SWIFT opens new Dubai office

Following the regional conference in Abu Dhabi SWIFT opens an office in Dubai reflecting the growing significance of the region

Published on 10 April 2007
The new SWIFT office in Dubai is located in the prestigious DIFC Centre
To the delight of both regional financial market participants and the cooperative itself, SWIFT officially opened its new office in Dubai on the evening of Wednesday 28 March. Situated in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the office will be headed by Charles Legrand, regional head, Commercial Channels and Developing Markets, and will have four full-time staff with expertise across the SWIFTSolutions range. Nasser Al Shaali, CEO of the DIFC welcomed SWIFT to the DIFC and said he was looking forward to continuing to work with SWIFT.

"The opening of the new office in Dubai is a marker of SWIFT's seriousness in pursuing one of the four key thrusts of the SWIFT2010 strategy: to increase its active presence in emerging and other fast growing markets," said Arthur Cousins, director, Product and Strategy at the Standard Bank of South Africa and member of the SWIFT Board. "It demonstrates the serious intent that has fired SWIFT since the Board offsite in Cape Town in 2005 first proposed a stronger engagement with emerging markets."

The Middle East is a particularly promising region for SWIFT, noted Francis Vanbever, CFO, SWIFT. Traffic is growing fast, as the region works on diversifying its economic base, while at the same time continuing to benefit from a buoyant oil market. "From a broad economic perspective, there's real potential here," he commented, "and at the same time markets in the region are in the middle of building their financial market infrastructures."

SWIFT regional conference Middle East 2007
The SWIFT regional conference Middle East was held from 26-28 March at the Rotana Beach Hotel in Abu Dhabi, drawing over 265 attendees and 17 exhibitors. Issues of corporate connectivity, remittances, securities market reform and new categories of SWIFT membership in the region topped the agenda along with preparations for Gulf monetary union.

Crossroads

There are good practical reasons for the choice of Dubai, said Legrand. "As a city, it is a great hub, with direct flights to every capital in the region," he points out. In addition, the DIFC has attractions of its own. As a 110-acre free zone with its own regulatory structure, it was designed to provide an environment conducive to progress and development in the UAE and the wider region and has attracted a high-calibre client base, including the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX), the first international stock exchange based in the region.

Francis Vanbever, SWIFT CFO
"I can see growth coming from different areas," Vanbever reflected. "While the securities industry is still nascent and will take some time to ramp up, it could potentially be very big, given the regional capital base and the growing tendency to want to invest more locally."

For David Pryce, director, Commercial Channels and Developing Markets, there is enormous potential for SWIFT to leverage its enhanced physical presence to help at both the infrastructural level and in broadening the user base within the Middle East. "SWIFT is well represented within the traditional banking community, particularly in the Gulf region," he said, "but there are great opportunities to expand the range of users. In addition to market infrastructure projects, there are a number of large corporates that would benefit from having access to the SWIFT network, as would exchange houses - specialised institutions regulated by the central bank, a number of which are also licensed to undertake money transfers."

The Gulf Cooperation Council countries also have an ambitious plan for monetary integration and a single currency by 2010, Pryce observed. "It is much easier to play a meaningful role in such initiatives from a local base rather than periodically flying in from outside," he commented. "We've been increasing the resources dedicated to the Middle East region over the past two or three years. Our new Dubai office is a natural progression which will also help us leverage our close relationship with EastNets and AEG, our two business partners for the region," he added.

Over the next few years, SWIFT aims to bring its network, standards, solutions and expertise to local financial communities that are facing a need to reform in a cost-effective manner, while cementing robust operational links to the global financial system.