The Finance World Magazine| Edition: March 2023
The March edition of The Finance World Magazine (TFW) delves into the Zayed Ambition 2 project, which strives to investigate the feasibility of leveraging the UAE's burgeoning space economy for sustainable development. This initiative showcases the country's commitment to diversifying its economy and reducing its reliance on oil. In a featured interview, CEO Shaaista Khan Osman and Managing Director Osman Osman of Blu Blood share their insights about the event management industry in the UAE. This issue also includes insights from Sridhar Vembu, CEO of Zoho Corporation, on emerging AI tools, along with some advice for SMEs and startups. Through this edition, we also bring you insights on topics like the UAE's steadfast dedication to sustainable growth and development, Dubai surpassing global and regional tourism recovery levels, the sports industry emerging as a promising sector magnetizing international investors, and many more key informational articles in the finance sector. Keep yourself up to date with all financial sector news with our current news segments. Each person can find something unique from us. We believe our readers deserve real value from what we have to offer.
The March edition of The Finance World Magazine (TFW) delves into the Zayed Ambition 2 project, which strives to investigate the feasibility of leveraging the UAE's burgeoning space economy for sustainable development. This initiative showcases the country's commitment to diversifying its economy and reducing its reliance on oil.
In a featured interview, CEO Shaaista Khan Osman and Managing Director Osman Osman of Blu Blood share their insights about the event management industry in the UAE. This issue also includes insights from Sridhar Vembu, CEO of Zoho Corporation, on emerging AI tools, along with some advice for SMEs and startups.
Through this edition, we also bring you insights on topics like the UAE's steadfast dedication to sustainable growth and development, Dubai surpassing global and regional tourism recovery levels, the sports industry emerging as a promising sector magnetizing international investors, and many more key informational articles in the finance sector.
Keep yourself up to date with all financial sector news with our current news segments. Each person can find something unique from us. We believe our readers deserve real value from what we have to offer.
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UAE Banking<br />
FAB foresees a<br />
relatively moderate<br />
inflation forecast in<br />
<strong>2023</strong>, which should<br />
provide welcome<br />
stability given the<br />
macroeconomic<br />
backdrop.<br />
growth in our international revenue. We<br />
are also proud to see our achievements<br />
being recognised externally, having<br />
recently been awarded Best Consumer<br />
Digital Bank in the UAE, Most Innovative<br />
Bank, and Best User Experience Design<br />
at the Global <strong>Finance</strong> Awards,” she<br />
continued.<br />
“As the UAE enters the Year of<br />
Sustainability, we continued to play<br />
a crucial role in helping to deliver the<br />
region’s sustainable finance agenda,<br />
with FAB facilitating over $9B worth<br />
of sustainable projects, in line with<br />
our $75B target by 2030. We also<br />
made steady progress in rolling out<br />
sustainability-linked products across<br />
all customer groups and reaffirmed our<br />
leadership position in the Green Bond<br />
market, with around half of our 2022<br />
issuances executed in a green format<br />
across several different currencies,”<br />
she added. “We remain confident in<br />
the resilience of this region and are<br />
very well placed to capitalise on the<br />
opportunities to drive superior and<br />
sustainable shareholder returns in <strong>2023</strong><br />
and beyond,” she concluded.<br />
On the other hand, Global markets<br />
experienced a particularly difficult year<br />
in 2022, with strong downward pressure<br />
brought on by inflation that reached<br />
levels unseen in decades, increasing<br />
interest rates, tighter liquidity, and<br />
escalating geopolitical tensions. Bond<br />
rates spiked as a result, and equities<br />
experienced a bear market that lasted<br />
through the end of the year. <strong>The</strong> picture<br />
for <strong>2023</strong> is still uncertain, especially<br />
because continued worries about a<br />
decline in the global economy still exist.<br />
In contrast, the UAE economy<br />
experienced its highest expected real<br />
GDP growth in more than a decade<br />
(+6.7%), owing to higher oil output,<br />
relatively moderate inflation, targeted<br />
structural reforms to drive economic<br />
growth and diversification, and a<br />
recovery across key economic sectors<br />
such as real estate and tourism. This was<br />
clearly reflected in the strength of the<br />
PMI, which remained in growth territory<br />
throughout the year, highlighting the<br />
UAE’s solid economic performance.<br />
As a result of increasing interest<br />
rates, according to the bank’s press<br />
release, the UAE banking sector saw a<br />
significant improvement in profitability,<br />
driven by an increase in margins and net<br />
interest income. Although loan growth<br />
has been high this year, it is expected to<br />
slow in <strong>2023</strong> as GDP growth moderates.<br />
Higher oil prices bode favourably for<br />
deposit inflows, as liquidity remains<br />
plentiful and strong.<br />
Sectoral asset quality remains strong,<br />
while capital balances at UAE banks<br />
remain strong, aided by conservative<br />
regulatory standards compared to<br />
global counterparts. Overall, UAE<br />
banks are well positioned to benefit<br />
from the tailwinds of rising interest<br />
rates and solid regional economic<br />
development, while also being able to<br />
handle any turbulence and obstacles<br />
that may arise in the future.<br />
In comparison to many other regions<br />
of the world, FAB foresees a relatively<br />
moderate inflation forecast in <strong>2023</strong>,<br />
which should provide welcome stability<br />
given the macroeconomic backdrop.<br />
<strong>The</strong> area, however, will not be immune to<br />
global price pressures and an economic<br />
slump. As a result, the bank predicts a<br />
relatively modest real GDP growth rate<br />
of roughly 5.0% for the UAE in FY’23,<br />
albeit this growth should be more<br />
sustainable as economic diversification<br />
continues.<br />
12 www.thefinanceworld.com <strong>March</strong> <strong>2023</strong>