Research gets a boost as Dubai hosts global banking meeting
dubai — Dubai is hosting the World Finance and Banking Symposium for the first time on Wednesday and Thursday, which will gather academics from around the world to present new research on regional and global financial issues.
The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the University of Dubai are jointly hosting the two-day Symposium, which is being attended by 200 professionals and academics.
The event will serve as a platform to encourage knowledge sharing and innovation within the emirate’s academic community. The main objectives of the event are to advance research within specialised fields within finance and banking.
“The initiative falls in line with Dubai Chamber’s aim to foster a culture of innovation in Dubai and support the emirate’s transition to a knowledge-based economy. Events of this nature create an environment that encourages research and development, which is a gap that still needs to be filled in the UAE and wider Mena region. We feel it’s our responsibility to enhance research capacity in the emirate by encouraging students and researchers to appreciate research
The initiative falls in line with dubai chamber’s aim to foster a culture of innovation
Dr Belaid Rettab, senior director of economic research and sustainable business development sector, Dubai Chamber
and the role it plays in building smarter societies,” said Dr Belaid Rettab, senior director of economic research and sustainable business development sector, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Academics from the University of Dubai will present 10 papers on a range of topics, including government banking regulations, mergers and acquisitions in the Mena, performance of SMEs in the Arab world, stock market performance in the Mena. Representatives from Dubai Chamber will present new research that compares the financial performance of Islamic and conventional banks in the GCC over the last eight years.
Other participants will present findings covering markets in the GCC, Europe, China and the US. Some of these topics include Dubai’s position as a financial trading hub for the New Silk Road, interconnectedness within the global financial industry, access to startup capital in the GCC, UK and US, and political uncertainty in developed and emerging markets.
Islamic banking assets currently exceed 34 per cent of total banking assets in the GCC, but there is plenty of room for the industry to grow and innovate. “Research focusing on this sector will create more transparency and give banks a point of reference to evaluate industry trends and identify areas that need to be improved,” said Rettab.
Within the area of innovation, Islamic banks were found to be stronger when compared to conventional banks over the last eight years as they were able to utilise resources more efficiently. The research reveals that the smaller the bank, the higher the capability to innovate and therefore, the higher the total factor productivity growth in Islamic banking.Overall, the findings showed that Islamic banks in the Gulf outperformed conventional banks across all quintiles relative to assets.
— business@khaleejtimes.com