Category: Trading

ABU DHABI, The Recording Academy has been announced as a new partner of the annual Culture Summit Abu Dhabi, which is due to hold its 5th edition from 23rd – 25th October this year.

Organised by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) in collaboration with key organisations including UNESCO, Guggenheim, the Economist, the Design Museum, and Google, Culture Summit Abu Dhabi will take place at Manarat Al Saadiyat under the theme ‘A Living Culture’.

The Recording Academy is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous for its Grammy Awards, which recognise achievements in the music industry of songs and music which are popular worldwide.

In preparation for this year’s edition of Culture Summit, DCT Abu Dhabi is working closely with its key partners to craft the event’s programme, and the Recording Academy’s senior management visited the UAE capital to join the roster of core partners and contribute to the Summit’s programme development.

Setting strategic plans and programmes to support the culture sector’s different domains is at the core of the Summit’s mission. With music as one of its key streams, Culture Summit serves as a platform convening cultural representatives and organisations from around the world.

Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of DCT Abu Dhabi, said, “Culture Summit Abu Dhabi will continue to build close partnerships with key entities, organisations, policymakers, and individuals to support the Summit’s mission and contribute positively to the global cultural sector. The Recording Academy is a valuable addition to Culture Summit Abu Dhabi’s roster of partners, and our cooperation with them will further support the work that we are already doing with Berklee Abu Dhabi, NYU Abu Dhabi, and all the relevant players in the music industry. Collaborating with highly esteemed and internationally recognised institutions is in line with our vision to contribute to the global cultural ecosystem.”

Harvey Mason Jr., President and CEO of the Recording Academy, said, “Music is so perfectly aligned with the theme of this summit, ‘A Living Culture,’ and the global music industry continues to be one of the most powerful drivers of culture. The Middle East region is home to so many thriving music scenes and we are thrilled to be partnering with Culture Summit Abu Dhabi to shed light on and further support this vital ecosystem. It’s our hope that we can use the power of culture, the summit, and the Academy to unite people all around the world, through music.”

Other Culture Summit Abu Dhabi partners include Image Nation Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi Film Commission, Sandstorm Comics, Cultural Foundation, Louvre Abu Dhabi, Berklee Abu Dhabi, and the Culture Resource.

Source: Emirates News Agency

ABU DHABI, During its recent second meeting for the year 2022, UAE Banks Federation (UBF)’s CEOs Advisory Council discussed the latest developments in the local and global banking and financial sector for the past quarter (April to June 2022). The virtual meeting also discussed UBF’s implementation of resolutions adopted in the CEOs Advisory Council meeting of March 2022.

Abdulaziz Al Ghurair, Chairman of UBF, announced forming of a second council named the CEOs Consultative Council, which comprises CEOs of banks that were not members of the CEOs Advisory Council; the new Council was created in order to take a much broader view from its member banks’ CEOs. Concurrently, a few members from the Advisory Council, established over 10 years ago, were moved to the ‘Consultative Council’ with the objective of assisting the Council’s Chairman to lead the way forward with their expertise gained while serving the Advisory Council. Meanwhile, a few CEOs were added to the CEOs Advisory Council to ensure both councils maintain sufficient diversification in representation.

The CEOs Consultative Council will be chaired by Mohammad Omran Al Shamsi, Chairman of RAKBANK and Vice Chairman of UBF, whereas CEOs Advisory Council will continue to be led by Abdulaziz Al Ghurair, Chairman of Mashreq Bank and Chairman of UBF Board of Directors.

The new members to join UBF’s CEOs Advisory Council include Ahmed Al Naqbi, CEO of Emirates Development Bank; Firas Darwish, CEO of Arab Bank – UAE; Waleed Hassan/Khaled Abbas, Gulf International Bank – UAE; and Omar Wehbe, CEO of Al-Ahli Bank of Kuwait – UAE. The meeting also greeted Shirish Bhide, the new CEO of United Arab Bank.

During the meeting, the Advisory Council discussed many important topics and developments, particularly the continuous cooperation with the Central Bank of the UAE. Members further discussed the meetings of UBF’s specialised technical committees tasked with enhancing the banking sector through adopting best practices and enhancing banks’ policies.

CEO’s Advisory Council’s members also lauded the continuous and coordinated efforts made by the Central Bank of the UAE, with complete support from UBF and its members, to increase the pace of Emiratisation in the sector through enhancing the skills and qualifications of Emirati youth and future banking leaders.

Jamal Saleh, Director-General of UBF, briefed the attendees on the recently-hosted dinner meeting with Wally Adeyemo, Deputy Secretary of U.S. Treasury, and his accompanying delegation from the Department of U.S. Treasury and U.S. Consulate and Embassy in the UAE, with the CEOs of several UBF member banks. The dinner meeting discussed several critical topics, including risk management and procedures developed to protect from various threats and challenges, as well as the progress made by UAE banks in implementing Central Bank of the UAE’s directives to increase the effectiveness of anti-money laundering systems. Adeyemo commended the steps undertaken by UAE Banks Federation in reducing the risks faced at UAE banks.

¬¬The Advisory Council also reviewed the activities and initiatives of UAE Banks Federation, including those in wealth management, national anti-fraud campaign, compliance with professional and ethical values while carrying out financial transactions by all member banks, adoption of responsible lending policies, and implementation of banking awareness programs that provide customers with a comprehensive view of the nature of their relationship with banks. The CEOs Council also deliberated on enhancing cyber security and following best practices to raise the safety and protection of digital baking infrastructure via, among other steps taken, cyber wargaming.

Source: Emirates News Agency

ABU DHABI, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) announced that it has joined the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF)’s Buna system to provide its customers with an enhanced regional cross-border payments system – a move that is in line with ADCB’s digital transformation strategy.

Buna is a state-of-the-art cross-border payments platform for the Arab region, which enables financial institutions and central banks to send and receive cross-border multicurrency payments in a safe, cost-effective, risk-controlled, and transparent manner.

ADCB customers will benefit from reduced costs for payments done through safe and secure channels, real-time payments in multiple currencies, and a best-in-class secure payments infrastructure that adheres to the highest global cyber-security standards.

The platform also enhances levels of governance and transparency through increased oversight from the Central Banks as well as effective reporting and compliance mechanisms.

The bank reiterated its commitment to its digital strategy by joining BUNA, a payment platform that provides superior clearing and settlement services across the Arab region in multiple currencies.

Source: Emirates News Agency

ABU DHABI, Wall Street’s main indexes slid on Wednesday after inflation data fanned fears that the Federal Reserve might take a more aggressive stance on interest rate hikes, potentially tipping the economy into a recession, Reuters reported.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 273.7 points, or 0.88 percent, at 30,707.5 points; while S&P 500 Index declined by to 44.3 points, or 1.2 percent, to reach 3772 points.

Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index, which is dominated by technology shares, fell by 152 points, or 1.17 percent, at 11137.3 points.

Source: Emirates News Agency

ABU DHABI, The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with MADE Competence Centre I 4.0, part of the Industry 4.0 Italian ecosystem composed by the competence centres and the digital innovation hubs, to support sustainable growth and Industry 4.0 applications.

Rashed Abdulkarim Al Blooshi, Undersecretary of ADDED, attended the signing ceremony of the MoU, which took place at the launch of the new Abu Dhabi Industrial Strategy at KIZAD. It was signed by Sameh Al Qubaisi, Director General of Economic Affairs at ADDED and Augusto De Castro, General Manager of MADE S.C.A R.L.

ADDED and MADE will collaborate to build awareness of opportunities linked to Industry 4.0 applications, provide access to best practices, enhance the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, and build the technical capabilities of the industrial workforce to be ready to the transformation through Industry 4.0 Skills Development Programme.

The cooperation with MADE, the leading centre in supporting businesses to manage innovation, technological transfer, applied research, and implementation of Industry 4.0 tools, reflects ADDED’s efforts to enhance the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem and accelerate transformation of the manufacturing sector in Abu Dhabi.

Rashed Abdulkarim Al Blooshi, Undersecretary of ADDED, said: “The agreement with MADE is part of our efforts to achieve the ambitious goals of Abu Dhabi Industrial Strategy by working closely with best-in-class partners in various areas to ensure the ecosystem in the emirate is empowering manufacturers to transition to Industry 4.0 technologies”.

“We believe investing in human capital is paramount to the success of our initiatives. Therefore, we are focusing on the technical capabilities of current industrial workforce to equip them with necessary knowledge and skills to be ready for the transformation to Industry 4.0. In addition, the strategy aims to create 13,600 new knowledge based, quality jobs” Al Blooshi added.

Augusto De Castro, General Manager of MADE S.C.A R.L. said: “We are pleased to cooperate with ADDED and the Industrial Development Bureau (IBD) as part of their comprehensive digital and Industry 4.0 advancements roadmap, which is guiding their industrial sector”.

“This strategic partnership comes at an opportune time, as Abu Dhabi continues to cement its status as a leading industrial hub with a unique business ecosystem. We at MADE Competence Centre I4.0 are working relentlessly with all our global partners and governments to ensure that our programmes and initiatives continue to maximise benefits for them as they expedite their adoption of Industry 4.0 solutions”.

Source: Emirates News Agency