The United Arab Emirates (UAE)’s Mashreqbank and Japan’s Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd. (MHCB), a member of the Mizuho Financial Group Inc. (MHFG), have set up Mizuho-Mashreq Japan Desk to facilitate increased bilateral trade and easier business dealings.
The Japan Desk partnership will provide working capital, primarily in the form of trade finance, to Japanese corporations opening, operating or expanding their operations in the UAE and region. Mashreqbank will take on the asset and credit risk for non-Japanese credit, with the net business costs and profits of both types of business shared equally between the partners.
With assets of $1,135 billion, as of March 31, 2002, MHFG is ranked as the largest bank in the world and has the largest trade finance portfolio in Japan. Domestically, its 664 branches service over 30 million personal accounts, 1,700 corporate clients—including more than 70 percent of the listed companies on the Tokyo Stock Exchange—and 5,000 governmental agencies, including 35 of 47 local governments.
The Japan Desk is located in Mashreqbank’s head-office and will be staffed by both Mashreqbank employees and MHCB secondees, as of June 25, 2003. The details of the tie-up was announced at a press conference held in Dubai
“Japan is a very important trading partner for the UAE and this facility will help enhance trade between the two countries,” said Mashreqbank CEO Abdul Aziz Al-Ghurair. “By jointly introducing this Japan Desk we will be able to provide the best range and quality of service for any Japanese companies doing business in the UAE,” he added.
“We evaluated Mashreqbank has the most advance Information Technology (IT) processing operations in the UAE, the only 24 hours dealing room in the UAE, and branches in all seven emirates plus Jebel Ali Free Zone, where more than 70 Japanese companies are located,” said Minoru Egashira, general manager, Corporate Finance Division (Japanese Corporate), Europe and Middle East.
With total assets of Dh23,700 million ($ 6.452 billion) as at December 31, 2002, Mashreqbank is the largest private bank in the UAE with a domestic network of 33 branches and last year achieved a record profit of 504.9 million Emirati dirhams, a 25 percent increase over the previous year. It is the second oldest Commercial Bank in the UAE having originally been established as Bank of Oman Ltd. in 1967 in Dubai.
Omar Bouhadiba, senior vice president and head of Commercial Banking Group, Mashreqbank, said that Japan has been the most important trading partner of the UAE, buying more than $10 billion of its oil and gas requirements a year here. At present, in addition, Japan is the biggest exporter to the UAE with trade amounting to over $2.5 billion a year.”
“Automobiles and electronic goods are also significant imports. In addition to serving the local market, Dubai has become the commercial trading and re-export hub for the entire Gulf region and beyond,” he added. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
