4th Financial Technology Summit and Exhibition
Minster speech
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
On behalf of H.E Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, State Minister of Finance, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all of you our distinguished guests and speakers. and It is my pleasure as well to address this distinguished gathering and to congratulate all concerned for their efforts and hard work in organizing the 4th Financial Technology Summit and Exhibition and making it a success.
It is no coincidence that the United Arab Emirates serves as the location for this important event; the financial services industry in the UAE and across the region is moving ahead since we believe that business is characterize by global competition among international players who work with changing market conditions, in this respect the value of professionals and their ability to understand the financial and industrial aspects of transaction are fundamental for any success to be realised.
While The region’s banking industry is growing at a rapid rate and providing exciting new and innovative technology platforms for customers on a rapidly evolving basis. The average of annual IT spending by Arab banks is about US$1.8 Billion.
This level of investment, while large, is absolutely necessary. Modern financial services are, essentially, a technology-driven industry, and time and again we have seen that institutions that embrace technology have been able to gain a real competitive advantage.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
At the outset, it is important to recognize that the international financial system has grown to complex while it has become increasingly challenging for policy makers, and has expanded much faster than the real economy. In some advanced countries the total financial assets represent a multiple of annual GDP, and the composition of financial assets has undergone remarkable change in recent years by deregulation an improvement in the technology but the base of these changes had varied across countries.
In this respect we believe that the move towards a more arm length financial system is to continue using the technological innovation and removal of the regulatory barriers.
On the other hand there is a need to keep up with the increasing sophistication of financial sectors and to adjust our economy and financial system to the more challenging global environment and putting in place reform that will help sustain the current growth momentum.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
To obtain these objective the UAE leadership has spared no effort in developing its human resources and reinforcing its economic growth in numerous achievement.
Based on the national program announced by H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin zayed Al Nahyan, the president of UAE during 34th anniversary of the federation The UAE cabinet has formulated a comprehensive strategy which has been announced by H.H. sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum Vice-President, Prime Minister, Ruler of Dubai, which aims to keep up-to-date with scientific and technological breakthroughs and to maximize efforts and introduce radical changes to the existing practices within the UAE Government.
This Strategy aims to achieve sustainable and balanced development and ensure continued quality and high standards of living.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I think the outcome of your efforts in this distinguished gathering will have a crucial impact on the development of robust and competitive financial services in the region. I, therefore, wish you all the best in your deliberations and the best of luck for this important summit and exhibition.
