Maintaining Momentum

Welcome to the February 2023 issue of MEA Finance Magazine. This difficult third decade of the 21st century seems to annually reshape ordinary words and phrases like, climate, economy, Ukraine, cost of living etc., making them cast foreboding shadows. However, mindful that a new year brings hope for new beginnings and resolutions to improve, the prestigious progress our region is making in the face of a world of challenges has shored local economies against approaching storms and provides some justifiable optimism for the near future, as shown in our Market Focus on the UAE, page 16, where following a good finish to 2022 the year ahead is showing further positive signs.

Some of this optimism is also expressed in our cover story featuring Dr. José Viñals, Group Chairman of Standard Chartered Bank, talking with MEA Finance about their long presence in Africa and the Middle East and the real growth opportunities of these regions, “Our strong commitment to Africa and the Middle East has been there from the beginning and will always remain”.

From page 20, you can read about the Journey Towards Frictionless CrossBorder Payments. This, the title of our latest roundtable, was hosted by Swift who welcomed influential leaders from key organisations and financial institutions to debate the modernisation of cross-border payments and the benefits this will bring to business and economies.

This issue maintains the development theme and with additions from key industry contributors, we provide perspectives from varied points across the financial services sector. From page 36 we look at how climate change will affect banking in the region, with input from Chuka Umunna, Head of EMEA ESG at J.P. Morgan, from page 44, an overview of the expansion of Open Banking where we hear from Glen Fernandes, Managing Director, Global Client Management at BNY Mellon and from page 10, the changing retail banking market, with Dinesh Sharma, Regional Head of Wealth and Personal Banking, HSBC Bank Middle East Ltd.

One development creating a lot of buzz at this time is ChatGPT, the chatbot launched by OpenAI. From page 50, Geoff Rapp, Co-Founder, Virtuzone tells us how this brings Artificial Intelligence nearer to mainstream interactions, “ChatGPT’s overnight success has brought AI closer to the public and increased their awareness of AI trends and tools currently accessible or being developed in the market”.

Staying with technology, on page 52, Rajashekara Maiya, Vice President and Head, Business Consulting Group, Infosys Finacle describes the top three trends we can expect in banking technology this year. More trends, this time in Data Privacy are outlined on page 58 by Astrid Gobardhan, Data Privacy Officer, VFS Global, and while we are taking a look ahead into how 2023 will shape-up, we provide outlooks for investment and the economy in the region over pages 54 & 56.

Our regular round-up of some of the region’s market news highlights are, as usual covered at the start of this, another issue filled with content and contributors who cumulatively provide words that together shape up to a hopeful journey along the course into the coming year.

6 Dubai’s DIFC announces ‘DIFC Metaverse Platform’

7 Mashreq acquires Digital Banking License to commence operations in Pakistan

9 EY: 2022 was a record year for MENA IPOs with 51 listings RETAIL

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EVENTS AND MARKETING MANAGER Cris Balatbat crissyb@mea-finance.com

Tel: +971 58 594 4818

EVENT AND CONTENT DIRECTOR Natasha Cristi natasha@mea-finance.com

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SENIOR DESIGNER Florante Magsakay Tel: +971 52 570 1811 design@mea-finance.com

ADMIN AND FINANCE MANAGER Marilyn Nainque marilyn@mea-finance.com

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FEATURE CONTRIBUTORS: Mushtak Parker, Walter Sebele editorial@mea-finance.com

Dubai office: #404, Building B, Al Saaha Offices, Old Town Island Burj Khalifa District PO Box 487177, Dubai, UAE Email: info@mea-finance.com

Dubai’s DIFC announces ‘DIFC Metaverse Platform’

Dubai

(DIFC)

physical studio for metaverse technology that will promote the development of a creator community and venture building. The platform will also address the metaverse policy development and legislation on open data, digital identity and company law frameworks in the metaverse. Furthermore, the initiative will foster the development of a metaverse community that will explore ways to enhance the metaverse experience for customers.

The DIFC Metaverse Platform is aligned with the Dubai Metaverse Strategy, which aims to add US$4 billion to Dubai’s GDP, support 40,000 virtual jobs by 2030 and attract 1,000 companies specialised in blockchain and metaverse technologies.

The platform also supports the objective of the recently launched Dubai Economic Agenda D33 to generate economic value worth AED100 billion from digital transformation annually.

Commenting on the announcement, Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications, Chairman of the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, Vice Chairman of the Dubai Higher Committee for Future Technology and Digital Economy, stated that the UAE adopts advanced technologies in its aim to keep pace with global changes, reflecting the directives of its leadership, in transforming the country and Dubai to become a leading hub for utilising the best technology and developing capabilities.

Al Olama added that this Metaverse platform is the first in a series of initiatives that aim to strengthen Dubai’s position as a global platform for the latest digital trends and accelerate the pace to achieve the objectives of the Dubai Metaverse Strategy.

Arif Amiri, CEO of DIFC Authority, said, “The Dubai government has shown great foresight in introducing a metaverse strategy that has the objective of making the emirate a global hub for technology and innovation. The development of the integrated DIFC Metaverse Platform will accelerate the achievements of Dubai’s aspirations in this sector. The initiative is a natural extension of our Innovation Hub proposition that has shaped the technology and innovation landscape in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region.”

The DIFC Metaverse Platform includes three key initiatives. The first is an accelerator programme with a dedicated

The Metaverse Accelerator Programme, the first initiative to be launched under the umbrella of the platform, will start accepting applications this month. In the coming years, the programme seeks to attract more than 500 applications, identify 50 of the most promising graduates from the programme and stimulate investment opportunities that will help the sector grow.

The programme demonstrates DIFC’s commitment to support innovative metaverse start-ups by introducing them to the region’s largest players. The programme also helps them explore partnerships, gain exposure to investors, access a regulatory sandbox and obtain marketing support.

In early November, the region’s first and largest FinTech Accelerator – DIFC FinTech Hive – hosted its annual Investor Day on the Metaverse Platform, giving the region’s finance ecosystem a first-hand experience of the technology. DIFC Fintech Hive also partnered with Emirates NBD to launch and co-create their own Metaverse Accelerator programme, which received more than 100 global applicants.