Treasurers look on the bright side

Current issues facing treasury and other finance professionals in the MENA region were discussed at EuroFinance’s 11th annual conference on Trade, Treasury and Cash Management in the Middle East, held in Dubai.

Among key findings reported were the following:

• Treasury and finance professionals in the Middle East are very confident about the prospects for their business over the coming year. Almost four in every five delegates polled (80 per cent) say they feel more confident compared to the previous year. This result sees Middle East treasurers tie with Brazil for business confidence, with only their peers in West Africa (90 per cent) showing greater confidence. Middle East treasurers demonstrate greater business confidence than those in Mexico (76 per cent), Southern Africa (56 per cent), India (50 per cent), China (47 per cent) and Europe (31 per cent).
• nearly two-thirds of treasurers in the Middle East (64 per cent) are happy with the level of cash visibility that they have in their organisation
• the Bank Payment Obligation (BPO) is a tool that is relevant to more than three quarters of treasury and finance professionals in the Middle East (76 per cent). Of this group, 74 per cent would be interested in using it as an alternative to a letter of credit
• supply chain finance is relevant to 76 per cent of finance professionals in the region, and 87 per cent of respondents stated that it “important”.