Press Releases

STANDARD CHARTERED EXECUTES FIRST EVER BANK PAYMENT OBLIGATION TRANSACTION OCTAL and BP first to benefit from new era in trade settlement 13 June 2012 – Standard Chartered Bank today announced that it has facilitated the first end-to-end automated trade finance transaction with the Bank Payment Obligation (BPO) through its Straight2Bank platform. The transaction was carried out between BP’s petrochemicals business …

100 senior industry leaders participate in high-level discussions at the World Takaful Conference: Asia Leaders Summit (WTC: ALS 2012) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 13th June 2012: The World Takaful Conference: Asia Leaders Summit (WTC: ALS 2012), which opened today at Hotel Istana, Kuala Lumpur, saw more than 100 senior executive industry leaders in the regional Takaful industry engage in critical discussions …

Trade finance and corporate banking are on the up in Saudi Arabia thanks to strong, double-digit growth in both imports and exports in the Kingdom and continued positive intermediation by Saudi banks in the trade flows. This is confirmed by Cash Management Matters (CMM), which as part of its aim to create transparency in the trade finance market-place in the …

Cross-Border Trade and Investment Flows between Asia and the Middle East Set to Expand H.H. Sheikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Honorary Chairman of the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) inaugurates the Asia-Middle East Investment Summit in Singapore Singapore: 7th June 2012: The inaugural Asia-Middle East Investment Summit (AMEIS 2012), which opened today at the Grand Hyatt Singapore, saw 150 senior …

7 June 2012 BARCLAYS CONTINUES TO EXPAND WEALTH AND INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT TEAM IN THE MIDDLE EAST  Dubai, UAE: Barclays announced today the expansion of its Wealth and Investment Management team in the Middle East and North Africa. Chris Cocker and Nicholas Koutsoukos have both been appointed as Directors covering the Lower Gulf region with the specific objective of extending Barclays …

More than 450 global industry leaders attend the high profile opening of the 3rd Annual World Islamic Banking Conference: Asia Summit in Singapore Singapore: 5th June 2012: The 3rd Annual World Islamic Banking Conference: Asia Summit (WIBC Asia 2012), which opened today at the Grand Hyatt Singapore, saw more than 450 leaders in the international Islamic banking and finance industry …

“Private Equity is increasingly becoming a primary solution for companies seeking growth capital, pre-IPO investments, or deleveraging solutions”, Taimoor Labib  UAE, 03 June, 2012 – Standard Chartered announced today that it has won the “Best Private Equity House in the Middle East for 2011” Award by world-renowned finance magazine, emeafinance. The awards will be presented at a charity dinner at …

Launches KeyKiosk-KeyRemit, an automated remittance channel to fast track money transfer and enhance security of transactions  June 3, 2012 KeyBS, a newly-launched payment solutions technology company, has announced the launch of the KeyKiosk-KeyRemit, an automated remittance channel that allows customers to remit money all over the world by simply using a self-service touch screen machine. KeyBS further announced that as …

Leading alternative financier remains on-track to achieve target US$5 billion gross turnover within the next three years, says chairman Kamel Alzarka 1st June 201 Falcon Group – an alternative finance provider based in London and the Middle East – achieved record post-tax profit in excess of US$27.5 million in 2011-2012 – an increase of more than US$7 million from the previous …

WIBC: Asia 2012 to gather more than 450 industry leaders for discussions on strengthening international connectivity and capturing cross-border opportunities in the Islamic finance industry Singapore: 30 May 2012: More than 450 key players and thought leaders in the international Islamic finance industry will be gathering on the 5th and 6th of June 2012 at the Grand Hyatt in Singapore …

More than 450 industry leaders to discuss new cross-border opportunities for Islamic finance in Asia at the 3rd Annual World Islamic Banking Conference: Asia Summit Singapore: 23rd May 2012: The rapid international expansion of Islamic finance reflects its ability to remain competitive and to increasingly meet the complex requirements of the global financial community. With various countries now intensifying efforts …

Western Union Reaches 500,000 Agent Location Milestone Middle East and Africa Agent Network expands to over 38,000 locations More than 90 agent locations in Bahrain spread over 38 cities and towns Dubai, United Arab Emirates – May 22nd 2012 – The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a leader in global payment services, announced it has opened the 500,000th Agent location …

Morad Mahlouji will lead the Bank’s wholesale Banking client relationship management   UAE, 22 May, 2012 – Standard Chartered announced today the appointment of Morad Mahlouji as Regional Head of Origination and Client Coverage (OCC) for the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan (MENAP). In his new role, Morad will lead the Bank’s Origination and Client Coverage Group, which shapes …

The 8th Annual World Islamic Funds and Financial Markets Conference 2012 Discusses Key Strategies for Driving the International Development of the Islamic Investments Industry and Tapping into Increasing Demand from Large Corporate Issuers Manama: Kingdom of Bahrain: 20 May 2012: The 8th Annual World Islamic Funds and Financial Markets Conference (WIFFMC 2012) witnessed a high-profile opening today at the Gulf …

CIMB Principal Islamic Asset Management voted as the Islamic Investment Institution of the Year 2012 Manama, Bahrain: 20 May 2012: The achievements, innovations and excellence in the global Islamic funds and investments industry were recognized today at the 8th Annual World Islamic Funds and Financial Markets Conference (WIFFMC 2012) awards ceremony which was held at the Gulf Hotel in the …

20 May 2012 Barclays Expands Corporate Banking Offering with Expansion of the Debt Finance team in the Middle East Barclays Bank PLC announced today that it is continuing to expand its corporate banking offering through the expansion of Debt Finance origination capabilities in the GCC. Alexander Harrison has been appointed as Head of Debt Finance, UAE and GCC. He will …