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Dubai - The Gulf Bond and Sukuk Association (GBSA) in partnership with Kuwait Financial Center - Markaz held a debt capital market conference in Kuwait. The conference gathered senior government officials with over 100 thought leaders from the corporate, financial, legal, diplomatic and regulatory communities.
The conference featured a discussion with former Lebanese Minister of Finance Dr. Jihad Azour, who was recently appointed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as its Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department.
Manaf AlHajeri, Chief Executive Officer of Markaz delivered the opening keynote speech stating “'The Gulf Bond and Sukuk Association conference cannot find a place, a time, and circumstances better than Kuwait, the year 2016.” AlHajeri further added “Supporting this conference as a leading Kuwait institution reflects our deep commitment to further developing the Kuwait market.”
“More Kuwait based companies can be expected to take advantage of bond/sukuk markets to extend their liability profiles and diversify their investor bases,” said Michael Grifferty, President of the Gulf Bond and Sukuk Association. He continued, “We salute the hard work of the authorities in preparing for an inaugural sovereign bond issue and establishing a professional debt management capacity”.
Raghu Mandagolathur, Head of Research, Markaz kicked off the conference with an economic assessment of the GCC region. Mustafa Aziz Ata, Head of Debt Financing, Middle East North Africa (exKSA), HSBC reviewed experiences of Gulf issuers in the market this year. Hossam Abdullah, Partner, Al Hossam Law Firm provided and update on local capital market legislation marking a year since a major update of the Capital Market Authority regulations. Paul Calvey, Partner, Oliver Wyman gave a perspective on Sovereign debt and bond markets in the GCC.
The morning was capped with a panel discussion involving market leading firms NBK Capital, Boubyan Capital, Burgan Bank and KAMCO Investment Company.
GBSA’s working groups and National Chapters bring together the thought leaders of the regional credit markets to create a more collective voice on key issues affecting the industry.
For press inquiries contact:
Michael P. Grifferty
President
The Gulf Bond and Sukuk Association (GBSA)
info@gulfbondsukuk.com
+971.4.401.9944
Aditi Mane
Associate
Finsbury
Aditi.Mane@Finsbury.com
+971.50.738.4146
About The Gulf Bond and Sukuk Association:
The Gulf Bond and Sukuk Association (GBSA) is the regional trade association representing the Arabian Gulf bond and sukuk market. GBSA is involved in all major matters concerning development of bond markets in the region.
© Press Release 2016
