Abu Dhabi, 23 March 2015: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, a top tier Islamic financial institution, and information provider Zawya recently organized a seminar to help UAE Business owners choose the right investment strategy. The seminar which is an initiative from BusinessPulse, an online portal specifically designed for SMEs and hosted by ADIB and Zawya Thomson Reuters, brought together over 100 business owners from around the UAE. Entitled "2015 Investment Outlook" it provided SMEs with networking opportunities and insights into regional and international investment trends.

Presenting at the seminar, Shahzad Ali, Head of Investment Advisory at ADIB's Private Banking Group, Mahdi Kilani, Head of ADIB Business Banking and Fuad Elmani, Head of Treasury Risk Management Solutions, explained that the likelihood of continuing volatility in the future makes it more important than ever for customers to have a broadly diversified portfolio of investments and to consider investments that offer growth potential but with downside protection.

Mahdi Kilani, Head of ADIB Business Banking, who opened the seminar, commented:

"It is crucial that investors are aware of all the options available to them to manage their funds in a changing investment environment and how - for instance - they can tailor their portfolios to meet their requirements as well as their risk appetites. These seminars are important to ADIB as they provide us with direct contact with our clients, a better understanding of their needs and a means of further strengthening our long term relationships with them. We strongly believe that innovative investment solutions that have been carefully evaluated by our team of experts are of real value to our clients."

Gianluca Meloni, one of the participants who is the managing director of an international sports management company said:

"These events are good for me because they allow me to gather information from people who know what they are talking about. We know Europe is not offering much in the way of investment; we know there are problems in Russia; so it's nice to be able to look at other options."

Mohamed Ibdah, chief financial officer of a gold company, commented:

"Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the places to be right now. Why wouldn't we want to be investing from here? It's fast paced and one of the places the whole world is watching. I am open to whatever investment is available locally. We rely on the bank -we trust their advisors with our assets and money - to help us see where we should be looking. ADIB is a bank we are happy to be in partnership with."

ADIB and Zawya, a Thomson Reuters company, launched BusinessPulse to providing advice and support to small and medium-sized businesses in the UAE. The portal offers business owners and entrepreneurs, access to information related to their day-to-day business as well as guidance and support for their long term growth and expansion strategies. Apart from offering funding advice through ongoing interactions with ADIB's Business banking team, visitors can simply apply for a financing facility of up to AED 2 million through the portal. ADIB Business gives business owners access to a team of expert business banking professionals, providing 24-hour support using innovative solutions.

-Ends- 

About ADIB:
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) was established on 20th May 1997 as a Public Joint Stock Company following the Emiri Decree No. 9 of 1997. The Bank commenced commercial operations on 11th November 1998, and was formally inaugurated by His Highness Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on 18th April 1999. ADIB's vision is to be a top-tier, global Islamic financial services group and its mission is to provide Islamic financial solutions to the global community. The Bank carries out all contracts, operations and transactions in accordance with Islamic Sharia principles. ADIB's core values, reflected in all its activities are: Simple and Sensible; Transparent; Mutual Benefit; Hospitality and Tolerance; and Sharia inspired. It brings to its customers banking as it should be.

© Press Release 2015