Tuesday, Sep 27, 2011
DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--Emirates NBD (EMIRATES.DFM), the largest bank by assets in the United Arab Emirates, is considering opening representative offices in China and a number of Asia Pacific countries and expanding its Islamic banking operations in the region, joining an increasing number of Middle Eastern lenders seeking a larger presence in some of the world's fastest-growing economies, a senior executive said.
Emirates NBD already has a branch in Singapore where it offers wholesale banking, treasury and wealth management services to take advantage of increasing trade flows between South East Asia and the Middle East. Total exports from South East Asia in 2009 was $810 billion and imports totaled $726 billion, with the UAE accounting for around 1.6%, according to figures from Emirates NBD.
"There is an increasing trend of banks and companies doing business in the region," said Brian Shegar, the bank's general manager of the Singapore branch and head of the Asia Pacific region, in an interview conducted via email. Many large Emirati companies in recent years have made major investments in Asia in areas such as oil tank terminals, trading and semi-conductor manufacturing, deepening the economic ties between the two economic blocs.
"The bank is seriously considering opening representative offices in countries such as China and selected major economies in Asia Pacific which offer sound business prospects," he added.
Emirates NBD follows in the footsteps of competitors such as First Gulf Bank (FGB.AD) and National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD.AD) which have recently announced plans to open more offices in China and the Asia Pacific region. Many Gulf banks are also keen on developing their Islamic banking presence in the region which is home to the world's largest Muslim country, Indonesia.
"Islamic banking in Malaysia and Indonesia continues to be another area of interest, though no firm plans have so far been made," said Shegar. The global Islamic banking market is estimated to be a $1 trillion industry and has Middle Eastern banks competing for a bigger share of that market.
Emirates NBD is also active in Saudi Arabia and Qatar and has representative offices in India and Iran. In total, the group has around 141 branches, the bulk of which are situated in its domestic market. The bank has been cautiously expanding its network in rapidly-growing economies in the past years, usually by opening representative offices rather than by outright acquisitions.
-By Nicolas Parasie, Dow Jones Newswires; +9714 446-1681; nicolas.parasie@dowjones.com
Copyright (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Co.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
27-09-11 0641GMT
