ABU DHABI, MAR 12, 2006 (WAM) - Supported by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI), the Finance, Credit and International Business Association (FCIB) is organising the Second International Credit & Risk Management Conference in the Middle East in Dubai on March 20-21.

The support to the conference is in line with the DCCI's interest in supporting such economic activities and its continued effort to introduce the business community to the latest economic and trade information and laws on the local and international fronts, according to a press release.

The DCCI is quite keen in supporting this significant economic event due to its importance in introducing the members of the Chamber, as well as other businessmen and investors in the emirate to the credit rating and classification services and its role in developing businesses, in addition to the need for providing them with useful information and skills in risk management to avoid committing administrative mistakes that could lead to a financial or business loss.

Sultan Majid Lootah, Acting Director of Business Promotion Department at the DCCI, said that the 2nd International Credit and Risk Management Conference in the Middle East will run for two days and opened by the DCCI's director general, with the participation of a large number of CEOs of local and international financial institutions, analysts and experts in credit rating, risk management and trade finance. The conference will discuss several significant economic topics related to international credit, trade finance and risk analysis in the Middle East and Asia Pacific regions in today's challenging business environment.

"The topics to be handled at the conference are very useful for businessmen and investors in Dubai and other emirates to help develop their businesses, as the conference provides a good opportunity for them to exchange views, expertise and other significant administrative skills in the field of risk management and its role in upgrading businesses to a higher level of security and efficiency," said Lootah.

He pointed out that the DCCI was a pioneer in this field, so as it established a Credit Rating Unit, in partnership with "Compagnie Francaise d' Assurance Pour Le Commerce Exteriors (Coface)", in the line of the strategic plan that corresponds to the Dubai Chamber's goals and vision aiming to help its members' local and international trade establishments through providing them with various value added services from which they could benefit in ensuring their competitiveness and confrontation with the increasing challenges in the global markets.

"The main purpose of the establishment of the Credit Rating Unit is to provide the businessmen dealing with new trade companies for the first time with an assessment of corporate credit risk based on a rating scale that is standard, irrespective of where the company is located or its sector of activity," Lootah added.

He pointed out that the credit rating has proved to be an effective instrument of risk assessment in countries that enjoy advanced economics since it demonstrates transparency of an enterprise, as well as the financial, sectorial, operational, legal and organizational sides of companies, and the characterizes its ability and willingness to repay obligations fully.

The significant benefits businessmen could get through using the credit rating service provided by the DCCI to its members include the ability to build confidence of their trade partners through free credit checking, and the ability to exercise a decisive advantage in convincing suppliers to extend credit through the rating quality label that enables them to obtain 100 % protection against the risk of non-payment on credit. It also enables the concerned parties to exchange reliable credit information despite the fluctuating economic situation and the lack of reliable sources of information.

The conference will discuss various topics such as the Middle East & Asia Pacific review credit perspective, a challenging credit services marketplace & role of credit in business development, examining the evolving role of trade finance in the key business development markets and the importance of getting logistics information for international trade.