• Best practices from MENA’s largest lenders in managing non-performing assets
  • Regulators’ support for stressed businesses via conducive legal insolvency framework

Abu Dhabi, UAE: The Financial Restructuring MENA Conference, hosted by Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), under the strategic partnership of Bankruptcy Commission Saudi Arabia, will convene large corporates, family offices, MENA’s largest banks by assets and key stakeholders to address corporate insolvencies and debt restructurings in the wider MENA region from the 15th to 16th March 2023 at the ADGM Authorities Building in Abu Dhabi.

With the hike in interest rates by the US Federal Reserve, rising inflation and global macro-economic situation, combined with MENA’s central banks recently ending economic support schemes offered during Covid-19, corporates are increasingly under pressure of the tightening market situation, often leading to corporate insolvencies and debt restructurings.

Organized by Great Minds Event Management, the conference aims to enable successful restructuring solutions for large corporates and family businesses in the current market conditions while fostering effective management of non-performing asset (NPA) portfolios of MENA’s banks.

Abdullah Mogheerah, Secretary General at Bankruptcy Commission Saudi Arabia added, “As an independent governmental entity that advances confidence in the bankruptcy procedure by improving capabilities of professionals in the field, the efficiency of procedures, and transparency, we hope that the Financial Restructuring MENA Conference will spread awareness and help stakeholders achieve confidence in the bankruptcy procedures in the current volatile market.”

Balaji Natarajan, Group Chief Financial Officer, Binladin International Holding Group said, “I am looking forward to being part of the Financial Restructuring MENA Conference as a platform to share ideas, experiences and better understand latest developments in markets. I personally look forward to discussing with fellow panelists on successful financial turnaround strategies, stakeholder buy-in and enhancing liquidity and asset value during volatile market situations.”

Waseem Al-Sourani, General Manager, Special Assets Management, The Saudi British Bank added, “Looking forward to the upcoming Financial Restructuring MENA Conference, an opportunity to bring our regional restructuring community together where panelists will discuss recent trends in restructuring, the changing legislative landscape in insolvency and how regulators are going to classify forborne loans going forward”.

The strategic MENA conference will address some of the most vital topics including driving business profitability and asset health for MENA’s lenders by effectively managing NPA portfolios, driving financial restructuring and business turnarounds in highly leveraged and volatile markets, and developing mature NPL sales market in MENA.

There will be keynotes focusing on driving the region’s ease of doing business through business conducive regulations, a regulators’ session focusing on evolving insolvency regimes that facilitates corporate restructuring and promote business continuity, panel discussions and onstage interviews on the biggest insolvency workouts in the MENA region and presentation assessing the macro economy.

Discussions on the second day continue to focus on driving business turnarounds in volatile markets, the challenges and opportunities in MENA’s real estate sector and an onstage analysis of the ongoing billion-dollar plus financial restructuring of Azmeel Contracting Co.

Attendees get insights from the fire-side chat on investment opportunities in MENA’s distressed asset market, appropriate valuation of debtor’s assets as well as panel discussions focusing on preparing corporates and banks for the turbulent market ahead.

The event will be attended by ministries, regulatory authorities and policymakers, large corporates and family offices, commercial banks, restructuring advisories, asset managers, law firms, hedge funds and distressed market investors among other key stakeholders.