Senior executives from the Al Habtoor Group held high-level talks with Swiss bank UBS on November 26. The group included the Chairman of the UBS, Alex Weber.
Weber, a former economics professor and then head of Germany’s central bank, the Bundesbank, for seven years until April 2011, has a well-known reputation for prudence and taking tough decisions.
Present from the Al Habtoor Group were Khalaf Al Habtoor, Chairman; Mohammed Al Habtoor, Vice-Chairman and CEO; Sanjeev Agarwal, Director Strategy & Business Development and KP Rajan, Group Financial Advisor. The group from UBS consisted of Tony Iliya, MENA CEO; Albert Momdjian, Head of the bank’s Ultra High Net Worth business (UHNW) and Head of Corporate Advisory Group (CAG) for the Middle East and Africa region; and Abdallah Najia, Executive Director (UHNW MEA).
UBS is a global firm providing financial services to private, corporate and institution clients. It is present in all major financial centres and has offices in over 50 countries.
The meeting focused on growth in the UAE economy. Khalaf Al Habtoor said, “We are witnessing a resurgence in the economy of the United Arab Emirates. Confidence is back. The UAE is the safe haven of the region. It is a sound place for global investors – particularly from the Euro zone and Asia.”
He added, “This is why we are seeing more and more companies moving their regional or global headquarters to the UAE.”
Weber said UBS, which is headquartered in Zurich and Basel, is very supportive of the UAE and committed to the region’s economies.
The UAE economy’s rapid growth trajectory has been driven by vibrant oil and non-oil sectors for more than four decades.
The UAE’s economy is expected to grow by 4 per cent in 2012, according the UAE Minister of Economy Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri.