Financial Services
From The Report: Ras Al Khaimah 2013
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Ras Al Khaimah was relatively unaffected by the global financial crisis and is well positioned to benefit from growth in neighbouring emirates and the wider region. Financial services in RAK are dominated by the retail banking segment, but the sector as a whole is likely to benefit from the regional construction projects and infrastructure works designed to keep pace with growing populations and commercial needs, as well as major event-driven projects. Several players offer wide variety of sharia-compliant services in the banking sector, while the insurance industry serves the upwardly mobile population and offers one of the most promising avenues for investment in the emirate.
This chapter contains an interview with Kris Babicci, CEO, Commercial Bank International.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Balanced payments: Strong fundamentals help raise returns in the sector
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The market for financial services in Ras Al Khaimah is growing in size and sophistication along with the emirate’s broader economy. As a supplier of a range of basic building materials, RAK’s industry-fuelled economy is aligned with the fortunes of the wider region, and this should result in opportunities for financial services companies to fund or insure new projects, as well as capitalise on the growth in demand as economic expansion helps to create more wealth and generate new business. Regional…

Analysis

Risks, controlled: New products and increased mandates promise growth in insurance
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A number of factors are converging to create a positive outlook for the insurance sector in Ras Al Khaimah. They include the emirate’s strong growth trajectory, a low penetration rate for insurance and the increasing sophistication of RAK’s economic approach. With opportunities come challenges, however: the prospective nature of the market means that companies operating here are doing so largely in anticipation of large profits in the future, rather than immediate returns. Challenges Insurers…

Interview

OBG talks to Kris Babicci, CEO, Commercial Bank International
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Interview:Kris Babicci What do you identify as the biggest opportunities in financing industrial expansion? How much of this expansion can be financed locally? KRIS BABICCI: There are two types of opportunities in financing Ras Al Khaimah’s industrial expansion. The first is with regard to the development of infrastructure projects, like the expansion of the airport, ports and road networks, which present sizeable opportunities. There will be a need for small and medium-sized enterprises…