Global Arab Network | UAE: Moody's Holds 5th Annual Middle East Credit Risk Conference in Abu Dhabi

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UAE: Moody's Holds 5th Annual Middle East Credit Risk Conference in Abu Dhabi

Global Arab Network - - George Haddad

Monday, 14 June 2010 13:36

UAE (Abu Dhabi) - Moody's Investors Service today held its fifth annual GCC Credit Risk Conference at the Fairmont Bab el-Bahr Hotel in Abu Dhabi.

Moody's top Middle-East-focused analysts from its local office in Dubai as well as from its offices in Limassol, London and Paris today gave in-depth presentations at this one-day conference aimed at regional investors.

"Middle Eastern countries have weathered the financial crisis, albeit to varying degrees," said Mr Jehad el-Nakla, General Manager of Moody's Middle East, who gave the opening address at the conference. "The Middle East in general and the oil-producing countries specifically have continued to report improvements in their economic fundamentals, supported by steadily improving oil prices which have stabilized at around US$80 per barrel."

"However, throughout this volatile period, Moody's has remained at the forefront in monitoring the creditworthiness of regional issuers of debt. The rating agency has also published numerous timely and detailed Special Comments about developments in the region, reflecting Moody's continued staunch commitment to the Middle East," says Mr el-Nakla,

The topics of the presentations by senior members of Moody's rating groups were as follows:

- "Middle East Sovereigns: A View from the top", Tristan Cooper, Moody's Head Analyst for Middle East Sovereigns.

- "Middle East Banking Outlook", by Mardig Haladjian, General Manager of Moody's Limassol Office and Manager of Moody's Middle Eastern banking team.

- "The paradox of Islamic banking", by Anouar Hassoune, Vice President -- Senior Credit Officer in Moody's Financial Institutions Group and Moody's specialist on Islamic Banking.

- "The GCC corporate credit landscape", by Myriam Durand, Managing Director and Head of Moody's EMEA Corporate Finance Group, followed by "Corporate industry snapshots: from real estate to holding companies -- and key credit drivers", by Martin Kohlhase, AVP -- Analyst in Moody's EMEA Corporate Finance Group.

- "Funding infrastructure in the GCC -- the emergence of new precedents", by Andrew Davison, Senior Vice President in Moody's Infrastructure Finance Group.

- "Securitisation and Islamic Finance", by Khalid Howladar, Vice President - Senior Credit Officer in Moody's Structured Finance Group and Moody's specialist on Islamic securitisations.

Additionally, Moody's held a panel discussion on "Insolvency, restructuring and recovery in the GCC" which was moderated by Khalid Howladar, The discussion included the following guest speakers: David Silver, Partner at Fullbright & Jaworski; Eli Chahin, Director of Alix Partners; Martin Rudge, Head of Specialised Corporate Loans, Corporate & Investment Banking Division at National Bank of Abu Dhabi; and Thuwaini Al Thuwaini, Senior Manager of the Structuring Team at Rasameel.

Global Arab Network

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