Financial Services
From The Report: Sharjah 2017
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Sharjah’s financial services sector has grown at an average rate of 12.7% per year over the past half decade to reach 10.3% of GDP in 2015, in line with the figure for the UAE as a whole. It primarily consists of four locally headquartered banks and two locally based insurance companies, though institutions based in other emirates are also active in the local market. Assets of locally headquartered banks contracted slightly in the first nine months of 2016 as non-performing loans in the small and medium-sized enterprise segment saw banks take provisions and scale back lending, but assets remained well above their 2014 levels, with profits recovering at some institutions that had suffered in 2015. Premiums and profits at locally headquartered insurance firms have meanwhile risen in recent years.

This chapter contains an interview with Ahmad Saad, Deputy CEO, Sharjah Islamic Bank.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Money makers: Credit and credibility: an active emirate sector since the 1970s
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The financial services sector accounted for 10.3% of Sharjah’s GDP in 2015, according to Moody’s credit rating agency, in line with the figure for the UAE as a whole. The sector has been growing rapidly in recent times, at an average rate of 12.7% over the previous five years. It primarily consists of four locally headquartered banks and two locally-based insurance companies, with institutions based in other emirates that are also active in the local market. Assets of locally headquartered banks…

Overview

Money makers: Credit and credibility: an active emirate sector since the 1970s
OBG
plus

The financial services sector accounted for 10.3% of Sharjah’s GDP in 2015, according to Moody’s credit rating agency, in line with the figure for the UAE as a whole. The sector has been growing rapidly in recent times, at an average rate of 12.7% over the previous five years. It primarily consists of four locally headquartered banks and two locally-based insurance companies, with institutions based in other emirates that are also active in the local market. Assets of locally headquartered banks…

Interview

Making an impact: Ahmed Saad, Deputy CEO, Sharjah Islamic Bank, on potential growth strategies and the impact of new regulations
OBG
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Interview: Ahmed Saad How would you assess the potential for growth in corporate and Islamic banking in the UAE and the greater MENA region? AHMED SAAD: Islamic banks operate in a very competitive environment, where many conventional banks are also looking to increase their Islamic business. Though this may not be an immediate concern, competition for the best services will soon bring growth to the region’s economy. Islamic banks have grown at a double-digit pace over the last decade and the…

Interview

Making an impact: Ahmed Saad, Deputy CEO, Sharjah Islamic Bank, on potential growth strategies and the impact of new regulations
OBG
plus

Interview: Ahmed Saad How would you assess the potential for growth in corporate and Islamic banking in the UAE and the greater MENA region? AHMED SAAD: Islamic banks operate in a very competitive environment, where many conventional banks are also looking to increase their Islamic business. Though this may not be an immediate concern, competition for the best services will soon bring growth to the region’s economy. Islamic banks have grown at a double-digit pace over the last decade and the…

Analysis

Lending a hand: Struggling small businesses benefit from reforms
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Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are a key contributor to the economies of both Sharjah and the UAE as a whole. Approximately 54,000 of the UAE’s 350,000 smaller businesses are based in the emirate, accounting for 86% of the private sector workforce. According to the Ministry of Economy, the segment further accounts for around 60% of federal non-oil GDP, a figure the authorities wish to raise to 70% by 2021. Meanwhile, Sharjah is seeking to position itself as a regional centre for smaller…

Analysis

Lending a hand: Struggling small businesses benefit from reforms
OBG
plus

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are a key contributor to the economies of both Sharjah and the UAE as a whole. Approximately 54,000 of the UAE’s 350,000 smaller businesses are based in the emirate, accounting for 86% of the private sector workforce. According to the Ministry of Economy, the segment further accounts for around 60% of federal non-oil GDP, a figure the authorities wish to raise to 70% by 2021. Meanwhile, Sharjah is seeking to position itself as a regional centre for smaller…

Analysis

External financing: The local sukuk market is growing amid a broader slowdown
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The UAE has been a key player in the development of the international market forsukuk(Islamic bonds), with Sharjah playing an outsize role. The emirate was the first member of the federation in which a bank issued an international sukuk. Global and regional sukuk issues have slowed in recent years, following strong growth previously, and issues in the GCC were below expectations in 2016 and are expected to remain subdued in 2017. However, Sharjah-based institutions have bucked the trend,…