UAE: 3rd Dubai-Hamburg Forum Discusses Finance and Maritime Sectors

Dubai’s financial sector could benefit from Hamburg’s experience in the insurance sector, ship financing and corporate governance, while opportunities exist for the emirate to export its expertise in Islamic finance to the German city, business leaders speaking at the 3rd Dubai-Hamburg Business Forum said.

The forum, organised by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry in partnership with the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce on December 6 and 7, brought together a high level delegation of business leaders from Hamburg to meet with Dubai counterparts to discuss four key sectors of finance, maritime, logistics and green technologies.

During the finance panel discussion, panelists said the eurozone crisis meant the next 12 months were uncertain, but excessive pessimism was not the case as opportunities in Africa and South-Asia existed and Dubai is a good base to access these markets.

The UAE’s insurance sector, which is large, rapidly growing and open to foreign competition, was also seen as having strong potential for growth and could benefit from Hamburg’s experience. Likewise, ship financing could expand with joint cooperation between financial institutions in Dubai and Hamburg, executives said.

At the same time, Dubai could explore opportunities for exporting Islamic finance to Hamburg where the spread has so far been very small, but there is a general perception that it is safer and more equitable.

The panel of speakers were: H.E. Abdulla Al Awar, CEO, Dubai International Financial Centre Authority; H.E. Fritz Horst Melsheimer, Chairman, HanseMerkur Versicherungsgruppe Insurance Group; Mr. Ashok Aram, CEO, Deutsche Bank​ MENA, Mr. Gerhard Schipp, Regional Head of Cash Management & International Business Commerzbank AG.

H.E. Al Awar said: “As the world readies itself to face another global slowdown resulting from the debt and fiscal issues in the West, the GCC continues to be the region’s engine supported by the abundance of its natural resources and young population. To continue to improve the efficiency of our growth we need to focus on building a more open, entrepreneurial and dynamic economy. To that extent, DIFC is proud to be able to provide a unique platform that helps the business and financial services community grow including local SMEs. This forum will help us exchange expertise with industry leaders in Hamburg.”

Mr Aram said: “Dubai and Hamburg share a common history of private merchant enterprise and mercantile trade and are effective gateways to their regions. Deutsche Bank which has a strong presence in both cities is clear about contributing to the expansion in trade and trade finance, shipping, logistics and transportation endeavours by the two cities. This is an important private sector initiative.”

During the forum, discussions on the maritime sector focused on knowledge sharing, business synergies and the development and management of maritime clusters.

Speakers were: H.E. Khamis Juma Buamim, Chairman, Dry Docks World and Maritime World; Mr. Jens Meier, CEO, Hamburg Port Authority; Ms. Jasamin Fichte, Managing Partner, Fichte & Co. Legal Consultancy; Mr. Ralf Plump, Head of Environmental Research, Germanischer Lloyd SE; and Dr. Satish Mapara, Member of the Board, Supply Chain and Logistics Group.

Mr. Meier highlighted Hamburg Port’s capabilities and expertise in training and research, which he said can be provided to UAE ports in the areas of information technology and electronic systems for their shipping operations as well as the management of ports in a sustainable and environment-friendly manner.

The CEO of Hamburg Port Authority pointed out that in the first nine months of this year Hamburg Port’s container handling rates increased by 15%, while 2010 saw a total of 162,500 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit) moved between the UAE and Hamburg.

Speakers also focused on increasing the cooperation between Hamburg and Dubai in offshore technology and highlighted Dubai’s need for a maritime cluster, which they said, could get assistance from Hamburg in terms of its development and management.

Experts also spoke about joint partnerships to lead efforts to reduce emissions in the industry and increase energy efficiency and suggested that Dubai could look into the possibility of becoming a refuelling station for LNG-powered ships sailing from Asia to Europe.

H.E. Hamad Buamim, Director General, Dubai Chamber, said the panel discussions touched upon a number of relevant topics beneficial to both business communities.

“The forum’s lengthy discussions came up with a number of recommendations and suggestions to explore areas of joint cooperation between Dubai and Hamburg and how businesses from both the cities can benefit and work together to consolidate their trade ties in the future. These come in-line with the objectives of Dubai Chamber to create a favourable business environment, support the development of business and promote Dubai as an international business hub.”

The Dubai-Hamburg Business Forum was launched in 2007 by Dubai and Hamburg Chambers of Commerce. This year the forum focussed on four key areas of mutual benefit: green technologies and sustainability, logistics, maritime and finance. On the second day, delegates attended site visits to Masdar City, Dubai World Central and DIFC.