About the Book
Growth in the Middle East has been nothing short of phenomenal since the mid-1990s. While the most visible developments in the region have been in physical infrastructure and property projects, a number of countries have recognised the importance of also investing in financial infrastructure. Several real-time gross settlement systems are live or being planned and various centres are vying for the enviable position as the regional financial hub. Trade has also grown exponentially in the Middle East as economies diversify away from oil and gas, while trading relationships with a number of countries, including China and India, have greatly expanded.

In such rapidly growing and evolving markets, treasurers and CFOs have had to manage their working capital efficiently to maximise growth opportunities while controlling risks. The use of electronic banking and other treasury systems is fast catching up with the rest of the world and some stages of development are being skipped completely. Enterprise resource planning systems are increasingly commonplace and some cutting edge clients are considering commencing e-banking initiatives with host-to-host connectivity with their banking provider.

It should be noted, however, the Middle East is not a homogenous environment. There is no “one size fits all” solution: each corporate is different in terms of payments, collections and liquidity requirements, and each country has different systems, regulations and market practices. There are, therefore, challenges for treasurers and their bankers in finding the optimal working capital and treasury arrangements across the region.

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