al khaliji

• Providing commercial and financial business solutions to support small and medium size businesses in the State of Qatar and GCC countries

Doha, 8th December, 2009 : Al khalij Commercial Bank (al khaliji) hosted its first Business Banking Forum this week in collaboration with KPMG and with the participation of the Ministry of Business & Trade. The aim of the Forum was to bring together an exceptional group of leading Qatari based small and medium sized enterprises (SME's) together with senior executives from al khaliji, KPMG and the Ministry of Business & Trade.

The Forum, the first of its kind in Qatar, afforded a unique opportunity for networking and for the exchange of news, developments and ideas within the Qatar SME business community. Commenting on this unique event, al khaliji Acting Chief Executive Officer, Robin McCall, said : "The concept behind the Forum was to bring together the local SME business community to encourage networking and to share and exchange knowledge and ideas. The response this evening has been extremely positive and encouraging, validating both the concept and our approach to supporting Qatari businesses".

Over the past two years al khaliji has developed a specialist Business Banking team which already serves a wide range of SME businesses across the majority of business sectors in Qatar. Great emphasis has been placed on the provision of highly personalised service and expert knowledge, backed up by a suite of market leading products including al khaliji unique Fusion current account.

Mr. McCall added: "We believe that the SME sector in Qatar is well positioned for growth over the next 3 - 5 years and al khaliji has purposely established itself to ensure that it is at the forefront of that growth, supporting and serving Qatari businesses from young start-up operations through to the larger, medium sized enterprises looking to expand further as the economy itself grows".

Speaking on behalf of al khaliji Business Banking Team, Mr. Satish Kumaraswami, Head of Business Banking, said: "We now have a specialist, highly experienced team of over 30 business banking relationship managers covering all SME sectors in Qatar. We also have plans to further expand our physical presence in Qatar through 2010, and this will include the inauguration of dedicated business banking centres and the opening of our flag ship branch on Grand Hammad Street. For businesses looking to expand into the UAE, or who are already involved in cross border trade we are also have four established, specialist business branches based in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah".

Asked what's next, McCall noted that, "based on the success of our first Forum, we are now planning to host a series of similar Forum’s through 2010. We believe that al khaliji's unique approach coupled with our market leading products and services places us at the forefront of Banks in Qatar looking to serve and support this sector".

Mr. Kopal, a KPMG partner, stated: "Such forums will help the small and medium businesses form a clear idea about the business banking services which will support them in their development plans, particularly in this environment of development of the Qatari society, where lots of suppliers are needed in the field of construction and contracting. In this context, many small and medium businesses intending to participate will play a main role in this development process".

And in pointing to the financial crisis which affected the world, Dr. Charbel Cordahi Head of Investor Relations, in charge of Economic Research in al khaliji said: "The policies applied globally and in the Gulf - and particularly in Qatar - succeeded indeed to establish the financial stability, protect banks, refresh lending, and limit the degradation of demand through sequential and coordinated measures".

Dr. Amer Al-Addad from the Ministry of Business and Trade said: "We fully support the development of small and medium enterprise projects. For this reason we will work on constituting a committee charged with establishing and managing an independent entity to improve the sector of small and medium projects in the State of Qatar, in order to have a supportive business environment, increase job opportunities and contribute to the finance of business services".

The forum was attended by the acting CEO of al khaliji Bank, Mr. Robin McCall, Head of Business Banking Department at al khaliji Bank, Mr. Satish Kumaraswami, and KPMG Manager, Mr. Youssef Hassan. And in the presence of the Ministry of Business and Trade in Qatar represented by Business Development Expert, Dr. Amer Naiim Al-Addad, and Economic Affairs Researcher, Ms. Ouhoud Kafoud, on behalf of Sheikh Mohammad Abdul Rahman Al-Thani, Director of Partnership in the Private Sector and SME Development Entity Project Manager.

The forum was also attended by a number of small and medium size businesses in Qatar, as well as representatives from the Ministry of Business and Trade, and Qatari Business Women Forum, and Qatar Businessmen Association.