Experts at FT Business Regulation Forum: UAE's Balanced Regulatory Framework Strengthening its Position as a Regional Business Hub

DUBAI, UAE, October 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The FT Business Regulation Forum that took place in Dubai on 24 October, at the Dubai International Financial Centre, brought together regulators, policy makers and senior industry leaders to discuss the role of regulatory policy as a driver for development, business innovation and inclusive growth in the Gulf Region.

Questions posed by the expert panellists during the FT Forum focused on the status of the regulatory framework and convergence among countries in the Gulf region and measures to be considered to further enhance regional policy dialogue and implementation.

"The elasticity of the trade pushing the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) forward had declined following the financial crisis period. The Government has implemented a number of strategic interventions in the form of initiatives to push the investments forward. However the soft infrastructure in the form of sound regulatory framework and institutions of governance are the foundation for the success of these initiatives," said Raed Safadi, Chief Economic Adviser, Department of Economic Development Dubai, in his keynote address.

Faisal Naru, Senior Economic Adviser, Directorate for Public Governance, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), sees that the accelerated technological development is compelling a shift in mindset of the Government and regulatory institutions. The demand for better regulations and coordinated dialogue between the public and private sector is most pertinent at this stage, as local and international institutional bodies are implementing new strategies in creating new regulations and managing the existing ones.

"Becoming an intelligent regulator also means understanding the actual situational needs and having targeted measures to tackle them," Naru added.

Salaheddin Al-Bashir, Founder and Managing Partner, International Business Legal Associates- IBLAW said that the time is right for the region to adopt better regulation practices. The Government, private sector and different sector stake holders are familiar with public consultations and have practiced it in different forms and modalities successfully yet a systematic and institutional approach is needed.

In the session titled 'Regulatory Demands Shaping Business Priorities' a discussion on how different industries can work together and pool their common knowledge to analyse and measure the impact of proposed regulations, Graham Gibbons, Vice President, General Manager Middle East, JTI (Japan Tobacco International), commented, "Globally, regulations impacting business are becoming increasingly complex, more excessive, not proportionate to the matter being regulated and are not evidenced. This today is one of the biggest challenges for businesses as such regulation can cause unintended consequences."

To Gibbons, applying better regulation principles benefits both businesses and Governments.  The clear benefit of having open dialogue between Businesses and Governments is that it fosters an environment where the regulatory environment "fits the purpose" which in turn generates business confidence in the operating environment. "This increased business confidence leads to increased investment and innovation and therefore adds to fuel further economic growth in the UAE," Gibbons concluded.

About FT Live 

The Forum was organised by Financial Times Live (FT Live). FT Live is the global conferences and events division of the Financial Times Group. Chaired by senior journalists from the Financial Times Group, the summits, conferences, awards and strategic forums organised by FT Live gather the world's brightest minds and most influential decision-makers.

Exclusive on-stage interviews, stimulating presentations and lively panel debates - available on multiple content platforms - provide the cutting-edge insights, unique personalities and peer audience engagement that have the power to transform finance, business, politics, society and culture.

For media enquiries please contact: Zeba Ahmad, zeba@mediaart-me.com, +971 50 4942989