Gulf Business Machines (GBM), distributor for selected IBM products and services in the GCC excluding Saudi Arabia, was the main sponsor of the first Gulf Capital Markets Conference, a major financial industry event that explored the integration, evolution and regulation of capital markets in the GCC.
As the first international conference focused on the Middle East, it brought together a number of industry experts from exchanges, clearing and settlement organisations, regulators, intermediaries and investors to analyse the trends and debate the evolution of capital markets in the region.
“The capital markets in the Middle East are going through a major transformation, reflecting the economic growth that is taking place in the region. Most of the GCC markets have historically high capitalisation and transacting record volumes and values. This is further fuelled by investors who have become more sophisticated and are demanding more products and services from the intermediaries and investment firms across the Gulf. To deal with this unprecedented growth regional markets have to become more efficient and integrated. The regulatory infrastructure has to be improved to provide higher levels of transparency and increased investor protection,” said Faisal Huda, Management Consultant at GBM.
