Dubai SME and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank signs partnership on privileges for ‘Dubai SME 100’ companies

Press release

Published August 1st, 2011 - 10:29 GMT

Abdul Baset, Chief Executive of Dubai SME and Howard Gaunt, Head of Business Banking Group, ADCB signing the agreement

Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development (DED)-Government of Dubai, entrusted with the development of the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, has signed a partnership agreement with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank to offer benefits to the top 100 SMEs in Dubai.

Under the MoU, ADCB will commit to develop a special SME100 package that covers reduced interest rates, funded credit facilities at ADCB’s base rate, priority transaction processing, reduced fees and charges on export transactions, flexible repayment options, access to a complete suite of SME products such as overdrafts, Short Term Loans, Invoice and PDC Discounting, Letters of Credit & Trust Receipt, Loan against Import, Letters of Guarantee, Commercial Vehicle Loan, Construction Equipment Loan, Online Trade Finance platform (Protrade) and Online Fx platform (Fx Freeway).

H.E. Abdul Baset, Chief Executive of Dubai SME, thanked ADCB for its commitment and kind support of this critical initiative to champion the SME sector.

Commenting on the agreement, he said: “This partnership with ADCB only marks the beginning of our SME development journey together, a journey which I’m confident will prove to be of great value to the SME sector. As the Dubai SME100 initiative grows in strength, we expect to see an increase in valued partners, such as ADCB, coming on board, which will only serve to greatly benefit the further positive development of our SMEs.

“The support from partners like ADCB is not just about enhancing all manner of financial assistance but non-financial aspects as well, most notably in the development of financial management capabilities. The UAE’s top SMEs are showing signs of fast growth and we need partners like ADCB to boost our efforts to continue to fuel further growth in the SME sector.”

Howard Gaunt, Head of Business Banking Group, ADCB said: “We are very pleased to be part of this partnership with Dubai SME and are greatly looking forward to being able to provide our tailored packages to best help Dubai SME continue to facilitate positive growth within the UAE’s SME market. ADCB places great significance on helping to educate and support SMEs across the UAE, as we firmly believe them to be the backbone of any economy. The SME segment continues to be an area of strategic growth for ADCB and one that we hope to further help develop in the UAE.”

Background Information

Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for Small and Medium Size Enterprises

In September 2009, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President & Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai issued Law No.23 of 2009 concerning the Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for Small and Medium Size Enterprises, recently renamed the Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for Young Business Leaders.

The law defines the goals of the establishment for strengthening Dubai’s position as a centre for entrepreneurship and allows for the setting up of projects which encourage entrepreneurship and the innovative ideas of youth. This move seeks to motivate youth to work, as well as to pursue economic activity, such as the development and organisation of programs and initiatives.

Company Profile

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank

ADCB was formed in 1985 and today after integration employs over 3,350 people from over 45 nationalities, serving approximately 590,000 retail customers and over 20,000 wholesale clients. It is the third largest bank in the UAE and second largest in Abu Dhabi by assets, at AED 163.7 billion as at March 31st, 2010.

ADCB is a full-service commercial bank which offers a wide range of products and services such as retail banking, wealth management, private banking, corporate banking, commercial banking, cash management, investment banking, corporate finance, foreign exchange, interest rate, currency, derivative, Islamic products, project finance and property management services.

ADCB is owned 64.8% by the Abu Dhabi Government through the Abu Dhabi Investment Council. Its shares are traded on the Abu Dhabi Securities Market.

ADCB has won the Silver class category of The Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award (SKEA) for the finance sector in November, 2009. In February 2010, ADCB won The World Finance Corporate Governance Award for “Best Corporate Governance in the UAE” and was recently named “Best Retail Bank in the UAE and GCC 2010” by The Asian Banker magazine in March 2010.