Standard Chartered and Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism Sign Cooperation Agreement to Promote Business Opportunities Between Hong Kong and Dubai

Standard Chartered announced the signing of a Cooperation Agreement with Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism to jointly promote business growth and development opportunities between Hong Kong and Dubai.

The Agreement was signed by Mary Huen, Chief Executive Officer, Hong Kong, Standard Chartered, and Hadi Badri, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Economic Development Corporation, Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism.

According to the Agreement, Standard Chartered Hong Kong and the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism will deepen cooperation on a range of strategic areas between Hong Kong and Dubai, including:

• promoting the growth of capital market activities, family offices, asset management, fintech and virtual asset industries;
• developing innovative sustainable and green financing solutions;
• developing innovative solutions to support trade and commodity financing for imports, exports and re-exports; and
• promoting incubation and development of start-ups and new technology-based service providers that develop cutting edge technology-based solutions for banking, financial, investment and capital market transactions.

Standard Chartered and the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism will also set up a joint working group to discuss about how to achieve these objectives.

Rola Abu Manneh, Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered, UAE, said: “In this era of global connectivity, our partnership with the Dubai Economic Development Corporation marks a significant milestone for us. We are committed to facilitating seamless banking services to organisations and investors within the UAE-Hong Kong corridor. This Memorandum of Understanding not only fosters trade and liquidity but also underscores our dedication to promoting sustainable finance while leveraging our extensive global network to connect businesses and individuals across both sides of the corridor to opportunities worldwide.”

Hadi Badri, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Economic Development Corporation, Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism added: “By joining forces with partners like Standard Chartered we aim to create cross-border platforms to accelerate opportunities for trade and innovation exchange across the fastest growing economies in the world. Building on Dubai‘s position as a gateway to the wider Middle East, Africa and beyond; the agreement gives companies from across Asia access to a wealth of resources and expertise to reinforce their expansion and growth plans. We look forward to working closely with our partners at Standard Chartered to help their clients and customers set up successful operations in Dubai.”

To share insights on how global businesses can capture the opportunities arising from the increasing connectivity between China and the Middle East, Standard Chartered held a panel discussion at the Belt and Road Summit organised by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (“HKTDC”). Speakers included Hadi Badri, CEO, Dubai Economic Development Corporation, DET, Benjamin Hung, CEO, Asia, Standard Chartered, Dr Patrick Lau, Deputy Executive Director, HKTDC, H.E. Hussain Mohammed Al Mahmoudi, CEO, Sharjah Research Technology & Innovation Park, Rola Abu Manneh, CEO, UAE, Standard Chartered, and Karen Ng, Head, China Opening & RMB Internationalisation, Standard Chartered. Around 200 business and finance leaders joined the event and witnessed the exchange of the Agreement by Mary Huen and Hadi Badri.