Mideast and Asia can be major financial hubs

Dubai: Asia and the Middle East have the potential to be successful in their bid to set up financial centres, but they must be more open and less discriminatory, say experts.

Speaking at DIFC Week in Dubai, Ajay Shah, a senior fellow of the National Institute for Public Finance and Policy in India, said "openness" is one of the key pieces "that make London what it is".

"It is about common laws, openness. It is about English and liberal democracy. It is about putting together a community of people from all over the world. It is about tolerating dissent or having freedom of speech ranging to issues like culture. It's really the English tradition of liberal democracy," Ajay said.

"To be a successful financial centre, we need to discriminate less. We need to have an open mind. We need to welcome other things or new ideas," said Zhao Haiying, non-executive director, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

Middle class

Marios Maratheftis, Standard Chartered Bank's regional head of research for Middle East, Pakistan and North Africa, said that Asia and Middle East's potential should not be underestimated, considering that middle classes in those regions are rising in size.

While London and New York are undoubtedly the top two financial hubs in the world, Maratheftis pointed out that Asia and the Middle East are "increasingly becoming more important".

Quoting published figures, he noted that by 2020, 34 per cent of global trade will be dominated by Asia, while only 14 per cent will be dominated by the United States.