UBI Banca inaugurates its office in Dubai

AN MoU SIGNED WITH ETIHAD ENERGY SERVICES, SUBSIDIARY OF DEWA, COMMENCES A COLLABORATION

• The Memorandum of Understanding is a framework agreement involving Italian companies in projects connected to the DUBAI CLEAN ENERGY STRATEGY 2050 programme. The opening of this representative office, in addition to those in New York and Casablanca, marks the third office to be inaugurated by the Group in around six months.

Dubai 20th March – UBI Banca has inaugurated a new representative office in Dubai with an official mission led by Andrea Moltrasio, the Chairman of the Supervisory Board. That in the United Arab Emirates, coupled with those in the United States (New York) and Morocco (Casablanca), represents the third official Group opening in the last six months, confirming the strategic importance UBI Banca places on having an international presence to support the business of its corporate clients.

“As representatives of the second largest manufacturing economy in Europe, we welcome the interest shown by countries like the United Arab Emirates involved in a number of major projects, able to benefit from contributions from the international economy” said Andrea Moltrasio, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of UBI Banca. “Our Group has its roots in some of the most dynamic economic areas in Italy and acts as a partner for the international growth of companies that form the manufacturing backbone of those areas.”

A memorandum of understanding was signed during a visit by the mission this Sunday in the presence of HE Liborio Stellino, the Italian ambassador to the UAE; HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD; and the CEO of DEWA (a government entity controlled by the Dubai Council which holds a monopoly for the production and distribution of energy and water in the Emirate of Dubai). This agreement represents future co-operation between the UBI Banca Group and Super ESCO Etihad Energy Services, 100% controlled by DEWA.

The memorandum is an agreement designed to inform Italian companies of opportunities within the region and involve them in bidding for contracts, while supplying technology for a retrofit programme, connected with the broader DUBAI CLEAN ENERGY STRATEGY 2050 programme. The first stage of the retrofit programme, which finishes by the end of 2018, involves investments of at least 500 million USD in energy savings of public service facilities (roads, post offices, free zones, mosques, public security).

Approximately 600 Italian firms are already active in the UAE (in comparison to the 200 from five years ago) making the UAE the main market for Italian exports to the Arab world. In 2014, UAE imports stood at around $185 billion and approximately 30% of the manufactured goods imported came from leading “Made in Italy” sectors: gold and jewellery, fashion and clothes, furniture and household goods, industrial machinery, mechanical products, construction materials, electrical and electronic equipment and foodstuffs. Economic interest in the area grows even further if we consider plans to develop the country’s infrastructures by the Emirate government, in light of large events in the pipeline (such as the Expo 2020).

The manager of the UBI Banca Group’s representative office in Dubai is Luigi Landoni, an expert in international banking, who has worked in the region since 2008. Before taking up his position at UBI Banca, Landoni had worked for numerous years at the Intesa Sanpaolo Group.

The representative office in Dubai adds to the UBI Banca Group’s already existing international presence and it is now directly active in China (Hong Kong and Shanghai), India (Mumbai), Brazil (San Paolo), Russia (Moscow), USA (New York) and Morocco (Casablanca). The Group also operates through its subsidiary, UBI Banca International, as well as through a broad network of correspondent banks present throughout the world.