The UAE Ministry of Economy today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with HSBC Middle East, to support the international expansion of the country’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

His Excellency Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, UAE Minister of Economy, signed the MoU with Simon Cooper, Deputy Chairman and CEO HSBC Middle East.

As per the MoU, HSBC has launched a US$100 million fund specifically for UAE companies with a turnover of US$30 million or below, which are engaged in cross-border business.

Mr Al Mansouri said the MoU reflects the confidence of international businesses in the UAE economy. He emphasized that the Ministry will exert strong efforts in 2010 to further energise the small and medium businesses. ”The Ministry is working on a national plan to drive economic development by enhancing the role of SMEs in coordination with concerned government departments in the UAE.”

He added: “The Ministry welcomes this initiative to support our local SMEs. The success of the sector is a priority for the development of the UAE economy, and the Government in partnership with the private sector such as with HSBC will help SMEs continue doing business in these challenging times, and leverage international growth opportunities.”

The UAE fund is part of HSBC’s global strategy to support internationally focused SMEs, by ensuring that they have access to appropriate credit to enable them to grow and conduct business internationally.

Lending from the fund will be made to SMEs in the United Arab Emirates that need working capital finance for international expansion, with high priority accorded to Emirati-owned businesses.

Simon Cooper, Deputy Chairman and CEO HSBC Bank Middle East said, “HSBC is delighted to be launching our SME Fund in the UAE which underlines our longstanding commitment to this important sector. We are grateful to the Ministry of Economy for their support of this initiative which demonstrates how the public and private sector can work together in partnership to support the business community in the UAE.

Simon Vaughan Johnson, Regional Head of Commercial Banking, HSBC Bank Middle East, added: “The UAE was built on cross-border trade conducted by entrepreneurial SMEs and this remains a critical component of the UAE economy. With a presence in more than 80 countries, including an almost universal presence in the Middle East, HSBC is uniquely placed to support SMEs in doing business internationally”.

The UAE has been ranked among the top five countries selected from 84 countries all over the world in terms of support to SMEs. The other countries in the top list are Britain, France, Singapore and Hong Kong.

HSBC has approximately three million business customers around the word. In the UAE, HSBC has over 20,000 SME customers with specialist business banking centres in key locations to service these relationships.
 

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