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While it has been another challenging year for Abu Dhabi’s capital market, some developments in the fixed-income segment, new equities listings and a raft of regulations that promise to add more depth to the market have ensured that it was also an interesting one. The significant regulatory steps taken over the past year, supplemented by a pipeline of reforms still to come, form the framework for the future expansion of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX). Yet more functionality will come with an upgraded trading platform planned for the second half of 2013. Of course, like all exchanges in the region, the ADX faces a challenge in attracting new listings and liquidity, but while mixed results are expected in the short term, the long-term prospects of the ADX remain as strong as ever. This chapter includes interviews with Rashed Al Baloushi, CEO, Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX); and Nazem Al Kudsi, CEO, Invest AD. It also includes a viewpoint with Mohammad Al Murtada Al Dandashi, Partner & Managing Director, Al Ramz Securities.

Operating within the largest banking sector in the GCC, Abu Dhabi’s banks have thrived, and today the UAE capital is home to some of the most successful lenders in the country. Recent years have seen a number of regulatory changes brought in. These include more prudent credit risk management policies, new controls on lending activity, and changes to the nature of banks’ concentration of risk levels. The central bank’s new regulations on retail lending, for example, aim to establish a more transparent relationship between banks and their customers and boost the overall credibility of the banking system. Looking ahead, the government’s commitment to sizeable infrastructure projects underpins the future growth of the banking sector. Still, the increasingly competitive nature of the domestic banking market will continue to drive the established trend of revenue diversification. This chapter includes an interview with Ala’a Eraiqat, CEO, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.

Thanks in large part to high oil prices and an increase in its hydrocarbons production, Abu Dhabi continued its economic recovery in 2011 and 2012. Hydrocarbons remain at the centre of the emirate’s economy, accounting for nearly half of its GDP and almost 90% of government revenues in 2010. However, the emirate has been channelling its substantial oil earnings into other sectors so as to reduce its reliance on hydrocarbons in the long term. Indeed, the non-oil sector has exhibited fair growth in recent years as a result of this strategy, rising by 5.4% in 2010 and 7% in 2011, reaching Dh334.3bn ($91.1bn) in the latter year. Another feature of Abu Dhabi’s changing economic landscape is the continued efforts to promote private sector employment. The government is looking into a range of measures to create jobs in the private sector, including encouraging a culture of investment and entrepreneurship among young people, and the promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises. This chapter includes interviews with Nasser Alsowaidi, Chairman, Department of Economic Development (DED); Butti Ahmed Mohammed bin Butti Al Qubaisi, Director-General, Statistics Centre – Abu Dhabi (SCAD); and Mahmood Ebraheem Al Mahmood, CEO and Chairman, ADS Holding.

This chapter features an outline of the various government regulations and laws that govern business in Indonesia. Included is information about public-private partnership regulations, business permits, cooperation agreements, and definitions, objectives, scope, method of execution and form of cooperation. This chapter contains a viewpoint from Todung Mulya Lubis, Senior Partner, Lubis, Santosa & Maramis.

The Indonesia tax system continues to evolve, but, for several years, has been mainly based on three primary tax laws – the General Tax Provisions and Procedures Law, the Income Tax Law, and Luxury Sales Tax Law. These tax laws are routinely amended to accommodate the rapidly changing business environment and to support the government objectives of improving the investment climate while increasing tax revenues. This chapter contains a viewpoint from Irhoan Tanudiredja, Senior Partner, Pricewaterhouse Coopers.