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| Participants at the Commercialbank trade finance workshops for customers and staff |
The customer workshop was attended by more than 50 top trade finance customers of the bank, and was aimed at creating an awareness of the latest developments in trade and showcased how businesses can benefit from growing trade activity in the region.
The staff workshop, which was specifically designed to introduce international trade skills to the bank’s young Qatari staff, provided basic trade skills designed to help identify customer trade needs and capture trade opportunities in the Qatari market.
The seminar was conducted by Vincent O’ Brien, a highly experienced practitioner of international trade and long-standing member of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Banking Commission in Paris.
O’Brien is also the ICC adviser to World Trade Organisation (WTO) expert group on financial crisis-related issues. He was recently appointed chair of the ICC banking commission Market Intelligence Group (MIG).
An in-depth analysis of trade trends and results of a survey on trade volumes released at the recent ICC Banking Commission Annual Meeting in Begin, China were shared with the participants.
O’ Brien said trade volumes in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are expected to grow by 80% over the next five years, and in particular Qatar’s trade volumes are expected to reach record levels of 160% growth, mainly due to important infrastructure and FIFA 2022-related projects.
Addressing the trade customer workshop, Commercialbank senior assistant general manager (Trade Finance & Transaction Banking) Shelton Peiris said: “The aim of the trade workshops periodically organised by the bank is to review trade trends and also make our customers become aware of the increasing challenges and risks associated with international trade and provide them with the necessary skills to successfully mitigate these risks.”
Addressing the staff workshop Helen Lloyd, Commercialbank assistant general manager (Organisational Effectiveness) said: “We are grateful to O’Brien for agreeing to conduct a seminar on ‘Trade knowledge to identify customer needs and market opportunities’, which is beneficial to our Qatari staff when taking up front line jobs at our branches and trade services units, across the country.”
She stressed the importance of understanding customer needs and providing necessary product support to make them mutually beneficial.
Commercialbank said: “The seminar gave attendees an opportunity to clarify technical aspects related to governing rules for letters of credit and guarantees that are widely used in the market, as well as to discuss many specific trade issues experienced by the Gulf region. The participants were very positive about the workshops and many of the attendees appreciated Commercialbank efforts in organising this event and providing access to a high profile and knowledgeable speaker such as O’Brien.”
