Arab banking sector will invest $1.8 billion in information technology in 2008, which is 15 per cent more than it spent on IT in 2007, a report said.

Arab banks boast one of the highest rates of growth in technology investment in the world, Khaled Eid, managing director of the Dubai-based World Development Forum, was quoted as saying in the Khaleej Times report.

The Arab banking sector has achieved a significant development in providing e-services with 85 per cent of transactions now electronic. This percentage has reached 90 per cent in some specific fields like brokerage, he said.

Meanwhile, the role Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to further enhance competitiveness in the Arab banking sector will be discussed at the 4th round of the Financial Technology (FT) Summit 2008 to be held on April 8-9 in Dubai.

The summit, which is exclusive for the executives of the top 100 Arab banks, will focus on this issue in light of the current trends in the region.

The summit will benefit from the distinctive attendance of some leading executives and IT decision makers in the Middle East banking sector and technology experts. 

Delegations from 10 Arab countries representing largest banks and financial institutions in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Jordan, Libya, Yemen and the UAE have confirmed their participation in the summit, the report said.