The curtain is all set to rise on the first Middle East International Banking, Financial Technology and Services Exhibition and Conference (MEFX), an event that promises to reinforce Dubai’s position as a global financial hub.

Presented by the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and organised by the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), MEFX will be held from June 1 to 3, 2008, at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The event will bring together professionals from financial technology companies and financial service providers in a wide range of sectors including banking and brokerage, Islamic finance, wealth management, asset management and capital markets.

Over 70 participating companies from 20 countries will showcase advancements in products, technologies and services in the financial industry.

Several international companies are participating in the exhibition to tap into the rapid expansion of the banking and finance sector in the region. The UAE banking sector is the largest in the GCC and its annual growth rate of 35 per cent exceeds the country’s GDP growth rate.

Leading companies like Orion Tradesoft (UAE), Temenos (Switzerland), NCR Corporation (US), Wincor Nixdorf (Germany) and Olivetti (Italy) will showcase their latest solutions for financial markets, customer facing technologies and enterprise applications, making MEFX an invaluable sourcing and procurement platform for the industry.

"As the regional financial industry continues its unprecedented growth, we are delighted to create an annual fixture in the event calendar to facilitate the networking of the region's market leaders and emerging players with global suppliers in financial technologies and services.  MEFX will evolve to be a most productive platform to accelerate the product and knowledge exchange within the regional financial community to ensure it keeps abreast of the dynamic momentum of development," said director general of DWTC Helal Saeed Al Marri.

IT security is among the sectors that will be riding on the back of increased spending by financial companies. Spending in IT security in the GCC has increased 38 per cent this year.

Irisguard, a leading manufacturer of accurate Iris Recognition camera systems, will be showcasing turnkey iris biometric identification management systems, offering banks solutions for reducing the risk of fraud, identity theft and unauthorized access by protecting confidentiality and integrity.

Usability solutions will be one of the other key technologies showcased at MEFX. Human Factors International, a global leader in software usability, will showcase its Usability Central - Best Practice solution at the event.

The solution provides usability standards, methods, knowledge and tools for web design and software products that can be customised to suit different business purposes and technical environments. Human Factors International will present a case study with RAKBANK at the Technology Forum on June 3.

On the sidelines of the exhibition, MEFX will host two world-class events - a business summit named ‘Future Proofing Your Bank’, and the MEFX Technology Forum, both of which provide banking professionals with insights that can help them raise their competitive edge.

Summit partner CPI Financial has developed a two-day programme featuring 22 speakers including CEO, DIFC Authority, Nasser Alshaali, who will deliver the welcome address and CEO, Doha Bank and Banker of the Year 2007, R Seetharaman whose keynote address will focus on how banks can remain successful in a competitive and growing market.

Another specialised session will focus on the Islamic Finance market, which is growing at a phenomenal rate of 20 per cent annually. The session will feature head of investments, Dubai Islamic Bank, Naveed Ahmad who will discuss Wealth Management Solutions and Shari’ah compliant produc