The Middle East Investor Relations Society’s (ME-IR Society) Dubai Chapter has announced that it has successfully held its first inaugural meeting, headed by the board chairwoman, Fahima Al Bastaki, the senior vice president, and head of business development division, Dubai Financial Market (DFM).

The meeting was also attended by other board members representatives from Arabtec, BNY Mellon, DFM, Emaar, Emirates NBD, Shuaa Capital, Thomson Reuters and the ME-IR Society Private Companies Committee.

The objective of the Dubai Chapter is to raise awareness about, promote and improve best practice investor relations in Dubai and provide a networking platform to connect IR professionals.

The Chapter also aims to offer members an opportunity to attend IR initiatives such as training sessions, seminars, workshops and networking events that will enhance and support their ability to communicate with international and regional investors in a transparent and efficient way.

“The ME-IR Society’s Dubai Chapter plays a crucial role when it comes to promoting best practice IR. The DFM has consistently and actively worked to encourage and enhance IR practices in Dubai,” Al Bastaki said. “We believe that as more companies invest in dedicated and competent IR teams, this will contribute to further improve in investor confidence and transparency of our markets.”

The meeting addressed the most important  issues regarding the improvement of IR standards in Dubai and discussions focused on generating IR KPIs related to four key areas of focus; issuers, investors, markets, and community. Practical issues related to the daily challenges that face IR professionals in the Dubai market were discussed, and goals for the upcoming quarter were set.

Commenting on the meeting, Alex Menage, co-founder of ME-IR Society and head of business development corporate services, emerging markets, at Thomson Reuters, said: “In today's turbulent economic times globally, it is very positive to see Dubai promoting the importance of Investor Relations through the launch of the Dubai Chapter of ME-IR Society.”

“Led by DFM and other prestigious Dubai-listed companies, the first board meeting was a successful start to the team’s collaboration. We encourage all capital market participants and key stakeholders, such as issuers, investors and regulators, to join the chapter and actively contribute to the overall goal of improving IR standards in Dubai as this will no doubt benefit the entire financial community,” he added.

The next IR training due to take place in Dubai is scheduled for August. Specific dates will be available on the ME-IR Society website soon. – TradeArabia News Service