Middle East Investor Relations Society

[sharewadi]

A new organisation, the Middle East Investor Relations Society, has been established, with a first meeting yesterday I think. An excellent idea, the UAE markets would surely benefit from an organisation promoting improved investor relations.

The list of directors for the MEIRS looks impressive - the head of Emaar Investor Relations and the Taqa CEO for example. Sort of ironic given that that they are two companies with a relatively poor record on transparency and investor relations, but maybe their board membership is a sign that things will be improving, after all, you'd expect companies with MEIRS board representation would set the example for others to follow. Will ShareWadi be invited to the MEIRS launch party though, after all those less than complimentary comments in the past ?

Anyway, I'm sure we all look forward to improved investor relations in the UAE . What do you think punters?

Here's what the ME-IRS website says...

me-irs.com 02 July 2008:

The Middle East IR Society is an independent platform for Investor Relations professionals across the Middle East. Its main aim is to promote and develop the Investor Relations profession in the region through three of its objectives: Share and promote IR best practice and techniques in the field Create a solid networking platform for IR professionals in the region Represent the IR profession to third parties including investors, exchanges and governments bodies.

Press Release 02 July 2008:

Middle East investor relations society established amid rapid development of regional capital markets Middle East investor relations society established amid rapid development of regional capital markets Arif Amiri, Senior Director, Investor Relations and Corporate Governance, Emaar Properties named Chairman The Middle East Investor Relations Society (“ME-IR Society”) today announced its formation and revealed initial plans for the establishment of the organisation. The ME-IR Society aims to support the further development and practice of investor relations (IR) across the Middle East, in line with the rapid growth of the region’s capital markets and increasing demand from both regional and global investors for greater disclosure and transparency. The announcement comes following the conclusion of the first meeting of the Society’s Board of Directors, which was hosted by the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), and the appointment of Arif Amiri, Senior Director, Investor Relations and Corporate Governance, Emaar Properties, as Chairman. The board members of the Society include a number of the region’s most senior executives, investor relations professionals and other capital markets participants. They are: Arif Amiri – Senior Director – Investor Relations and Corporate Governance, Emaar Properties (EMAAR) Federico Salinas – Partner, Dewey and LeBoeuf Mark Shuttleworth – CFO, Du – Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (DU) Peter Barker-Homek – CEO, TAQA - Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) Manish Wadhwani – Managing Director, Millennium Finance Corporation Jonathan Minor – Head of Investor Relations and Treasury, Investcorp Bank Noor Sweid – Managing Director Strategy and Investor Relations, Depa (DEPA) Basil Moftah – Managing Director Middle-East Africa, Thomson Reuters The ME-IR Society will be the first of its kind in the region and will serve as a unique platform for IR professionals. Its main objective will be to promote and develop the IR profession by creating a solid networking platform for regional practitioners, and a forum for sharing and promoting of IR profession. The Society, its members and partners will aim to organize an annual conference once in a year to discuss developments in the field and reward best practice. Commenting on the announcement, Michael Chojnacki and Alex Ménage, founders of the ME-IR Society, from the Bank of New York Mellon and Thomson Reuters, respectively, said: “We are delighted about the launch of the ME-IR Society. This is a very exciting period of growth for the Middle East capital markets and the development of the investor relations practice amongst regional companies will contribute greatly to the attraction of an even greater number of high quality regional and international investors. Arif Amiri, first elected chairman of the ME-IR Society commented “Investors are seeking enhanced levels of transparency and disclosure and the ME-IR Society will aim to ensure that regional companies have access to necessary tools, resources and a network of local and international experts who can support them in their efforts to adopt and implement best practices.” The ME-IR Society, which aims to become fully operational in the fourth quarter of 2008, will operate as an independent, not-for-profit organisation with membership open to all IR, financial communications, and capital markets professionals throughout the Middle East region. The society will be looking to recruit a General Manager during the summer. For further information, on the Society and membership, please visit www.me-irs.com

[edit] Will add some of the finer examples of UAE investor relations below, when I think of it. Something for MEIRS to discuss if they're short of ideas [/edit]

Corporate governance UAE - a few of the older stories
Emaar investor relations - has potential?
Emaar investor relations success - apparently in November 2007
Emaar suspended from trading 24 December 2008, only for a few minutes though
ESCA reporting standards - a call to the media to report accurately, a long list
Shuaa investor relations - not looking good in 2008 H2
Taqa convertible bond - a good example of poor disclosure policy
_________________
UAE IPO list | posting guidelines