TheBusinessWeekly n 18 May 2008 n 23
banking & finance
Emcredit eyes 80pc credit data coverage
To partner with
12 leading banks
in the UAE
By Jim Paolo Joquico
Emcredit, the UAE’s first private
credit information services provid-
er and a subsidiary of the Dubai
Department of Economic Develop-
ment, is all set to achieve 80 per
cent coverage of credit informa-
tion and partner with 12 leading
banks out of more than 50 in the
UAE. In line with this, Emcredit
recently announced a partnership
with Dubai Bank which will em-
power the bank in making better
informed lending decisions.
Dubai Bank will benefit from
Emcredit’s comprehensive credit
information and risk assessment
services, which are based on data
compiled from a range of public
and proprietary sources. Dubai
Bank is one of the leading Islamic
banks operating in the UAE and a
prominent player in the country’s
retail banking sector.
Commenting on the recent
partnership, Ali Ibrahim, vice-
chairman of Emcredit, said, “The
effective use of such in-depth cred-
it information will enable Dubai
Bank to gain a better perspective
and develop a competitive edge in
this very dynamic lending envi-
ronment.”
Emcredit is also looking at
partnering with other banking in-
Dubai firm exits from Egyptian Fertilisers
Achieves 105pc
Rate of Return
TBW Bureau
Dubai Group, the leading diversi-
fied financial services company of
Dubai Holding, has completed a
successful exit from Egyptian Fer-
tilisers Company (EFC) through
its regional investment manage-
ment company, Dubai Capital
Group.
Dubai Capital Group sold its 15
per cent stake in EFC to Orascom
Construction & Industries (OCI)
as part of the recent transaction
between OCI and Abraaj Capital.
Through this recent exit, Du-
Ali Ibrahim with another official
stitutions in the emirates and dis-
cussions are currently underway.
“We are looking at partnering
with as many leading financial in-
stitutions as possible. Our initial
objective is to achieve 80 per cent
coverage of credit information by
partnering with 12 leading banks.
Emcredit follows a rigorous mem-
bership process, which involves
several levels of legal, technical
and operational procedures to en-
sure the highest standards of data
quality and real-time delivery
of information,” Zaid Kamhawi,
director of Emcredit’s Business
Development, told The Business
Weekly.
Since the launch of the credit
information bureau in November
2006, it has been able to partner
with nine institutions, including
private organisations such as Bet-
bai Capital Group has realised
an Internal Rate of Return of 105
per cent, returning 5.75 times its
original investment in less than
three years.
Exemplary record
Mustafa Farid Geninah, chief
executive officer of Dubai Capital
Group who stepped down from the
EFC Board due to the exit, said,
“Our successful exit from EFC
underscores our exemplary track
record in the region. In early 2007,
we were very pleased to help fa-
cilitate Abraaj Capital’s 100 per
cent acquisition of EFC, resulting
in 226 per cent return on equity
for us.”
ter Homes and Amlak Finance,
and government bodies such as
Dubai e-Government, Dubai Po-
lice and Dubai Land Department’s
Real Estate Regulatory Author-
ity.
Private equity
The company, operating as a
private entity, holds no inclina-
tion towards working with the
public or private sector. “While
the private sector provides credit
information background which
is critical for the assessment of a
borrower’s creditworthiness, the
public sector helps with other reli-
able sets of information that is im-
portant for verification purposes.
These combined sources provide a
comprehensive representation of
a customer’s profile. In turn, this
enables all our users to more accu-
“Through our final exit, which
is worth Dh720,000,000 from this
investment, we have delivered
further exceptional returns and
value for our investors,” he fur-
ther said.
By focusing on strategic in-
vestments in public equity, green
fields, growth capital and lever-
aged buy-outs, Dubai Capital
Group has become a leading inves-
tor in the Middle East and North
Africa region. 
Dubai Capital Group also part-
nered with the Qatar Investment
Authority in June 2007 to struc-
ture a large joint venture invest-
ment company with $1 billion in
capital.  Mustafa Farid Geninah
rately assess their customers and
offer customised products and ser-
vices in a shorter period of time,”
Kamhawi said.
Additionally, Emcredit is
poised to serve all banks and fi-
nancial institutions in the UAE.
Kamhawi stated that currently,
the company has the necessary
technical infrastructure and re-
sources to provide quality servic-
es to these institutions and it is
aiming at a centralised credit in-
formation bureau in the country.
“As you may know, the UAE has
a very competitive financial sector
with over 50 banks; establishing
a robust and complete credit in-
formation system will take time.
Keep in mind that countries like
the US and Canada took nearly
10 years to establish their credit
information system and reach full
coverage. In that regard, Em-
credit is on target and continues
to focus on expanding its network
of partnerships,” he added.
In addition to credit informa-
tion reports, Emcredit also pro-
vides other services to its partners,
such as emBounce, which assists
banks in detecting cheque default
behaviour, and Enterprise Infor-
mation Report, enabling corporate
banking departments to verify the
identity of commercial entities
and assess their credibility.
According to Kamhawi, the
company is promoting several
advocacies besides offering credit
services.