Mideast financial sector ‘very much alive’: EMC

“Financial services are very well and alive… [as] banks are looking at different ways… to leverage newer channels [and] try to change the way they do business,” Sean Lee, EMC Director of Financial Services for EMC Global Verticals, told Khaleej Times in an exclusive interview.

“The UAE market is very, very important… It is definitely one of the fastest growing regions for EMC in terms for revenue worldwide, along with India and China,” Lee added, which he says is one of the reasons why the company is keeping a close watch on the region.

EMC — based in Hopkinton, Massachusetts — has over 43,000 employees in more than 60 countries worldwide. It primarily provides “end-to-end” information solutions, from management, storage, automation, transferring and intelligence extraction.

It also has numerous offices here in the region. The fast-growing market of the UAE is the primary reason why the company chose to establish its regional headquarters here in Dubai, with another office in Abu Dhabi.

Lee, who is rarely visits the Middle East, has embarked on several roadshows to promote the value of data security and management, and he believes that his stop here in the region is one of the most fruitful. As a stable, emerging market, Lee is not surprised to see big-name banks present in the region.

The Middle East financial sector, according to him, is becoming stronger “not just because financial institutions here are growing and maturing, but because a lot foreign banks have invested here as well.” And with the money sector’s major players penetrating Middle East, it gives support to local banks in the region, therefore helping the financial industry as a whole.

“A lot of banks have been approaching us… and we’re basically helping them extend their operations in the region with the local banks,” Lee said.

Lee, in light of the recent global financial crisis, does not believe the financial sector is in doldrums.

“Money still needs to be managed,” he said. “The UAE financial sector is, compared to other regions, still new, and it is willing to try new things that would give it a competitive advantage.”

Lee added that EMC is “positioned very well” in the Middle East. The company has enjoyed double-digit growth, and it intends to improve further in the region. “It has been very rewarding in the last few years here in the region,” he said. “We are to continue investing here.”

alvin@khaleejtimes.com