UAE diversification policy promising

Dubai - More companies will be encouraged to set up more shops in the country

The UAE has consistently proved itself to deliver on the goals it sets, making it class apart globally, the chief executive officer and director of US-based Transfast said.
"The UAE's diversification policy has made it a very broad, vibrant and competitive market. The country has leveraged its geographical position very well connecting Asia, Africa and Europe," Samish Kumar said during his recent visit to the UAE.
"This will encourage businesses to set up more shops here and the future is indeed very bright. There are cyclical glitches - where sentiments are more of an issue than the reality - we cannot ignore but they are more of short term in nature."
The global funds transfer and payments solutions company has now made the UAE as its hub for its Asia and Africa operations, purely due to its world-class infrastructure and connectivity. The firm covers 88 per cent of the world's population across over 120 countries in the Americas, Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia, with the largest multi-product, omni-channel proprietary network with over 200,000 funds pick-up locations and bank deposits covering more than 80 per cent of the banking population.
"Our focus in 2016 is to work very closely with partners - financial institutions, exchange houses - in the UAE. Also, India is a very important market and we are planning to cater to that market from this region. Currently, we have crossed the 45,000-location mark in India and almost four million customers globally," said Kumar.
In the light of the UAE and India signing several agreements to boost its bilateral relationship, it has only been encouraging as the collaboration between both governments has consolidated diplomatic and business ties too.
"We are very optimitic of serving our India corridor business from the UAE. The UAE and India complement each other in various business spectrums and that is very encouraging for businesses to tap in more potential opportunities," added Kumar.
The company facilitates cross-border movement of payments and funds in partnerships around the world and works closely with banks and financial institutions and exchange houses, providing partners single-point solutions for cross-border payments solutions. The company also caters to small businesses and large retail firms.
The GCC has the largest network of partners for Transfast. In the UAE, it has big names like Al Ansari Exchange and Al Fardan Exchange, to name a few. The firm takes care of moving funds and operational compliance-related matters of funds from point of origination to disbursement. The fund flows from this region are mainly to Africa, Asia, Americas and even CIS countries.
In terms of business growth, Kumar said the company allots eight per cent of their total revenues for investing in technology annually and this will remain consistent for some time now. The company has also recorded a revenue of Dh500 million and growth has been around 25 per cent annually and year-on-year it has been 30 per cent.
- sandhya@khaleejtimes.com