Ghana - MarcoPolis

Kuwait retail market is more mature market and Kuwait luxury retail market is probably the most mature market of the GCC countries in this field, with a long history of renowned luxury brands opening their first shop in Kuwait. Subsequently, Kuwaiti customers are very brand-aware; fashion-oriented and act as real trendsetters for the rest of the region. Chalhoub Group often witness customers visiting shops with 1 or 2 pictures collected from the Internet, of fashion shows that only happened a few hours earlier, asking to pre-book these items to be the first to acquire them. Chalhoub Group expects the region to be relatively resilient: 2% growth in 2010, compared to a 15-20% decline globally.

Gulf Bank Kuwait New Strategy

March 4, 2010

Interview with Mr. Michel Accad, CEO of Gulf Bank
In December, Gulf Bank Kuwait had a meeting with the top fifty leaders at Gulf Bank and we decided on Gulf Bank’s strategic direction. Gulf Bank’s vision was to be a dominant player in the local, conventional banking market, focusing on retail and commercial banking. At this stage, Gulf Bank is not particularly interested in Islamic finance, or direct investments, or brokerage. The key thing that came up from that meeting was that for the next two years Gulf Bank will be in rebuilding mode and our strategy will revolve around four pillars.

Kuwait Banking Kuwait Islamic Banking Interviews

Kuwait Leading Islamic Bank, Kuwait Finance House (KFH)

February 11, 2010

Interview with Mohammed Sulaiman Al-Omar, CEO of Kuwait Finance House (KFH). Kuwait Finance House is in green numbers and working within the markets. If we as Kuwait Finance House look at Kuwait costs of funding, it came down from 6.5% to 3% which is almost 50% and if I was a bank and wanted to price my product I would need to look at the base rate, which has come down quite a huge percentage. Thus, Kuwait Finance House is still in the green and are optimistic for the market in the banking sector.