SFiC confrence 2023
The world is currently experiencing significant economic and geopolitical instability. As ESG objectives become a key focus in asset management, the reallocation of capital has significant implications for portfolio selection and asset pricing. However, ESG investors often face significant uncertainty about a company's true ESG performance e.g. the significant variation in ESG ratings across rating agencies. Moreover, in the wake of geopolitical and economic instability, analysts’ reports show that in 2022, investors withdrew more money from sustainable funds than they invested for the first time in over a decade.
The Sustainable Financial Innovation Research Centre (SFiC) held its annual conference in the University of Birmingham, Dubai during 25-26 Nov, 2023. The conference theme was ESG in the era of geopolitical and economic instability. Lord Edward Lister- co Chair of the UAE-UK Business council opened the conference. The opening session includes speeches by H.E . Dr. Maryam Al Suwaidi, CEO, Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), UAE and H.E Dr. Abdulrahman Al Hamidy, Director General Chairman of the Board, Arab Monetary Fund (AMF).
A memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the University of Birmingham and the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) was signed during the conference with the aim of helping to boost the reliability, competitiveness, and sustainability of the UAE’s capital market, further increasing investor confidence in the UAE. This collaboration underlines our position as a strategic knowledge and research partner to support SCA’s capacity building efforts through leveraging our international network of experts and academics to address real world challenges in capital markets.