Vitali Boutbaev has been appointed as Head of Saxo Bank A/S Cyprus and will be responsible for running the business and bringing new clients on board.

Cyprus has, since joining the EU in 2004, grown to be a natural place to open a new office, which will cover the growing Central and Eastern European martkes as well. Cyprus has strong relations to Russia and other European markets, which is one reason for Saxo Bank to start oprating from Cyprus.

The “Best FX Platform” award was handed over to Jakob Beck Thomsen, Head of Saxo Bank Dubai Limited Tuesday evening at a ceremony in Dubai.

Jakob Beck Thomsen commented: “The award is an accolade to Saxo Bank’s experience in the online trading business, and follows the successful launch of several new FX products and features such as a new trading app for iPhone® Android. I am honoured to accept the award on behalf of the Bank and my colleagues. This award reflects our commitment to respond to our clients and investors and provide the FX market with consistent competitive pricing.”

Saxo Bank Dubai has been a market maker in the Middle East Region since it’s establishment in 2009. Saxo Bank Dubai recently launched the Islamic stock screener in the region that enables clients to identify and trade Islamic compliant stocks on more than 25 exchanges worldwide.

Read full story about the Saxo Bank Dubai Award.

At last week’s ACI World Congress in Dubai, one of the biggest banking networking events in the region, all focus was on the challenges currently facing businesses in the financial markets. The event which is organised by the Financial Markets Association was supported by online trading and investment specialist Saxo Bank A/S, with more than 300 banking professionals attending from across the MENA region to network, discuss and debate.

The three-day programme started off with a welcome note from HE Sultan Bin Nasser Al Suweidi, UAE Central Bank Governor, followed by a keynote from Rick Pudner, CEO Emirates NBD Bank about the state of the financial market in Dubai. Panel discussions focussed around opportunities arising from the Arab spring, Sukuz trading and the future of the USD, BRICS and commodities. Saturday’s programme was focussed on the development of the Islamic banking market, OTC derivatives trading regulation and the global impact of a financial transaction tax. The congress was rounded off with a joint excursion to the Aquaventure water park on Sunday.

Jakob Beck Thomsen, Head of Saxo Bank Dubai Limited commented: “There are only a few congresses in the MENA region which provide banking professionals with not only an excellent infrastructure to network, but also with stimulating discussion and thought-provoking ideas addressing current issues in the financial markets. The ACI World Congress is one of them, and as supporters we are very pleased with the outcome – not only in terms of attendees, but also of constructive suggestions for the future of the financial markets.”

Steen Jakobsen, Chief Economist at Saxo Bank A/S, the online trading and investment specialist, will be visiting Dubai to discuss with financial media and professional investors of Saxo Bank (Dubai) Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Saxo Bank A/S, the current market status in light of the recent crisis and the Bank’s outlook for the first quarter of 2012.

Steen Jakobsen, says: “We feel confident that MENA will stand stronger on both accounts at the end of 2012 but first we may need to go through a period of increased volatility. This leads us to a very defensive investment outlook not from a fear of the future rather from a high probability of seeing better entry levels during the course of the year.”

Read more about Steen Jacobsens visit to Saxo Banks Middle East headquarter in Dubai: Arab Finance, Al Bawaba, Ameinfo, and Zawya.

1 The stock of Apple plummets 50 per cent from its high this year
2 EU declares extended bank holiday next year
3 A yet-unannounced candidate takes the White House
4 Australia goes into recession
5 Basel III and regulation force 50 bank nationalisations in Europe
6 Sweden and Norway replace Switzerland as havens
7 Swiss National Bank (SNB) wins and catapults the euro-Swiss franc currency comparison to 1.50
8 US dollar-yuan rate rises 10 per cent to 7
9 Baltic Dry Index rises 100 per cent
10 Wheat prices to double next year

These predictions might seem farfetched, but as always, there is realism to be found in these predictions from Saxo Bank Dubai and as Steen Jacbsen puts it “In its Outrageous Predictions, Saxo Bank focuses on events that are unlikely to occur but are at the same time far more likely than the market appreciates. The predictions are not meant as forecasts, but it is important for investors to consider events with under-recognised probabilities.”

In a quote from the Rabobank 2012 outlook report Luke Chandler, Director of Agri Commodity Markets Research says: “While the long-term bull run in agri commodities remains, we expect prices across the agri complex to ease from their record highs, continuing the downward trajectory since mid-2011.”

Down, not out

The record hights of 2008 and 2009 will not be reached in any foreseeable future, but that does not mean that the commodity investment race is over, it’s just slowing down. Agri commodities has always been hard to predict, but with growing demand and the risk of low harvests caused by natural forces of nature, i.e. hurricanes, drought, flooding, etc. The bull run in commodities will not be over, or as Jeff Caldwell says on www.agriculture.com: “2012 grains, down, not out.”

From Grain to Cattle

Are we going to see a major switch in the favorite commodities of investors, well, there are indicators that we will see a swicht from grain to cattle, said Ole Hansen of Saxo Bank in a new The Nationale article by Gregor Hunter: “Steer for investors -look to the fatted calf.“

The competition, which was organized in partnership with Manchester Business School (MBS) Middle East Centre, began on 1 August and ran until the 1 September. Competitors were provided with a demo account of Saxo Bank’s award-wining platform, SaxoTrader, and $100,000 in virtual money to invest in the capital market in any of the Saxo Bank Dubai products ranging from FX Spot, FX Forwards, FX Options, Contract Futures, Stocks, CFD’s, CFD’s on Indices and CFD’s on Futures.

Read the full analysis from John J. Hardy.

The Danish investment bank Saxo Bank first opened office at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) in May 2009 and my original intent was to write an article on the two years anniversary day, but, as you all know, sometimes time don’t suffice to do all you want to do.

At the opening of the Dubai Saxo Bank Office it was announced that “The online trading and investment specialist, Saxo Bank, announced that it will establish a regional office in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The new office is designed to further strengthen the bank’s presence in the region and marks the first time that a Danish bank has established its presence in the Gulf Corporation Council region.” Quote from DIFC.

Saxo Bank Sponsored Major Financial Events in Dubai, i.e.:

Saxo Bank (Dubai) Ltd. Participates and Co-sponsors the 3rd Arabian Business Conference 2010

Saxo Bank Co-sponsors the 3rd Arabian Business Conference 2010.

Saxo Bank Dubai at the 5th Middle East Forex Trading Expo.

Saxo Bank (Dubai) Ltd. Participates at the 5th Middle East Forex Trading Expo.

Saxo Bank’s Ole Hansen to visit Dubai

Ole Hansen, an often citet sinior analyst at Saxo Bank will visit Dubai on a regular basis, and provide insights into the world of Currency and Commodity Trade. You can follow Ole Hansen in this Bloomberg Article on Oil Prices.

Ole Hansens last visit to Dubai resulted in great articles like “Commodities investments specialist sees bullish market despite recent setbacks” and “You don’t have to get gored in the bull run”

Dubai Entrepreneurial Spirit and the Will to Succeed

At the opening Co-CEO and co-founder Lars Seier Christensen said: “We have been increasingly impressed by the entrepreneurial spirit and the will to succeed in the region. If you can build a ski resort in the middle of the desert, you can do anything. Dubai remains one of the most important global financial centres and the GCC will have an important role to play when this current financial crisis is over. Depending on market conditions, we intend to use our new office as the first step towards establishing similar presence in other GCC countries”.

Saxo Bank Dubai 

The extra yield investors demand to hold Dubai government’s 6.7 percent bond due 2015 over the Emirates’ note widened to 16 basis points on Wednesday from a discount of 22 basis points on August 4, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Read full article from Arabian Business dot Com