The Taiwan Banker

“The wind reshapes the dunes, but the desert is permanent.” These are the words of a Bedouin girl to a shepherd boy, encouraging him to pursue his dreams. Only by being like the Bedouins will we find the oasis in the vastness of the desert. Dubai is known as the New York of the Muslim world. Every blade of grass and tree in the city is nourished with water and nutrients through drip irrigation buried underground, rather than relying on natural rainfall. The majestic mosques of Dubai and Abu Dhabi are a testament to the Bedouin devotion to their faith, which has given them the abundant petroleum resources to build the tallest skyscraper in the world. Even though Dubai's oil production declined a few years ago, their God has favored them by allowing them to transform and continue to diversify into transportation, tourism, and financial industries. The 2008 financial crisis almost spread to the Middle East, but timely financial assistance from Abu Dhabi supported the continued growth of a number of sovereign funds in the UAE, which continue to play a major role in global capital markets. Even more surprising, last year, the UAE hosted the COP28 conference on climate change, announcing to the world that even as a petrochemical producer, it would take the initiative to reduce carbon emissions. By doing so, they serve as a model to the world for green transformation. It has been predicted that the rapid growth of the Muslim population will make Islam the world’s largest faith in the coming decades. The expansion of non-oil revenues in the Middle East, coupled with efforts toward sustainable green transformation, will mean that Taiwan cannot afford to ignore the Islamic market. In order to capitalize on the future opportunities of the Middle East market and Islamic finance, in the presence of the President of the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Emirates Institute of Finance (EIF) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with TABF in April, signifying an important step forward in financial training. By effectively utilizing its oil revenue, the UAE has accumulated a wealth of experience in asset management. Considering the wealth that Taiwan may continue to accumulate over time as a result of artificial intelligence, the UAE’s experience in the operation of a number of the world’s top sovereign funds will provide a valuable learning opportunity for Taiwan’s financial industry. In addition, the UAE is also an advocate for blockchain technology. Their experiences will serve as a good case for our reference. As Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said at the opening of Dubai’s Future Pavilion, “The future belongs to those who can imagine it, design it, and execute it. It isn’t something you await, but rather create.” Having built ski slopes and aquariums in the desert, the Bedouins seem to be demonstrating to an island which can produce the world’s top chips that while water and electricity may remain as challenges for our future development, among others, we must still not give up the pursuit of our dreams.