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Lectures on GCC Capital Markets in Business Forum Kuwait Financial Centre S.A.K. “Markaz”, one of the leading investment banking and asset management companies in the Middle East, announced its gold sponsorship of INSEAD Arabic National Week, which was held lately in Paris. The Arab National Week, one of the oldest and most important social and cultural traditions for the MBA students of INSEAD, included among its various activities a "Business in the Middle East" Forum, where Mr. Ali Khalil, Executive Vice President of Markaz and INSEAD alumnus was invited to speak in the forum. He gave a presentation on the drivers stimulating GCC Capital Markets Growth, and future trends. The presentation garnered the interest of the students especially those who are anticipating careers in the region. Mr. Khalil commenced his presentation saying "I would like to thank INSEAD's management for giving me the opportunity to be here with you" Mr. Khalil continued "At Markaz, we are always looking for strategic alliances that can enhance our communications strategy and corporate image. Markaz and INSEAD share many similarities, they both enjoy leading positions in their respective fields. The high caliber students enrolled at INSEAD are on par with our highly selective recruitment. Also, we follow a similar approach in targeting the same market segment which is comprised of educated, sophisticated and hard-working professionals". INSEAD is one of the most highly regarded business schools with advanced rankings in Europe and worldwide. It is ranked N°2 MBA program in Europe and N°7 MBA program worldwide both by Financial Times 2007. With its campuses in France and Singapour and its strategic alliance with Wharton Business School, INSEAD centres are present in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and Mumbai, India and Dual degree Executive MBA launched with Tsinghua, China. Kuwait Financial Centre S.A.K 'Markaz', with total assets under management of over KD. 1.21 billion as of March 31, 2007 was established in 1974, and has become one of the leading asset management and investment banking institutions in the Arabian Gulf Region. Markaz was listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) in 1997; and was awarded a BBB+ corporate rating by Capital Intelligence Ltd. -Ends- Photo Caption: Mr. Ali Khalil, Executive Vice President – Kuwait Financial Centre 'Markaz' during the presentation.