July 12, 2015: Menacorp, the UAE’s leading financial services firm, has announced the appointment of its new Executive Director, Arshad Khan, who left his position as Chief Executive Officer of Bahrain Financial Exchange (BFX).  Khan’s 17 years of relevant professional experience and detailed insights in the areas of technology, operations, products, regulations, strategy, finance, and marketing will reinforce further growth for Menacorp. 

Khan, who completed his post-graduate diploma in Business Administration (Finance) at the Maharishi Institute of Management, India in 1997, helmed several financial exchanges and clearing corporations prior to joining Menacorp. The Executive Director was part of the core team that established the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) and its clearing corporation, the Dubai Commodities Clearing Corporation (DCCC), in a record time of 12 months. For five years, he served as a Board Member of DGCX and DCCC, both of which were launched on November 22, 2005. 

Commenting on the new appointment, Fathi Ben Grira, CEO, Menacorp, said: “Having Arshad joining us is a great honor and an important milestone for our company. Very few professionals in the MENA region have Arshad’s experience and expertise on financial markets. His recruitment is key to develop our activities in forex, commodities, futures and options trading in general and more specifically on the DGCX. Arshad’s past successes, vision for the future and forward-looking growth strategies will take Menacorp to new paths of significant expansion and progress.”

Khan also helped to successfully establish the Bahrain Financial Exchange (BFX), a multi-asset international financial exchange which is licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain, as well as the BFX Clearing and Depository Corporation (BCDC). Under Khan’s leadership, BFX implemented the region’s first electronic platform to conduct Islamic finance Murabaha transactions in 2011.

In 2012, he spearheaded the launch of Indian Rupee Futures trading on the BFX and extensively worked to finalize the framework for the launching of the equities market segment of the BFX. His other accomplishments include the creation of the BFX Training Institute, which received accreditations from prestigious institutions such as the Institute of Commercial Management (ICM), Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) and Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM), and the formation of strategic partnerships with leading organizations such as Bursa Malaysia, Dow Jones and the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE).

Khan, for his part, said: “I would like to extend my gratitude to the Menacorp management for entrusting me with this new role. It is my mission to bring the company to new heights as its new Executive Director through the help of my extensive and proven track record. For nearly two decades, I have successfully established strong business relations with financial institutions and high net-worth investors and traders in the region and Asia and I will definitely capitalize on these achievements in my new position.”

“Additionally, since the day I joined this industry, I witnessed how it moved from the ‘stone-age’ to the ‘bronze-age’ and then onto the ‘modern era.’ I had the privilege of leading several innovations by launching some pioneering initiatives in the financial markets during this evolution, thereby playing a role in its modernization. I will continuously introduce and implement new ideas to help create value and ensure that our clients at Menacorp will receive outstanding financial services and solutions,” he added. 

Aside from DGCX and BFX, Khan also played an important role in the establishment of the Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX). In just 10 years of operations, MCX has been ranked by Futures Industry Association (FIA) as the third largest commodity derivatives exchange in the world, with 2,000 plus financial institutions as its members.

As a Board Member of Financial Technologies Middle East, Khan successfully introduced online trading, risk management and back office software of the FT Group to the brokers of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), Dubai Financial Market (DFM), DGCX, BFX, and Tadawul in Saudi Arabia. In 2011, he pioneered the region’s first exchange-hosted Islamic finance platform, ‘Bait Al Bursa,’ to facilitate Murabaha transactions.

Khan is an avid writer and speaker on financial markets and has contributed several articles in regional and international publications. He has been invited to speak before regional and global conferences as well.