(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) National Bonds will attract members of the various communities residing in the UAE to save, according to each community's individual preferences for savings.
Mohammad Qasim Al Ali, chief executive officer, National Bonds Corporation, disclosed that the country's leading Shariah-compliant savings scheme developer is at present conducting research on the subject to be able to convey the savings message to each community and segment of the society in a way that addresses its needs for saving.
"The attitude of people that if it is okay now, it is okay for life, needs to change. This usually happens when salaries are increased. People think they are safe, so there is no need to save. We are trying to educate the various communities," Al Ali told Khaleej Times.
In addition to nationals, the UAE is home for millions of people from the Arab World, the West, Asia, Far East, and Africa. One community would like to save for their children's education, another to get married, yet another to build a house or for retirement, and so on.
National Bonds understands that instead of making a general statement calling people to save, it will be better if communities' needs for savings are addressed directly as the message will be more appealing.
About saving trends, Al Ali said that since property prices have fallen by some 50 per cent and banks are offering funds at lower charges, people realise it is time to have their own home.
The initiative follows National Bonds' research of the behaviours and attitudes of people in the UAE towards saving and spending money.
The corporation's 2012 UAE Savings Index shows that there was also an overall increased optimism towards job stability, as 85 per cent of respondents believe that their financial status will remain stable or improve in the next six months, while 92 per cent believe that their income will remain stable or increase over the next six months.
When asked about the drivers of choice for savings instruments, the top three factors respondents chose were attractive returns, Shariah compliance and the strong reputation of the provider.
The top three priorities are a strong endorsement for National Bonds, which is the only Shariah-compliant retail bond of its type in the region. It has provided cumulative returns of 30.33 per cent over the past six years, consistently higher than the market average for similar savings vehicles.
National Bonds, which counts over 670,000 people as its customers, has been vocal in its commitment to encourage a saving culture in the UAE since its inception. In its bid to become a one-stop provider of savings solutions to people across the region, it has offered various incentives and prizes and launched a diverse range of Financial Family Protection Plans, covering children's education, females, and even housemaids, in addition to a financial education roadshow going across the country targeting different segments of the community.
The 2012 National Bonds Savings Index was commissioned by National Bonds and conducted in April and May 2012 by YouGov using an online interviewing mechanism, and was carried out in Arabic/English languages across a sample of 611 respondents in the UAE.
Respondents were screened for age, income and bank usage for personal banking needs. The final sample split by nationality is as follows: Emiratis (14 per cent); Arab expatriates (30 per cent), Asian expatriates (46 per cent) and Westerners (nine per cent).
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