CAIRO: EFG-Hermes, Egypt s largest investment bank, said on Wednesday it would enter the Qatari market in a joint venture with an unnamed local Qatar company with start-up capital of $37 million.
A statement from the firm said EFG-Hermes Qatar Limited, which would offer investment banking and asset management services, would be 51 percent owned by EFG-Hermes and 49 percent owned by the Qatari company.
Qatar is a key market for EFG-Hermes as we move forward with our regional expansion plans, the statement quoted EFG-Hermes CEO Hassan Heikal as saying.
EFG-Hermes has also applied to be a market maker on the Dubai International Financial Exchange.
The statement said EFG-Hermes would begin the application and licensing procedure as soon as practicable.
On Saturday, EFG-Hermes said it had applied for licenses in Oman and Bahrain, and would quadruple staff in Saudi Arabia, where it was granted a license to set up a brokerage in November.
On Sunday, the state-owned Abu Dhabi Investment Authority said it had bought an 8 percent stake in EFG-Hermes and would take a seat on the board of the company.
Shares in EFG-Hermes were trading 1.3 percent up at LE 38 per share by 0900 GMT on Wednesday.
