EFG Hermes inaugurated its office in Karachi, Pakistan on Monday, following the firm’s acquisition of Pakistani brokerage Invest and Finance Securities Ltd. (IFSL), which will operate as EFG Hermes Pakistan Limited, according to a press statement on Tuesday.
The statement said that the acquisition process makes EFG Hermes the first foreign investment bank to directly enter the market and the first foreign broker to have a local footprint in the country since 2008.
Karim Awad, group chief executive officer of EFG Hermes, said that Pakistan has become a very exciting market recently, with compelling long-term growth prospects—whether the pending upgrade to emerging market status, the IMF’s growth forecast of 5.0% in 2017 and 5.2% next year, or the opportunities that will be driven by the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor that has lately attracted significant attention.
He added that his firm is making a long-term commitment to Pakistan that has already seen investments in recruitment, systems, technology, and processes in the run-up to the relaunch of IFSL as EFG Hermes Pakistan.
“In moving into Pakistan and other markets, our goal is to replicate our growth out of Egypt into the Gulf Cooperation Council in the early 2000s, where we have become the leading securities brokerage across multiple GCC exchanges and the advisor of choice on high-profile mergers, acquisitions, and cross-border equity capital market transactions across the region,” Awad noted. “Pakistan and other new frontier markets will enter in the coming period, allowing us to diversify our fee-based agency business, generate new streams of hard-currency revenues, and position us to create superior returns for our shareholders.”
EFG Hermes Pakistan offers securities brokerage and research services to institutional and individual clients, as well as investment banking advisory services to Pakistani corporations and foreign investors.
