Pharos Holding for Financial Investment seeks to turn into a regional investment bank after it opened its subsidiary, Pharos Gulf Limited, in Dubai, which will work in financial advisory in the current stage.
During the opening of its new headquarters in Dubai on Sunday in the presence of a large number of regional asset management companies. Angus Blair, COO of Pharos, mediated a seminar on the geopolitical situation and its impact on the economy in the region. It was attended by Nabil Al-Arabi, former secretary general of the Arab League, and Ziad Bahaa El-Din, former deputy prime minister of Egypt.
“We are delighted to take an important step in the company’s new expansion strategy by entering the UAE market, which will serve current and potential investors as well as execute its customers’ operations within the GCC markets,” said Alawi Taymour, chairperson of Pharos Holding.
He pointed out that his company aims to be an integrated investment bank in the non-banking financial sector by the next year. The company aims to activate its licence of micro-finance during the first quarter (Q1) of 2018 through the establishment of a company with a capital of EGP 15m. He noted that the activation of the company’s leasing activities awaits a relative decline in interest rates to encourage the increase of corporate investment activities.
Taymour added that the company aims to use its financial surpluses earned over the last two years from investment, brokerage, and asset management activities to launch a number of direct investments operations with volumes ranging between EGP 0.5-1bn, in which Pharos will contribute with a seed capital of $1-15m.
He added that his company seeks to acquire governing shares in companies related to consumer sectors benefitting from the demographic nature of the Egyptian economy, which is associated with the population.
The company also aims to increase its assets under management (AUM) from EGP 4bn to EGP 6bn, an increase of 50%, over the next two years.
On the other hand, CEO of Pharos Gulf Limited, Ismail Shoukry, said the presence of the company within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) makes it close to the regional centres of many international and regional companies in the region and enhances the company’s business within the Egyptian market and the Gulf area.
He pointed out that there are some negotiations with a Kuwaiti company looking to enter the Egyptian market, while one of the international funds in the health sector is studying the establishment of a hospital in Egypt.
Shoukry added that his company’s activities would begin with financial advisory services and then expand in other financial activities associated with investment banks. The company aims to provide its consulting services in deals worth a maximum of $300m, he noted.
Sherif Abd El-Aal, managing director and head of Pharos for promotion and underwriting, said the company is currently working on more than 20 acquisition deals in different stages. He added that four or five deals are currently in their final stages.
Abd El-Aal added that the flotation of the pound made it difficult for Egyptian investors to sell their companies after severe decline in their valuation in dollar, which will take them some time until they realised that the evaluation of their companies have changed.
He revealed that his company is working on a public offering of a company valued at about EGP 1bn on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), but the company has not determined yet the size and rates of the offering.
