Economy Middle East speaks to Moustafa El Chiati, CEO of EFG Hermes UAE, about EFG Hermes’ presence and operations in the UAE and the region. During the interview, El Chiati shed light on the role EFG Hermes plays in the region’s initial public offering (IPO) market.
He also highlighted the key takeaways from the 18th annual EFG Hermes One-on-One Conference, stating that it was one of the largest EFG Hermes has held. El Chiati also emphasized the UAE’s investment-friendly environment.
EFG Hermes has been in the UAE market for over 20 years. What has the journey looked like?
It’s an interesting journey. We look at the UAE as our home. Today, our business has grown significantly and we have all the pillars of the investment bank here in the UAE.
Our brokerage operation is among the top three across markets such as ADX, DFM and Nasdaq Dubai. We also have the advisory, M&A and investment banking divisions.
We have a full-fledged research department in the UAE, among others, in asset management and private equity. The UAE is a hub for us to do our business in the region.
EFG Hermes has been quite active in the IPO market. Could you shed some light on that?
During the 21 years now in the UAE, we gained the reputation of being one of the best investment banks in the region and the UAE. This new phase of IPOs started in July 2021.
Since then, there have been multiple IPOs coming out of the region, government-owned, quasi-government, and even private sector-owned. We’ve been part of almost all of them in different roles, which gives us a lot of pride and confirms that we’re here to stay.
We’re here at the EFG Hermes One-on-One conference. Could you tell us more about it? What are some of the major achievements and what’s been going on for the last couple of days?
I’m happy to say that this conference this year is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, in over 18 years. We have around 250 international investment institutions represented by over 600 actual investors. We had around 215 or 216 companies from 20 different countries. Size-wise, this is a good indicator of the importance of the conference.
The conference serves as a platform for companies to showcase their growth and their updates, and for investors to see the companies and have one-on-one meetings with them, and then decide on their investment afterward.
What are some insights on international investor confidence, particularly within the UAE?
The UAE has managed the economy well since COVID-19. The leadership has put the economy at the forefront of their agenda. We’ve seen multiple decisions that are in favor of attracting more investments into the region.
We’ve seen more transparency, better governance, and government-backed IPOs to solidify the capital markets. This is on one end. Then we see the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPAs) and other trade agreements between the UAE and other countries.
We’ve also seen the diversification of the economy. The key pillar of the economy today is diversifying away from the oil. The UAE has been doing that over the years very well. So, all this coupled with the security, safety and currency helped attract investors and raise their confidence in the UAE.
Read: Investor confidence high, UAE and Saudi Arabia set for gains this year: EFG Hermes official
About Moustafa El Chiati
Moustafa El Chiati is the CEO of EFG Hermes UAE. He has held that position since April 2016. Prior to holding the CEO post, Moustafa El Chiati served at EFG Hermes’ Investment Banking Division from 2007.
A 13-year banking veteran, El Chiati has a strong track record of leading high-profile mergers and acquisitions, transactions, and equity and debt offerings. Before joining EFG Hermes, Moustafa El Chiati served in HSBC’s Corporate Banking division.
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