EFG-Hermes, one of the biggest publicly traded investment banks in the Middle East and North Africa, is expected to benefit from increasing trading activity in its key markets: Egypt and Dubai.
"Beyond the turmoil of 2011, the firm is a direct play on recovery in its Egyptian brokerage business and successful utilisation of the commercial banking licence in penetrating value-accretive markets," said Hamza Al Assad, an analyst at Pharos Holding.
The powerhouse, based in Cairo, was hurt after Egypt's revolution caused its stock market to shut for close to seven weeks, while negative sentiment triggered by civil uprisings in parts of the Arab world caused a sell-off in Dubai equities.
Markets reversed their track this quarter, however.
Traded value has risen 126 per cent so far this year in Egypt to an average of 333 million Egyptian pounds a day. The North African country accounts for 61 to 87 per cent of total brokerage revenue for EFG-Hermes.
"The crash in market volumes post-revolution has intensified price competition against local brokers, but EFG-Hermes has managed to partially hedge via shifting to retail clients," Mr Al Assad said. "Institutional clients are charged commission rates that are almost half the rates charged to retail clients."
Traded value in Dubai has risen 400 per cent, with a daily average of Dh189m changing hands, reaching a high of Dh981m on March 5, after the number of brokerages in operation dropped to 55 from 110 at the beginning of last year.
"International names in the GCC, UAE specifically, have started to cut costs by closing shops," Mr Al Assad said. "EFG-Hermes could benefit from this situation in the long run as long as it solidifies its presence in GCC markets, while many other smaller local players and international names foreclose operations."
EFG-Hermes has always expressed interest in acquiring a commercial banking licence in Egypt. It has a 63.7 per cent stake in Credit Libanais Bank.
halsayegh@thenational.ae
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champioons League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
Huddersfield Town permanent signings:
- Steve Mounie (striker): signed from Montpellier for £11 million
- Tom Ince (winger): signed from Derby County for £7.7m
- Aaron Mooy (midfielder): signed from Manchester City for £7.7m
- Laurent Depoitre (striker): signed from Porto for £3.4m
- Scott Malone (defender): signed from Fulham for £3.3m
- Zanka (defender): signed from Copenhagen for £2.3m
- Elias Kachunga (winger): signed for Ingolstadt for £1.1m
- Danny WIlliams (midfielder): signed from Reading on a free transfer
The biog
Favourite book: You Are the Placebo – Making your mind matter, by Dr Joe Dispenza
Hobby: Running and watching Welsh rugby
Travel destination: Cyprus in the summer
Life goals: To be an aspirational and passionate University educator, enjoy life, be healthy and be the best dad possible.
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Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
match info
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Muniain 37')
Atletico Madrid 1 (Costa 39')
Man of the match Iker Muniain (Athletic Bilbao)
About Krews
Founder: Ahmed Al Qubaisi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Founded: January 2019
Number of employees: 10
Sector: Technology/Social media
Funding to date: Estimated $300,000 from Hub71 in-kind support
21 Lessons for the 21st Century
Yuval Noah Harari, Jonathan Cape
Who is Tim-Berners Lee?
Sir Tim Berners-Lee was born in London in a household of mathematicians and computer scientists. Both his mother, Mary Lee, and father, Conway, were early computer scientists who worked on the Ferranti 1 - the world's first commercially-available, general purpose digital computer. Sir Tim studied Physics at the University of Oxford and held a series of roles developing code and building software before moving to Switzerland to work for Cern, the European Particle Physics laboratory. He developed the worldwide web code as a side project in 1989 as a global information-sharing system. After releasing the first web code in 1991, Cern made it open and free for all to use. Sir Tim now campaigns for initiatives to make sure the web remains open and accessible to all.
