Published: August 3, 2009
Fairfax, the UK-headquartered investment bank, has announced the expansion of its operations in the Middle East, to capitalise both on its current activities there and what it sees as the long-term growth potential of the region.
The bank has hired a senior investment banking team to aggressively lead the expansion of its operation focusing on the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region.
Fairfax is among the few independent mid-cap investment banks seeking to develop a presence outside the UK, principally through an expanded Middle East franchise. This international reach is central to the bank’s growth strategy.
The new team includes Abdulrahman Al Ansari who will act as CEO. He was previously head of distribution at Millenium Finance Corporation (MFC) and before that at Dubai Islamic Bank. He will be joined by Ali Nadir Syed who will head up the investment banking operation. He was also previously at MFC and before that at Deutsche Bank in London.
Shahid Naqvi, also formerly at Deutsche Bank will be managing director of coverage in the MENA region based in Dubai and is currently part of the London operation.
Fairfax intends to become one of the leading financial services businesses in the mid-cap sector and intends to be a "dynamic mid-sized bridge" facilitating the flow of capital, ideas and products between London, the Middle East and the further East to Asia.