Thursday, 03 May 2007

MerchantBridge and local partner Mohammed Al-Dhoheyan announced the official opening of the first Development and Management House for Investments (DMHI) office. The Investment Banking institution, which was granted an Investment Services License in Saudi Arabia in May 2006, offers corporate and project finance advisory, equity and debt capital arranging as well as asset management, wealth management and brokerage services.

Initially staffed by a core management team led by Eric le Blan, partner at MerchantBridge and head of corporate finance, DMHI, and a start up team of approximately seven investment professionals, the company aims to leverage the enormous potential of the rapidly developing Saudi market, which is forecast to undertake over $630 billion in projects over the next ten years.

"Saudi Arabia is the driving force behind the dynamic economic growth in the Mideast region, and we expect to see this trend continue as the country moves toward membership of the WTO," commented Basil Al-Rahim, managing partner, MerchantBridge. "The Kingdom currently has the most mature private sector of any country around the Gulf and wider Mideast region, which is a reflection of the government's long standing commitment to privatization. With corporate entities of over 30 years old operating in the Kingdom we see the trend toward public flotations and privatization continuing, in a measured and considered fashion as projects are properly structured and advised, and investor education becomes more widespread."

At the time of the investment banking license issue, Saudi Arabia had a market capitalization of $500 billion, yet the Capital Market Authority in the Kingdom had only issued 35 licenses, demonstrating the enormous potential for the industry in the Kingdom, and one of the driving factors for the creation of DMHI. The team is in the process of raising the company's capital to meet existing and potential business opportunities, and expects to break even in its first year of operation.

"DMHI and MerchantBridge are ideally placed to introduce Saudi Arabian companies to the international market, and attract international investors to the region," added Eric le Blan. "With a strong focus on Islamic finance models and innovative financial structures, we believe that DMHI will operate beyond the existing product range of financial houses in the Kingdom."

© The Saudi Gazette 2007