SHUAA Capital’s Transformational Acquisition of Kuwait’s Amwal International Investment Company to Drive Expansion Roadmap

Subsidiary Noor Capital Markets, a strategic boost for MENAT region footprint

United Arab Emirates, 16 December 2018, (AETOSWire) : SHUAA Capital, the UAE’s premier financial services Group, is pleased to announce the commencement of its post-acquisition integration and consolidation efforts with Kuwait based Amwal International Investment Company (“Amwal”), following the recent completion of the public tender acquisition process, and Amwal shareholders’ General Assembly that was held on 12th December 2018. As part of the General Assembly’s outcome, Amwal announced a new Board of Directors consisting of Bader Al Reizhan, Fawad Tariq Khan, Khaleefa Al Mheiri, Oliver Lee, Ali Tariq, Adil Mustafa and Abdullah Galadari.

The acquisition of Amwal aligns perfectly with SHUAA’s vision of delivering long-term shareholder value, in addition to the prospects of meaningful synergies between SHUAA Capital’s existing capital markets business and Amwal’s key subsidiary, ‘Noor Capital Markets’.

Noor Capital Markets is the region’s leading homegrown online FOREX, Commodities and Contract for Difference (“CFD”) trading platform that is highly regarded for being the best in class service offering and quality execution.  

Fawad Tariq-Khan, Chief Executive Officer of SHUAA Capital, said: “The commencement of this consolidation exercise represents the culmination of our efforts in establishing a broad geographic footprint across the region’s strongest markets. From our heritage in the UAE, and now in our six well-placed jurisdictions, we are well positioned to tap into a diverse range of growing markets. We are excited about the potential to take our expertise into Kuwait, Turkey and Jordan, as well as bringing Noor Capital Markets’ services and offerings to our home territories. We believe that we have a winning combination which will support our continued transformation on the path to sustainable profitability”.

Fawad explains further, “Ultimately, it is our clients who will benefit from our ability to deliver a broader range of services and synergies that we will realize between SHUAA Capital , Amwal and Noor Capital Markets. This combination clearly demonstrates SHUAA’s ability to identify, structure and complete complex Mergers and Acquisitions transactions to complement SHUAA Capital’s organic growth plan. We continue to carefully appraise selected opportunities that we believe will generate incremental revenue  and will deliver long term shareholder value.”

Mr. Khurram Sayeed, CEO of Noor Capital Markets, said “SHUAA Capital is a natural fit, for our trading business Noor Capital Markets, when you consider its diversified regional presence and experience. Clear synergies can be delivered with our combined efforts and business verticals across new markets including Kuwait, Jordan and Turkey. For Noor Capital Markets, we have built a successful industry-leading business in a relatively short period of time and are excited by the tremendous prospects of delivering a combined business plan alongside SHUAA Capital”.

In addition to the above, Kuwait’s promotion to the FTSE Russell Emerging Markets Index in September is expected to attract significant inflows of investment. In Jordan and Turkey, regulatory reforms are being implemented to support their capital markets’ growth and their implications on broader economies. For instance, despite a challenging economic backdrop in Jordan, last year Foreign Direct Investment inflows totaled USD 1.6 billion, representing growth of 7.5%. Meanwhile, in 2017, Turkey’s Boursa Istanbul recorded growth of 43% year-on-year in terms of the market value of stocks traded, demonstrating its regional significance and appeal. Boursa Istanbul is one of the largest exchanges in Europe with over c. USD 2 billion traded daily on average.

Amwal International Investment Company holds an investment company license regulated by the Capital Markets Authority in Kuwait and a lending license regulated by the Central Bank of Kuwait. Financial earnings are expected to be consolidated during Q4 2018.