Emirates Investment Bank assets soar on foreign capital inflows

Emirates Investment Bank assets under management gets a lift in 2013 from UAE's safe haven status.

Emirates Investment Bank yesterday said total assets under management jumped 71 per cent last year as the UAE’s safe-haven status continued to attract funds from politically troubled countries in the Middle East and other emerging markets.

Total assets under management increased to Dh4.26 billion last year from Dh2.49bn in 2012, the boutique investment and private bank said. Net profit last year increased 38 per cent to Dh36.2 million compared with Dh26.3m in 2012, while customer deposits more than doubled to Dh1.67bn from Dh800m.

In the fourth quarter alone, net profit gained 69 per cent to Dh5.6m, EIB said.

“Confidence in Dubai is at its highest, particularly after the successful Expo 2020 bid,” said Khaled Sifri, EIB’s chief executive. “Dubai has cemented its position as a leading financial centre and has now emerged as a safe haven for regional and international assets. As a Dubai-based boutique bank, we have benefited from this increased confidence.”

Mr Sifri said that as well as a bigger intake of funds from clients, investment banking in the region has been increasingly active with EIB’s team seeing more mergers and acquisitions. He said that trend would likely continue this year.

EIB’s private banking services have been bolstered in recent years as wealthy individuals in the region shifted money from offshore accounts in a bid to get closer and more personalised services.

“The growth in our private banking business has been tremendous as we continue to see a great deal of interest from high net worth individuals from the region and internationally,” Mr Sifri said. “Our focus on delivering tailor-made investment solutions and superior client servicing has allowed us to grow the assets under our management to new unprecedented levels.”

The UAE economy’s more than 4 per cent growth last year was boosted in part by capital inflows from the region and other emerging markets, such as China, into bank accounts, property and stocks.

Dubai’s main stock index more than doubled last year and home prices in the emirate have soared.

Even after last year’s gains, the property agency Cluttons said in a report yesterday that local and international buyers were still interested in Dubai properties.

The firm cited a recent US$1.5bn investment by the Bahrain-based investor Ravi Pillai in two projects in Dubai’s Downtown and Business Bay as well $1.9bn from the Hong Kong-based Chow Tai Food Endowment Industry into serviced apartments, luxury residences and two five-star hotels in the Dubai Pearl mixed-use development.