Abu Dhabi's IHC rebrands its brokerage arm as International Securities

The firm was among the top brokerages in the UAE by traded value last year

ADX's current market capitalisation sits at Dh808bn, having increased by almost 40% in 2020. Reuters

Shuaa Securities, one of the top securities brokerages in the UAE by traded value, is rebranding as International Securities following its acquisition by International Holding Company.

Abu Dhabi-listed IHC bought Shuaa Securities for Dh98.5m, with the deal concluding in February last year. The combined volume of shares the brokerage traded on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and the Dubai Financial Market exceeded Dh57 billion ($15.2bn) last year, with its market share growing by more than 20 per cent, IHC said in a statement on Monday.

“As we embark on 2021, we look forward to another year of more achievements and new products and services for our clientele under a fresh brand, accelerated by the strategic strength of our partner IHC,” Ayman Hamed, chief executive of International Securities, said.

Founded in 1998, IHC is a holding company whose interests span sectors including real estate, healthcare, capital markets, food and agriculture. Its healthcare arm owns Quantlase Imaging Lab, the company behind the rapid Covid-19 screening system operated on the border between Abu Dhabi and Dubai at Ghantoot. The company reported a seven-fold increase in revenue for the first nine months of 2020 to Dh4.6bn, while profit jumped to almost Dh1.8bn, up from Dh27m in the same period last year.

International Securities, regulated by the UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority, specialises in equities and derivatives trading on UAE bourses. It offers trading, execution and research services to retail customers, high net worth individuals and institutional clients

“IHC’s capital [markets] business is one of our highest-performing verticals and is an important pillar of our ambitious growth strategy,” Syed Basar Shueb, chief executive of IHC, said.

“International Securities represents a successful home-grown company … and we see significant value potential in continuing to grow their business under the new name.”

Last month, IHC listed three of its subsidiaries – Palms Sports, Zee Stores and Easy Lease – on ADX's secondary market.

IHC has also been on an acquisition spree in recent months. In October, it invested £39 million ($51m) into Oxford Nanopore Technologies, a UK-based firm that specialises in DNA sequencing technology to fund its Covid-19 testing ability. Previously, it bought a 52 per cent stake in R-Med Medical Supplies – a company that makes sterilising gates placed at the entrance of buildings to stop the spread of infections.