Shuaa to seek licence for investment and IPO management

Dubai investment bank also wants shareholder approval for share buyback with view to resale

Shuaa Capital is expanding its operations through acquisitions. Pawan Singh / The National
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Shuaa Capital, the investment bank in which Abu Dhabi Financial Group is the biggest shareholder, is seeking a license to add investment and initial public offering management in the UAE to its list of services.

The Dubai bank will seek shareholder approval for a share buyback with the aim of  resale, Shuaa said in a statement to the Dubai Financial Market on Sunday. The bank will also mandate the board of directors to reduce the company's capital on the expiration period set for the bought-back shares to be resold.

The general assembly meeting is scheduled to be held on September 13, Shuaa said in the bourse filing.

Shuaa wants to engage in "investment management, promotion and introduction and managing initial public offerings businesses after being licensed from the Securities and Commodities Authority," it said in the statement.

Among the top investment banks before the 2008 financial crisis, Shuaa is trying to regain its footing by expanding its financial activities. ADFG acquired a majority stake in Shuaa in 2016.

In 2017, Shuaa and Bahraini investment bank GFH Financial Group were talking of a merger,  but the discussions were called off in June last year.

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Shuaa will also seek approval to change its articles of association to allow shareholders to approve interim dividends after the first half of the fiscal year or "whenever necessary", the company said.

The company is gearing up to distribute its first dividend in a decade following a 21 per cent year-on-year increase in second-quarter net income, boosted by strong growth in its Saudi Arabia and Egypt operations. Net profit attributable to the company's shareholders for the three months ending June 30, climbed to Dh14.6 million, the investment bank said last week.

ADFG said last year that its strategy to revive Shuaa would focus on growing its assets under management, leveraging its balance sheet and increasing its business in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.