By: Amr Adel
Dubai – Mubasher: SHUAA Capital is planning to divest two companies in the second quarter of 2017, chairman Jassem Mohammed Al Siddiqi said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a press conference in Dubai, the top official revealed that the divestiture comes as part of SHUAA's plan to exit non-core assets and investments.
The planned exits will be from a contractor and water company, Al Siddiqi said.
SHUAA is also looking forward to a new acquisition in the GCC financial sector, the chairman said, noting that further information about the acquisition will be made after receiving the necessary regulatory approvals before the holy month of Ramadan.
SHUAA has begun its talks to acquire Integrated Capital and Integrated Securities, both of which are subsidiaries of Integrated Financial Group, Al Siddiqi said, noting that the company was awaiting official approvals, which will be announced in the coming weeks.
We also expect to receive the market maker licence from the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) in the coming weeks, he added.
SHUAA is already conducting market maker activities on both the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and Nasdaq Dubai.
The Dubai-listed investment company is currently managing two listings on the UAE's stock markets, the top official revealed, highlighting that the first is for Etihad REIT in Abu Dhabi, while the second is for a real estate company.
SHUAA does not have any outstanding debts at the moment, the chairman told reporters at the press conference, noting that the company's total cash and liquid assets amounts to AED 300 million.
The company is still considering its investment options in the Egyptian financial services market, according to Al Siddiqi.
Responding to a question on SHUAA's possible merger with Bahrain-based GFH Financial Group, the chairman confirmed that his company had not reached an agreement in this regard.
As for the restructure scheme for Gulf Finance Corp, SHUAA's wholly-owned credit financing subsidiary, Al Siddiqi said the company succeeded in halving its losses to AED 200 million from AED 400 million.
Earlier on Tuesday, SHUAA Capital reported turning profitable in the first quarter of 2017 with AED 24.78 million ($6.75 million) against losses of AED 27.51 million ($7.49 million) in the year-ago period.
Translated by: Nada Adel Sobhi
