Cairo – Mubasher: EFG Hermes is seeking to win a tender for the management of initial public offerings (IPOs) in Saudi Arabia as it seeks to expand in the Saudi market, co-head of investment banking Mohamed Fahmi said.

The leading investment bank has revealed plans to raise the number of its employees in line with targeting Saudi IPOs expected to grow by the end of this year, Reuters reported, citing Fahmi as saying.

Most of the companies planning for possible IPO in the kingdom are looking forward to dual-listing, as well as issuing global depository receipts (GDRs), he added.

The listing options are not approved yet, but the Saudi Capital Markets Authority (CMA) is still reviewing them, he highlighted.

The Egyptian group is also looking to close the acquisition transaction of a Nigerian brokerage next month, Fahmi indicated.

The Saudi market, whose capital value stood at about $500 billion, is getting ready for heavy inflows of foreign funds in 2019 on the back of joining global emerging market indexes, namely the MSCI and FTSE Russell.

In July, EFG Hermes announced it would acquire Lagos-based Primera Africa that provides brokerage and research services to local and foreign investors.