Cairo – Mubasher: EFG Hermes announced on Monday signing a partnership agreement with Vietnam’s Asia Commercial Bank Securities (ACBS).

Under the deal, EFG Hermes’ customers “will receive on-ground access and intelligence to trade the Hanoi stock exchange, Ho Chi Minh City Exchange, and UPCOM, some of Asia's most compelling capital markets,” according to a statement.

With launching offices in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Kenya, the Cairo-based investment bank boosted its footprint in African and Asian frontier markets over the last two years and is now planning to enter the Southeast Asian market, CEO of EFG Hermes Frontier, Ali Khalpey, said.

“EFG Hermes is now the first Frontier Emerging Markets (FEM) investment bank to establish an on-the-ground presence in Vietnam, an increasingly important destination for global investors given the size of the market and its liquidity,” Khalpey added.

The partnership with ACBS will give EFG Hermes the ability to “explore associated benefits in liquidity, deal flow, and execution in one of the world's best performing markets,” he noted.

EFG Hermes logged net profits of EGP 381.34 million in the January-March period of 2019, compared to EGP 266.49 million in the year-ago period.

As for standalone business, EFG Hermes turned into losses of EGP 142.52 million in the three-month period ended 31 March, versus a profit of EGP 33.74 million in the same period a year earlier.