HSBC builds regional equity research and trading capability

The Dubai-based Equities team will be providing research, sales, brokerage and financing expertise to the world's most sophisticated investors, who are increasingly seeking exposure to the region's markets.

Walid Khalfallah joins the bank as Head of Middle East Equity Research and Head of EEMEA Financials Research, based in Dubai. Walid joins HSBC from Morgan Stanley where he was Head of the EEMEA Financial Team, having previously been an emerging markets buy-side research analyst at Alliance Capital. In a short space of time, Walid has risen to become a highly rated analyst, having been ranked the number one-rated analyst in 2005 and number two-rated analyst in 2006 for EEMEA banks in the Extel Survey. His sector expertise, knowledge of the region and high profile with the finance industry will be major assets as HSBC builds its Middle East equity research capability.

In addition to Walid's appointment, the research team in the Middle East has also been strengthened with the recent appointments of Peter Hutton as Head of Research, Saudi Arabia and Simon Williams as an Economist for the region. They provide sophisticated economic analysis and research on the Middle East for the bank's clients.

Alongside these appointments in Global Research, HSBC is also building out its Middle Eastern equity sales and trading platform and has announced the appointment of Wafic Nsouli, who joins in April from JPMorgan as a Senior Salesman, also based in Dubai. With over 10 years experience with a Middle Eastern client base, Wafic will be working closely with Osman Raie and Mohammed Galal to provide clients with HSBC's full range of capabilities. Osman and Mohammed are also relocating to Dubai from London and Egypt respectively in April 2007.

Commenting on the appointments, Neil Foster, Head of Global Markets, Middle East, said:
"The new additions to the Equities team demonstrate two things: first, the bank's commitment and positive outlook for the region, and second the high level of interest and activity from the global investment community in the Middle East.

"Appetite among international institutional investors for Middle Eastern equities is high, and HSBC has a uniquely comprehensive coverage of the region. With these additional top quality additions to the team, we aim to grow the business and to help the region's capital markets to become part of the global investment landscape."