EFG-Hermes Securities Brokerage reports rankings for the first half of 2009

The leading broker in Arab markets saw the value of total executions across its unrivalled regional platform reach nearly $22bn in 2Q 09, a nearly 170% rise from 1Q 09 figures.

"The first half of 2009 has recorded strong results for EFG-Hermes Brokerage as we continue to develop the first regional platform that facilitates transactions and executes orders in all major Arab markets,"

said Sherif Cararah, Head of Securities Brokerage at EFG-Hermes.

"Even in this challenging global climate, we continue find new ways to provide global and regional institutional investors and a growing retail client base with unrivalled access to this exciting region," he added.

EFG-Hermes executed trades on the Egyptian Exchange worth EGP43bn in 2Q 09, up 126% from the previous quarter. The performance gave the group a 40% market share as it maintained its position as the exchange's number-one broker.

In the United Arab Emirates, the Brokerage division maintained its number-one ranking on both the DFM and ADX as the value of its total executions more than doubled quarter-on-quarter to $2.4bn. In Kuwait, EFG-Hermes IFA's execution value nearly tripled in 2Q 09 over first quarter value to KD2.83bn ($10bn) as market share grew to 30.2%, its highest level since EFG-Hermes entered the market last year

Exchange statistics also establish EFG-Hermes as the most active independent broker in Saudi Arabia, where total execution value grew 11.8% on the Tadawul in 2Q 09 to SR3.2bn ($865m).

EFG-Hermes ranked as the fourth most active broker in Oman despite EFG-Hermes physically entering the markets only last year. Total execution value in 2Q 09 increased 101.5% over 1Q 09 results to OR135m ($351m).

EFG-Hermes's strong brokerage results come as the investment bank continues to expand its retail presence across the region. The group's retail branch network has opened six branch locations across Egypt in a move to bring the leading brokerage closer to its clients and will soon open another retail point of presence in Dokki.

The branch network offers a platform from which EFG-Hermes is introducing cutting-edge education initiatives to give its clients the knowledge and skills they need to take command of their investments.

For global institutional investors, EFG-Hermes offers a wealth of products that give fund managers and other executives direct access to senior management at the most important companies in the Arab world.

EFG-Hermes Securities Brokerage hosted the London Stock Exchange's first MENA Financial Capital Markets Day in May of this year, allowing more than 50 London-based institutional investors, emerging market funds and analysts as well as the media to meet one-on-one with executives from the MENA region's most dynamic banks and financial services companies.

EFG-Hermes also co-hosted the London Stock Exchange's first Saudi Arabia Capital Markets Day. The June 2009 event brought together global investors interested in learning how they can, for the first time, directly invest in listed Saudi Arabian equities. The group had dozens of face-to-face meetings with top Saudi listed companies.

In a move to further improve its award-winning service to institutional investors, EFG-Hermes announced in April that it was joining the Reuters Trading for Exchanges network.

The move allows any investor connected to the Thomson Reuters order routing network, both inside and outside the region, to access liquidity from the largest markets in the MENA region, including EGX, Tadawul, KSE, DFM, DIFX, ADX, Nasdaq Dubai, and MSM — all via EFG-Hermes.