UBS hires Per Larsson, chief executive of Borse Dubai, to be the new head of investment banking in the Middle East and North Africa, a week after it said it had gained conditional regulatory approval to operate from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and that it had also applied for a license to open in the Qatar Financial Centre, The Wealth Bulletin reports.
Per Larsson, who is current based in Dubai, will join UBS at the beginning of October. He takes over from Peter Burnett, who was named to the post in early 2006. Burnett is based in London and will take on a “new opportunity” within UBS.
Last week UBS said it had gained conditional authorisation by the local regulator to set up operations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is also seeking approval to operate in the Qatar Financial Centre.
The Swiss bank also says it intends to double its regional investment banking team and establish regional coverage of Middle East stocks out of the United Arab Emirates by the end of the year. It recently started economic coverage of the Emirates through the European economics research team in London.
UBS ranked fifth by investment banking revenues from the MENA region for the year to date with a market share of 4.1%, behind Citigroup, HSBC, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs for the year to date, according to data provider Dealogic.
Larsson is also a board member of the Dubai International Financial Exchange. Before joining Borse Dubai and DIFX, Larsson was the executive chairman of Nilorngruppen and OSM, president, chief executive and board member of OMX, and chairman of the OMX Stock and Derivatives Exchanges, OMLX in the UK, now known as EDX, and OMX Technology.
Larsson will report to Alex Wilmot-Sitwell, chairman and chief executive of UBS in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.
Michel Adjadj was named chairman for MENA, in addition to his current role as head of UBSs Eastern Mediterranean, Middle East and African wealth management business.
“The Middle East and North Africa is one of our most important growth markets and these appointments are a further step in demonstrating our long-term commitment to the region,” says Wilmot-Sitwell.