Egypt's EFG Hermes and Qatari Islamic investment bank QInvest said on Monday they were discussing a possible merger of some of their operations to create an investment bank covering the Arab world, Africa, Turkey and South and South East Asia. The proposed venture would include securities brokerage, asset management and investment banking operations, but not EFG Hermes Private Equity, the two said in an emailed statement. EFG Hermes, Egypt's biggest investment bank, has offices in nine Arab countries. Its shares were trading 0.2 percent higher, while the benchmark index was down 2 percent. QInvest was founded in 2007 and has a paid-up capital of $750 million, its website says. It has offices in Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, and its shareholders include Qatar Islamic Bank, other institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals. "Our primary objective in these discussions will be to create an investment banking platform that will play a vital role in the flow of foreign capital into the region," while enabling Arabs to invest in the region as well, the statement quoted EFG Hermes as saying to reuters.
