Egypt's EFG Hermes signed on Monday a deal with Asia Commercial Bank Securities of Vietnam to tap the Vietnamese market. The deal will see EFG's clients receiving 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, EFG Hermes said in statement. Asia Commercial Bank Securities (ACBS) of Vietnam is the securities trading arm of Asia Commercial Bank (ACB). “This partnership will provide our clients access to the Hanoi Stock Exchange, Ho Chi Minh City Exchange and UPCOM using ACBS' platform, while expanding our Vietnamese research offering, under our own brand name.” said Ali Khalpey, Chief Executive Officer of EFG Hermes Frontier. “The new partnership is yet another manifestation of our strategy to widen our geographic footprint and identify new opportunities." "While the past two years witnessed rapid expansion in African and Asian frontier markets with offices launched in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Kenya, we are now entering Southeast Asia to complete our FEM setup." EFG Hermes has become the first Frontier Emerging Markets 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. EFG Hermes is intensifying its involvement in Vietnam "at a highly opportune moment,” said Kato Mukuru, Head of Frontier Markets Research at EFG Hermes. “The country's dynamic export-oriented manufacturing sector is seeing considerable gains as more multinationals seek to relocate production away from China and to Vietnam." Mukuru added. EFG Hermes, the Middle East's largest investment bank, operates in countries including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan and Jordan.
