New credit card player unveils aggressive plan

Dubai: A consumer finance company set up by Dubai Holding aims to capture six per cent of the UAE credit card business by the end of this year, a senior official said.

The new company, called Dubai First, bought Dubai Bank's credit card business when the bank converted into an Islamic institution at the start of 2007.

With a credit amount of Dh180 million, Dubai Bank's customer base gave Dubai First a 3.2 per cent share of the local credit card business, the company's country corporate officer Ebrahim Al Ansari said.

"We have 80,000 members and number eight position as a Visa card issuer. We are looking to be one of the top five players in three years. Our market share will be five to six per cent by the end of this year," he said yesterday at the unveiling of the new outfit.

Al Ansari said there are 2.5 million credit cards in the country and the number is growing 25 per cent annually.

Dubai First will operate as a subsidiary of Dubai Financial, a unit of Dubai Group, the financial investment division of Dubai Holding. It has an authorised capital of Dh1 billion and paid up capital of Dh350 million.

The company will enter the housing mortgage business in September and hopes to benefit from real estate projects being developed by Dubai Holding companies involved in the property business.

Amlak and Tamweel together control more than 60 per cent of the UAE mortgage market, while the rest is shared among commercial banks.

Tamweel chief executive Adel Al Shirawi told Gulf News recently the mortgage market will grow to Dh17 billion in Dubai and Dh3 billion in Abu Dhabi by the end of this year.