Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Financial Group (ADFG), an investment firm, is eyeing growth in its assets in 2016 with plans to do “major shopping” during the year, according to Jasim Al Seddiqi, chief executive officer of ADFG.
“We believe opportunities are going to be at their best stage in 2016 whether for acquisitions, mergers, lending, and so forth. It’s not only about valuations being attractive; it’s becoming a buyers’ market, so sellers are going back to reality in terms of valuations and all kinds of deals,” he told Gulf News.
Al Siddiqi did not disclose further details on the company’s plans during the year, but said that 2016 will be an “important year” for ADFG.
He added that the company is currently “at a stage where we are consolidating our portfolios and activities, and we are focusing right now on financial services in the UAE.”
The company currently operates from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Eastern Europe, and London, and is not expected to see immediate geographical expansion, the CEO said.
Asked about performance this year, Al Siddiqi said the company has not seen an impact from lower oil prices, which fell 40 per cent in the past 12 months, saying that such prices present an opportunity as valuations are more attractive.
“Abu Dhabi Financial Group specialises in opportunistic investments. We believe that the slowdown we are witnessing in the region and in the UAE is going to provide us with an opportunity just like we had done back in 2011.
We are a long-term investor, and oil price is something cyclical. We have the confidence that the situation is going to consolidate the economy — it’s going to make it healthier and more sustainable on the long-term. Hence, we are positive for 2016, 2017, and onwards,” he said.
Al Siddiqi was speaking on Tuesday at a bell-ringing ceremony at Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) to unveil Integrated Securities, a brokerage firm that is a subsidiary of ADFG.
The brokerage company is targeting growth in the GCC’s markets, especially Saudi Arabia where the Kingdom’s equity markets are likely to be added to MSCI’s emerging market status.
Discussing the region’s equity markets, Al Siddiqi, who is the chairman of Integrated Securities, said that he expected 2016 to see stronger performance and higher liquidity, along with more Initial Public Offerings.
“The ability to diversify investments and seek value in the equity markets continues to prove a real attraction to clients in the current low-interest climate,” he said.
Integrated Securities was originally founded in 2001 as the brokerage arm of First Gulf Bank. In February 2015, ADFG announced that it had acquired First Gulf Bank’s 45 per cent stake in brokerage firm, First Gulf Financial Services.
