Merrill Lynch Wealth on hiring spree

Merrill Lynch Wealth Management has hired bankers from HSBC Holdings and Barclays in the Middle East as the Bank of America unit boosts its operations in the region. Sandip Aggarwal, Ayad Hachem and Mustafa Sinno were hired as financial advisers from HSBC Private Bank, Merrill Lynch said in an emailed statement yesterday. Sabah Hadipour was hired from Barclays Wealth in Dubai, while Zahoor Hussain joins Merrill Lynch Wealth Management from a Dubai-based family business. Hadipour, Aggarwal, Hussain and Sinno will be based in Dubai, while Hachem will work out of Beirut, it said.

Sidi Kerir

Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals Company, an Egyptian chemicals manufacturer, said its full-year profit increased 8.4 per cent. Net income for the period ended December 31 was 889.9 million Egyptian pounds (Dh540 million) compared with 821 million pounds a year earlier, the company said in a filing to the Egyptian bourse yesterday.

El Sewedy Electric

El Sewedy Electric, Egypt's biggest publicly traded electric cables manufacturer, said its workers ended a strike over wages on Thursday. The company made the statement in a filing to the Egyptian bourse yesterday.

International Bank of Qatar

The International Bank of Qatar seeks to raise its capital by 1 billion riyals (Dh1.01 billion) through a rights offering by the third quarter, managing director George Nasra said. Nasra spoke yesterday at the MEED Qatar Projects 2012 conference in Doha.

Qatar Navigation

Qatar Navigation agreed to buy A.P. Moeller-Maersk's 15 per cent stake in two liquefied natural gas carriers. Qatar Navigation will now own 40 per cent of the carriers, according to a statement on the Qatari bourse yesterday.

Agility

Agility, a Kuwaiti storage and logistics provider, and its partner won a legal case against Supreme Foodservice GmbH of Switzerland. Agility and Professional Contract Administrators received a joint arbitration award totalling $41.3 million (Dh151.6 million), Agility said in a statement to the Dubai bourse yesterday.

Topaz Energy and Marine

Renaissance Services subsidiary Topaz Energy and Marine, a provider of offshore support vessels and engineering services, has been awarded a contract from GAC Group to provide completion services for two crew/cargo vessels. Topaz's NicoCraft shipyard in Abu Dhabi has been awarded the contract based on the shipyard's capabilities and established track record.

The construction and engineering works, which will be undertaken by the Topaz Marine Engineering Division as part of the contract, include structural works, outfitting and equipment installation. GAC is a provider of integrated shipping, logistics, marine and related services, with operations in over 300 offices worldwide.

BNY Mellon

BNY Mellon has confirmed Bill Williams as its new chairman of Middle East and Africa (MEA) following Hani Kablawi's appointment as head of the company's EMEA Asset Servicing business. Williams also retains his role as head of Developing Markets Client Management.

He will continue to report to Jim Palermo, head of Global Client Management at BNY Mellon. Kablawi had been head of Client Management for EMEA and also served as chairman of the MEA region for four years.

In his new role, he will report to Tim Keaney, CEO of BNY Mellon Asset Servicing. Tarek Al Refai continues as senior executive officer for BNY Mellon's branch located at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). He also retains his role as head of Client Management for the MEA region.

— Compiled from staff reports & agencies