1.2260058-3191499946
File photo: A Standard Chartered bank branch in Singapore. Image Credit: REUTERS

Dubai:Affirma Capital, the private equity spinoff of Standard Chartered Plc, plans to complete at least one acquisition in the Middle East and Africa over the next year.

The Singapore-based emerging markets group is targeting deals between $25 million (Dh91 million) and $100 million in the region where consumer spending is on the rise, according to Taimoor Labib, Affirma’s founding partner, head of the Middle East & North Africa and chairman of Africa.

The company has about $700 million to spend after it completed a management buyout of the UK-based lender’s private equity business in July.

Affirma, which already manages $3.6 billion in assets, is particularly interested in Egypt, Nigeria and Jordan, Labib said. The firm is also planning to exit one of its investments in the Middle East and Africa over the next 12 months.