AB Capital - the investment banking arm of the Arab Bank Group - announced on Saturday that it has received approval from the Capital Market Authority (CMA) in Saudi Arabia for its license application of Al Arabi Capital Saudi Arabia (AB Capital Saudi Arabia). Headquartered in Riyadh, AB Capital Saudi Arabia will offer its clients investment banking and asset management services, matching best international practices with a regional expertise. Peter Tarazi, chief executive officer of AB Capital, said: “We are pleased to have received this license and look forward to starting AB Capital's operation in the Kingdom. Expanding into Saudi Arabia is a testament to our commitment to the region and an important step towards achieving our goal of providing regional investment banking services to our client base.” Since its inception, AB Capital has developed into a regionally focused franchise advising corporate clients on equity and debt raising as well as mergers and acquisitions in line with Arab Bank's strategy seeking to provide the broadest financial services offering. To that end, AB Capital has launched a Private Equity arm focused on direct equity investments in regional industries. AB Capital Saudi Arabia is a subsidiary of AB Capital, based in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (‘DFSA'). AB Capital is a subsidiary of Arab Bank Group. Arab Bank Group is one of the largest financial organizations in the Middle East and North Africa region. Over around 79 years of operation, it has set a foothold in financial centers all over the globe, offering its services and products though around 500 branches in more than 30 countries. Despite the economic downturn globally, the group's 2008 financial statements show it achieved a quality leap in profits, hitting the $1 billion mark to reach $1.061 billion, compared with $964 million posted at the end of 2007, with $97 million increase and a growth rate of 10 percent. The group's results also indicate there was a rise in assets at the end of last year to $45.6 billion, compared with $38.3 billion at the end of 2007, with a 19 percent growth. Shareholders equity, meanwhile, increased last year to $7.5 billion from $6.8 billion in December 2007.
