Edmond de Rothschild opens office in Dubai’s DIFC, aims to broaden regional presence

Edmond de Rothschild Group has opened its advisory office – Edmond de Rothschild (Middle East)  – in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).

The move reflects the group’s aim to provide a full range of bespoke services to its clientele in the Middle East.

With a Category 4 advisory licence regulated by Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), the independent regulator of financial services conducted in or from DIFC, Edmond de Rothschild (Middle East) will be able to locally advise clients and ensure access to the entire group’s offerings.

In a statement the bank said its  “conviction-driven investment capabilities are designed to address the challenges facing our society and accompany the major trends that will shape the economy for several decades, giving purpose to investments across our liquid and real assets strategies”.

Edmond de Rothschild: Strong connections in the region

Historically, Edmond de Rothschild has established strong relationships throughout the Middle East, serving its clientele from its main hubs in Switzerland and Europe, while leveraging its local presence through its representative office in Dubai.

The UAE is already an important market for Edmond de Rothschild, and the new presence will enhance its ability to serve the clients in the region by providing services, ensuring better proximity to clients as well as capturing important market opportunities.

Ali Raza Syed, senior executive officer of Edmond de Rothschild (Middle East), will be leading the local office in DIFC. He reports to Saman Habibian,  chairman and market leader Middle East & Africa at Edmond de Rothschild (Middle East).

Essa Kazim, governor of DIFC, commented: “Dubai is the city in the Middle East with the highest concentration of wealth and has access to more than USD 3trn of private wealth within an hour’s flight, which makes DIFC the preferred choice for Wealth & Asset Management firms. We are delighted that Edmond de Rothschild has chosen DIFC as their home in the region.

“Growth opportunities are vast and attracting such a prestigious industry name reinforces Dubai and DIFC’s reputation as the preferred business destination to access the region. Edmond de Rothschild’s conviction driven approach and actions on sustainable development align with our principles to drive the future of finance through innovation and supporting economic growth in our societies.”

Ariane de Rothschild, chair of the Board, Edmond de Rothschild Group, adds: “For more than 250 years, our bank has helped clients preserve and grow their assets by combining performance and sustainability, while approaching investments with a pioneering mindset. Expanding our presence in the UAE was a natural choice, given Dubai’s spectacular growth for a long time along with DIFC’s expertise and world-class services. Moreover, most of our clients in the region have family-driven business models and their success is based on innovation, strong convictions and action. We share their entrepreneurial and pioneering spirit in proactively addressing present and future needs and challenges.”

Saman Habibian, market leader Middle East & Africa, Edmond de Rothschild, said: “Dubai is a leading financial and economic centre offering unprecedented opportunities, and where the group has been developing its client base for the past ten years. This opening enables our clients in the region, including the expat community based in Dubai, to further capitalise on our international expertise, particularly in the private markets.”

In other news, DIFC registered its highest ever revenue, totalling Dhs1.06bn, in 2022. Combined revenue grew 18 per cent year-on-year from Dhs897m in 2021. It topped Dhs1bn for the first time.

Read: Dubai’s DIFC registers highest ever revenue in 2022

The total number of new companies registered in DIFC also surpassed the annual milestone of 1,000 for the first time ever, with 2022 recording a total of 1,084 new firms.

Meanwhile, the centre’s 2022 operating profit increased 19 per cent to reach Dhs679m from Dhs573m recorded during the previous year.