Egyptian broker to expand regional coverage as it eyes super rich

Egypt-based broker EFG-Hermes, which operates a stockbroking unit in Kenya, is set to expand its research coverage and investment banking franchise in the region.

The firm—targeting institutional and high net-worth investors from the Middle East—said in the last six months it has increased its head count in Nairobi and further plans for expansion are in the pipeline over the next 12 months.

“We will continue to expand both our research coverage and investment banking franchise into Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Zambia,” the firm said in a statement.

EFG-Hermes, which entered the Kenyan market less than a year ago, was ranked as the top brokerage in the frontier market in the Extel Survey 2018.

Extel measures excellence and performance in the investment industry across European equities.

EFG-Hermes chief executive Ali Khalpey said the awards reaffirms the firm’s view that independent, thought provoking research remains critical to the investment process.

“Our East Africa team, based in Nairobi, has been at the forefront of this with insightful analysis across multiple sectors but specifically in the oil and cement sectors where stand out reports were published during the last six months,” said Mr Khalpey.

EFG-Hermes head of research Ahmed Shams El Din said by end of 2018 it plans to add more than 35 African equities to the research coverage, in addition to new products covering strategy, macro-economy, and sector reports.

“Our clients can now trade banking and financial equities, while gaining insights from our research team, which covers banks in Kenya, Nigeria, and the MENA region,” said Mr El Din.