(MENAFN - Khaleej Times) Shuaa Capital on Saturday officially launched its new logo to the public at a private event attended by prominent government officials, CEOs of banks and major shareholders.
As guest of honour, Mohammed Al Shaibani, Director-General of the Dubai Ruler's Court, Vice-Chairman of the Supreme Fiscal Committee of Dubai, and CEO and Executive Director of the Investment Corporation of Dubai, unveiled the new branding alongside Shaikh Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum, Executive Chairman of Shuaa.
"Shuaa has been here since 1979 and is here to stay. The new brand represents the new strategy and culture of Shuaa as well as highlighting the company's transformation into a client-centric provider of full integrated investment banking services. Launching our new logo today is a clear signal that we are now confident of increasing our visibility in the marketplace," Shaikh Maktoum said.
At the event, Shaikh Maktoum led the audience through Shuaa's strategy presentation. He highlighted the completion of Shuaa's successful restructuring programme and the establishment of the new credit division. He also provided insight into Shuaa's new operating model and the transformation into a client-centric, full-service financial services platform, building on its history in asset management, investment banking and capital markets. Shaikh Maktoum emphasised that Shuaa expects to deploy its strong balance sheet to capture growth opportunities and return to sustainable profitability. Shuaa received widespread endorsement for its new strategic, operational and financial roadmap, especially for the launch of its new credit division.
The new unit will establish Shuaa's position as a leader in the regional credit arena for both regional and global clients.
The credit division will constitute three main business pillars: commercial lending, which will offer liquidity for SMEs that contribute over 50 per cent to UAE GDP, provide over 80 per cent of employment in the UAE but only receive four per cent of bank financing; a new credit fund, which will allow investors to participate in the UAE's economic growth story other than just publicly-listed stocks that are not fully representative of the UAE's strong real economy; and debt advisory for SMEs, family businesses and large family-owned conglomerates on the restructuring of their balance sheets and providing advisory on long term funding strategies.
Credit is a new way to introduce Shuaa's full-service investment banking platform to SMEs and family conglomerates that require help unlocking often-illiquid assets and providing a vital source of funding. It can be expected that this will create synergies with other parts of the business offering services such as discretionary portfolio management, and corporate finance and M&A advisory. Shuaa also expects to help credit clients with their IPOs when equity markets recover.
