MENACORP is a diversified, multi-line investment institution, licensed and regulated by the Securities and Commodities Authority of the United Arab Emirates. With its headquarters in Abu Dhabi and a secondary office in Dubai, MENACORP’s activity is at the heart of the Emirati financial services industry. The company offers world-class expertise and execution in the fields of investment banking, stockbrokerage, asset management and financial research.
“We are confident in the future and we are convinced that MENACORP will play a major role in the development of the financial services industry in the UAE.”
MENACORP has come a long way in a very challenging market and has garnered a vast client base including government bodies, insurance companies, corporations, private offices and distinguished ultrahigh net worth individuals. While most of its UAE-based competitors were stopping their operations or reducing their exposure as a consequence of the international financial crisis, MENACORP recruited some of the most talented professionals in the UAE and substantially increased its market share positioning itself as a well-established market leader both in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Another example of MENACORP’s commitment toward its clients is that the company’s financial research department is now the number one in UAE in terms of listed companies covered offering investors an independent view on the most active stocks of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and the Dubai Financial Market.
But what makes MENACORP really different is its unique mix of deep local roots – MENACORP’s professionals have a direct and privileged access to some of the wealthiest families in the region – and international sophistication, allowing the company to serve locally global institutiona investors.
MENACORP is backed by one of the largest and most diversified Emirati conglomerate, the Bin Hamoodah Group – MENACORP’s main shareholder. “Since 1967, our Group’s reputation has been built on our capacity to successfully deliver each time we commit and we are proud that MENACORP shares the same DNA,” said Hamad Ghanim Bin Hamoodah, the company’s Chairman. “Our vision is clear, we are confident in the future and we are convinced that MENACORP will play a major role in the development of the financial services industry in the UAE. The local markets offer plenty of opportunities and the authorities are, step by step, implementing the right framework to increase our international visibility,” he added.
The man in charge of implementing this vision is the company’s CEO, Fathi Ben Grira. A former corporate lawyer with the US law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and investment banker with Lazard, Fathi Ben Grira’s priority was to make sure that MENACORP complies with the highest standards in the financial world. “Our goal was to make sure that our local clients receive the same quality of service they are used to when dealing with major US or European financial institutions for their international investments. At the same time, we invested a lot of time and energy to be able to guarantee these major international institutions that we are the right people to deal with for their transactions on UAE markets or for their business development needs in the Middle East and North Africa region,” explained Fathi Ben Grira. “However, we will never lose our local touch and we will never compromise on what makes us unique in our market: the intimacy with our clients and the strong relationship we have with them,” he concluded. This personal relationship is at the heart of the strategy developed by MENACORP. On a day-to-day basis, the Sales, Brokerage and Business Development team, arguably the largest sales team of the country for a financial services firm, stays in touch with the company’s clients and brings them recommendations and investment ideas which may include transactions on listed equities but also M&A transactions or acquisitions of units in a foreign investment vehicle for example.
With the recent developments in the Emirati regulations governing the distribution of investment products in the UAE – requiring notably that foreign financial institutions either get the prior approval of the Securities and Commodities Authority or partner with a UAE licensed entity in order to market their products locally – MENACORP is definitely well positioned to be the trusted Emirati business partner for international financial institutions targeting clients and investors based in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
