Nomura Asset Management opens in Dubai and names its executive director to lead the five-person team.

Nomura Asset Management, the Japan-headquartered asset management firm, has opened an office in Dubai to address the growing number of Middle Eastern investors looking to pour money into Asia.

Business in the Middle East has more than doubled in the past five years, said the firm in a statement. At present, Nomura's operations in the region manages some $7 billion of assets for sovereign funds, banks, pensions and other institutional investors from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council. The money is invested mainly in Asian securities markets and in global fixed income. 

Nomura has run an Arabian equities fund for Japanese retail investors since 2007. The firm is reportedly preparing to set up a new frontier markets fund that will allocate a huge chunk of its money, or around $400 to $500 million, to GCC markets. 

The Dubai office will initially be run by five people, led by Tarek Fadlallah as chief executive. Fadlallah brings over 25 years of financial services experience to this role and most recently served as executive director at the firm. The new branch is located within the Dubai International Financial Centre and is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority.