The firm, which is based in Sweden and operates in 25 countries, sees continued expansion potential in the Middle East region.

Sweden-headquartered EQT, a private markets firm with $389 billion in assets under management, said yesterday that it has launched its Middle East platform and opened an office in Abu Dhabi. 

The new office is in the Abu Dhabi Global Market, the financial centre.

EQT said the office is the first location within a broader regional platform that it expects to develop over time.

The firm’s Middle East platform is led by Jimmy Mahtani, who has been appointed chairman of GCC, alongside his existing role as chairman of India and Southeast Asia for EQT Private Capital. The Abu Dhabi office is led by Smiyet Belrhiti, head of Middle East, who has also been appointed senior executive officer. 

With the addition of Abu Dhabi, EQT now has offices in more than 25 countries that together account for more than 80 per cent of global GDP.

In June 2024, Peter Beske Nielsen, EQT’s head of global wealth solutions and evergreen strategies, said in an article on his firm’s website that there is a need to improve private investor access to areas such as private equity. The narrative of how such hitherto hard-to-enter assets should be “democratised” has become a regular refrain in the wealth management sector.