Banque SYZ & Co, with whom this publication had an exclusive interview, published today, has opened a representative office in Dubai.

Banque SYZ & Co, with whom this publication had an exclusive interview (see today's published item here), has opened a representative office in Dubai, it announced today.

The new office will be aimed at a clientele of institutional and private investors in the Gulf Cooperation Council States - Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. It will operate within the framework of the Dubai International Financial Centre. The office won regulatory clearance from the Dubai Financial Services Authority, on 9 June.

The Swiss firm plans to promote its activities for institutional investors, such as sovereign funds, pension funds, institutions, multi-family offices; it also is targeting wealthy individuals. The office will cover all six GCC States and also promote its OYSTER investment funds, a statement from the firm said.

To start with, the staff of the representative office will consist of George Azar, who will be the manager, and Imran Ahmed. Azar has more than 20 years in the financial sector. Prior to joining SYZ & Co, Azar was in charge of the local office of Jefferies International Limited. Previously, he had spent 11 years with UBP, where he was chief executive of the Qatar office, and five years as a private banker with SCS Alliance (which has since become Compagnie Bancaire Helvétique) in Beirut. Other roles include stints at Merrill Lynch in Geneva.

Ahmed also joined SYZ & Co from Jefferies. Previously, he had spent nine years with UBP, where he was deputy director and deputy head of institutional sales for North Africa and the Middle East. Prior to that, he had been a senior analyst in the Investment Banking division of the National Bank of Abu Dhabi and a senior analyst in the private office of His Highness the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan.