IB Asia's founding shareholders include majority stakeholder DBS and 22 Middle Eastern investors from prominent families and industrial groups from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
IB Asia will be incorporated with an initial paid-up capital of $418 million with DBS contributing $250 million and holding an initial stake of 60%. IB Asia's second closing with other GCC investors in the coming weeks is expected to increase IB Asia's capital to $500 million. With the proposed capital injection, DBS will continue to hold a majority stake with no less than 50% plus one share.
IB Asia will be a subsidiary of DBS based in Singapore, and will focus on commercial banking, corporate finance, capital market and private banking services. It will have a nine-member board of directors with Abdulla Hasan Saif, advisor for economic affairs to the prime minister of Bahrain, as chairman.
"Singapore is becoming a convenient stopover for GCC investors and capital flows bound for Asia," says Jackson Tai, vice chairman and chief executive officer of DBS who will serve as vice chairman on IB Asia's board.
He added that the credibility of IB Asia stems in part from DBS' partners in the Middle East, the majority of whom are prominent merchant families, as well as the stature of the Shari'ah board.
Vince Cook, 45, a veteran banker with more than 20 years of banking experience in the Middle East, will be IB Asia's chief executive officer. He was formerly the general manager of Qatar National Bank in Doha and prior to that, the managing director for Barclays Capital in Dubai covering the GCC market.
The launch of IB Asia follows DBS' stepped-up participation in the Middle Eastern markets. In the last two years, DBS has placed a significant portion of large, landmark equity IPOs and securitisations in the Middle East. Last April, DBS was among the first few Asia-based banks to receive a banking licence from the Dubai International Financial Centre.
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