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TARGET: Duwaji says Shuaa is aiming for at least 20% earnings growth this year.

Shuaa Capital CEO Iyad Duwaji tells Andrew White why he believes that the Gulf is on the cusp of an unprecedented period of economic growth - and why his firm is in a prime position to capitalise.

Iyad Duwaji waves me over to the window of his Emirates Towers office, thrusting a photograph into my hand. It is of the same view, yet although it was only snapped in October 2003, the shot might as well have been taken a lifetime ago.

The foundations of the DIFX site are just a few feet tall; the Burj Dubai hasn't even broken ground, let alone the desert skyline; and perhaps most startlingly, Sheikh Zayed Road is even free of traffic.

"Things have changed a lot, no?" smiles the CEO of Shuaa Capital, the UAE's biggest investment bank by market value. "Every time I look outside the window, something new has sprung up."

Like its surroundings, Shuaa is in a constant state of flux, and this week has been a particularly busy one for Duwaji.

The firm has gained investor approval to move shares listed in Kuwait to Dubai in an effort to boost liquidity and raise foreign ownership. Of Shuaa's 550 million shares, UAE nationals own 52%, other Gulf Arab citizens 21.3%, other Arabs 3.7% and other foreigners 22.7%. Of the foreigners, about half are registered in Britain.

The Kuwait listing was Shuaa's first, in 1984, when it was known as Arabian General Investment Corp. Shuaa then listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) in 2000. The stock - about 100 million shares - represents around 18% of the company.

"We've been listed in Kuwait for a very long time, as [back in 1984] Kuwait offered an organised market," explains Duwaji. "It was a time when Dubai did not have a foremost stock exchange."

When the DFM was established, Shuaa was one of the first firms to list, and now almost 90% of the trading in Shuaa stock takes place on the Dubai market. Moreover, according to analysts, Dubai investors could do worse than take a slice of Shuaa.

HSBC Holdings Plc in March began coverage of the firm with an ‘overweight' rating and a price target of 12.60 dirhams (US$3.43), pointing out the company is benefiting from a buoyant UAE market.

While shares of Shuaa are up almost 28% this year, last Wednesday, it was trading at just over eight dirhams (US$2.17).

"Given that the bulk of the trading is happening here and given that there are inconsistencies between the two regulators which we have to report by virtue of being listed on two exchanges, it makes sense for us [to move the shares]," says Duwaji.

"[The two exchanges] have different rules in terms of dividend dates, for example, and so given these inconsistencies it is becoming very difficult to manage between the two regulators," he continues. "So as we are a UAE company and we are DFM based, we decided that the best idea was to delist from Kuwait."

While an extraordinary general meeting earlier this month failed to attract a quorum - the 75% of shareholders needed to action any proposal - the meeting was postponed to coincide with Shuaa's AGM last week.

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