Leichtenstein's LGT eyes growth in Dubai

Leichtenstein-based private banking firm LGT Group on Saturday announced the opening of its first office in Dubai following the award of regulatory approvals.

Located in the Dubai International Financial Centre, LGT Group will offer advisory and execution services to private banking clients across the GCC, East Mediterranean, Turkey, Africa and South Asia.

LGT Group has established a subsidiary, LGT (Middle East) Limited, which will serve clients from its offices in Dubai, Bahrain, Geneva and Zurich.

The office was opened by Prince Max von und zu Liechtenstein, CEO of LGT Group who said: “The Middle East represents one of the most significant growth markets for our services, globally.

"Our objective, through the establishment of LGT Middle East, is to create a strong presence within the region with the Dubai office a central hub for family-focused private banking services.”

Jeffrey Singer, CEO of DIFC Authority, said: "We are pleased to welcome LGT Middle East to our community of financial and professional services firms.

"LGT’s decision to establish its regional base in DIFC will provide the company with the ideal platform and modern infrastructure needed to grow its presence in our region. In turn, investors in our region will benefit from LGTs wealth of experience and time-tested processes."

LGT said the decision to open an office in Dubai reflects its confidence in the growth prospects for the region and the position which Dubai occupies within that growth.

Mannan Adenwalla, managing director, LGT Middle East, said: “We decided to headquarter the business in Dubai at the DIFC because of its strong reputation as a center of financial expertise and the strength of the regulatory environment; both are critical to our service offering.

"The establishment of our office in Dubai creates other opportunities within the region for LGT Middle East as well as the chance to offer clients access to our global booking platforms.”

As at June 30, 2012, LGT Group managed assets of $98.6bn.