SHUAA Capital

SHUAA Capital psc

Company type	Public
Traded as	DFM:  SHUAA
Industry	Financial services.
Founded	1979;46 years ago (1979)
Headquarters	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Key people	Jassim Alseddiqi (MD) Fawad Tariq Khan (CEO) Bechara Raad (COO) Bachir Nawar (CLCO) Ajit Vijay Joshi (MD, Head of Public & Private Markets) Natasha Hannoun (Head of Debt) Otto Dreyer (Head of Real Estate Development) Gunshyam Kripa (Finance Director)
Products	Asset Management Public Markets Private Markets Real Estate Debt Investments Investment Banking
Website	https://www.shuaa.com

SHUAA Capital psc (DFM: SHUAA) is an asset management and investment banking platform.

History

• SHUAA was established in the UAE in 1979 as the Arabian General Investment Corporation (AGICO) ^[1] by Emiri Decree number 6 of Sheikh Rashid Al Maktoum. Initially, AGICO pooled capital from regional Chambers of Commerce and invested it across the region. The company was listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange in 1984. ^[2]
• In 2000, it listed on the Dubai Financial Market. ^[2]
• In 2001, AGICO completed a name and identity change to SHUAA Capital - SHUAA is the Arabic acronym for Arabian General Investment Company. ^[1]
• Between the period of 2003 and 2007, SHUAA was involved in a number of IPOs for regional companies including Arabtec, ^[3] Amlak Finance, ^[4] Aramex, ^[5] Petrofac, ^[6] Air Arabia, ^[7] Deyaar ^[8] and DP World ^[9]
• In 2007 SHUAA opened offices in Saudi Arabia ^[10] and issued an AED 1.5 billion (US$408.72 million) convertible bond to Dubai Banking Group, which on maturity in October 2008, was to convert to 250 million shares, representing a 32 per cent stake. ^[11]
• Following the global economic downturn, an agreement on the restructuring of the convertible bond with Dubai Banking Group was reached on 2 September 2009 when 515,000,000 shares were issued to Dubai Banking Group. The agreement was based on revised terms and in consideration for the extinguishment of the issued bond, thus giving the Dubai Banking Group a shareholding of 48.4 per cent in SHUAA. ^[12]
• In 2010 SHUAA embarked on a restructuring process which included divesting from non-core assets and strengthening its balance sheet. ^[13]
• SHUAA continued the restructuring of its cost base in 2011 under a management team led by Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Al Maktoum, ^[14] exiting its retail brokerage division and non-core investments. ^[15] It also closed some regional branch and representative offices and refocused its research department for institutional clients. ^[16]
• As a result of the vast restructuring program, SHUAA turned a profit of AED 1.3 million ^[17] in the second quarter of 2013. On January 13, 2014 the company reported preliminary results for 2013 and a net profit of AED 2.8 million. ^[18]
• SHUAA Capital (SHUAA) merged with Abu Dhabi Financial Group (ADFG) in 2019 in a transformational merger, creating the leading asset management and investment banking platform in the region. ^[19]
• SHUAA's audited annual results for 2019 highlighted the company's solid financial performance and ability to sustain revenues and capitalize on growth opportunities, despite the focus on merger and integration activity as well as challenging market conditions and geopolitical uncertainty. The company reported an EBITDA of AED 186 million and a net profit to shareholders of SHUAA Capital of AED 47 million by 31 December 2019. ^[20]
• In November 2020, SHUAA Capital announced a new partnership that aims to tap into the citizenship-for-investment market, with an initial $118 million real estate fund in Montenegro. ^[21]
• In 2022, SHUAA was the key investor in Yabi, a financial literacy fintech startup in the MENA region. ^{[22] [23]}

References

1. "New SHUAA Strategy and Logo Presented to Financial Community". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). SHUAA Capital psc. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
2. Smith, Matt (8 January 2009). "Shuaa delists from Kuwait bourse to boost liquidity". Emirates 24|7. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
3. "Decks cleared for Dh220m Arabtec IPO". GulfNews. 10 August 2004. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
4. "Amlak IPO opens today". www.khaleejtimes.com. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
5. Jose, C.L. (2 November 2004). "Logistics company Aramex decides to launch IPO". GulfNews. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
6. http://www.ameinfo.com/70442.html%5B%5D
7. "Air Arabia to soar, says Shuaa". ArabianBusiness.com. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
8. "Shuaa Capital allocates Deyaar IPO shares". GulfNews. 4 June 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
9. "DP World raises $5bn in Gulf's biggest IPO". ArabianBusiness.com. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
10. "Shuaa gets licence for Saudi operations". Emirates 24|7. 12 March 2008. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
11. "Shuaa Capital gets ready to issue convertible bonds". GulfNews. 4 September 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
12. "Shuaa and DBG settle bond dispute". The National. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
13. "Shuaa Capital back in black after restructuringFinancial Services - Zawya". Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
14. "Fixer aims to revitalise the loss-making Dubai bank Shuaa". The National. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
15. "SHUAA unveils strategic, operational and financial roadmap - Business Intelligence Middle East - bi-me.com - News, analysis, reports". www.bi-me.com. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
16. Basit, Abdul. "Shuaa earnings hit by unit restructuring". www.khaleejtimes.com. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
17. Mathew, Shaji (6 August 2013). "Dubai's Shuaa Returns to Profit After Seven Quarters of Losses". Bloomberg.
18. "Turnaround in fortunes for UAE's Shuaa Capital". The National. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
19. "ADFG and SHUAA Capital merger completed | Press Releases | Media Centre | SHUAA Capital". www.shuaa.com. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
20. "SHUAA Capital announces strategy for 2020 and audited FY 2019 results | Press Releases | Media Centre | SHUAA Capital". www.shuaa.com. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
21. "Dubai's SHUAA targets citizenship-for-investment market with $118m fund". Arab News. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
22. "UAE's Yabi Closes $8 Million Seed Round". Inc. Arabia English - en.incarabia.com. Retrieved 15 February 2025.
23. Nair, Deepthi. "Financial literacy start-up Yabi raises $8m in seed funding round". The National. Retrieved 15 February 2025.