EFG Expands Into Syria, Starts Private Equity Fund

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EFG-Hermes Holding SAE, the biggest publicly traded Arab investment bank, will open an office in Damascus with a local partner and start a Syrian private equity fund at the same time.

EFG-Hermes has a 70 percent holding in EFG-Hermes Syria, while Syrian businessman Firas Tlass has a 30 percent stake, the Cairo-based company said in an e-mailed statement today.

“The recent reforms undertaken by the Syrian government to liberalize the economy and facilitate the business environment have made Syria a compelling investment opportunity,” EFG- Hermes’ Chief Executive Officer Hassan Heikal said in the statement.