BSI seeking joint ventures in Gulf expansion.MANAMA: Swiss private bank BSI BSI - British Standards Institute is considering joint ventures with Gulf partners as well as acquisitions to expand in the region, an executive said. Saad Osseiran, a managing director at BSI based in Bahrain, said the bank would like to grow in the region over the next three years. "Organic growth is a priority when approaching the region but also BSI could look into opportunities to either acquire or create a joint venture with a local partner," he said. BSI, a unit of Italian insurance group Generali, opened its first Middle East office in Bahrain in October to offer services to the oil-exporting region's institutions, wealthy families and individuals. Private banks are facing tough times in the financial crisis, which has also reached the world's largest oil exporting region. "The worst is yet to come, there's a lagging Lagging Strategy used by a firm to stall payments, normally in response to exchange rate projections. effect of the crisis spreading to the region due to the lack of transparency (1) The quality of being able to see through a material. The terms transparency and translucency are often used synonymously; however, transparent would technically mean "seeing through clear glass," while translucent would mean "seeing through frosted glass." See alpha blending. and the illiquid Illiquid An asset or security that cannot be converted into cash very quickly (or near prevailing market prices). Notes: A house is a good example of an illiquid asset. See also: Cash, Liquidity Illiquid In the context of finance. nature of investments here," Mr Osseiran said. A large portion of oil revenues has been invested in regional real estate, whose boom ground to a halt last year, threatening financial institutions which had relied on rising property prices. "Investors in the region are extremely careful, most are looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. safety," Mr Osseiran said, adding BSI seeks to capitalise Verb 1. capitalise - supply with capital, as of a business by using a combination of capital used by investors and debt capital provided by lenders capitalize on its reputation as a conservative Swiss bank to attract mandates in the current mood. He said further sovereign fixed-income issues such as a recent $750 million Islamic bond issue by Bahrain would see strong investor interest. Mr Osseiran said BSI has a positive long-term view on the region. Copyright 2009 Gulf Daily News Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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