LGT Opens First Private Banking Office In Dubai

Offering unique family governance advisory and global execution services to private banking clients
Vaduz/Dubai, 16 February 2013. LGT Group, the international private banking and asset management group, today an-nounces the opening of its first office in Dubai following the successful award of regulatory approvals. Located in the Dubai International Financial Centre, LGT Group will offer a unique set of advisory and execution services to private banking clients across the GCC, East Mediterranean, Turkey, Africa and South Asia.

The office was opened by H.S.H. Prince Max von und zu Liechtenstein, CEO of LGT Group. Commenting on the news, Prince Max 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.”

“Advising families is at the heart of the LGT ethos. This is what distinguishes LGT. It is the largest Private Banking and Asset Management group in Europe that is wholly-owned by an entrepreneurial family, the Princely Family of Liechtenstein, which has personally owned and managed LGT for over 80 years. The family-managed, simple and stable ownership structure of LGT Group allows us a high degree of alignment between the investment interests of our clients and our interests as a family. Our clients can invest like the Princely Family, their assets benefit from the same expertise, the same structure and processes, as well as from the same relationships as our family assets. Last but not least, our clients deal with a family member or a representative of the family.”

Mr. Jeffrey Singer, CEO of DIFC Authority, said: "We are pleased to welcome LGT Middle East to our community of financial and professional services firms. DIFC is not just a cornerstone of the Dubai and UAE economies, but is also the centre for attracting investment, supporting economic growth across the region, and enabling global capital flow. LGT’s decision to establish its regio-nal 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 Group has established a subsidiary, LGT (Middle East) Limited, which will serve clients from its offices in Dubai, Bahrain, Geneva and Zurich. Headquartered in the DIFC, LGT Middle East has now received regulatory approval from Dubai Financial Services Authority to commence operations in Dubai, providing private banking services to clients.

LGT Middle East is managed by Mannan Adenwalla who has more than 20 years’ industry experience in the region. The LGT Middle East team in Dubai comprises advisers with considerable experience within a range of private banking areas and many years’ combined experience in advising clients within the region.

The decision to open a significant office in Dubai reflects LGT Group’s confidence in the growth prospects for the region and the position which Dubai occupies within that growth. LGT believes that its ability to offer specifically tailored advice and execution to families seeking to manage more than their assets is unparalleled. The personal approach of its highly professional advisors, the Group’s global private banking presence and the focus on managing family interests are at the heart of the LGT approach.

Mannan Adenwalla, Managing Director, LGT Middle East, highlighted the importance of Dubai to the new venture, commenting: “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 boo-king platforms.”

Emirate:  Dubai

Date: Feb 18, 2013

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