LONDON: French multinational insurance company AXA IM Alts opened its first Middle East office in the United Arab Emirates on Monday, with a Saudi national appointed to head its regional group.
This marks the opening of its 16th office globally, which will focus on raising capital for the firm’s range of private and alternative assets, the company said in a statement.
Ammar Bukhamsin, a Saudi citizen, has been appointed CEO of AXA IM Middle East and co-head of the Middle East North Africa client group alongside François Boissin, based in Paris.
Isabelle Scemama, Global Head of AXA IM Alts, said: “The opening of our new office in Abu Dhabi marks an important milestone in our expansion strategy and underlines the strategic importance of the Middle East in our international growth plans.
“This move marks a natural progression of our activities in the region and paves the way for new and fruitful partnerships with local investors to meet their rapidly evolving investment needs, thanks to the expertise of AXA IM Alts,” she added.
She told Arab News that the company manages $200 billion in assets on behalf of 600 clients around the world. The company invests in real estate, alternative credit, infrastructure, impact investing and natural capital, which includes reforestation projects, carbon trading, green transportation, climate change and the energy transition.
“If I look at the rate of capital raised in recent years, 40% has been raised outside Europe, and the Middle East has always been an important region… so the idea is more of a natural evolution, and we believe, to serve our clients, we need to be established in the region,” she said.
She added that there was “a lot of appetite” in the region and that the firm saw the Middle East as a “key partner for European investment”. The idea is to be “closer to our clients” through a dedicated local presence.
Regarding real estate development, Ms Scemama said the opening of the new office comes “at a time when there are more and more regulations aimed at reducing the energy intensity of buildings”.
The company sees this as “an opportunity that is available to us and we believe it is something that is also attractive to investors in the Middle East.”
The goal is to work with local players, large institutions and individuals. “The idea at the moment is really to get closer to our customers, (but) we have not made the decision at the moment to invest in the region – so deploying capital there, that could happen at some point.
“But we always look closely at our ability to scale, scale is very important in our market – being able to deploy a lot of capital. But to diversify the portfolio you also need significant size.
“And we know that any time you go into a new jurisdiction, you have to understand the local regulations, be able to deploy capital and put a team in place,” Scemama said.
She added: “We are very committed to the alignment of interests, whether it is infrastructure or real estate, (and) we always organize co-investments and assure investors that they will not be treated in parallel.
“But they will have access to our pipeline and benefit from the co-investment capabilities that we can offer, which is also very attractive to institutions in the region.
Regarding the appointment of Mr Bukhamsin, Mr Scemama said the new regional manager had an impressive track record and was expected to create long-term opportunities for the company.
Florence Dard, Global Head of Client Group at AXA IM Alts, said: “Having established strong relationships in the Middle East over several years, opening an office in Abu Dhabi is a natural step in our strategy to increase our presence and accelerate the development of our activities in the region.
“As a leading global player in alternative investment, we are actively engaged with a large number of sophisticated investors in the Middle East who are seeking attractive alternative investment opportunities, particularly in Europe where we have a unique source of supply, access and range of offerings.”
Arvind Ramamurthy, Head of Market Development at Abu Dhabi Global Market in the UAE capital, said: Abu Dhabi, also known as the ‘capital of capital’, has emerged as a destination of choice due to its sophisticated regulatory regimes and abundant investment opportunities.
“As an anchored asset management firm, we look forward to benefiting from the expertise and innovative capabilities that AXA IM Alts will bring to ADGM’s vibrant ecosystem and the region.
Prior to joining AXA IM Alts, Bukhamsin spent more than eight years at French investment bank Natixis, including three years as the company’s managing director for Saudi Arabia. During his 20-year career, he held senior commercial positions at Goldman Sachs, UBS and Citi, the company said.
Mr. Boissin spent the last nine years at AXA, first as vice president of investor relations for the group and then for two years in fundraising at AXA IM Alts. He had a 20-year career in finance and sales, the company added.
