Arqaam strengthens Egyptian brokerage team with appointment of two Executive Directors

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Arqaam Capital (“Arqaam”), the specialist emerging markets investment bank, announced today that it has appointed Radi El Helw and Cherif Hechmat to the senior management of Arqaam Securities Brokerage S.A.E., its Egyptian brokerage business. Both Radi and Cherif have been appointed, effective immediately, to support the development of Arqaam’s business in Egypt, which has been identified as a key pillar of the Firm’s growth strategy.

Riad Meliti, Chief Executive Officer of Arqaam Capital, commented: “I am pleased to welcome both Radi and Cherif to Arqaam at such an exciting time for Egypt and our operations here. They bring with them extensive experience of the local market and further enhance Arqaam’s brokerage capabilities as we seek to expand the depth and breadth of our Egyptian business. Critically, these appointments will allow Arqaam to deliver enhanced cross-border solutions for our institutional and high-net-worth clients based in Egypt and around the world.

“Over the coming months and years, we will continue evaluating opportunities to grow our business in Egypt, a country that is well-positioned for strong and sustainable long-term growth. The extensive infrastructure development projects currently underway in Egypt will underpin the future success of its economy as well as the Egyptian Exchange, which delivered total shareholder return of over 30% in 2014 and is set to be boosted by a number of IPOs throughout the rest of 2015. We are looking forward to Arqaam playing an increasingly important role in facilitating the flow of capital in Egypt and supporting the growth of its economy.”

Radi was previously the Founding Partner of WealthProtectSA (Geneva), an investment advisory business focused on European Real Estate income generating opportunities as an alternative to bond portfolios for high-net-worth clients in the Middle East. Prior to WealthProtect, his roles included Managing Director of Beltone Securities Brokerage (Cairo) and Co-Founder & General Manager for Trust Group for Securities (Cairo). Radi started his career as a construction engineer with Bechtel, having gained his BSc in Construction Engineering from the American University in Cairo. He is a member of the CFA Institute.

Cherif joined Arqaam from Pharos Securities (Cairo), a top four brokerage house on the Egyptian Exchange, where he was Executive Director – Operations. Prior to Pharos Securities, his roles included Assistant VP & Operations Manager at HC Brokerage Company, as well as various positions within custody and operations at Citibank Egypt. Cherif is a member of the Board of the Misr for Central Clearing, Depository and Registry (MCDR).