Tehran-based financial services group aims to partner with an international bank to access global markets
CEO and board member Behzad Golkar, Sina Financial and Investment Co.
Iran’s Sina Financial and Investment Holding Company plans to launch a new investment bank this year with a target size of $500 million by 2021, its CEO has revealed.
The Tehran-based holding group offers financial leasing and insurance services related to commodities, funds and stocks and shares.
CEO and board member Behzad Golkar told Arabian Business on Wednesday that Sina had applied for permission from the government to open a new investment bank in Iran.
He said the group has also begun courting international banks in an attempt to find a shareholder based outside of Iran with whom to partner and access global investment markets.
Under the plans, the bank would be seeded with an initial $100 million, with a target to grow to $500 million within the next five years.
It would seek to invest in capital markets in Iran and beyond, with Golkar saying that the partner bank would help Sina to form “a bridge” into foreign markets.
The board has decided on a name for the new investment bank – it will fall under Sina Holding’s branding – but Golkar declined to reveal the exact name until the plans are approved by government.
It is understood that current restrictive rules related to financial custodianship in Iran would have to be amended before the bank can be incorporated.
However, Golkar said Sina Holding is eyeing a launch by mid-2016.
The group has also launched two €50 million funds targeting the UK and Germany, Golkar said.
One is a fixed income fund and the other is a liquidity fund, and both are open-ended.
Sina Holding has advisors in both the UK and Germany that are helping to raise the money. It is targeting a 20 percent rate of return for each.
Source » arabianbusiness