First Capital to launch 2 investment funds

The DIFC-based First Capital of Switzerland Investment Bank announced yesterday it would launch two investment funds with a capital of $1 billion (Dh3.67 billion) by the end of 2011. "We will be launching an investment fund at a capital of $500 million for health services in the UAE and MENA to cover health services, particularly hospitals, labs and any other related prospects. The fund will be registered in Luxemburg," Abdul Rahman Al Ansari, CEO of the First Capital of Switzerland Investment Bank, told Gulf News. He added that the bank would also launch another fund of $500 million for precious metals. Al Ansari said the two funds come as certain economic sectors of the UAE show growth. "Most of the economic sectors in the UAE have overcome the recession," he said, expecting that 2012 would witness the end of the financial crisis which hit Dubai and the UAE. Article continues below He hailed the performance of UAE banks, saying they had started to grow. "Deposits in the UAE banks rose during the last quarter to Dh86 billion compared to Dh40 and Dh60 billion for previous quarters," he said. Diversification He added that the First Capital of Switzerland Investment Bank looked forward to diversifying its portfolios, bonds, shares and investment funds in new sectors to absorb liquidity and cash in the market in order to increase financial revenues. He commended the government's focus on these sectors on the long run as they yield better revenues and provide further job opportunities. Abu Dhabi is gearing towards the industrial and renewable energy sectors which are lucrative fields for investments. Al Ansari said the government's concern with SMEs was important as they served national economies and provided job openings. Prosperous future The diversification of the economy will help the banking sector reap the many benefits of the boom in production and labour, the rise in oil prices and the rescheduling of Dubai loans. He said Dubai had started to attract foreign investors again after the government measures that saved the property market. The drop in the interest rate on bank deposits is attributed to the UAE-USD pegging, he said, stressing that if there is a currency basket, the interest rate will increase gradually. Mohammad Amerah, an Abu Dhabi-based analyst, said the UAE economy was recovering and that a sign was the low interest rates. "The low interest rates in the country will help revive the economy, enhance loans and investments," said Amerah.