Abu Dhabi investment firm slashes jobs

Investment firm The National Investor (TNI) has shed more than half of its workforce and is planning more job cuts in a bid to reduce costs in response to tough financial markets, several sources told Reuters yesterday. Like a number of rival Middle Eastern investment firms, TNI is struggling to boost revenue and remain profitable in depressed capital markets after the global financial crisis. TNI, which operates in private equity, investment advisory and asset management businesses, had the first round of layoffs last year reducing its workforce to the current level of around 55 people, the sources told Reuters. "The latest round of redundancies began last week with more expected. Most lay-offs are in investment banking and equities," one source familiar with the matter said. Article continues below The company blamed "restructuring efforts" for headcount reductions, the sources said. TNI officials declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. TNI's board wants the firm to break even and is cutting jobs to offset the lack of revenue growth, the source said speaking on condition of anonymity. Privately owned TNI's revenues declined 13 per cent to Dh161.9 million in the fiscal year ending 2010-11. Net profit plummeted to Dh2.2 million versus Dh30.8 million the previous year. TNI's investment banking business has been sluggish as mergers and acquisitions and initial public offerings (IPOs) show no signs of recovery in the short term, the firm said in its latest annual report. The firm has advised on IPOs of companies such as Aldar Properties and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank. It also divested its equity interest in a brokerage business and is in the process of divesting its equity interest in one of its proprietary portfolio companies, expecting to complete the sale during financial year 2011-12, TNI said in the report.