Deutsche Bank’s DWS joins rivals in setting up Abu Dhabi office

[FRANKFURT] Deutsche Bank’s investment arm DWS Group is opening an office in Abu Dhabi, the latest money manager seeking to tap growing wealth in the booming region. 

Germany’s largest asset manager secured a financial services permission from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority, it said in an emailed statement on Monday (Oct 27). Joe Kiwan, head of DWS’s Middle East & Africa coverage, will relocate from Paris to run the firm’s first office in the region. 

Kiwan will focus on regional strategy, client relationships and strategic partnerships, according to the statement. The outpost is expected to employ three sales specialists, with plans to grow the local workforce further, Bloomberg News reported in June. 

Chief executive officer Stefan Hoops looks to position DWS as the preferred asset manager for institutional investors ploughing money into Europe, including Germany, where the government this year unveiled a landmark spending package. Frankfurt-based DWS, which manages more than US$1.2 trillion in assets, will be reporting its third-quarter results on Wednesday. 

Hoops said earlier this year he sees particularly high demand for private credit to help finance Germany’s closely held defence companies as the government plans billions of euros in military spending. In March, he struck a partnership that grants DWS preferred access on loans originated by Deutsche Bank.

The German lender got a licence from Abu Dhabi’s regulator in May, allowing it to arrange and advise on deals in investments and credit. 

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Alongside neighbouring Dubai, Abu Dhabi has become a magnet for portfolio managers drawn by tax-free income and a favourable time zone. Abu Dhabi’s financial centre hosted 144 fund and asset managers as of June, while staffing on Al Maryah Island – where it’s based – has risen to 29,000. BLOOMBERG