International Assets Holding Corporation (IAHC; NASDAQ: ‘IAAC’) today announced that its asset management subsidiary, INTL Capital Limited, has been granted a license by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) to operate as an authorised firm from the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). INTL Capital manages the INTL Trade Finance Fund Ltd, which primarily invests in global trade finance-related assets.
Dino Skandalis, Senior Executive Officer, said INTL Capital’s presence will give wholesale investors in the region access to a unique asset class that is relatively new to the funds industry.
“INTL Capital provides exposure to an asset class that is usually difficult for institutional fund investors to access. Trade finance-related assets provide investors in the region with added choice for portfolio diversification”.
Global trade finance-related assets are typically credit facilities that are used to fund the sale and purchase of goods for import and export. This includes letters of credit, negotiable instruments such as promissory notes and bills of exchange, syndicated loans linked to trade deals, export credit loans and other trade finance-related products. The WTO values annual global trade flows in excess of US$9 trillion.
Assem Kabesh, Chief Business Development Officer and a Board Member of the DIFC, said: “INTL Capital’s license marks another positive development in the DIFC’s growing fund community. The DIFC is home to a range of leading funds and asset managers from around the world, introducing greater choice and higher standards of service to investors in the region”.
INTL Capital expects to expand its DIFC office in the coming months. Its parent company, International Assets Holding Corporation, also plans to introduce other business segments to its DIFC office in time, such as debt capital markets, commodities, equities and foreign exchange.
Sean O’Connor, CEO of International Assets Holding Corporation, stated, “Our presence at the DIFC allows us to expand our client base and help support their trade-related business flows. We look forward to significantly expanding our involvement in the global trade finance related market through INTL Capital as well as servicing other group clients within the scope of our regulatory license”.
INTL Capital’s DIFC office will be headed up by Dino Skandalis, Steve Swords and Steve Hefft, who previously managed IAHC’s global trade debt business from its London office. Simon Walsh, previously joint general manager of Intesa Soditic in London, has joined as head of operations.