By Yousef Saba
DUBAI, May 15 (Reuters) - Hong Kong headquartered SC
Lowy, which invests in high yield and distressed credits, plans
to open an office in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi amid growing
opportunities in the Middle East region, its new regional head
said on Monday.
"We are in the final stages, hopefully, of getting the final
sign off from the regulatory bodies to open an office in Abu
Dhabi Global Market (ADGM)," Berkay Oncel told Reuters in an
interview, referring to the emirate's financial centre.
He added the firm decided to go with Abu Dhabi, although it
was also considering Dubai's financial centre, because of Abu
Dhabi's focus on alternative credit markets.
ADGM issued a regulatory framework to allow private credit
funds earlier this month.
SC Lowy is also exploring setting up a private credit fund
dedicated to the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, with a
possible target size of between $200 million and $500 million,
Oncel said. He added talks were at an early stage.
SC Lowy will initially have three or four staff in Abu
Dhabi, but this could grow to more than 10 if the fund kicks
off.
The company has already invested nearly $500 million in the
region in the past decade, and sees the biggest opportunities in
the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
In January, U.S. hedge fund Davidson Kempner said funds it
advises bought a $1.14 billion portfolio of non-performing loans
from Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.
"We are aware of at least four, five similar kind of
portfolios being discussed in the market right now," Oncel said.
In Saudi Arabia, Oncel identified the need for financing
among mid-cap companies as a key opportunity, since local banks
lend more actively to government-led mega-projects.
In Turkey, there are direct lending opportunities in
exporting companies that cannot easily access dollar financing
from local banks, Oncel said.
(Reporting by Yousef Saba
Editing by Mark Potter)
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