Thomson Reuters Expands Trading Network in Middle East

Thomson Reuters Expands Trading Network in the Middle East
as EFG-Hermes Signs On
Global traders to access new liquidity pools by routing orders
through EFG-Hermes
26 May 2009
Dubai/Cairo - Thomson Reuters today announced that the largest
regional Investment Bank in the Middle East and North Africa,
EFG-Hermes has joined its order routing network, expanding the
breadth of its exchange trading offering throughout the region.
As the Arab world's leading investment bank, EFG-Hermes brings
a vast network and access to liquidity pools across the main
markets in the Middle East, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia,
Kuwait, and the UAE to Thomson Reuters global client base.
This move builds on Thomson Reuters' strong regional assets,
which include multi-asset trading capabilities, deep market
leading content, news and analytics. It also supports the
increasing movement of mainstream and foreign investors into
Middle Eastern markets and Islamic finance.
Financial market professionals using Reuters Trading for
Exchanges can now route orders to EFG-Hermes for execution.
EFG-Hermes builds on Thomson Reuters strong brokerage network
and raises the number of regional brokers to 37. Any firm
connected to the Thomson Reuters order routing network, both
inside and outside the region, can now access liquidity from
the largest markets in the MENA region, including EGX, Tadawul,
KSE, DFM, DIFX, ADX, Nasdaq Dubai, and MSM - all via EFG-Hermes.
Sherif Cararah, EFG-Hermes Securities Brokerage Managing
Director, commented: "Joining the vast Thomson Reuters brokerage
network will not just result in new trades for the firm - it
will also give EFG-Hermes' clients around the globe unrivaled
access to markets within the region. We're delighted to be
partnering with a leading group such as Thomson Reuters and we
see this as a further evidence of our long term commitment to
providing value-added brokerage services."
EFG-Hermes is the MENA leader in value-added brokerage services,
having executed more trades in Egypt and the United Arab
Emirates (UAE) last year than any other brokerage, according to
recently released exchange data. The firm was also the most
active independent broker in Saudi Arabia and the third-largest
broker in both Oman and Kuwait, markets in which EFG-Hermes
established a physical presence for the first time in 2008.
Basil Moftah, Managing Director for Thomson Reuters in the
Middle East and Africa, commented: "Thomson Reuters is committed
to supporting the expansion of the financial markets in the
Middle East. We're pleased to have such a prestigious and
respected institution like EFG-Hermes to support this aim as
well as broaden our service. Thomson Reuters plans to continue
to support this growing region by adding more specialized
content and additional trading capabilities."
Reuters Trading for Exchanges is available to users of Reuters
3000 Xtra. It provides access to the joint global community of
Tradeweb Routing Network and Reuters Order Routing Network,
comprising over 1,000 participants worldwide and processing in
excess of 1.5 billion shares per day.
Thomson Reuters has a long standing presence in the Middle East
and Africa, having opened its first office outside Europe in
Alexandria in 1865. The company provides comprehensive coverage
of MEA markets including real-time information from all major
equity markets, funds, indices and money markets. Customers can
access data on sukuk bonds, Islamic loans and other Islamic
instruments, plus strong regional news coverage including an
Arabic news service. Thomson Reuters also offers broad trading
capabilities for listed instruments as well as FX and money
markets.

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