Napier Park Global Capital, an alternative asset management firm, has expanded its business operations into the United Arab Emirates and is opening an office at the Dubai International Financial Centre.
Napier Park will now have offices in New York, London and Dubai.
The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) office will be headed by managing director Saad Ashraf, an investment professional with more than 17 years of experience in the MENA region. Prior to joining Napier Park, Ashraf held senior roles at Citi Capital Advisors, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and Citi Global Markets in fundraising and securities businesses in Dubai and London.
“Expanding our asset management business into the UAE is an important next step to growing our global platform,” says Jim O’Brien, co-managing partner of Napier Park Global Capital. “We are excited to now be able to offer Napier Park’s innovative credit products to sophisticated investors in the MENA region. We are also very pleased to be working with Saad once more. His experience and deep relationships in the region will be a tremendous asset to our firm and clients alike.”
The firm received official approval to launch the office from the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority on 15 September 2013.
“We are pleased to welcome Napier to DIFC’s growing community and believe that their presence will contribute to the diversification of the centre’s offerings and strengthen its position as a leading global financial hub. The expansion of Napier Park Global offices comes at a time when an increasing number of firms are choosing the DIFC as a gateway to regional and international markets, a testament to the centre’s strategic location as a bridge between East and West,” says Jeff Singer, chief executive of DIFC Authority.
“I am delighted to be a part of a fully independent asset management company and to once again be working with some of my old colleagues,” says Ashraf. “The structure of Napier Park assures that there is an alignment of interests for all parties and I look forward to serving the needs of our existing and new institutional clients out of the Dubai office.”
