GEFINOR BANKING GROUP
Gefinor is an international merchant banking group that was founded in 1960. Gefinor's private banking and investment banking activities are carried out from five principal offices in Geneva, New York, London, Paris and Beirut. Additional real estate development and management services are provided by the Gefinor Group at several of these locations. The Group's holding company, Gefinor S.A., is registered in Luxembourg and its shares are traded publicly on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. Gefinor Bank Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary registered in the Cayman Islands; it provides a full range of private banking services through Gefinor Finance S.A., headquartered in Geneva. Gefinor (USA) Inc. is the New York-based subsidiary responsible for all investment banking operations. Gefinor's banking divisions provide private or institutional clients with a discrete and personal service and a secure environment for investing in the global marketplace. Distinguishing the Gefinor approach to investing is a unique commitment to long-term investment strategies that minimize risk and maximize returns for clients and partners alike.
GEFINOR
GENEVA
Geneva is the world's capital of private banking, famous for handling the deposits and financial transactions of governments, institutions and individuals alike. Gefinor's Geneva office was established in 1963, at a time when the company was first moving into banking. While Gefinor Bank i s registered offshore in the Cayman Islands, operations are managed by Gefinor Finance S.A., the bank's Swiss-based, wholly owned subsidiary. Over the last three decades Gefinor has grown into a substantial and respected international bank. Gefinor continues the traditions of its host country, handling its clients' assets with discretion and efficiency.
Gefinor Building, 20, Quai Gustave-Ador
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PRIVATE BANKING
Gefinor Bank Ltd. provides a full range of private banking services to individuals of high net worth and institutional clients. Gefinor provides a secure financial environment and a tradition of confidentiality and professionalism in the handling of clients' assets. Gefinor Bank's operating subsidiary, Gefinor Finance S.A. is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, cen-
Corporate and personal administrative services range from bookkeeping and arranging audits to incorporating companies, issuing and redeeming shares, payment of dividents, arranging annual general meetings and board meetings, maintaining corporate records, preparing annual reports, and supplying general secretarial services.
“In the tradition of Swiss banking, Gefinor handles its clients assets with perfect discretion and professionalism.� ter of the world's most prominent banking community. Geneva has a uniquely central location, within easy reach of all European and the Middle Eastern cities. Gefinor Bank also has representative offices in London, Paris and Beirut. Investment banking activities are handled separately by Gefinor (USA) Inc., based in New York.
Gefinor Bank also provides a range of legal and international tax advisory services that help clients find the best way to protect their assets. Gefinor can advise on creating legal structures, such as family foundations, holding companies and trusts, that are appropriate to clients' individual needs and different geographic locations.
BANKING SERVICES
PRIVATE ASSET MANAGEMENT
Traditional banking services provided by Gefinor Bank include: deposit accounts (both call accounts with checking, and time deposit accounts), foreign exchange transactions, money transfers and payments, directed securities trading, and metals trading. Gefinor also provides its clients with documentary credits, including letters of credit, guarantees and secured loans.
Over more than three decades, Gefinor Bank has established a reputation for expertise, and personal service in the handling of clients' financial affairs. Gefinor helps clients develop investment portfolios that match their personal needs. Clients may choose to manage their portfolio themselves, or they may prefer to entrust the supervision to Gefinor. At all
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times, clients have direct contact with one of the senior directors and with an experienced portfolio manager. They provide regular counselling and ensure that the clients' instructions are carried out promptly. Gefinor offers its clients asset management in the context of a global approach to investment. This implies a broad range of geographical
Gefinor also offers its private banking customers access to its own highly successful mutual fund, The Scottish World Fund. Created as a joint venture between Gefinor and Martin Currie Management Ltd. of Edinburgh, Scotland, this fund provides Gefinor clients with a superior worldwide equity investment vehicle.
“Gefinor considers investors to be full partners rather than just clients, and we are uniquely responsive to their needs.� diversification to cope with fluctuations in economic cycles and structural adjustments. Clients can, therefore, decide to invest in traditional instruments such as stocks, bonds and precious metals, or to make direct investments in companies or real estate in a number of countries. They may also wish to use the banks' expertise in the area of new financial instruments, such as options on stocks, indices, interest rates, and currencies. International implementation takes place through Gefinor's operating subsidiaries and local partners in all major markets. INVESTMENT FUNDS
Gefinor Bank provides a wide range of investment vehicles for its clients. These include: fixed income funds, money market funds, custody accounts and directed securities trading and investment accounts, discretionary equity investment accounts, and a foreign exchange management fund.
As its name suggests, the Scottish World Fund, covers many international markets, seeking long-term growth of capital and income through diversified portfolios. It is operated by Martin Currie Gefinor Fund Management Company, which has a proven track record of superior investment performance. The fund has consistently and substantially outperformed the relevant indices since its inception. DIRECT INVESTMENTS
Private banking clients also have the opportunity to participate in direct investments arranged by Gefinor's investment banking division, Gefinor (USA) Inc., based in New York. Syndicated projects include investments in manufacturing industries and real estate developments, all of which are controlled and managed by Gefinor and are selected, like the investment funds, for their long-term growth potential.
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LONDON
This office, well situated to monitor and participate in London's busy financial markets, also plays an important part in Gefinor's expanding global investment strategy. Gefinor House, Charles Street
The London office, established in 1979, eases clients' access to Gefinor's private banking division, allowing them to benefit from the services as well as the reputation for quality and confidentiality, whether developing investment portfolios or new financial strategies.
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NEW YORK
Gefinor (USA) Inc. was established in 1987. Looking to extend its access to, and to invest in, the world's largest financial market, Gefinor selected the New York office to be the center of its investment banking activities.
375 Park Avenue
Gefinor's investment banking division is active in mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, venture capital and real estate, largely focusing on opportunities within the United States. Gefinor (USA) has prospered with the understated blend of superior client service and financial expertise that characterizes the Gefinor Group as a whole.
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INVESTMENT BANKING
Gefinor (USA) Inc., based in New York, handles all investment banking activities of the Gefinor Group, covering mergers and acquisitions, corporate advisory work, corporate finance, and international project syndication. The investment banking division builds on the reputation Gefinor has established with its private banking clients for the quality of its advice and service.
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
Gefinor (USA) sponsors and manages mergers and acquisitions, principally in the United States, but also in Europe, the Middle East and the Far East, involving companies in which it takes equity positions. Gefinor is highly experienced in research, evalua-
“Gefinor does not try to be all things to all people. We will continue to be tightly focused on what we do best – looking for sound investments for the long term.” CORPORATE FINANCE AND ADVISORY SERVICES
Gefinor (USA) provides a range of general consulting and advisory services within a discrete and professional environment. It assists clients in developing financial strategies, and can provide them with specialized programs for international liquidity management, asset management, and foreign exchange management. Gefinor also provides financial advisory services to clients' businesses on capital structure, debt financing, banking relationships, valuations, strategic business planning, and mergers, acquisitions and divestitures. This advice is backed by a fully integrated set of banking services and execution capabilities.
tion, negotiation, raising capital, and closing on acquisitions, and will manage all aspects of mergers, divestitures, recapitalizations and reorganizations, spinoffs, joint ventures, and private equity investments in management buyouts. To best serve the interests of investors, Gefinor prefers to take a majority interest in all acquisitions. Gefinor develops and implements clearly focused financial and management strategies that are vital to raising the market value of the acquired companies. These activities are under the direct control of Gefinor's senior management, whose expertise is supplemented, as the need arises, by industry specialists.
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Gefinor (USA) has established a strategic partnership with TBM Consulting Group Inc., U.S.-based management consultants specializing in implementing Japanese time-based management concepts. The partnership targets small to mid-size manufacturers in the U.S., specifically those companies most likely to benefit from TBM methods. This unique aggrega-
Gefinor's strategy is to invest for the long term in reliable industries with high growth potential, rather than to seek short-term gains from potentially volatile investments. Direct investments are focused on manufacturing companies, such as outlined above, and on real estate development projects. Gefinor has made substantial real estate investments in The
“We like to have direct control over the destiny of investments. With majority stakes, we can implement structural changes as needed and can best protect our clients' interests.� tion of financial and management skills enables Gefinor investors to pursue industrial acquisitions that promise substantial returns at low risk.
United States, Europe and the Middle East. In furtherance of its conservative phlosophy, Gefinor seeks to acquire properties that are well located and will benefit from expected upturns in local economies.
PROJECT SYNDICATION
Gefinor (USA) arranges the placement of private and institutional equity investments in a wide variety of projects including real estate, industry and venture capital. Gefinor will only syndicate projects in which the company itself has an investment, thereby demonstrating Gefinor's commitment to its clients and its underlying philosophy of partnership.
Over the last three decades, Gefinor has created or purchased a total of more than 70 companies in the areas of finance, industry, tourism and real estate.
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PARIS
Like London, the Paris office (opened in 1976) enhances clients' access to Gefinor's Swiss-based private banking services. In addition, the Paris office has become an important link between Gefinor and the major French financial institutions with which it has entered into partnerships. These include Banque Nationale de Paris, Credit Agricole, Société Générale, and UAP, one of the largest insurance companies in the world.
33 Avenue Foch
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BEIRUT
The Gefinor Center, whose 24-story tower is a dominant feature of the city's skyline, was built in 1969 and is one of the largest and most prestigious office complexes in the Middle East. Financed and managed by Gefinor, it remains the favored location for European companies reestablishing operations in Beirut
Gefinor was founded in 1960 in Beirut, the historic trading capital of the Levant. Like many merchant banks, the company originated as a confirming house serving importers and exporters. Gefinor Center, Rue Clemenceau
Gefinor – an acronym of GÊrance (French for 'management'), Finance, and Organization -- was the first company to offer fund management services in the Middle East, and quickly expanded into a fully fledged merchant bank.
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BOARDS OF DIRECTORS AND SENIOR EXECUTIVES
GEFINOR S.A.
GEFINOR BANK LIMITED
Chairman Khaled Ousseimi
Chairman John B.B. Stewart
Directors George Bennett Roger Paluel-Marmont John B.B. Stewart Peter Wreford
Directors Yacoub Al-Fuleig Aziz Aziz Keith Falconer Walid Hrayssi Mohamed Ousseimi Donald Witter
GEFINOR GROUP MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
GEFINOR BANKING GROUP
Chairman Khaled Ousseimi
OPERATING MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
Members Raymond Germanos Walid Hrayssi
Chairman Dr. Edward Armaly Members David Hogan Mohamed Ousseimi
PRIVATE BANKING
INVESTMENT BANKING
DIVISION
DIVISION
Dr. Edward Armaly Khaled Aziz Mustapha Fakhouri David Hogan Majhar Houssami Walid Hrayssi Antoine Jamal Harold E. Jupp Ali Musallam Nouhad Sbai
Dr. Edward Armaly Mohamed Ousseimi William Beckett
OFFICES
NEW YORK
GENEVA
Seagram Building 375 Park Avenue Suite 2401 New York, NY 10152 USA
Gefinor Building 20 Quai Gustave-Ador 1207 Geneva Switzerland
212 308-1111 Telephone 212 308-1182 Facsimile
022 735-5530 Telephone 022 786-0105 Facsimile 413320 GEF CH Telex
LONDON
BEIRUT
Gefinor House 18B Charles Street London W1X 7HD United Kingdom
Gefinor Center PO Box 3869 Rue Clemenceau Beirut, Lebanon
071 499-4171 Telephone 071 491-3476 Facsimile 893962 GEFNOR G Telex
1 36-62-50 Telephone 20722 GEFIN LE Telex
PARIS
33 Avenue Foch 75016 Paris, France 1 450-17-103 Telephone 1 450-09-064 Facsimile
Writing: Augustine Hope Design: Red Square Design
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