​EFG Hermes Qatar LLC has been granted a license by the Qatar Financial Centre Authority (QFCA) for investment banking and asset management business, adding to the expansion of EFG Hermes’s regional footprint. EFG Hermes Qatar is a joint venture owned 51% by EFG Hermes and has an initial capitalization of $37m. The Qatar operation will be led by Ahmed Waly, CEO of EFG Hermes Qatar LLC. Waly previously worked for EFG Hermes as a senior member of the institutional sales team, before moving to Auerbach Grayson in New York as VP Emerging Markets and thereafter to NBK as Head of Brokerage. He returns to EFG Hermes with well developed capacity and relationships on the ground region-wide. 'Qatar has one of the world's fastest growing economies, based on its oil and gas wealth, and our presence there is integral to the continued growth of EFG Hermes. I look forward to further building and contributing to our strength in the region, 'said Ahmed Waly, CEO of EFG Hermes Qatar. 'We are fortunate to have someone of Ahmed’s caliber back with the firm and at the helm of such a strategically important market for EFG Hermes. We will continue to reinforce our position as the region’s leading investment bank, and Qatar is an important piece of this equation,' said Hassan Heikal, Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of EFG Hermes.