London-based, emerging markets-focused hedge fund firm Gemcorp Capital is putting together a 15-strong team to run its new new trading office, which is due to open in Abu Dhabi later this year, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The report cites an unnamed representative of the firm as confirming that the staff at its new United Arab Emirates hub will all be in place within the first year.

Private credit, a relatively new asset class in the region, will be a key focus for the office.

Gemcorp, which manages around $1.2bn of assets, already operates a representative office in neighbouring Dubai, and last year hired Simon Penney, a former UK trade commissioner in the Middle East, to run its operations in the region.

Gemcorp is following the likes of Brevan Howard, Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Rothschild & Co, and Morgan Stanley in establishing a presence in Abu Dhabi, with the number of finance companies operating in the emirate reaching 1,825 at the end of last year, up by a third from 2022.