LMR Partners has become the latest hedge fund to announce plans to open an office in Dubai following the likes of Millennium Management and ExodusPoint Capital Management in establishing a presence in the emirate, according to a report by Bloomberg.

LMR Partners has become the latest hedge fund to announce plans to open an office in Dubai following the likes of Millennium Management and ExodusPoint Capital Management in establishing a presence in the emirate, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The report cites unnamed sources as revealing that the $9.8 billion London-based firm has secured a license from Dubai International Financial Centre and will initially base a staff of six in its new office. Like Balyasny Asset Management, which last week announced its intention to open a Dubai office, LMR is taking space in the ICD Brookfield Place with its premises capable of accommodating 25 and 30 people.

Half of LMR's Dubai team will be made up of new hires, while the rest – including Hong Kong-based portfolio managers Iain Raskin and Sebastian Gorga will are relocate from other offices. LMR reportedly sees the emirate as a more convenient time zone for some of its portfolio managers who trade globally.

And LM may not be the last hedge fund to open an office in Dubai with other prominent funds including Brevan Howard and Squarepoint Capital LLP having also recently obtained licenses to operate in the emirate, according to the finance centre’s public register.