Emirates NBD PJSC appointed Hitesh Asarpota as chief executive officer of its investment banking division, replacing Mohammad Al Bastaki, who will become head of private banking at Dubai’s largest lender.

Both appointments are effective Aug. 1, according to an internal memo that was seen by Bloomberg News. Asarpota, who is currently the deputy CEO of Emirates NBD Capital, joined in 2008 and has been responsible for the origination and syndication of loans, bonds and equity capital market offerings, the memo said.

He is set to lead ENBD Capital at a time when Dubai is privatizing state entities and encouraging private firms to consider initial public offerings. Dubai Roads & Transport Authority’s taxi and parking businesses are among entities preparing to go public, Bloomberg News has reported.

Al Bastaki joined Emirates NBD in 2019 as head of public sector coverage before becoming the head of Emirates NBD Capital in 2021. Before that, he worked at HSBC Holdings Plc for 12 years, according to the bank’s website.

The Middle East is emerging as an important area of focus for global wealth managers. Leading players from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to Deutsche Bank AG have all earmarked the region, which is home to a growing number of ultra-rich families, royals and entrepreneurs, for future growth.

Emirates NBD last week said its profit jumped 78% to 6.2 billion dirhams ($1.69 billion) in the second quarter driven by higher non-interest revenue and lower cost of risk.