Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 13 (IANS) Brokerage house Geojit Financial Services will strengthen its Middle East operations by forming a joint venture in the Sultanate Of Oman, a top official said here.The decision was taken at the company’s board meeting in Mumbai Saturday, said Geojit Managing Director C.J. George.

“The board has decided to form a joint venture with The Financial Corp Co SAOG, a listed company in Oman. We will commence operations with them in three months. We will hold a 51 percent stake and invest Rs.32 million,” George told IANS.

Geojit already has similar tie-ups in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Geojit came into the limelight in March last year when French banking major BNP Paribas picked up a 27.2 percent stake in the Indian entity through preferential allotment.

The Middle East, where more than two million Malayalis work, has always been the target market of those in the financial business.

Present in the Middle East for more than six years, Geojit offers brokerage services for equities, derivatives and commodities, financial savings products (mutual funds, life insurance, and programmed savings plans) and portfolio management services, mainly to private customers.

Established in 1987, Geojit is listed on the National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange.

It has a network of over 400 offices, a client base of 250,000 and $1 billion in assets under custody.