DIFX names Larsson as chief executive

The Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX) has named Per Larsson as its next chief executive. He will take over later this year.

The present chief executive, Steffen Schubert, is due to step down at the end of his contract in June this year.

Larsson was chief executive of the Swedish OM Group, which operates stock exchanges in northern Europe, until 2003. Since then he has served on the boards of several Swedish companies.

Larsson said he planned to expand the range of listed products on the exchange. "I also expect it to attract more bond listings and move into other product areas such as exchange-traded funds, real estate investment trusts and derivatives," he said, adding that he also hoped to attract more Islamic financial products.