HSBC said it had appointed a new head of its global banking and markets division for the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, who will focus on key markets in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Abu Dhabi.

Mohammad Al Tuwaijri, a Saudi national, joins HSBC from JP Morgan, where he was managing director and head of Saudi Arabia for the bank. Prior to that, Tuwaijri was treasurer at SABB , HSBC's affiliate in the kingdom, a statement said.

"This is an important region for the group, and we have identified key markets to focus on across the different products and services. These are mainly Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Abu Dhabi," Tuwaijri told Reuters by telephone.

"We think M&A (mergers and acquisitions) is a natural next move in the region, and particularly we could see more cross-border deals."

Tuwaijri will report directly to HSBC's regional chief executive Simon Cooper, and functionally to Samir Assaf and Robin Phillips, heads of Global Markets and Global Banking respectively, based in London, the statement said. – Reuters