John Iossifidis, head of international banking at Dubai's Mashreq has said the lender is pursuing growth in North Africa to exploit the business flow between that region and the UAE, Reuters has reported. "Our strategy is built around linking the geographies in which we operate in, our UAE home base, a strong GCC presence with Egypt and Libya also being compelling, the latter is more a long-term opportunity," Iossifidis told the news service. In Libya, Mashreq is one of six banks shortlisted for one of two new joint-venture banking licences. The licence would allow two foreign banks to own 49% of the new lenders with Libyan investors holding the rest.