Tuesday 15 April 2014

Gulf Finance House Plans Sukuk Issue

MANAMA: Gulf Finance House (GFH), Bahrain-based Islamic investment bank, plans to issue a sukuk or arrange new debt facilities of up to $500 million, it was announced yesterday.

The funds raised will be used to restructure the current liabilities, develop projects and for acquisitions of new businesses.

The announcement follows ordinary and extraordinary general meetings of the bank yesterday, with the board getting authorisation from shareholders to determine the final structure of the sukuk or the debt facilities.

GFH chairman Dr Ahmed Al Mutawa presided over the meetings, which saw approval of the board of directors' report on business activities for last year and the annual audited financial statements.

"Last year, we reported a net profit of $6.3 million, reduced operating cost by 20 per cent and successfully restructured debt," Dr Al Mutawa said.

"We also effectively executed our investment strategy, closing a number of transactions, while simultaneously making strong advances on maximising the value of our existing portfolio of companies and projects including preparing for a number of exits for the bank and our investors this year.

"The sum of these actions has resulted in increased market confidence in the bank, value creation and new and exciting opportunities, which we intend to develop over the coming months," he said.

Additionally, the shareholders approved the appointment of eight new members to the board for three years including Dr Al Mutawa, Mosobah Al Mutairy, Salah Nourideen, Faisal Abdulla Fouad, Bashar Mohammed Almutawa, Yousef Al Ghanim, Hafedh Fakher Mohammed and Khalid Al Khazraji. The auditors and the Sharia supervisory board have been reappointed for the year.

(Gulf Daily News / 15 April 2014)
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Alfalah Consulting - Kuala Lumpur: www.alfalahconsulting.com
Islamic Investment Malaysia: www.islamic-invest-malaysia.com

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