IslamicFinance.de

The shares Bahrain’s Islamic investment bank Gulf Finance House (GFH), at the Dubai Financial Market, rose close to limit up, by 14.86 percent last Tuesday. The number of trades in GFH stock increased by almost two and a half times on the day before, while volumes were also up many times over. On Wednesday morning, GFH put out a statement saying that it had bought a 1.2 million square foot plot of land from Dubai Properties Group in Dubailand, on which it plans to build residential property. Following the announcement GFH shares rose by another 4.6 percent on Wednesday, closing at AED3.47. The Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) did not say whether it would take this specific issue further.

Kuwait's Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has rejected an appeal by Bahrain-based Gulf Finance House (GFH) against the regulator's decision to monitor its Kuwait-listed shares. The CMA decided to monitor the stock after it was traded in high volumes ahead of a company disclosure last year. GFH, which said the events were unrelated, appealed last month. However, the CMA commissioner board has maintained its previous decision in this respect after reviewing the details of the subject. In recent months, Kuwait's regulator has been clamping down on what it sees as unusual market activity.

Bahrain’s Gulf Finance House has become entangled in a dispute with a former executive at its Dubai-based private equity unit who the company alleges falsified invoices to siphon almost $5 million into bank accounts controlled by him. David Haigh, who was the deputy chief executive of GFH Capital until resigning this March, was arrested shortly after he arrived in Dubai about a month ago and has been in detention since. Legal authorities in Dubai are weighing criminal charges, according to an emailed statement from GFH, while the company has also filed a civil suit against him in the Dubai International Financial Centre. Mr. Haigh denied the GFH allegations.

Bahrain-based Gulf Finance House (GFH) expects to complete a proposed capital reduction by the end of the second quarter. Under the proposal, which still requires regulatory approval, GFH will reduce the nominal value of its shares by 13.8 per cent to $0.265 per share from $0.3075. As a result, paid-up capital will be cut to $837 million from $972m. The cash reduction will not involve any cash transfer and will not change the bank's net equity. However, under accountancy rules, it will help remove accumulated losses from GFH's balance sheet.

Bahrain-based Gulf Finance House has appealed a decision by Kuwait's financial regulator to monitor its Kuwait-listed shares after the stock was traded in high volumes ahead of a company disclosure last year. In recent months, Kuwait's Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has been clamping down on what it sees as unusual market activity. Some executives and analysts have welcomed the move but others say the watchdog is being heavy-handed. Kuwait's regulator noticed GFH stock traded in high volumes in May 2013. The regulator notified GFH of its probe into the firm last September and said in April this year that it would monitor the stock for six months.

Gulf Finance House (GFH), the Bahrain-based Islamic investment bank, yesterday held the first meeting of its new board members following their election earlier this month. The eight-member board includes Dr Ahmed Khalil Al Mutawa (chairman), Musabah Saif Al Mutairy (vice-chairman) Faisal Abdulla Fouad Abubshait, Bashar Mohammed Almutawa, Yousef Ibrahim Al Ghanim, Dr Khalid Mohammed Al Khazraji, Shaikh Mohamed Daij Al Khalifa and Mohamed Ali Talib.

Bahrain-based Gulf Finance House (GFH) plans to issue a sukuk or arrange new debt facilities of up to $500 million. 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 said that the bank reported a net profit of $6.3 million, reduced operating cost by 20 per cent and successfully restructured debt last year. Additionally, the shareholders approved the appointment of eight new members to the board for three years. The auditors and the Sharia supervisory board have been reappointed for the year.

Bahrain-based Gulf Finance House will seek shareholder approval later this month for a potential reduction in share capital and to issue a convertible sukuk of up to $500 million to restructure debt and fund new projects. Under the proposal, GFH will reduce the nominal value of its shares by 13.8 percent to $0.265 per share from $0.3075, according to a notice on GFH's website. As a result, paid-up capital will be cut to $837 million from $972 million. GFH also aims to issue convertible sukuk worth up to $500 million to restructure current liabilities, develop projects and fund possible future acquisitions, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. No timeframe was indicated for the potential offering. The proposals will be discussed during its annual general meeting on March 31.

Bahrain's Gulf Finance House (GFH) will start building a $3bn financial park and real estate development north of Tunisia's capital, a project that had been suspended for five years. The project will be one of the largest private foreign investments in the North African state. GFH's project was scheduled to begin in 2009, but financial difficulties at the Islamic bank and Tunisia's 2011 uprising froze several large-scale projects. The $3bn project will start on 15 March, and an agreement has been signed with the Tunisian contracting companies to start practical implementation of the project in a few days, according to Lotfi Zar, the executive director of the project.

Bahrain-based Gulf Finance House (GFH) has announced the signing of two development agreements for real estate development in India. The flagship investment of GFH in India is the Energy City and Mumbai IT & Telecom City (India Project) developments in New Mumbai, the agreement of which was signed with Wadhwa Group. The second agreement was agreed with Adani Infrastructure & Developers , to explore development opportunities in relation to various infrastructure and real estate projects in India. Adani Infrastructure & Developers will be partnering with Asiastar City Holdings to develop the Phase 2 of GFH’s India Project.

Gulf Finance House (GFH) has announced the signing of two development agreements for real estate development in India. The flagship investment of GFH in India is the Energy City and Mumbai IT & Telecom City (India Project) developments in New Mumbai. The agreement was signed with Wadhwa Group. According to this agreement, GFH and Wadhwa have agreed to the appointment of Hafeez Contractor to be the master planner for the Phase 1 of the India Project, with an expected end sale value of USD 4 billion. The second agreement was agreed with Adani Infrastructure & Developers.They intend to work together to explore development opportunities in relation to various infrastructure and real estate projects in India. Adani Infrastructure & Developers will be partnering with Asiastar City Holdings to develop the Phase 2 of GFH's India Project.

Bahrain-based Gulf Finance House has announced its fourth-quarter net profit has more than doubled due to revenue derived from investments. The investment firm made a net profit of $5.2 million in the three months to Dec. 31, up from $2.5 million in the prior-year period. However, for the 2013 full year, GFH's net profit fell 37.2 percent to $6.3 million. This decline came despite a 20 percent reduction in operating costs, as the firm continued to aggressively cut expenses in the wake of a number of debt restructurings in recent years. GFH, through its Dubai-based subsidiary GFH Capital, agreed to sell 75 percent of Leeds United to Italian Massimo Cellino earlier this month.

Bahrain-based investment firm Gulf Finance House (GFH) has agreed a partial sale of its stake in English football club Leeds United. GFH said the sale was agreed with British investors, whose details the firm did not specify. The investment firm did not provide details on the stake value or the size of the stake sold. GFH bought Leeds United in December 2012 through its Dubai-based subsidiary, GFH Capital, but its financial statements showed that the firm disposed off more than half of its holding less than six months later.

Gulf Finance House , the Bahrain-based investment firm which has restructured a number of debt facilities since the financial crisis, has confirmed Hisham Al Rayes as its chief executive officer. Rayes had been acting CEO since March 2012. He said in July that a leaner balance sheet and a new strategy in which it engaged more in its investments would help drive the business forward in future. Its current debt pile is less than $235 million.

Bahrain-based investment firm Gulf Finance House said that a family consortium led by chairman of English soccer team Leeds United had bought a 5.71 percent stake in the company, estimated to be worth around 28.9 million dinars ($76.6 million).

The financial crisis has changed the focus for Bahraini investment banks away from bumper projects and the preference now is for slimmer balance sheets, according to GFH founder Essam Janahi, who last week stepped down as chairman. GFH has now reduced its liabilities to $223 million, from over $2 billion at the peak of the crisis, and is rolling out a more conservative strategy. Future investments will shy away from aggressive rates of return and favour smaller deals to better manage risk, Janahi said. Even some Islamic investment banks which rode out the global crisis fairly comfortably have streamlined their operations and say they will not spurn relatively small deals. Qatar's QInvest for example has streamlined operations and discontinued areas such as wealth management and brokerage services.

The financial crisis changed the focus of Bahraini investment banks away from bumper projects and the preference now is for slimmer balance sheets, according to GFH founder Essam Janahi, who last week stepped down as chairman. GFH has now reduced its liabilities to $223 million, from over $2bn at the peak of the crisis, and is rolling out a more conservative strategy. Future investments will shy away from aggressive rates of return and favour smaller deals to better manage risk, Mr Janahi said. Bahraini firm Arcapita filed for bankruptcy protection in a New York court in March last year, emerging from Chapter 11 last month with a five-year plan to sell legacy assets to pay creditors. Last week, the reorganised firm appointed a new seven-man board of directors that includes a representative from Bahrain's central bank and the chief executive of Bank Alkhair.

Gulf Finance House climbed to the highest in more than three months as the Bahrain-based investment bank replaced its chairman Essam Janahi by by Ahmed Al-Mutawa. The shares surged 11 percent to 57.3 fils in Dubai, the highest since June 20, bringing the gain this year to 37 percent. Gulf Finance House shares listed in Bahrain rose 7.7 percent and those traded in Kuwait advanced 6.5 percent. Some investors may be taking advantage of the price difference in Gulf Finance House shares by buying in Kuwait and selling in Dubai. In Israel, the TA-25 index gained 1.4 percent, led higher by Perrigo Co., a generic drug maker, and Cellcom Israel Ltd. The gauge dropped 1.1 percent on Oct. 3 in a rebalancing for the entry of Opko Health Inc. into the index.

Gulf Finance House (GFH) is now well on its way to long-term profitable growth, Esam Yousif Janahi said after he stepped down as chairman of the Islamic investment bank last week. The exit was a well-planned move and follows the achievement of key objectives of the restructuring exercise, he explained. The bank's liabilities have been brought down substantially from $2.6 billion in 2009. The capital adequacy ratio is now over 20 per cent as against single-digit levels in 2009, at the height of the crisis. Mr Janahi said he continues to remain a major shareholder. On future plans, he said he would focus on managing personal investments and strategic partnerships with partners.

Gulf Finance House (GFH) has appointed Dr. Ahmed Al-Mutawa as Chairman following the resignation of former Chairman Essam Yousif Janahi last week. GFH’s Board have also elected Mosabah Al-Mutairy as Vice Chairman. Al-Mutawa is a UAE National with 34 years’ experience of financial and economic experience. He was previously Managing Director of the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development and the Secretary General of Gulf Organisation for Industrial Consulting. Al-Mutairy is an Omani National whose 20-year career spans investment, finance and accounting.