12.31 PM Thursday, 28 March 2024
  • City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
  • Dubai 04:57 06:11 12:27 15:53 18:37 19:51
28 March 2024

GFH $500m sukuk gets nod

Gulf Finance House Chairman Dr. Ahmed Al-Mutawa chairs the meeting. (SUPPLIED)

Published
By Staff

Gulf Finance House (GFH), the Bahrain-based Islamic investment bank, said its Extraordinary General Meeting approved issuance of sukuk of up to $500 million.

The bank said in a press statement that the funds will be used to restructure the current liabilities, develop projects and for acquisitions of new businesses for the benefit of the Bank. Such facilities will be subject to Central Bank of Bahrain’s approval. The meeting also authorised the Board of Directors to determine the final structure of the sukuk or the debt facilities and obtain the necessary approvals.

While the bank’s Ordinary General Meeting saw shareholders approve a number of agenda items pertaining to the Bank's financial statements, reporting and governance.

Key among these was approval of the Board of Directors' report on the Bank's business activities for 2013 and the annual audited financial statements for the year.

Additionally, the shareholders approved the appointment of 8 new members to the Board for 3 years including: Dr. Ahmed Al Mutawa, Mr. Mosobah Al Mutairy, Salah Nourideen, Faisal Abdulla Fouad, Bashar Mohammed Almutawa, Yousef Ibrahim Y. Al Ghanim, Hafedh Fakher Mohammed and Dr. Khalid M. Al Khazraji. This is along with the reappointment of the auditors and the Shari’a Supervisory Board for the year 2014.

The meetings, which were presided over by GFH Chairman Dr. Ahmed Al-Mutawa, and attended by shareholders and members of the Board of Directors, were held at the Bank's Bahrain Financial Harbour headquarters. The Chairman briefed the shareholders on the results of the Bank for the year 2013 and updates on the future strategies of the Bank.

Dr. Ahmed Al-Mutawa said: “As announced, we ended the year with sound results and strong foundations upon which to build in 2014. For 2013, we reported a net profit of $6.3 million, reduced operating cost by 20% and successfully restructured debt and received a healthy credit rating from Capital Intelligence. 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 in 2014. 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."