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Gulf Finance House Sells Part of its Stake in Qinvest

DUBAI — Dubai-listed Islamic investment bank Gulf Finance House, or GFH, said on Tuesday that it has agreed to sell 10 per cent of its 15 per cent stake in Qinvest to Qatar Islamic Bank. GFH will retain a 5 per cent share holding in the Qinvest, the bank said in a disclosure to the DFM.

Qinvest was formed by GFH in partnership with Qatar Islamic Bank and launched in 2007.

GFH said the sale would raise approximately $50 million, which would be in addition to the $150 million in capital already raised so far from its rights issue, and the planned $100 million investment by Australia’s Macquarie Group in GFH’s convertible murabaha.

The move by GFH is part of an ongoing strategy recently unveiled to the bank’s shareholders in Bahrain and Kuwait to divest non-core assets, strengthen the balance sheet further and provide the liquidity necessary to engage in compelling high value investment opportunities derived from the global downturn. “GFH has a proud history of pioneering innovative concepts and in partnership with QIB we broke new ground in Qatar with the origination and launch of Qinvest,” said GFH Group CEO Ahmed Fahour. “While we are pleased to retain a stake in Qinvest to benefit from its continuing growth, GFH is looking to the future and the goal of emerging as the world’s leading Islamic investment bank. —