Central Bank of Bahrain grants Category 1 Investment Business License to Al-Khabeer International

Al-Khabeer International will address the needs of institutional and high-net-worth clients who require Shari'a-compliant private equity, asset management and capital market products and services.

In April 2008, the Capital Markets Authority of Saudi Arabia granted asset management and investment banking licenses to Al-Khabeer International's affiliated company, Al-Khabeer Merchant Finance Corporation, which now employs over 80 staff.

It has so far arranged over $1.6bn in Islamic debt and equity capital, and is currently involved in completing transactions totaling $2bn.

"The CBB is delighted to welcome Al-Khabeer to Bahrain. It is a tribute to the core strength of the Al-Khabeer business model and a show of confidence in the Bahrain financial services sector that investors have contributed over $100m in paid-up capital at this time."

said Ahmed Abdul Aziz Al Bassam, Director, Licensing and Policy, Central Bank of Bahrain.

"We are pleased to expand our services and establish a local presence in Bahrain. The combined capital of Al-Khabeer now exceeds $216m. The business in Bahrain has been equipped with a first-class team of experts capable of better serving our growing number of clients in the wider MENA region", said Ammar Ahmed Shata, CFA, Executive Director of Al-Khabeer International and the founder of Al-Khabeer Merchant Finance Corporation.

"We are confident that we will perform excellently in an uncontested market space where we can focus on being the best in the industry and provide the total solutions that a growing number of clients seek," said Andrew Broadley, Chief Executive Officer, Al-Khabeer International.

"The expected consequence of our vision is the establishment of a business which is capable of enduring for the long-term, the nature of the business cycle notwithstanding. This sustained outcome will be consistent with the nature of the businesses of Al-Khabeer International's founding shareholders who represent some of the most well-established and respectable companies and families in the Gulf," concluded Broadley.