GFH Commercial Bank unveils maiden port

Launched within a record period of two months since its inception in December 2004, the two products unveiled by GFHCB today, include the Amlak and the Mudarabah Investment Account.

While Amlak offers investors an opportunity to invest in Bahrain's lucrative real estate market, the Mudarabah Investment Account yields attractive returns, offering both liquidity as well as diversification of risk.

Mr. Esam Janahi, Vice-Chairman of GFHCB, and Chief Executive Officer, GFH, said: "As a niche Islamic bank, the strategic focus of GFHCB is to take advantage of the dynamic growth in property markets in and out of Bahrain by offering unique investment products to high net worth individuals in Bahrain."

Mr. Ebrahim Hussain Ebrahim, General Manager of the GFHCB said: "The property investment product launched today is focused on the high-growth real-estate market of Bahrain. The dollar-denominated Amlak, will invest in the real-estate sector of Bahrain which has been growing rapidly, driven by favorable economic conditions and liberalization of laws pertaining to land ownership."

"Our second offering - the Mudarabah Investment Account - is an unrestricted account yielding attractive returns, and offering both liquidity as well as diversification of risk. The account offers flexibility of different tenures and allows investors to become true partners in GFHCB by allowing them to participate in the profits earned by the bank," he said.

Amlak property investment
The minimum investment in the US$25 million Amlak investment is US$ 50,000, with additional subscriptions accepted in multiples of US$25,000, aggregating US$22.5 million, or 90 per cent of the investment size. The remainder US$2.5 million (10 per cent) in the investment product will be taken up by GFHCB. The investment period is 18 months from the closing date, with a targeted return on capital in excess of 13 per cent per annum.

"Amlak will primarily focus on commercial plots, while also exercising the secondary option of investing in residential plots with a view to diversifying risk. Its investment strategy comprises acquiring and selling property in parcels, development, trading, identifying land with growth potential and discounted properties for strategic acquisitions," Mr. Ebrahim added.

Amlak has been established as a Cayman Islands Exempted Company for investment in Bahraini real estate. It will do so by acquiring an investment note from a Bahraini Limited Liability Company, which in turn is wholly owned by GFHCB.

Mudarabah investment account
The Mudarabah investment account is an unrestricted account yielding attractive returns, and offering both liquidity as well as diversification of risk. The account offers flexibility of different tenures and allows investors to participate in the profits earned by the bank.

The Mudarabah Investment Account is available in BD, US$ and € denominations and requires a minimum investment of BD 10,000, or US$ 25,000 or Euro 25,000, respectively. The term of the deposit ranges from one month to 18 months, with different sizes and tenors of deposits attracting different shares in the bank's profits.