Abu Dhabi Investment House posts AED40 million net profit in first quarter of operations

This translates into a net profit of 20 per cent of the financial institution's paid-up capital of AED 200 million.

Commenting on the financial performance, senior ADIH officials said the financial institution has a very dynamic year ahead with a number of strategic investment activities in the pipeline including entry into new regional and global markets on its own and through significant partnerships.

Terming the operations of the first quarter as extremely significant, Mr. Rashad Janahi, Chief Executive Officer of ADIH, said: "The first quarter was indeed a very challenging period for us, during which we established a cutting-edge reputation for ADIH as a value-driven and growth-focused entity clued in to salient investment opportunities in the local, regional and global markets. We have a robust outlook for the rest of the year and beyond with a number of strategic investment activities on the anvil."

In the first quarter, ADIH had introduced two successful investment opportunities - a US$75 million Al Arabi Private Equity Fund and US$100 million Energy City Qatar private placement.

"We received tremendous enthusiasm to these investment offers from investors and we have closed Al Arabi Private Equity Fund and robust response ensured early closure of the Energy City private placement,"

Mr. Janahi said.

The Al Arabi Private Equity Fund has successfully invested in First Leasing Bank (FLB) of Manama, taking a significant equity stake in the region's pioneering Islamic equipment leasing entity. The fund has also invested in the Kuwait-based Gulf Holding Company (GHC) which has significant investment interests in the property markets of the region, particularly in the Kingdom of Bahrain and Kuwait.

"We also participated in Al Rayan IPO, a significant investment exercise which will accrue higher returns to our shareholders and investors in the days to come," Mr. Janahi said.

Elaborating on the institution's business strategy for 2006, Mr. Janahi said ADIH will deepen its regional and global focus in 2006 further to leverage growth for the institution and maximize returns to shareholders and clients.

"We have already begun the new year on an extremely positive note, with the launch of a US$160 million private placement for Beirut Gate project in Lebanon, which is attracting robust investor response," he said, adding that ADIH is also set to launch an equity fund which will invest in the region's listed shares.

"Apart from scouting for investment opportunities in the local and regional markets, our global focus this year will include entry into South East Asia. We will also be launching a Euro 144 million property fund focused on Germany in partnership with the Bahrain-based Gulf Finance House Commercial Bank. Our investment services portfolio will expand this year with the introduction of fiduciary wealth management services which will be benchmarked against global standards of performance."

"We are also in the process of finalizing strategic partnerships with leading local, regional and global financial entities to generate new investment opportunities for our shareholders and clients and sustain the momentum of the growth for ADIH," he said.
Mr. Janahi said ADIH has been able to achieve excellent results thanks to the support and encouragement of the monetary authorities of Abu Dhabi. "I also wish to place on record my gratitude to our shareholders and investors for the trust they have vested in us which gives us the confidence to pursue our growth-oriented investment strategy," he said.

In the first six months, ADIH also put in place a comprehensive human resources strategy and bolstered its team across all areas of operations. "We believe in investing in people and constantly upgrading their skills to meet the requirements of the sophisticated economic environment of the time. We also constantly endeavour to induct national talents into our team as part of an accelerated emiratisation drive," Mr. Janahi added.