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Kuwait Finance inks US real estate JV
Kuwait Finance House (KFH) has said that it has signed a $450m joint venture agreement with UDR Inc, a US-based real estate investment company, which aims to acquire high income residential real estate in major US cities, Kuna has reported. The new JV would target class 'A' assets with a minimum value of $20m that are less than seven years old. KFH holds 70% of the venture and is targeting an internal return rate of 12%-14% annually, in addition to studying investment opportunities and projects. It is intended for the venture to be fully invested over a two-year investment period, KFH has said.
CI affirms Samba ratings
Capital Intelligence has affirmed ratings of Saudi-based Samba Financial Group (Samba), long-term foreign currency rating of AA-, and short-term foreign currency rating of A1. Financial strength rating of AA- are all unchanged, as is Samba's support rating of 2, with all ratings carrying a 'Stable' outlook. Samba has a market share of about 14%, and the fourth-largest bank in Saudi Arabia by capital.
Indian bank to boost investments in UAE-India
India-based Bank of Baroda has recently launched initiatives to facilitate two-way flow of investments between India and
the UAE, Khaleej Times has reported. The bank which has full-fledged branches in the UAE, is looking into setting up a joint platform of investors from both the countries to facilitate two-way flow of investments. The bank's CEO, Ashok K. Gupta has said the bank is 'ready to provide funds to the investors from both the countries and help them identify viable projects and suitable partners at the investment destinations.'
Salam net profit dips
Qatar-based Salam International has recorded H1 2009 net profits of QR64.4m, compared to QR97.9m for the corresponding period in 2008. Gross profit had grown by 15.6% to QR253.2m, compared to QR219m for the same period in 2008. Operating income rose from QR784.7m as on June 30, 2008 to QR 877.9m in H1 of 2009, an increase of 11.9%. Paid-up capital had increased from QR931.5m as of 31st December 31, 2008 to QR989.7m as June 30, 2009, the Peninsula has reported.
Masraf Al Rayan given rating
Moody's Investors Service has assigned A3 long-term and Prime-2 short-term local and foreign currency issuer ratings as well as a D+ bank financial strength rating to Qatar's Masraf Al Rayan (MAR). The rating outlook is stable. This is Moody's first public rating assigned to an Islamic bank in Qatar. MAR has $4.6bn of assets as of end 2008 and commands around 25% of the country's Shariah-compliant banking assets.
Doha Bank inks Nepal remittance deal
Dohha Bank has tied-up with the Nepal Credit and Commerce Bank (NCC Bank), to facilitate remittance to Nepal through electronic means. The remittance facility will also be available through the internet, and customers will be able to remit money online safely, NCC bank has said. Doha bank offers remittance facilities to India, Egypt, Philippines, Indonesia, Lebanon, Pakistan, Yemen, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Egyptian Kuwaiti H1 profit up
Egyptian Kuwaiti Holding Co, a private equity investments firm, has reported an 8% rise in its first-half profit, Bloomberg has reported. Net income rose to $64.6m from $59.9m, the Cairo-based firm has said.
Gulf International posts Q2 loss
Gulf International Bank, a Bahrain-based lender owned by the governments of six GCC states, has posted a Q2 loss of $65.4m after booking provisions of $101.3m, Bloomberg has reported. Total assets at the end of June were $17.1bn, down by $7.9bn from December, after the bank sold $4.8bn of securities in March and due to a decline in its loan portfolio, the bank has said.
Fitch downgrades Gulf Investment Co
Fitch Ratings has said it has downgraded Kuwait-based Gulf Investment Corporation's (GIC) long-term issuer default rating (IDR) to 'BBB' from 'A', Reuters has reported. The rating agency has also cut GIC's short-term IDR to 'F3' from 'F1', support rating to '2' from '1' and individual rating to 'D/E' from 'D'. The ratings have been removed from rating watch negative. Fitch has also withdrawn the support rating floor of 'A'. The downgrade reflects Fitch's view of a reduced willingness to provide future support as implied by the excessive delays in completing the $1.1bn capital increase approved by all shareholders last year, the agency has said.
Oman Arab Bank given BBB rating
Credit rating agency Capital Intelligence, has affirmed Oman Arab Bank's (OAB) foreign currency ratings at BBB long-term and A3 short-term. The ratings reflect OAB's good profitability and very sound asset quality, the rating agency has said. OAB is owned and managed by Arab Bank, Jordan.
Capinnova posts $1.5m H1 revenue
Bahrain-based Capinnova Investment Bank, a BBK subsidiary, has reported H1 gross revenue of $1.5m, compared to $230,000 in June 2008. Net loss for the half year ending June 2009 was $2.4m due to the start up and initial operating costs, the Shariah-compliant lender has said. Capinnova is a newly established investment bank which started its operation with an authorized capital of $500m and paid-up capital of $125m.
Gulf Finance hires BoA to advise on $300m increase
Bahrain-based Islamic investment bank Gulf Finance House has said in a statement to the bourse that it has appointed Bank of America-Merrill Lynch to advise on a plan to boost capital by $300m, Bloomberg has reported. The lender has also hired KPMG International to manage the offering of stock to existing shareholders.
Global Investment House to reach debt agreement
Bader Abdulla Al-Sumait, CEO of Kuwait's Global Investment House has said the firm may soon reach an agreement with its creditors after the Kuwaiti investment bank defaulted on loan repayments in December, Bloomberg has reported. Global has submitted all documents required by lenders and is awaiting their response before signing an accord, he has said. Global had said on December 21 that it had appointed HSBC Holdings as an adviser and had formed a committee to continue discussions on restructuring the $3bn debt.
Qatar Islamic inks $200m financing deal
Qatar Islamic Bank has said that it has signed a $200m Murabaha financing deal with Qatar Petrochemical Co. (QABCO). The Shariah-compliant financial deal will be utilized for QABCO's new Low-Density Polethylene-3 (LDPE-3) project and related operations, the lender has said.
QNB Syrian unit raises $37m
The Syrian unit of Qatar National Bank (QNB) has raised at least 1.7bn Syrian pounds ($37m) through a public offering that closed on Monday evening, Reuters has reported, citing a source close to the matter. 'We don't have the final numbers yet, but we have already reached our target amount,' the source said, adding that the offering was oversubscribed.
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