Bahrain – We overcame the circumstances by effectively implementing our strategy...

Exchange of financial and investment assets worth 46.4 million dinars with the Gulf Bank

The trend towards investment in the technology sector … and more listings are expected

The CEO and member of the Board of Directors of GFH Financial Group, Hisham Al Rayes, revealed the group’s intention to acquire two new schools, in the Eastern Province and another in Jeddah, in line with the group’s policy of diversification in investments in various sectors.

He added to “Gulf News:” We have made many acquisitions of schools in Bahrain and the Gulf region through the BRITS platform. Currently, we focus on investing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to distinguish its economy and its high demand, explaining that the focus is on managing schools and establishing new schools. The group has acquired 4 schools in Riyadh and is currently working on acquiring two other schools in the Eastern Province and one in Jeddah.

On the sidelines of the shareholders ’ordinary general assembly meeting held yesterday morning, the president confirmed that the group is in stable development and its financial performance was good despite the circumstances that the companies went through. He said, “In the first half of this year, we were able to raise the quality of the contribution from Khaleeji Commercial Bank and Islamic banking to a positive level.”

During the meeting, the restructuring operations of the Khaleeji Commercial Bank were approved and authorized in line with Article 189 of the Bahraini Companies Law and according to the following agreements, the Group and the bank signed an exchange agreement for financial and investment assets equal to a value of BD 46.4 million and another agreement to subscribe to the issuance of AT1 sukuk at a value of BD 60 million at a premium of BD 12 million and receipt of subscription fees of BD 12.1 million.

He explained that the group is looking forward to growth in many sectors in Bahrain and abroad by continuing to provide diverse and unique products compared to the competing companies. He pointed out that “the group’s policy and its presence through many lines of work, whether in the real estate sector, investment or treasury, helped it overcome the difficulties experienced by the market, and the group was able to maintain high liquidity, especially through the issuance of sukuk that we did during the year, which strengthened the group’s capacity.” To continue and develop under the current circumstances.

Al Rayyes indicated that the group has started many investments in the technology sector, and invested in a group of listings that were recently made in the United States of America.

On investment in the sports sector, Al Rayyes said: The United Kingdom is the first destination to invest in football, but with the current circumstances, we have no intention of investing in this sector again. He said: We have a presence in the community sports sector by doing many activities in the real estate projects that we own, such as the Al-Areen area and outside Bahrain, due to the necessity of these events and their positive impact on marketing these areas.

Al Rayes concluded, “We continue to focus on the effective implementation of our strategy, and we are happy with our continuous progress despite the market challenges. Our efforts aim to diversify our business activities and extract more value from our current assets. We are also pleased with the shareholders’ approval of the agreements that we have concluded with our subsidiary. Commercial banking, Khaleeji Commercial Bank, which we believe could enhance its financial position and its ability to achieve greater contributions to the group during the coming periods. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the new board members, and I would like to thank the current members for their great contributions towards GFH. I would also like to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude to our valued shareholders for their continued confidence in GFH, and the Central Bank of Bahrain, for their continuous support and good direction.

Yesterday, GFH Financial Group announced the successful conclusion of the Ordinary General Assembly meeting of the group’s shareholders, which was held through live virtual participation and on-site attendance at Al Areen Palace and Spa, with a shareholder attendance rate of 43.59%, with the participation of members of the Board of Directors, senior management and employees of the group.

The Ordinary General Assembly meeting was chaired by Hisham Al Rayes, Group CEO, where the meeting witnessed the shareholders ’approval of the minutes of the previous annual general meeting held on April 6, 2020, in addition to a number of other items on the meeting’s agenda related to the group’s financial accounts and the governance report.

During the meeting, shareholders were approved and authorized by a number of agreements concluded between GFH and the Gulf Commercial Bank (the bank), which is affiliated with the group and is specialized in commercial banking activity, in accordance with Article (189) of the Bahraini Companies Law.

These agreements included a swap agreement signed between the Group and the Bank for financial and investment assets worth 46.4 million Bahraini Dinars and another agreement to subscribe to the AT1 Sukuk issue amounting to BD 60 million at a premium of BD 12 million and the receipt of subscription fees of BD 12.1 million.

The association also elected ten new members to the board of directors for the next three years, subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Bahrain, and they are Jassim Al Siddiqi, Alia Al Falasi, Sheikh Ahmed Al Khalifa, Hisham Al Rayes, Rashid Al Kaabi, Ghazi Al Hajri, Mustafa Khuraiba, Ahmed Abdul Hameed Al Ahmad, Ali Murad and Fawaz Tamimi. The assembly also agreed to authorize the board of directors to take decisions regarding the continuity of shares or their cancellation on the Kuwait Stock Exchange.

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