DUBAI, 8 April 2007 — Dr. Fuad Al-Omar, chairman of Gulf Finance House (GFH), yesterday announced that a strategic review of the investment bank’s business and future prospects has been completed and a five-year strategic plan is ready to be presented to the investment bank’s shareholders during investor relations road shows starting in Kuwait on Tuesday.
Addressing media at the Kuwait Stock Exchange, Fuad outlined the investment bank’s history and future prospects: “In a relatively short period of seven years, GFH has grown to become an acknowledged leader in Islamic investment banking generally and in the business of infrastructure development in particular. GFH today has emerged as among the top of the performance league table of investment banks in the GCC. The board of directors of GFH intends that this leadership in performance will continue into the future.”
“Our excellent performance was achieved by constantly evaluating our business strategy and reacting to the requirements of our clients and the opportunities we saw in the MENA markets. As part of that regular process we recently undertook a strategic review of all aspects of our business and have developed a five-year strategic growth plan which would effectively guide us through our future growth.
Fuad also said that GFH is still a relatively young investment and has a long way to go before it achieves its full potential. After a very successful year last year, with earnings reaching a record of $212 million, the board said the investment bank is now poised to deliver solid growth in both earnings and dividend over the medium term.