JEDDAH: Amara Holdings, the newly-formed Shariah-compliant company, began road shows this month in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in order to raise $200 million.

The road show will take place in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE and Bahrain.

The Dubai-based Newhaven Investments House, which manages more than 16.5 billion dirhams ($4.5 billion) worth of assets, launched Amara Holdings Inc. earlier this month which focuses on pre-initial public offering, private equity and private placement facilities in China, India and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Amara Executive Chairman Musab Jassim Al-Qassimi said prominent investors such as Khalid Al-Mukairin Group, Al-Sorayai Group of Saudi Arabia and UAE-based Ahmed Alkhemeiri have committed a significant amount of capital to Amara. He also said that Mohammad Al-Khalil (Saudi Arabia) and Ahmad Al-Omani (Kuwait) are also Amara board members.

Allaying the fears of the recent global financial crisis, Al-Qassimi said “Key strategic partnerships are already in place with prominent Chinese, Indian and MENA region partners. This strategy will ensure that Amara will be resilient to any global downturn.”

“The current market environment presents us with significant opportunities as the price of assets in our target markets have reduced and we are now seeing valuations at very attractive multiples,” Al-Qassimi said, adding “Our strategy is to focus on sectors that are fundamental to the domestic economies and growth of China, India and MENA.”

The company invests in sectors such as agriculture, consumer staples, utilities, industrial, real estate and service-related businesses, Al-Qassimi added. Amara’s initial investments are in China. The company has already signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Pan China Construction Group, formerly part of the Ministry of Construction, to co-invest in Sino-foreign joint ventures, Spencer J. Wilson, co-founder and managing director of Amara, said. He added the first of the joint ventures, China Infrastructure Corporation Ltd. (CIC), has already formed.

CIC, which is 51 percent owned by Amara, will develop a logistic park, called Ningxia International Logistic Center, in the Ningxia province of China.

Wilson said Amara is also planning to list on London’s Alternative Investment Market shortly after closing, ensuring investors benefit from private equity investments with public equity liquidity.

“Our strategy is to consistently provide investors with private equity returns, regardless of market cycles. Amara is unique as it offers investors packaged exposure to those growth regions and by virtue of its London listing, the highest levels of transparency and corporate governance,” Al-Qassimi said.