MANAMA: Regional Islamic investment banking company Gulf Finance House (GFH) has sold a 10 percent stake in Qatar’s leading investment bank Qinvest to Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) for $50 million.
GFH launched Qinvest in partnership with QIB in 2007 and had retained an initial 15 percent stake. GFH confirmed it will still keep the remaining third. The bank said it did not foresee the sale affecting its third quarter financial results for the current fiscal year.
The sale of its Qatar asset coincides with the bank’s ongoing rights issue, designed to raise between $200 million-$300 million in new capital. The issue, which concludes on Oct. 29, aims to divert non-core assets to provide necessary liquidity for high value investment opportunities arising out of the global economic downturn.