MANAMA, 9 May 2007 — “We dream a lot and we do it not during the night, but during the day. And we believe we can make the dreams a reality,” was the message given by Esam Janahi, chairman of Bahrain Financial Harbor, and the man behind the massive project.
Janahi was speaking during the official opening of the first phase, the Financial Center, of the ambitious Bahrain Financial Harbor project last week.
Before Bahrain’s Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa ibn Salman Al-Khalifa opened the project, Janahi said “some speculated that this project would never happen. You have to go beyond challenges and threats and overcome them and always have a positive outlook.”
He added: “The Financial Center is a distinctive new architectural landmark for the region. It aims at reinforcing Bahrain’s unsurpassed position as the international financial center of the Middle East with a highly focused, committed and advanced financial environment.”
Janahi, who is also chief executive of project developer Gulf Finance House, said “as promoters of this landmark development which is the region’s most technologically advanced and first fully-integrated master-planned waterfront district, we are confident that this milestone project will not just significantly impact the position and economy of Bahrain but would also create large-scale employment opportunities for the highly educated and trained Bahraini work force.”
It was a huge effort to convince investors of the viability of the project.
“As to bringing in capital for this giant project, we had to do lots of convincing. We had to show the right revenue engines for them in terms of return for their capital and convince them that this business model would have cash plans till the time we created the right audience.”
He added that “we planned this project in 2001 and it began with the foundation in 2003. It took us almost three years to convince the government that this was right project and then we had to do a lot more. We also staged lots of roadshows in the international markets to convince everybody.”
The completion of the undertaking cements the rapid rise of Gulf Finance House which was formed in the late 1990s to concentrate on infrastructure projects at a time when everyone else was concentrating on dotcoms.
Janahi, who has won numerous international awards including “Islamic Banker of the Year and “Young Global Leader,” is already planning to implement the lessons of the Bahrain Financial Harbor project in other developments. He said “we are a strong believer in replicating what we have done in the Kingdom of Bahrain with the same business model.”
When asked how Bahrain Financial Harbor would compete with other major projects in the GCC, including economic cities which are planned in Saudi Arabia, Janahi, who is also chairman of Gulf Energy and Energy City Qatar, said “we don’t compete but we complement each other.”
GFH positioned itself to profit in the future from the momentum building in Saudi Arabia to create new economic zones by taking a direct equity stake in the $8 billion Prince Abdul Aziz bin Mousaed Economic City in Hail. Development of Phase II of the Bahrain Financial Harbor project, the $450 million Villamar @ the Harbor, Bahrain’s most advanced residential complex, is well under way.
Dhow Harbor project is a part of BFH’s highly active social responsibility program and on completion, this new state-of-the-art facility will provide tourists with a unique opportunity to explore what is a key part of Bahrain’s rich heritage and culture. About GFH, Janahi said “2006 was a landmark year for Gulf Finance House. Total consolidated revenue rose by 55 percent to $346 million while net profit increased by 51 percent to $212 million. Total assets at the end of 2006 stood at $1.5 billion, total equity funds under management were $2.11 billion and shareholders’ equity rose by 90 percent to $668 million.”
