shareholders of Gulf One Investment Bank convened in Bahrain their Constituent General Assembly. After Dr. Nahed Taher announced to the shareholders that the turnout was 92% of investors, the legal quorem was met and the CGA was officially convened with Dr. Nahed as its chairman.
Thereafter, the CGA chairman read the Incorporation Report to the investors, afterwards Dr. Nahed as chairman of the CGA asked the investors, proxy holders to vote on the Agenda and thereafter the banks auditors were appointed and their pay was set. The voting on the Agenda was voted on unanimously by the investors, with the first board of directors appointed with the consent of all investors. Following that the question and answer session was opened between the CGA Chairman and the other members, Dr. Ghassan Al Sulaiman and Mr. Ziyad Omar.
It is worth mentioning that the investor base of Gulf One Investment Bank includes businessmen, financial institutions and trading companies from the GCC and Malaysia representing a diversified background in multiple businessnesses. Gulf One was established to close a critical gap due to the lack of a specialized financial institution that can provide financing, investment tools for infrastructrure and energy related projects in GCC countries.
In an announcement to the media Dr. Ghassan Al Sulaiman (one of the banks founders and member of the board of directors) announced the names of the new members of the board of directors who are Mr. Mohamed Alfadl, Mr. Abdel Aziz Al-Abdelgader, Dr. Ali Al Bahar, Mr. Bader Al Subaie, Mr. Fahad Al Hoshan, Mr. Fouad Abdullah Bubshait and Eng Zaki Farsi, in addition to Dr. Ghassan, Dr. Nahed Taher and Mr. Ziyad Omar. Furthermore, Dr. Ghassan lauded their business experience and acumen which will have a positive impact on the bank’s overall activities as Gulf One will benefit from their experience in achieving its strategic objectives.
Dr. Nahed explained further how the bank aims to fulfil its growth objectives and said: “We are endeavouring to present financial products and services as well as financing solutions to the infrastructure sector, by engaging in the issuance and selling of shares, arranging loans, and forming investment vehicles through what is known as “SPV” Special Purpose Vehicles – which is an investment tool that aims at acquiring and financing specific assets in the various sectors such as energy, water, transport and petrochemicals.”
Dr. Nahed also emphasized the need for the bank to build a strong base of alliances and partnerships, to enhance what it has successfully established up to now, including signing a number of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with D.L. A. Piper Rudnick Gray Cary, which is the largest specialized law firm in the UK in the field of partnership contracts between the public and private sectors. In accordance with this MoU the British law firm will give legal consultancy to Gulf One regarding the contracts of financing projects based on partnership between the public and private sectors.
She then explained about the bank’s current cooperation with the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consultancy (GOIC), with which it signed an MoU earlier this year. It is the first agreement of its kind in the region as it aims at forming a strategic partnership and finding a balance of roles to find a mechanism of work between the two parties. Moreover the MoU articles are in line with the objectives of Gulf One Investment Bank strategic outlook, as it aims to accomplish the following: 1) Increase the accrueing benefits of the increased oil prices through the channelling of local capital towards investments in productive industrial sector that will help in diversifying the regions income base, 2) Expanding the industrial and economic infrastructure in the region which will result in the emergence of complementary Gulf economy with a diversified base, 3) Channelling the human resources towards a more creative economy based on modernization, development and renewed innovations.
Another MoU that Gulf One signed was with Amiwater, which specializes in water management and water projects and it is part of the Amiantit Group of Companies. Gulf One’s role will be to serve as the financial and strategic partner of Amiwater through acquisition of 10% of the company, a share that will enable the bank to participate in restructuring the company and building its strategic plans. In this respect, Dr. Nahed commented: “The water sector in Saudi Arabia alone presents future investments exceeding US$85 billion in the next ten years, and the cooperation between our bank and Amiwater is for the purpose of supporting this vital sector that is in need of considerable investments.”
Finally, Dr. Nahed talked about an MoU that was signed recently with the Irish DEPFA Bank which is considered a global and pioneering bank in providing services and financial solutions for the privatization of governmental projects especially in public utilities such as water and electricity. She said: “We endeavour to find a true partnership between the public and private sectors through what is known as PPP or Public Private Partnership in order to achieve the balance between the needs to provide public goods with private sector efficiency in order to improve the economy and achieve sustainable development through the utilization of financial and investment solutions to the infrastructure sector and mega projects.”
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