Global Investment House “Global” held today a seminar in Dubai prior to listing its shares on the Dubai Financial Market, commencing tomorrow Monday, September 19. The seminar aimed at giving an insight into the company strategy and its performance to investors through a presentation given by the Executive Management.
Mrs. Maha K. Al-Ghunaim, Vice Chairman & Managing Director started with a brief overview of Global’s history since inception in 1998. She spoke about the company’s many successes, starting with the vision of the four co-founders which was to develop and enhance the regional capital markets and achieve superior performance by launching innovative financial tools and providing investment services that exceed clients’ expectations.
She also talked about Global’s profits and stock performance and dividends, in addition to the competitive edge the company has built through its financial services and products such as the launch of over 20 funds with different investment strategies.
“Global’s net profits rose between 2001 and 2004 from KD 2.5 million (USD 8.4 million) to KD 21.3 million (USD 72 million), revenue from KD 5.3 million (USD 18 million) to KD 29.2 million (USD 98 million), and the EPS up to 104 fils in 2004 from 12 fils in 2001,” Mrs. Al-Ghunaim added.
As for first half of 2005 results, Mrs. Al-Ghunaim mentioned that the company’s net profits recorded an increase of 171% compared to the same period last year, reaching KD 20.1 million (USD 68 million), which translates into an EPS of 83 fils; whereas revenues reached KD 26 million (USD 88 million) a 160% increase.
She pointed out that assets under management have crossed the USD 5 billion mark by August 2005, which is a result of the new subscriptions in existing Global funds witnessed along with the newly launched funds.
Later, Mr. Bader A. AL-Sumait, Executive Vice President- Local & GCC Investments, talked about the department achievements which are characterized by the excellent performance of the managed portfolios and the launch of a number of funds in Kuwait, Bahrain and the region. These funds have outperformed their respective indices.
“Global believes that investing through investment funds is the ideal way to invest as the funds are diversified in content and management,” he stressed.
Afterwards, Mr. Omar M. El-Quqa spoke about the Corporate Finance department, which houses the biggest team of professionals in the region.
“We believe in specialization; as such, we have developed different groups since inception, two of which have been established in the past two years,” he said.
These divisions include Investment Banking and Advisory Services, which provides financial consulting services to governmental and private establishments. The Structured Finance division is a pioneer in bond issues and company listings, and it also has managed numerous deals in the Islamic finance sector, Mr. El-Quqa explained.
He mentioned that the Strategic Investment division specializes in assets management, and investing in new markets. The Research division is one of the most vital divisions in the company, he said.
Summarizing the achievements since inception, Mr. El-Quqa mentioned that Global has managed a number of Islamic finance deals amounting to KD 375 million (USD 1.3 billion) and 17 bond issues totaling to KD 315 (USD 1.06 billion). The company has also managed 27 private placements with an amount exceeding KD 508 million (USD 1.7 billion) and launched 16 companies with a capital exceeding KD 340 million (USD 1.15 billion).
Talking about Investment Funds, Mr. Sameer A. Al-Gharaballi, Executive Vice President- Investment Funds, spoke about the investment team in Global which is comprised of experienced employees in their field. He said that the department aims at providing the clients with local, regional and international investment opportunities through investment funds, with emphasis on alternative investments such as hedge funds, private equity and real estate.
One of the tasks the department’s employees have is to “identify fund mangers through extensive research and analysis, analyzing the managers’ track records and the efficiency of their teams,” Mr. Al-Gharaballi said.
He noted that Global funds have received international recognition. Recently, Barclay Group chose Global Distressed Fund “Among the best 10 funds in the world”, and the Eurekahedge organization hailed Global Umbrella Fund-Asia/Japan managers as the “Best hedge fund manager in Asia/2005”.
Mrs. Al-Ghunaim concluded by talking about Global’s achievements and awards, as it was chosen by the renowned Euromoney magazine as the “Best Equity House in Kuwait” for 2005, and awarded the “Gulf Excellence” award by Gulf excellence in the same year.
She pointed to Global’s expansion strategy of opening offices in the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and a representative office in Dubai. In addition, Global has gone into strategic partnerships with leading regional institutions in the UAE, Oman, Jordan, Bahrain and Sudan.
She also highlighted the unique features which Global enjoys and which make it a pioneer and benchmark setter in the region, such as employing a dedicated team of professionals and maintaining strong relations with the biggest and most reputable financial institutions in the world.
At the end, Mrs. Al-Ghunaim expressed her best wishes for more prosperity to the UAE and thanked the attendees for their presence. She also thanked the Dubai Financial Market administration for their cooperation in the listing process.
