about gfh
GFH is built on investment through innovation. That is why we have created a rewarding and enjoyable working environment where high calibre people with experience, creativity, ambition and a ‘can do’ mentality will be given every opportunity to make an impact. This is a place where your knowledge and insight will be highly valued, and where you will be trusted to make a major contribution to the future success of a bank that has set us apart from the competition.
As a team, we leverage our collective knowledge to forge strong and lasting client relationships and successfully place the bank’s products with clients in the Middle East and beyond. This is all done in an environment of mutual respect, integrity and ethical behaviour.
Integrity is also highly valued and we are committed to dealing with customers, employees, suppliers, shareholders and investors ethically, with honesty and integrity.
Gulf Finance House (GFH) is one of the most successful and innovative Islamic investment banks in the Middle East. GFH specializes in the identification and development of initiatives that unlock opportunity and accelerate economic growth. With a focus on the conception and delivery of high value economic infrastructure projects currently valued at over US $20 billion GFH is set for another watershed year.
GFH pursues a unique business model that consistently outperforms the market, delivering high returns on client equity in successive projects as evidenced by the 61 % increase in profits to US $340 million during 2007. The GCC investment community holds GFH in high regard and continue to demonstrate the faith they hold in our ability to maintain a pipeline of high value initiatives. Showing strong loyalty, more than 25% of our investors roll over their returns in GFH funds.
Building on these achievements, GFH is now setting its sights on the European capital markets. In addition to our share listings on the Kuwait and Bahraini Stock Exchange’s and the Dubai Financial Market, 2007 witnessed our GDR listing on the London Stock Exchange.
Our business philosophy is founded in the conception of infrastructure and related initiatives that harness the enormous potential within the merging economies of the GCC, Asia and North Africa. To this end, our specialist teams analyse a wide variety of potential opportunities, devoting many thousands of hours of due diligence to ensure any concept receiving the ‘green light’ will generate the highest possible returns on client equity.
Since 1999, flagship initiatives have included the launch of Energy Cities in Qatar, Libya and Kazakhstan, our series of Financial Harbours in Bahrain and Tunisia, and the largest GFH concept to date, the US$ 10 billion Mumbai Economic Development Zone. Elsewhere, we have announced First Energy Bank, the world’s first Islamic investment bank offering tailored energy based finance.
Alongside these projects, GFH’s Venture Capital division is unlocking the huge opportunities generated by the regional construction boom. HadeedMENA (steel), Cemena (cement) and Binaa (building materials) will become the leading producers in their marketplaces and each will address both the huge demand and current shortfall in critical building materials across the MENA region.
Gulf Finance House has won numerous local and international awards, such as “Best Investment Bank” in 2005, 2006 and 2007, awarded by The Banker Middle East; “Bank of the Year 2006” awarded by the Arabian Business Magazine, and “Best Islamic Real Estate Finance House” awarded by Euromoney.
GFH’s will continue to generate a strong pipeline of high value high value infrastructure initiatives in partnership with governments across the region. We will also deliver new concepts that respond to the needs of the marketplace both at home and abroad and in doing so, offer our investors the superb returns now typical of GFH.