Gulf One’s vision is to be a leading knowledge-based infrastructure investment bank. In turn, the bank’s mission statement emphasises the mobilisation of local and global capital to accelerate the execution of infrastructure projects and corporatisation through innovative custom-made financial solutions.

Buoyed by the enormous investment opportunities in the Gulf region, there is a step-change in the size of financing requirements, a result of the region’s booming economies, benefiting from the soaring liquidity created by more than two years of sustained high oil prices. Affluent and reformist governments pursuing industrial diversification and world-scale infrastructure developments are stimulating the private sector and simultaneously improving the operating environment. This slow-burn revolution is transforming the landscape of the region’s investment and project finance industry from both the demand and supply sides. The sizable growing demand for investment banking services has been accelerated by over $1trn projected investments in regional infrastructure and mega-initiatives.

The comparatively young Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries’ markets have not been conducive to the development of a regional investment banking industry. While recent equity market activity has attracted a growing number of players, none has yet established a clear leadership position. The drive strategy of Gulf One is to support the GCC region to evolve as a strategic vital part of an increasingly competitive global economy. By embracing knowledge-based banking, Gulf One aims to be a catalyst to unleash GCC potential. With a highly experienced team, extensive network of relationships across the region, and strong links to international partners, Gulf One is dedicated to providing exceptional and advanced financial solutions, based on Islamic principles, for its clients.

Mega-initiatives
While Gulf One serves a number of selective sectors, its strategic focus of specialising in infrastructure mega-initiatives gives it an advantage over competitors with a broader investment focus. Gulf One’s activities comprise:

Specialised and infrastructure funds
Private equity
Corporate finance advisory services, and
Asset management services

Gulf One was founded by Dr Nahed Taher, a leading economist and executive banker and the first female CEO of a bank in the GCC, and CIO Mr Ziyad Omar, with over 20 years of senior banking and finance experience in Saudi Arabia and the US, both of whom serve as Executive Directors on Gulf One’s Board. Gulf One’s unique vision has attracted significant regional and international shareholders that understand the need for this initiative. It is headquartered in Bahrain and has an authorised capital of $1bn and paid up capital of $100m.

Gulf One has a distinctive high calibre investment banking team, comprising experienced dynamic individuals with established track records in industry and investment from all corners of the globe. The collective and individual strength of the Gulf One people paints a unique canvas of strength and unity and sets the bank apart from other regional players.

Gulf One CEO and Executive Director Dr Nahed Taher, is justifiably proud of the fact that her “Gulf One is the first truly independent investment bank in the region, and the region’s first institution to focus its core products and services exclusively on large scale energy-related and infrastructure development projects. The aim of the bank is to facilitate sustainable economic development and create wealth and prosperity.

She points out: “We believe that a fundamentally different approach is necessary to maximise the inherent opportunities that are currently emerging as the Gulf region uses the benefits derived from its natural resources to transform its infrastructure and establish economic stability for future generations. We are, however, more than just GCC based; we are an organisation committed to delivering knowledge and expertise to assist economic development around the globe”. The bank released its $2bn infrastructure fund, Tharawat (Arabic for all forms of wealth including knowledge). The bank started a journey of creating an exclusive pipeline of select infrastructure transactions for the Tharawat Fund.

While focused on building regional capacity, Mr Omar stresses that “Gulf One is committed to full alignment of interests with its investors.” The bank has stepped out of the prevalent regional investment approach. Creating value is a function of vision and time. The performance of investment banking has to mirror the dynamics of the underlying investments. The alignment of risk and rewards is essential to the success of all stakeholders and the longevity of the business.

Over its relatively short two years of existence, Gulf One has already executed a number of successful groundbreaking transactions. The bank received international recognition for its role as leading financial advisor to the pilgrimage airport terminal in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In that project, Gulf One pioneered the departure from the long established regional tradition of awarding advisory to institutions that bring along their balance sheet. The bank structured the first known Islamic BTO (Build Transfer Operate) transaction as a pure project finance with international, local, and development bank participation.

Importance of collaboration
Collaboration is another fundamental theme at Gulf One. From the outset, the founders trotted the globe searching for partners and alliances that can participate in creating a platform, a spring board, for launching concepts like Public Private Partnerships (PPP) in the region. Gulf One alliances spawn significant international and regional investment, professional services, and industrial knowledge hubs. Gulf One has a deep commitment to knowledge-based advancement. Recently, the bank teamed up with leading University of Lancaster, Dr Taher’s alma mater, to form a joint research centre focusing on economic and financial research relevant to the region and acting as a gateway for the exchange of knowledge between the MENA and the rest of the world.

Dr Taher also stresses that the bank is built and continues to function with commitment to Islamic principles and a deeply-rooted understanding of local culture and traditions, combined with our multinational intellectual capital and global experience. Gulf One is uniquely equipped to meet the region’s demand for investment banking as the engine that drives its economic growth. Noteworthy, the current global financial crisis brought to the attention that Islamic Finance presents a credible and viable antidote to the recurrence of the current global financial crisis. Mr Omar states that Islamic finance relies on three basic principles: risk and profit sharing amongst investors and financiers, the presence of real assets (asset backed finance), social participation through the distribution of the annual Zakat (2.5 percent of equity) preferably for the benefit of the immediate location of the asset. Gulf One is committed to innovation in translating these principles into effective globally beneficial financial solutions.

The boom in MENA infrastructure represents a global opportunity for growth and a chance for the MENA region to further integrate into the global economy. Gulf One, with its unrivalled credentials, constitutes a competitive advantage that positions it as a leading participant in the region’s economic progress. With exceptional leadership, and dedication, great achievements and rewarding returns will follow for shareholders and stakeholders alike.

For further information tel: +973 1710 2555;
m.cruz@gulf1bank.com; www.gulf1bank.com