Bahrain’s GFH launches $100 million sukuk

Bahrain’s GFH launches $100 million sukuk

Manama: GFH Financial Group has launched and seeded a $100 million sukuk fund after signing an agreement with Credit Suisse to provide financing and fund administration services, it said on Sunday. The fund holds a portfolio of sovereign, quasi sovereign and corporate sukuk and sukuk-related securities from various countries and issuers, primarily in the GCC, and will be managed in accordance with Shariah principles. GFH aims to generate returns to the fund through active asset allocation, credit selection, optimal leverage and duration management to achieve an above average long-term investment return on a risk adjusted basis. Salem Patel, head of asset management at GFH, said: “The market is becoming more buoyant as economies in the GCC recover amid a revival of key sectors. Global borrowers have issued more than $23 billion of Shariah-compliant debt in 2021 and global sukuk supply is expected to accelerate in 2022. The GFH Sukuk Fund aims to capitalise on post-pandemic economic growth and recovery,” GFH won Best Islamic Investment Bank at the 2019 World Islamic Banking Conference and most recently, it won Best Islamic Investment Bank and Best Sukuk Deal of the Year in the Middle East and Africa region at the MEA Finance Awards