Middle East banks wheel out infrastructure funds
Three large Middle East investment banks have joined forces to create ventures worth billions which will fund infrastructure, agriculture and hospitality projects, to benefit the regional economy.
The three banks comprise the listed Gulf Finance House, which pushed up profits by 61% to $340 billion this year; Ithmaar Bank of Bahrain and Abu Dhabi Investment House, established by wealthy investors in 2005.
The infrastructure projects will be led by a new investment bank called InfraCapital, which will have initial paid up capital worth $1.5bn. Agricultural ventures and community projects will be handled by AgriCapital, which plans to raise an initial $1bn to invest in a variety of food and biofuel projects.
Hospitality investments for the leisure and business communities will be handled by a vehicle called the Hospitality Development Fund, which is expected to have raised $300m by the first closing date for subscriptions.
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