Sunday, Oct 12, 2008

Gulf News

Dubai: Newhaven Investments House yesterday said it has launched Amara Holdings, a Sharia-compliant investment company which focuses on pre-IPO, private equity and private placement opportunities predominantly in China, as well as Mena and India.

A number of Gulf investors have already committed a significant amount of capital to Amara, including Khalid Al Mukairin Group, Al Sorayai GroupAl Sorayai Group (Saudi Arabia) and Ahmad Al Khemeiri (UAE).

"Two further GCC investors, Mohammad Al Khalil (Saudi Arabia) and Ahmad Al Omani (Kuwait) are also Amara Board members," the company said in a statement.

Amara is an offshore company pursuing an onshore listing. It has already made its first investment into China with a key strategic partner, Pan China Construction Group.

"We are looking at China, India and the Middle East and Northern Emirate's infrastructure, utility, real estate and industrial services sectors for investment," Dr Musab Jassim, executive chairman, Amara Holdings, told Gulf News yesterday.

The company has already signed a memorandum of understanding with Pan China Construction Group, to co-invest in joint ventures. The first of the joint ventures, China Infrastructure Corporation Limited (CIC), has already been formed. CIC, which is 51 per cent owned by Amara, will develop a logistics park, called Ningxia International Logistic Centre, in Ningxia province of China.

Amara aims to raise up to $200 million initially during October, principally from investors in the Gulf.

"This is the initial investment that is being pledged by the investors. However, as the opportunities unfold, we will invest in more ventures," he said.

Dr Jassim said, his company would go public with a listing on London's Alternative Investment Market shortly after closing, ensuring investors benefit from private equity investments with public equity liquidity.

Amara is run by Newhaven Investments House, a company formed specially to manage Amara. It is a collaboration of two leading firms, Newhaven Merchant Bankers and Investments House. Newhaven Merchant Bankers has offices in North America, Europe, Middle East and Asia and its principals have a strong track record managing over $4.5 billion in transactions in the target markets.

It is a successful money manager returning net of 297 per cent over the past 18 months in its flagship fund. Investments House is the investment arm of a prominent Gulf family with in-depth knowledge of Sharia finance and local markets and has completed close to $1.7 billion of successful transactions.

"The current market environment presents us with significant opportunities as the price of assets in our target markets have reduced and we are now seeing valuations at very attractive multiples," Dr Jassim said.

© Gulf News 2008. All rights reserved.

 

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