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Bahrain non-oil investment firm posts $651.9 Million net income
By siliconindia
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Thursday, 25 September 2008, 00:49 IST
Dubai: Mumtalakat, the investment company of the Bahrain government, has announced that it posted net income of $651.9 million (245.8 million Bahraini dinars) from the time it was formed in 2006 to the end of 2007.
The company, in a statement, said that it generated net income of BD245.8 million from total revenues of $4.8 billion (BD1.8 billion) between June 29, 2006, and Dec 31, 2007.
Total assets stood at $14 billion(BD5.3 billion ) at the end of the period, with shareholders' funds increasing to $7.9 billion(BD3 billion ).
"Mumtalakat's ultimate ambition is to create long term financial value on behalf of Bahrain," Sheikh Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, chairman of Mumtalakat, said in the statement.
"It is an ambition that carries with it a great responsibility to create value on behalf of not only shareholders and employees, but, also the people of Bahrain," he added.
Al Khalifa said that Mumtalakat was also targeting investment opportunities in local and regional economies and markets, as the rapid economic development of the Gulf continues amid historically high oil prices and the economic diversification strategies being pursued by the Gulf countries.
An independent holding company for the Bahrain government's non-oil and gas assets, Mumtalakat now has a total of 35 commercial enterprises within its $10-billion portfolio.
Its investment strategy is to enter into partnerships with local and international institutions targeting opportunities for long-term, sustainable financial returns.
During the period between June 2006 and December 2007, it made a number of acquisitions including a 30 percent stake in McLaren Group, the parent company of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 racing team and full control of Bahrain's national carrier Gulf Air.
"Despite the downturn in markets and the negative outlook for economic growth over the short to medium term, there is still value to be captured and developed," Talal Al Zain, chief executive of Mumtalakat, said.
"For those with the right strategy, funding and insight, the tougher market conditions will offer up a wide range of investment opportunities," he added.
According to Al Zain, Mumtalakat will target sectors like financial services, telecommunications, real estate, food, hospitality and leisure, transportation and renewables.
"Largely, we will seek minority positions in our investments and will seek to offer our portfolio companies added value through knowledge and expertise as we develop our global talent resource. Occasionally we will consider taking controlling positions," he said.