Riyadh: Jeddah-based Alkhabeer Capital says it plans to broaden its investments around the Gulf and seek a listing on the Saudi stock exchange, underscoring an improvement of investor sentiment in the region.
Saudi firms such as Alkhabeer, an Islamic investment company, are expanding their range of sharia-compliant investments, catering to clients’ appetite for both regional and Western markets, said Henri Chaoul, Alkhabeer’s chief investment strategist. “In private equity for example, we are planning to invest further in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) region and are currently looking at a number of serious opportunities.”
The company was founded in 2004 as an advisory firm and made the transition to an investment firm in 2008 with a modest $10m in assets under management. It now manages close to $500m, a 17 percent increase from a year earlier, said Chaoul. “Going forward, we envisage a similar growth momentum.” Reuters
