Gulf Finance House (GFH), a Middle Eastern Islamic investment bank, intends to establish a joint Islamic financial services platform in the Middle East with Macquarie Group (Macquarie), a global provider of banking, financial, advisory, investment and funds management services.
The platform is expected to offer a broad range of wholesale Shariah compliant financial services solutions to the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region. The proposed partnership includes a joint presence based in the region and approximately $100 million convertible murabaha investment by Macquarie in GFH as part of GFH’s current capital management initiatives.
Commenting on the announcement, Ahmed Fahour, CEO of GFH, said: The strategic partnership with Macquarie represents an exciting opportunity as we look to continue the bank’s diversification into new geographies and opportunities. The strategic relationship would bring together GFH and Macquarie to create the standard in Sharia compliant products and services for the Mena region.
However, the proposed partnership is subject to board, internal, and regulatory approvals of both companies.
