By: Amr Adel
Dubai – Mubasher: GFH Financial Group is discussing three proposals on how to utilise its newly-acquired 200 million square feet of land portfolio, said CEO Hisham Al Rayes on Tuesday.
The new portfolio includes lands in Tunisia, Morocco, India and the GCC.
The first proposal comes as part of negotiations with an international real estate developer to create a partnership and use part of the 60-million square-foot land in India, Al Rayes told Mubasher in a phone interview.
The second proposal involves talks with a GCC-based company to buy the land portfolio over the medium-term, while the third proposal involves establishing a GFH subsidiary to manage the infrastructure sector and develop the land portfolio, Al Rayes revealed.
Earlier on Tuesday, GFH said it acquired an infrastructure investment portfolio for $1.2 billion in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) regions, making it the largest land-owning company.
GFH purchased the infrastructure portfolio from GCC corporations and individuals.
The group obtained the assets at lower prices and incurred a cost of $315 million, while assets were estimated at approximately $1.2 billion.
The difference between the assets’ value and cost will be useful for the GFH’s shareholders on the long-term.
Al Rayes forecasted that the partial exit from the land portfolio before the end of 2017 will lead to achieving profits.
GFH profits soared to $32 million in the second quarter of 2017, from $7.9 million in Q2-16.
Translated by: Mohamed Hesham Azab
