Thursday, 6 August 2009 at 17:36
Bahrain-based Islamic investment bank Gulf Finance House (GFH) has won approval by Bahrain's central bank to hike its capital by $300 million to $500 million, it said in a statement on Thursday.
GFH, which is also currently seeking to refinance a $300 million Islamic murabaha loan maturing next year, did not provide any further details on the planned capital increase in its statement posted on the Bahrain Stock Exchange.
The bank was not immediately available for further comment.
GFH, which specialises in developing and arranging financing for large real estate and infrastructure projects, posted two consecutive quarterly losses as these sectors were hit by the economic slowdown in the Gulf Arab region.
It is due to report its second-quarter earnings on Aug 10, for which analysts at SICO Investment Bank forecast a net loss of $30 million.
Some of the off-shore investment houses based in Bahrain have been trying to recapitalise themselves, as asset valuations have fallen and investors in the region have been reluctant to place money with their products since the global financial crisis reached the region late last year.
Bahrain-based investment house Investcorp said this week it had raised over $500 million in fresh capital.
(Reporting by Frederik Richter; Editing by John Irish )
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