Another Dozen Gulf Investors Buy Into IB Asia

Source : The Business Times, September 14, 2007

List of shareholders published by DBS includes prominent people in GCC

DBS Bank said yesterday that another dozen Gulf investors have bought stakes in its subsidiary, the Islamic Bank of Asia (IB Asia), raising its paid-up capital to US$500 million.

DBS also published a list of IB Asia's other shareholders, including prominent individuals, families and industrial groups - mostly privately held - from the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries in the Middle East. About half of them come from Saudi Arabia or Bahrain, and they have interests in a broad range of businesses, including agriculture, construction, steel fabrication and telecommunications.

DBS now holds a majority stake of 50 per cent plus one share in IB Asia, with the remainder shared between 34 GCC investors, none of whom owns more than a 5 per cent stake.

IB Asia chief executive Vince Cook said the bank's 'unique shareholding structure' would give it access to the GCC network and DBS' expertise in Asia.

IB Asia was launched in May as Singapore's first Islamic bank, with an initial capital of US$418 million - US$250 million from DBS and the rest from 22 GCC investors.

At the time, DBS Group chief executive Jackson Tai, who is IB Asia's vice-chairman, said IB Asia would act as a bridge for growing capital flows between Asia and the Middle East.

Related Link - http://tinyurl.com/2pxapx
DBS Group's News Release

Since then, the bank has doubled its manpower and is 'on track' to meet its targeted 50-60 hirings by the end of the year, Mr Cook said.

Among the GCC investors is IB Asia's chairman, Abdulla Hasan Saif, who is also economic affairs adviser to the Prime Minister of Bahrain.

Two others on IB Asia's nine-member board are also linked to its GCC shareholders.

Khalid Abdulla Al-Bassam, one of its directors, is chairman of Bahrain's Al-Bassam Investment Co, another of IB Asia's shareholders. He also sits on the boards of several other companies, including the Bahrain Islamic Bank.

The third director from the GCC on IB Asia's board, Khalid Abdullah Al-Zamil, is a director and partner of the Zamil Group in Saudi Arabia, which also has a stake in IB Asia. He is one of 12 brothers who make up the board of Zamil Group, which has industrial and commercial interests in more than 55 countries.

Other prominent names among the GCC investors are Michael Patrick Lee, the CEO of Bahrain's Ithmaar Bank; and Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud & Sons Group Holding Co, which is controlled by the Saudi royal family.

From the United Arab Emirates (UAE), there is Dubai Investments, a public-listed investment company with more than 250,000 shareholders, including the Dubai government and the National Bank of Dubai.

From Kuwait, there is M A Al-Kharafi & Sons, a family-owned conglomerate whose interests include construction, real estate, and food. The Kharafi family was ranked No 52 on this year's Forbes list of the world's richest people, with an estimated net worth of US$11.5 billion.

And from Oman, there is the Suhail Bahwan Group, another conglomerate with diverse business interests, which has more than 10,000 employees.