| 25 Aug 2008 |
|
SHUAA Saudi Hospitality Fund attracts SR900 million at first closing
- Text size
Riyadh, August 25, 2008: SHUAA Capital Saudi ArabiaSHUAA Capital Saudi Arabia
cjsc, announced today the successful first closing of its 'SHUAA Saudi Hospitality Fund I', a Shari'a compliant closed-end fund which aims to develop and own seventeen hotel properties, furnished apartments, and resorts across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia comprising 5,000 rooms. As at August 25, 2008, commitments from regional, institutional and individual investors totalled SR 900 million (US$ 240 million) for this initial closing and it is anticipated that a further SR 1.1 billion (US$ 293.3 million) will be fully subscribed by the second and final closing.
Mr. Iyad Duwaji, Chairman of SHUAA Partners, said: "The initial closing of the Saudi Hospitality Fund follows the earlier successful initial closing of the parent fund, the SHUAA Hospitality Fund I in July 2008 which raised another $200 million. The final closing of the SHUAA Saudi Hospitality Fund will be held as soon as remaining commitments are finalized, after the summer holidays interruption."
SHUAA Saudi Hospitality Fund I is managed by SHUAA Capital Saudi ArabiaSHUAA Capital Saudi Arabia. Its goal is to acquire or develop five stars and budget hotels in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In addition, it will own 20% of a new hotel management company to be incorporated in the Kingdom by UAE based Rotana Hotel Management Corporation LLC (Rotana)Rotana Hotel Management Corporation LLC (Rotana), the leading Pan-Arab hotel management company. This new company will operate and manage the Fund's hotel properties on an exclusive basis.
Mr. Omar Al Jaroudi, Chief Executive Officer of SHUAA Capital Saudi ArabiaSHUAA Capital Saudi Arabia
, said: "We are proud to have launched the first private equity fund domiciled in the Kingdom SHUAA Capital Saudi ArabiaSHUAA Capital Saudi Arabia. We have structured this unique Fund to allow the investors to benefit from the extraordinary growth potential of the hospitality sector, the real estate sector, and also from a 20% ownership in the Saudi Hotel Management Company." He added: "The Fund represents a unique and rare opportunity for Shari'a Compliant High-Net-Worth and institutional investors to diversify their investment away from traditional sectors into hospitality and hotels - a sector that is otherwise not represented in Islamic oriented portfolios""The Fund has already started its activities by putting together a strategic rollout plan and it has partnered to that effect with prominent Saudi players. It has recruited the management team and is currently engaged in advanced discussions for strategic and important land acquisition opportunities in Riyadh, Jeddah, Madinah and Khobar," Mr. Al Jaroudi added.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is experiencing a sustained boom in business and leisure travel and the SHUAA Saudi Hospitality Fund is in an excellent position to benefit from that. Demand for hotel accommodation, throughout the Kingdom, is far outstripping supply. Overnight visitors to and within the Kingdom have jumped over 74% from 6.6 million in 2000 to 11.5 million in 2007, while the number of hotel rooms increased by a limited annualized growth rate of only 1.5% to 50,000 rooms during the same period. Further expected deregulation and a boom in the airline industry are likely to bring the number of visitors further up from current forecasted levels.
Mr. Selim El Zyr, President and Chief Executive Officer of RotanaRotana, commented: "SHUAA Saudi Hospitality Fund I offers a unique opportunity for Shari'a compliant investors to access a dynamic and fast growing sector. There is a shortage in modern branded hotels in the Kingdom especially when compared to the booming tourism industry. Our objective is to develop and manage international quality hotel properties which will cater to the needs of the local and regional market, the international traveler and the niche markets. The RotanaRotana subsidiary in Saudi will have exclusivity on all the RotanaRotana brands in the Kingdom."
-Ends-
About SHUAA Capital psc
(www.shuaacapital.com)
SHUAA Capital psc maintains a leadership position in Investment Banking, Asset Management, Brokerage, Private Equity, Finance, Principal Investments and Research. Headquartered in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, SHUAA Capital has a regional presence with offices in Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Doha, Cairo, Beirut and Istanbul.
Since 1979, SHUAA Capital has played a prominent role in shaping the financial services landscape of the GCC and will continue to be at the vanguard of regional integration into global financial markets.
About RotanaRotana
RotanaRotana currently manages 65 properties throughout the Middle East with an aggressive expansion plans. At RotanaRotana, we have chosen to acknowledge how precious time is to you by making all time spent with us, Treasured Time. This means that we pledge to understand and meet the individual needs of all our guests. In so doing, we have evolved our product brands to include, RotanaRotana Hotels & Resorts, Centro Hotels by RotanaRotana, Rayhaan Hotels & Resorts by RotanaRotana and Arjaan Hotel Apartments by RotanaRotana. Treasured Time. Our promise to you.
Further information on any RotanaRotana property, its brands or reservations can be obtained by visiting www.rotana.com or by contacting one of our regional sales offices. For further information about this press release or any of RotanaRotana's properties and brands, please contact:
Amal Harb
Associate Vice President
Marketing & Communications
RotanaRotana Hotel Management Corporation LTD.
P.O. Box 43500
Abu-Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Tel: 00 971 2 699 44 44
Fax: 00 971 2 644 14 12
E-mail: amal.harb@rotana.com
For further information please contact:
Oliver C. Schutzmann
Head of Investor Relations
SHUAA CAPITAL psc
Level 2, West Wing, The Gate Building
Dubai International Financial Center
P.O. Box 31045, Dubai - UAE
Tel: +971 4 3651 872
Fax: +971 4 3303 550
Mob: +971 505442078
oschutzmann@shuaacapital.com
Tarek S. Fleihan
Senior Associate - Investor Relations
SHUAA CAPITAL psc
Level 2, West Wing, The Gate Building
Dubai International Financial Center
P.O. Box 31045, Dubai - UAE
Tel: +971 4 3651 874
Fax: +971 4 3303 550
Mob: +971 505198511
tfleihan@shuaacapital.com
© Press Release 2008
Zawya is a distributor (and not a publisher) of content supplied by third parties and subscribers. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers, or other information or content expressed or made available by those third parties, including information providers, subscribers or other users of the Service, are those of the respective author(s) or distributor(s) and not of the Company. The Company neither endorses nor is responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, advice or statement made on the Service by anyone other than authorized Service employee spokespersons while acting in their official capacities. The Company is not responsible for any infringement of intellectual property rights or breach of any applicable law or regulation, including regulation in relation to financial services or the distribution of financial products, defamation, data protection, telecommunications (including regulations relating to excessive use, spamming or other abusive activities) or obscene, offensive or illegal content). Under no circumstances will the Company be liable for any loss or damage caused by a member's reliance on information obtained through the Service. It is the responsibility of member to evaluate the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, opinion, advice or other content available through the Service. Please seek the advice of professionals, as appropriate, regarding the evaluation of any specific information, opinion, advice or other content.
Read the full Member Agreement
http://www.zawya.com/legal/NewsLetter.cfm?name=disclaimer
More News in Islamic Finance
Loading ...
Post a Comment
1.1 Contain any material which is libelous or defamatory of any person, is obscene, offensive, hateful or inflammatory or causes damage to the reputation of any person or organisation.
1.2 Promote sexually explicit material, violence, discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age or any illegal activity.
1.3 Be made in breach of any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence.
1.4 Be threatening, abuse or invade another's privacy, or cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety.
1.5 Be used to impersonate any person, to misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person, or be likely to deceive any person.
1.6 Give the impression that they represent Zawya.
1.7 Advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act such as (by way of example only) copyright infringement or computer misuse.