Beirut (APD) - Kuwait-based Global Investment House (GIH) decided to increase the capital of First Jordan Investment Company (FJIC) from JD 100 million ($141 million) to JD 150 million, the Kuwait-based al Rai al Aam daily reported Monday.
The reason for increasing the capital in the only one-month-old FJIC was the enormous interest by investors wanting to become founding members in the venture, the paper wrote.
In statements on the establishment of the new company GIH had said last month that the equity in FJIC would be comprised of 100 million shares with par value of JD 1.0 per share.
Rajai Al Kassous, general manager for GIH in Jordan, told Al Raj al Aam that 60 million shares in FJIC will be offered to founding members at JD 1.05 per share, inclusive of fees per share. The minimum subscription will be set at 50,000 shares and the maximum at 10 million shares.
GIH said that the remaining 40% of the company will be offered for public subscription.
FJIC will be active in acquiring other companies' stocks, establishing new firms in Jordan, helping existing firms in restructuring other companies or increasing the capital of others. Moreover, the company will work in the field of leasing, management and investment of real estate assets.
Kassous added that FJIC will focus on investments that can achieve internal rates of return (IRR) of more than 15%.
FJIC's first project will be the establishment of a business center in Aqaba Special Economic Zone on a 150,000 square meters plot of land that was purchased by Global situated at the entrance of the city of Aqaba.
GlH, which was established in 1998 and has branches in UAE and Bahrain, is involved in a wide range of investment banking products and services including corporate finance, portfolio management, equity research, brokerage service and investment funds. [TS]
By Nadim Issa, APD Staff Writer in Beirut
© APD (Arab Press Digest) 2006
