Markaz, KRC acquire 30 percent of Lusail
Kuwait City: Kuwait Financial Centre "Markaz", one of the Middle East's leading investment banking and asset management companies, announced that Markaz and Kuwait Resort Company have acquired 30 percent of Lusail Waterfront Investment Company with a capital of $100 million.
The land infrastructure development project will have an expected return on investment of around 79 percent. The size of the plot is approximately 376 million square feet; the infrastructure of the land will be developed by Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company, a Qatari governmental real estate development company.
The project will cost $399 million (25 percent from Diar and 75 percent from Investors and leverage). The company will be Shari'ah Compliant and supervised by Al Rayan Shari'ah Supervisory Board. Investors may sell their stake in the Company at the end of the 3-year Investment Period, to be arranged by Masraf Al Rayan the Lead Manager, Placement Agent, & Book runner. The new set of investors will acquire the land plot which is expected to reach approximately 700 Qatar Riyals per square foot, as compared to the current entry price of 450 Qatar Riyals per square foot.
Unique
Manaf Alhajeri, General Manager of Markaz, said "Our involvement in this project is a new step to reaffirm our belief in the great potential of the Qatari Market, where we had our first regional branch in Qatar Financial Centre".
Alhajeri added "We also believe that real estate presents some unique opportunities in Qatar, due to various investment triggers such as the above-average economic growth, government spending, rapid industrialization, increasing number of foreign companies, emergence of Qatar as an industry hub, and business and social tourism in Qatar."
Lusail Waterfront Investment Company, incorporated in the Cayman Islands and to be established by Al Rayan, will enable GCC investors to participate in acquiring 70 percent of the usufruct rights in the Lusail Waterfront Holding Company incorporated in Qatar, which in turn would own the Waterfront District in the Lusail Development Project. Initially, The Holding Company will have usufruct rights of the Lusail Waterfront land plot until Qatari Diar completes the necessary infrastructure work over the maximum period of 3 years. Qatari Diar will then transfer ownership of 100 percent of the Land Plot to the Holding Company at the end of the 3-year Investment Period or as soon as the infrastructure work is complete.
Lusail Development Project, a thirty-five square kilometre prime waterfront property, will be transformed into a world-class luxurious metropolis for over 200,000 people. The project is expected to cost over $5.5 billion and will be released to the public in stages until its 15-year completion. The Waterfront District, one of 10 unique districts, will be reserved for shopping and leisure.
Kuwait Financial Centre S.A.K. 'Markaz', with total assets under management of over KD 1.21 billion as of March 31, 2007, was established in 1974 and listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) in 1997. Markaz has grown to become one of the leading asset management and investment banking institutions in the Arabian Gulf Region; and was recently awarded a BBB+ corporate rating by Capital Intelligence Ltd.
© Arab Times 2007
