London transforming itself into Islamic finance leader
The Securities House and its subsidiary, GSH, announced Sunday their Platinum Sponsorship of the Sukuk Summit in London on June 20 -21; a conference endorsed by the UK Trade and Investment Ministry (UKTI) with the aim of capitalizing on new UK legislation designed to open up Shariah compliant capital markets. Prominent speakers, scholars, and proven experts in their respective fields from a number of countries, including Kuwait, have already confirmed their participation.
The Summit comes at a time when London is successfully emerging as one of the hubs of the world's Sukuk market and Islamic finance services and in response to the recent announcement by UK Chancellor, Mr Gordon Brown in which he stated that "to help widen the investment opportunities that are available to all and support substantial market innovation in Britain, the Government is introducing a new regime for Sukuk giving comparable tax treatment to conventional securitisations". These changes, according to Chancellor Brown, will "ensure that the City remains at the forefront of developments in financial markets around the world."
A senior delegation from both Securities House and GSH will participate in the summit and will attend a reception hosted by UK Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs Ian McCartney. The reception will be addressed by Richard Thomas, Managing Director of GSH UK, the London based subsidiary of GSH Kuwait, who will also chair the "ISLAMIC CAPITAL MARKETS - EU and UK DYNAMICS" session in the summit .
Mr Fahed Boodai, CEO of GSH, stated "We are honored and excited to be a part of the Sukuk Summit as it represents thrilling new developments in London, placing the city as a leader of Islamic finance. We here, at GSH and GSH UK, are committed to take advantage of these developments and are committed to expanding our presence in the very promising Sukuks and Shariah compliant capital markets."
According to Richard Thomas, Managing Director of GSH UK, "The objective of the Sukuk Summit is to provide a platform for issuers and end-users to engage with investors, arrangers, regulators, listing and rating agencies. The UKTI reception provides an opportunity for delegates to provide feedback and comments directly to those involved in developing legislation and originating transactions. With London emerging as one of the hubs of the world's Sukuk market and Islamic finance, the Summit could not have been better timed".
London has long been a friendly environment for Islamic financial services. In the UK the central bank and government encouragement to innovate for domestic Sharia compliant financial solutions has its roots in a policy of social inclusion, but also in its increasing understanding that real solutions and advantages lie in adopting these methods.
Sovereign and corporate Sukuk issuance has grown phenomenally in the last two years. The total outstanding in global Sukuk issuances currently is estimated at US$30 billion. Sukuk, being asset-backed instruments, are ideal for raising finance for infrastructure and real estate projects. The pipeline for such developments and projects, according to the consensus looks robust and with multi-sourced financing for larger projects now increasingly the norm in the GCC region, Sukuk issuance is projected to remain very strong in 2007 and to continue to grow strongly in the next few years.
In the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries, Sukuk issuances accounted for 81 per cent of the total new bond issuances in 2006, compared to just 26 per cent in 2005.
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About GSH
GSH is an international investment advisory firm based in Kuwait. It structures, manages, and monitors innovative and exceptional global real estate and investment products on behalf of its investors. GSH has extensive experience in global real estate investments, having structured and realized significant transactions in the US, UK, and France far exceeding projections.
GSH is a subsidiary of the Securities House K.S.C.C.
For More Information Contact:
Noha Al-Awadi
EPR
General Manager
Tel: 2473617/8 ext: 209
Fax: 2493619
Email: noha@epr-online.com
© Press Release 2007
