•US$650-million Villamar @ the Harbour project to be completed by 2011 last quarter

•Five Leading International Engineering Consultancies supervising the construction of the three Villamar towers; Quality standards maintained without fail with GHC strictly adhering to the planned specifications

•Interest from Gucci and Valentino for the Villamar interiors testimony to the level of enthusiasm among international brands to partner with GHC

•Company in talks to assign marketing to a dedicated international firm

• GHC is currently in the process of listing on the Kuwait Stock Exchange

Manama, Bahrain, March 02, 2010: Kuwait-based Gulf Holding Company (GHC) announced that its US$650-million Villamar @ the Harbour project will be fully completed by the last quarter of 2011 and construction on the three towers of the  flagship project was progressing non-stop round the clock.

Addressing a press conference after a media tour of the three towers to emphasize the pace of the construction progress, senior officials of GHC said that work on the project was being supervised by five dedicated international quality control engineering consultancies and assured that GHC would not let down its clients who have made the payment to its marketing company in the Villamar units.

Mr. Ahmad Al-Shammari, Senior Investment Relations Officer, GHC, said: "We will not let down clients who have invested with us through the marketing company, though the latter has not paid GHC the amounts collected.  We will strive to quickly resolve our differences with the development's marketing company."

He said GHC is also in talks to assign marketing to a dedicated international firm.

Commenting on the difference of opinion between "Baz Marketing Company" and GHC, Mr.  Al-Shammari said:  "If there is a dispute, it will be resolved through due legal course and as per the terms of the agreement concluded with Baz on March 5, 2007 for a period of 4 years."

Elaborating on the disputed topics between Baz and GHC, Mr. Al-Shammari said: "We are keen on maintaining excellent relations with all parties, yet, out of our concern to protect the rights of our shareholders, our sole option to resolve the dispute is the agreement concluded between us."

When asked about a remedy to the situation, Mr. Al-Shammari said: "GHC is seriously considering delegating the marketing function to a dedicated international company, with the option of directly marketing the development through a dedicated office managed by GHC."

Mr. Al-Shammari also said: "Work on the development never stopped for a single moment and is progressing round-the-clock, because of the availability of sufficient liquidity needed to finance the construction coupled with  the company's determination to deliver the development according to schedule."

On the concerns on technical specifications of some of the development's units, Mr. Al-Shammari said: "Five dedicated international quality control engineering consultancies are following up the implementation of the development step by step to ensure that it is up to the highest international standards. GHC on the other hand, is  most interested in delivering the development as planned."

"There is no point in trying to address this claim because it doesn't make sense at all. As a real estate developer, we are fully aware of the essence of our projects and are perfectly able to follow up all their details, in order to uphold the values of our "Signature Series".

He said that GHC recently received letters expressing interest by some reputed international designers such as Valentino and Gucci to provide interior design to   Villamar units.

GHC coordinated a tour of the development for the media representatives attending the press briefing. Site Engineers Awwad Husainieh and Steve Flanagan, elaborated on the various facets of the development and accompanied the media representatives on a full-fledged tour of the three towers, shedding light on the specific details that will make the development the pearl of the Arab Gulf's waters, which is the goal the company is endeavouring to achieve.

With regard to the amendments introduced by the company on the usage of its towers, the engineers said: "We have actually obtained the permit for the usage of tower C, which is designed to accommodate a hotel and fully serviced apartments. The same tower is also expected to accommodate a mixture of over 500 hotel rooms and fully serviced apartments, in addition to a number of recreational facilities."

GHC also ascertained that in fulfillments of its promise to its shareholders, it is striving to complete the procedures for listing its shares on the Kuwait stock exchange through its consultant company CapCorp , despite the current performance of GCC stock exchanges.

- Ends -  


About Gulf Holding Company (GHC)
A diversified and trusted holding company, Gulf Holding Company (GHC) specialises in offering cutting-edge Sharia'h compliant smart, intelligent and value-driven investment products and services. Gulf Holding Company was launched in November 2005 to tap the investment potential in the real estate and infrastructure sectors in the Middle East. With a paid up capital of KD77 million (approx. US$258 million), the company's current portfolio features investments of over US$2 billion across the MENA region.

© Press Release 2010