26/02/2018 05:52 AST
QINVEST, Qatar’s leading private investment group and one of the region’s most prominent Islamic financial institutions, yesterday announced its end of year results for 2017.
Revenues from all business lines amounted to QR368.6m ($101.3m), resulting in operating profit of QR177.3m ($48.7m) and net profit of QR65.9m ($18.1m). The group’s global assets stood at QR4.45bn ($1.22bn) as of 31 December 2017.
QINVEST’s prudent investment approach, stringent provisioning policy, and underleveraged balance sheet has provided stability amid regional uncertainties. The group continued to maintain a healthy Capital Adequacy Ratio of 26 percent as per QFCRA Basel rules, as compared to the regulatory requirement of 10.5 percent. In addition, QINVEST has continued to enjoy a strong liquidity position of c. $120m as of December 2017. QINVEST has also taken the decision to early adopt IFRS9 accounting standard, reducing future volatility from its reported results.
Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, Chairman of QINVEST, said: “In 2017, we were able to capitalise on relatively more favourable global market conditions.We remain prudent in our management of risk and have built up a strong liquidity position and an underleveraged balance sheet that has enabled us to invest in key global markets on an opportunistic basis. Looking ahead, we remain committed to our business strategy, which is based around making strategic investments that prioritise diversification and risk-adjusted returns and delivering value to clients and shareholders at a time when they are counting on us the most.”.
Tamim Hamad Al Kawari, Chief Executive Officer of QINVEST, said: “Over the past year, QINVEST has successfully structured new investment opportunities across a number of different asset classes, with a particular focus on the international real estate market, debt and equity investments, and funds. These opportunities were structured with our investors in mind as we understood early on that there was an unmet demand in the market for access to the US real estate market in a Sharia’a compliant manner. Our team was able to provide the market with a compelling avenue to access these markets.”
Over the past year, QINVEST’s Asset Management division delivered strong performances across both local and global markets and maintained the Group’s leading position among its peer group. A number of funds have been rated by Morningstar, achieving the highest ratings of 4 and 5 stars.
The Firm launched an income-generating Ijara fund, the QINVEST SQN Income fund, in the first quarter of 2017 in collaboration with SQN Capital Management, a leader within the global equipment leasing industry.
The Sharia’a compliant closed-ended fund, provided a unique opportunity for investors to access income generating assets in developed markets. On the back of the strong demand from investors for the first fund, the Group launched another fund in the same series during Q4 2017, which was also oversubscribed. QINVEST will look to launch the third in the series of the Ijarah funds during 2018 to meet market demand.
In Turkey, QINVESTPortfoy continued to deliver top quartile performance and has won a number of significant institutional mandates. Changes in pension legislation in Turkey and growing interest in Turkish equities from international investors will continue to support Asset Under Management growth.
The Peninsula
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