Appointment of Former Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait Executive as Group Chief Financial Officer at Gulf Islamic Investment in the UAE
In a significant move, Gulf Islamic Investments (GII) has raised $100 million in growth capital from Saudi institutional investors. This influx of funds will bolster GII's expansion plans, particularly in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Accompanying this development, GII has appointed Utpal Shah as its Group Chief Financial Officer. Shah brings a wealth of experience to the table, having previously served as Deputy Group CFO at Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait and gaining diverse experience managing teams across different regions at ANZ and JP Morgan. He is a qualified chartered accountant with expertise in fundraising, liquidity management, and capital planning.
With over $150 million of exposure in the Indian market through its two dedicated funds, India Growth Portfolio I (IGP-I) and India Growth Portfolio II (IGP-II), GII has made investments in sectors such as electric mobility, consumer products, healthcare, and technology in India.
Last year, GII sold a majority stake in its logistics real estate platform, comprising 1.5 million square feet of warehouses in the UAE, including the warehouse for leading e-commerce player Noon, to Canadian alternative investment firm Brookfield Asset Management. This move aimed to expand GII's presence in the Middle East region.
GII is also seeking to deepen its presence in Saudi Arabia, having struck a $300 million joint venture deal with Logipoint, the real estate development arm of Saudi Industrial Services Company (Sisco).
Utpal Shah's appointment is timely as GII aims to build Grade A warehousing solutions across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He will support GII's financial architecture and accelerate its expansion into digital banking platforms.
Pankaj Gupta, co-founder and co-CEO of GII, stated that Shah's appointment will strengthen the firm's financial controls and enable continued growth. Mohammed Alhassan, co-founder and co-CEO of GII, expressed anticipation for Shah's contribution to enhancing GII's reputation as a leading Shari'ah-compliant investment group.
It's worth noting that GII's real estate portfolio does not include any investments from Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait or Utpal Shah, as they are related to financial architecture and appointments within the company.
So far, GII has made exits worth $600 million, but has yet to mark an exit from its India portfolio. The sale of the Amity School complex in Dubai, operated by the Indian education provider Amity Education Group, was a $50 million deal after six years, but it was not specified as being aimed at expansion.
GII manages assets worth more than $3.5 billion in private equity, venture capital, and real estate. With the addition of Utpal Shah and the recent capital injection, GII is poised for significant growth and expansion in the near future.
Utpal Shah, in his new role as Group Chief Financial Officer at Gulf Islamic Investments (GII), will utilize his expertise in fundraising and capital planning to support the company's expansion into digital banking platforms and the development of Grade A warehousing solutions, particularly in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, GII, with assets worth more than $3.5 billion in private equity, venture capital, and real-estate, plans to invest in sectors like electric mobility, consumer products, healthcare, technology, and real-estate to further grow its business and realize profitable returns on investments.
