Fajr Capital Ltd today announces its launch as a new Islamic investment firm focusing on financial services and complementary opportunities in the broader economy in key Muslim markets.
With initial funding of approximately USD 600m and access to further capital, the firm brings together a prominent and diverse set of shareholders, including the sovereign investment bodies Khazanah Nasional Berhad of Malaysia, Brunei Investment Agency and Abu Dhabi Investment Council, and the private Saudi-based firm MASIC (a member of the Al Subeaei Group). The Board of Directors is chaired by Sheikh Ebrahim Bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, Chairman of the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) and a long-time patron of the Islamic financial services industry.
The management team leading Fajr Capital combines a deep understanding of its target markets with particular expertise in Islamic financial services. Iqbal Khan, formerly the founding CEO of HSBC Amanah, is Chief Executive. Senior executives include some of the most experienced financial services specialists internationally, with backgrounds at HSBC, Citigroup, Bank Islam Malaysia and other leading institutions.
Fajr Capital, based in the Dubai International Financial Centre and with offices in Kuala Lumpur and London, intends to be an active and enabling investor in its portfolio companies, helping to optimize performance through best-in-class products, service standards, technologies and Shari'a expertise. Fajr Capital's shareholder profile offers further sources of competitive advantage: regional connectivity, cross-market insights, and co-investment opportunities.
Fajr Capital intends to act as a responsible investor, and is deeply committed to the development of the communities it serves. The firm has also appointed independent Shari'a supervisors to ensure consistency with Islamic legal and ethical principles.
The firm's management and shareholders believe that Fajr Capital represents a compelling and timely proposition in the current economic environment. According to Iqbal Khan: "The global financial crisis has highlighted the need for an ethical and community-based approach to investment. The Islamic financial services industry is strategically positioned to fulfil this need in our target markets. We see these markets as our home, and wish to work with local partners and indigenous management to grow our portfolio companies and to increase the overall market share for Islamic financial services."
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About the Shareholders
Abu Dhabi Investment Council
The Abu Dhabi Investment Council is an investment arm of the Government of Abu Dhabi. The Council started its operations in April 2007 and is responsible for investing part of the government's surplus financial resources through a globally diversified investment strategy. It is also empowered to broaden Abu Dhabi's economic base and to facilitate the international development of local companies.
Brunei Investment Agency
The Brunei Investment Agency is the investment holding arm of the Government of Brunei Darussalam. Its guiding principle is to increase the real value of Brunei's foreign reserves while pursuing a diverse investment strategy, with investments worldwide in both developed and emerging markets. The Managing Director of the Brunei Investment Agency, Dr. Hj. Mohd. Amin Liew Bin Abdullah, also serves on the Fajr Capital Board of Directors.
Khazanah Nasional
Khazanah Nasional Berhad is the investment holding arm of the Government of Malaysia entrusted to hold and manage the commercial assets of the Government and to undertake strategic investments. Khazanah was incorporated under the Companies Act 1965 on 3 September 1993 as a public limited company. Khazanah has stakes in more than 50 companies with assets valued in excess of USD 25 billion. Khazanah is also the state agency responsible for strategic cross-border investments. The Managing Director of Khazanah, Tan Sri Dato' Azman Hj. Mokhtar, is also a member of the Fajr Capital Board of Directors.
MASIC
The Mohammad & Abdullah Al Subeaei Investment Co (MASIC) and its parent company the Al Subeaei Group represent the business interests of the Al Subeaei family, one of the leading business families in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. MASIC has played a key role in the establishment of several Islamic financial institutions in the region, including Bank Al Bilad, Jadwa Investment and Fajr Capital. The MASIC Chairman, Mr. Naser Al Subeaei, and MASIC board member, Mr. Abdulaziz Al Subeaei, also serve on the Fajr Capital Board of Directors.
About the Management Team
Mr. Iqbal Khan
Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Iqbal Khan serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Fajr Capital. Previously, he was Founding CEO of HSBC Amanah, where he built the business and team over eight years as one of the fastest growing and most successful emerging businesses in the HSBC Group. Mr. Khan was a member of the Boards of Directors of HSBC Bank Middle East, The Saudi British Bank, and HSBC Investment Bank (Saudi Arabia). He reported directly to the HSBC Group Holdings Group CEO and now Chairman, Stephen Green. Mr. Khan has been associated with the launch of leading Islamic financial services institutions such as Meezan Bank, Citi Islamic Investment Bank, and IDB Infrastructure Fund, and has overseen a wide range of business lines, including retail banking, corporate finance advisory, treasury and risk management, wealth management, private banking, and private equity. He is active in a large number of Islamic financial services industry initiatives, serving as an advisor to government initiatives in the UK, the UAE, and Malaysia. Mr. Khan has received a number of industry commendations, including a special award from Euromoney in 2006 for his "Outstanding Contribution to Islamic Finance."
Javed Ahmad
Managing Director
Mr. Javed Ahmad was a Managing Director at HSBC Amanah, where he led a wide range of businesses during his tenure. Mr. Ahmad led HSBC Amanah's retail franchise in Saudi Arabia as SABB Amanah's General Manager, implementing the staged conversion of the Saudi British Bank's retail proposition to fully Shari`a-compliant. He also led HSBC Amanah's global wealth management business, overseeing a wide range of funds across diverse asset classes. He has a long track record of successful corporate finance transactions in Islamic financial services at HSBC Amanah, at RHB Sakura Merchant Bankers Berhad as a General Manager, and at the DMI Group. Mr. Ahmad, who is a resident of Brunei, holds an MBA from the University of Bradford and is an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.
Dato' Noor Azman Aziz
Managing Director
Dato' Noor Azman Aziz was the Group CEO of BIMB Holdings Berhad (Bank Islam Malaysia) until November 2007 and brings a wealth of experience in the Malaysian and ASEAN banking markets. At Bank Islam, Dato' Noor Azman introduced and led a series of performance enhancing initiatives creating significant value for shareholders. He built his career at Citigroup, where he held a number of senior management positions in Malaysia and abroad. Dato' Noor Azman has also played pivotal roles in developing Malaysia's financial markets through prominent executive leadership and advisory roles such as Director General of the Labuan Offshore Financial Services Authority (LOFSA) and Chief Operating Officer of Bursa Malaysia. He holds a B.Sc. (Finance) from Louisiana State University, USA and is a member of various professional bodies including the Association of Chartered Islamic Finance Professionals (ACIFP).
Mr. Kamran Faridi
Managing Director
Mr. Kamran Faridi serves on the Investments team at Fajr Capital. Previously, he was a Managing Director in Global Banking at Citigroup in New York. In a 25 year career at Citigroup and its affiliates, Mr. Faridi held a variety of senior positions across various businesses and geographies. These positions included: Managing Director - Mergers and Acquisitions, Emerging Markets Strategic Planning Head, Director of Strategy and Business Development - Retail Banking North America, and Head of Marketing - Commercial Business Group. Mr. Faridi has worked in leadership roles extensively in the Middle East, Asia and the United States, and is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales and has read Engineering at Trinity College, University of Cambridge.
Mr. Rafe Haneef
Managing Director
Mr. Rafe Haneef serves on the Investments team at Fajr Capital. Previously, he was head of Citigroup's Islamic financial services business in Asia and has been at the forefront of innovation and thought leadership in Islamic financial services for many years. Mr. Haneef was previously global head of Islamic finance at ABN AMRO, building the business from its very early stages. Mr. Haneef was previously head of Sukuk at HSBC Amanah, where he led landmark and pioneering Sukuk offerings including the first global Sukuk for the Government of Malaysia. He holds an LLM from Harvard Law School and read Shari'a and law at the International Islamic University of Malaysia.
Mr. Saud Hashimi
Managing Director
Mr. Saud Hashimi serves on the Investments team at Fajr Capital. He has successfully developed and launched more than a dozen new ventures and growth businesses in the US, Europe and Asia for companies in the financial services, retail, mobile, internet and technology sectors. He has also co-founded two companies as an entrepreneur and has played an advisory role to many other new businesses. Prior to joining the Fajr team in December 2007, he was Senior Vice President and global head of new venture development for Citigroup's Consumer Growth Ventures and Innovation team where he launched several new businesses including a global financial services mobile platform joint venture. He has also developed and managed a real-time macro, structured trading business for Citigroup and led online and mobile consumer strategy for Citi's Consumer Group. Mr. Hashimi started his career as a strategy consultant with Corporate Decisions, Inc and Mercer Management Consulting in Boston focused on growth and turnaround strategy. He holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and is a graduate of Princeton University with a degree in Economics.
Mr. Rizwan Kherati
Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Rizwan Kherati serves as the Chief Financial Officer at Fajr Capital. Previously, he was Global Head of Finance and Risk at HSBC Amanah. He has also served on the Board of Directors for a listed financial services firm and has been part of top management forums and committees at the HSBC Group. In a career spanning over fourteen years, he has worked for leading international firms including PricewaterhouseCoopers. Mr. Kherati has managed functions such as financial control, financial analysis, audit, risk management, operations, and compliance amongst others. He is a qualified chartered accountant, cost and management accountant, corporate secretary and internal auditor.
Mr. Aamir Rehman
Managing Director
Mr. Aamir Rehman serves on the Investment Relations Management team at Fajr Capital. He was previously Global Head of Strategy at HSBC Amanah, where he oversaw strategy development across the full range of business lines and regions. Prior to HSBC Amanah, he was a consultant with the Boston Consulting Group, advising Fortune 500 and prominent global clients. Mr. Rehman holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School, a master's degree in Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University, and a bachelor's degree from Harvard College. He is author of Dubai & Co.: Global Strategies for Doing Business in the Gulf States (McGraw Hill, December 2007), a book on corporate strategy in the GCC. His work has also been published in the Harvard Business Review and the Wharton Leadership Digest.
Mr. Pawan Adhikari
Director
Mr. Pawan Adhikhari serves on the Investments team at Fajr Capital. He was a Vice President in Citigroup's Global Technology Investment Banking group until April 2008. He joined Salomon Smith Barney (Investment Banking) in 1997 in the Financial Institutions Group and has since worked in Citigroup's Corporate M&A and Business Development Group and in the Commercial Business Group. His experience includes over two dozen financing and advisory transactions as well as over a dozen strategy projects spanning the financial services and technology industries, including in New York, Palo Alto and Hong Kong. Mr. Adhikari received a B.A. in Mathematics from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. with honours from Columbia University.
Mr. Andrew Williams
Director and Head of Human Resources
Mr. Andrew Williams serves as the Head of Human Resources at Fajr Capital. He has spent the last 14 years working within the Human Resources (HR) function of Morgan Stanley. He has had specific responsibility for Human Resources for Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa. Mr. Williams developed the HR strategy for new offices in Dubai, Doha, Budapest and Istanbul and assisted with joint venture set ups in Saudi Arabia, Russia and South Africa. Prior to this role, he was global co-head of the Morgan Stanley mobility function and was responsible for HR for the consumer lending business. Prior to Morgan Stanley, Mr. Williams spent 7 years working in Arthur Andersen where he qualified as a tax specialist.
About the Board of Directors
Sheikh Ebrahim Al-Khalifa
Chairman, AAOIFI and Chairman of the Company
Sheikh Ebrahim Bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa is one of the leading patrons of the Islamic financial services industry, and serves as Chairman of the standard-setting industry body Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI). Sheikh Ebrahim also serves as Minister of Housing of the Government of Bahrain. Previous to this post, he was the Deputy Minister of Finance and National Economy of the Government of Bahrain. He is also Chairman of the Bahrain Development Bank, Gulf International Bank, and Meezan Bank.
Dr. Amin Liew Abdullah
Managing Director, Brunei Investment Agency (BIA)
Dr. Hj. Mohd. Amin Liew Bin Abdullah serves as Managing Director of the BIA, a position he has held since May 2005. Prior to joining the BIA in October 1997, Dr. Amin worked for a number of other organisations such as Brunei Shell Petroleum Sdn. Bhd. as the Assistant Head of the Oil Trading Department, in the Ministry of Finance in Brunei as Special Duty Officer and in ICI Finance PLC (London) as a Research Analyst. Dr. Amin graduated in 1993 with a PhD degree in Finance from Imperial College, University of London. In 2004, Dr. Amin became a member of CFA Institute and a member of the Singapore Society of Financial Analysts.
Mr. Mohammed bin Hamouda
Executive Director, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority
Mr. Mohammed bin Hamouda has long served as an Executive Director of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, overseeing a major portfolio including North American equity investments. He was the Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank until 2007, where he led the bank through a period of unprecedented growth and instilled a performance-oriented culture widely admired throughout the Islamic financial services industry.
Mr. Iqbal Khan
Chief Executive Officer of the Company
Mr. Iqbal Khan serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Fajr Capital. Previously, he was Founding CEO of HSBC Amanah, where he built the business and team over eight years as one of the fastest growing and most successful emerging businesses in the HSBC Group. Mr. Khan was a member of the Boards of Directors of HSBC Bank Middle East, The Saudi British Bank, and HSBC Investment Bank (Saudi Arabia). He reported directly to the HSBC Group Holdings Group CEO and now Chairman, Stephen Green. Mr. Khan has been associated with the launch of leading Islamic financial services institutions such as Meezan Bank, Citi Islamic Investment Bank, and IDB Infrastructure Fund, and has overseen a wide range of business lines, including retail banking, corporate finance advisory, treasury and risk management, wealth management, private banking, and private equity. He is active in a large number of Islamic financial services industry initiatives, serving as an advisor government initiatives in the UK, the UAE and Malaysia. Mr. Khan has received a number of industry commendations, including a special award from Euromoney in 2006 for his "Outstanding Contribution to Islamic Finance."
Mr. Atilla Kurama
President, Financial Services Group, Yildiz Holding A.S.
Mr. M. Atilla Kurama is President of the Financial Services Group of Yildiz Holding, a Board Member of Türkiye Finans ve Kat?l?m Bankas? and Godiva Chocolatier, and Chairman of Fon Leasing. He serves as a member of the Holding Executive Board of the Ulker Group, one of Turkey's leading diversified conglomerates. The Ulker Group, with origins in the food and beverage industry, has been an operator and principal investor in a wide range of sectors and in 2008 acquired the world-famous Godiva Chocolatier. In addition to strong insight and connectivity into Turkey and other OIC markets, Mr. Kurama brings deep expertise in the Financial Services sector, having played a pivotal role in the 60% sale of Türkiye Finans to Saudi Arabia's National Commercial Bank (NCB) in 2008.
Mr. Chris Masterson
Chief Executive, Montagu Private Equity
Mr. Chris Masterson has served as Chief Executive of Montagu Private Equity, a leading principal investor in the European market, since 2000. Montagu focuses on mid-market (Euro 100m - 1b) investments and management buyouts, with offices in the UK, France, Germany, and Sweden. Mr. Masterson has over three decades of principal investment experience at Montagu and elsewhere. Previously held by the HSBC Group as HSBC Private Equity Limited, Montagu was bought out by its management in 2003, with HSBC remaining as a minority shareholder. Mr. Masterson read Psychology at University College, London and holds an MBA from Manchester Business School.
Tan Sri Dato' Azman Mokhtar
Managing Director, Khazanah Nasional
Tan Sri Dato' Azman Hj. Mokhtar is the Managing Director of Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the strategic investment arm of the Government of Malaysia. Prior to his appointment in June 2004, he was the Managing Director and co-founder of BinaFikir Sdn Bhd, a financial consultancy, the Director, Head of Country Research, Salomon Smith Barney Malaysia and the Director, Head of Research, Union Bank of Switzerland in Malaysia. He is the Chairman of Iskandar Investment Berhad, Axiata Group Berhad and Valuecap Sdn Bhd and holds various board memberships including UEM Group Berhad, Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) and Jadwa Investment of Saudi Arabia. Tan Sri Dato' Azman obtained his M.Phil in Development Studies from Cambridge University and also holds a postgraduate diploma in Islamic Studies from the International Islamic University, Malaysia.
Mr. Nasser Al Subeaei
Chairman, MASIC
Mr. Nasser Mohammad Al Subeaei is Chairman of Mohammad & Abdullah Al Subeaei Investment Co. (MASIC) and Managing Director at its parent company, the Al Subeaei Group of Companies. Mr. Al Subeaei is a Board Member and a Member of the Executive Committee of Bank Al Bilad. He is also a Board Member of Arriyadh Development Company (ARDCO) and of Saudi Hotels and Resorts Company, and a Member of the Audit Committee at the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC).
Mr. Abdulaziz Al Subeaei
Board Member, MASIC
Mr. Abdulaziz Mohammad Al Subeaei has played a pivotal role in the creation of the Mohammad & Abdullah Al Subeaei Investment Co. (MASIC), where he serves as Board Member and Head of Investment Committee. He is a founder and member of the Board of Directors of Jadwa Investment, one of Saudi Arabia's fastest growing start-up investment banks. Mr. Al Subeaei also serves on the Founder's Committee and the Executive Committee of Bank Al Bilad in Saudi Arabia. In addition, he serves on the Boards of Directors of four other companies.
Media Contacts
Dubai
Jonathan Ellis
+971 (0)4 367 6172
media@fajrcapital.com
London
Neil Doyle
+44 (0)20 7307 5333
media@fajrcapital.com
More details, including press releases by market and language, are available at fajrcapital.com.
© Press Release 2009
