KFH: Less than 15% exposure to property

Although Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) Bhd (KFH) gained prominence through its participation in some high profile property development projects, real estate only forms less than 15% of its total investment portfolio, reports Financial Dialy.
KFH managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Salman Younis said the group was in fact well diversified, and the impression that KFH's assets were concentrated on property investments was mainly due to them being involved in high profile commercial property projects in prime locations.
"In view of the slowdown in the property development sector, KFH now sees the opportunities to expand further into healthcare and food industries. We want to take the lead in supporting the domestic economy, particularly sectors that would benefit from the stimulus package,” Younis said during a briefing by Dow Jones Indexes on economic and Islamic finance outlook for Malaysia and the region here on Mar 17, the newspaper reported.
The report said some of the more prominent property investment and financing projects involving KFH include being a shareholder in the entity that is the master concessionaire and land developer for the Cultural Cluster of Medini in Iskandar Malaysia. KFH was also the joint lead arranger for a syndicated facility of up to RM250 million for Al-'Aqar KPJ REIT's acquisition of nine properties. In addition to financing facilities for property projects, KFH has lead arranged a syndicated US dollar financing facility for AirAsia Bhd to purchase three new A-320 aircraft from Airbus.