GFH Earns $42 Million in the First Half of 2022

 GFH Earns $42 Million in the First Half of 2022
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GFH Earns $42 Million in the First Half of 2022

 GFH Earns $42 Million in the First Half of 2022

GFH Financial Group announced a net profit of $23.06 million during the second quarter of 2022, an increase of 10.2 percent compared to $20.92 million for the second quarter of 2021.

The profit increase reflected the steady growth and continued progress of the Manama-based financial group.

GFH said that the main contributions included the income achieved from underwriting the group’s global investments, commercial banking activity and the sustainable infrastructure platform.

Earnings per share during the second quarter amounted to 0.67 cents. The total income for the second quarter of 2022 amounted to $91.95 million, an increase of 1.5 percent, the consolidated net profit for the second quarter was $26.03 million, an increase of 4.9 percent, and the total expenses for the second quarter amounted to $65.92 million, an increase of 0.2 percent.

The net profit achieved for shareholders amounted to 42.18 million dollars for the first half of 2022, an increase of 13.9 percent, and earnings per share for this period amounted to 1.22 cents.

GFH Chairman Ghazi Al-Hajri said: “We have built our investment portfolio across the Middle East, Europe and the United States and listed our shares on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, which is the group’s fourth listing on a regional exchange, as this move is in line with efforts to expand our reach. geographic, shareholder base and enhanced visibility among key global and regional investors as we enter another phase of growth.”

“During this period, we also succeeded in separating the group’s infrastructure and real estate assets into Infracorp, which was capitalized with more than $1 billion in infrastructure and developed assets. This move aims to accelerate growth and investments in sustainable infrastructure assets and environments across the region and internationally.”

For his part, Hisham Al Rayes, CEO of GFH Financial Group, said: “During this period, we acquired a majority stake in Student Quarters Asset Management, a US-based student housing company, which strengthened our presence in the US real estate sector. and supporting half a billion dollars worth of new deals in the student housing sector during the first half of the year alone. Our commercial banking company, Khaleeji Commercial Bank, also performed well during this period.”

"We expect further progress in these key areas of our business. The continued expansion of our investment activities, deal flow and global presence will remain our top priority in the coming periods,” he added.



China to Focus on Stabilizing Housing Market in 2025, Housing Regulator Says

 A cleaner carrying a broom and a trash bin walks along a street in Beijing on December 24, 2024. (AFP)
A cleaner carrying a broom and a trash bin walks along a street in Beijing on December 24, 2024. (AFP)
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China to Focus on Stabilizing Housing Market in 2025, Housing Regulator Says

 A cleaner carrying a broom and a trash bin walks along a street in Beijing on December 24, 2024. (AFP)
A cleaner carrying a broom and a trash bin walks along a street in Beijing on December 24, 2024. (AFP)

Efforts will continue in 2025 to stabilize and prevent further declines in China's real estate market, China Construction News reported, citing a work conference held by the housing regulator on Tuesday and Wednesday.

China will vigorously promote the reform of the commercial housing sales system, and expand the scope of urban village renovation beyond the addition of 1 million units, the report said.

China will strictly control the supply of commercial housing, while increasing the supply of affordable housing to help solve the living problems of a large number of new citizens, young people and migrant workers, it said.

Policymakers have stepped up efforts to revive the real estate by introducing new measures to encourage home demand after a government-led campaign to rein in highly leveraged developers triggered a crisis in 2021.

Since September, measures aimed at encouraging homebuying have included cutting mortgage rates and minimum down-payments, as well as tax incentives to lower the cost of housing transactions.

The real estate market has shown some momentum of stabilizing, with home transactions in October and November seeing year-on-year and month-on-month growth for two consecutive months, said the conference.

China's home prices fell at the slowest pace in 17 months in November, supported by government efforts to revive the sector, official data showed.

An official of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission in December called for policy measures with direct impact on stabilizing the real estate market to be adopted as soon as possible, with local governments getting greater autonomy to buy housing stock.