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.



Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding Buys $400 Million Stake in xAI

xAI logo is seen near computer motherboard in this illustration taken January 8, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
xAI logo is seen near computer motherboard in this illustration taken January 8, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
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Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding Buys $400 Million Stake in xAI

xAI logo is seen near computer motherboard in this illustration taken January 8, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
xAI logo is seen near computer motherboard in this illustration taken January 8, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) said on Wednesday it has acquired a key stake in xAI Corporation, an artificial intelligence company founded by US billionaire Elon Musk for 1.5 billion Saudi Riyals ($400 million), becoming the second largest investor in X and xAI.

The acquisition of the new stake is part of xAI’s Series C funding round, said KHC in its filing to Saudi bourse Tadawul.

This transaction follows KHC's previous investment at the same value in xAI during its Series B funding round.

It further solidifies KHC's strategic partnership with Elon Musk, and follows its strategic stake in X (Twitter), held since 2015, KHC stated.

A post on X said Prince Alwaleed bin Talal became the second largest shareholders in Musk’s two companies, X & xAI.

In November 2022, the Saudi prince moved almost 35 million Twitter shares through the Kingdom Holding Company, worth about $1.9 billion at the $54.20 per share sale price. That made him the “second-largest investor” in the new parent company.
Funding Rounds

The funding rounds consist of several fundraising events in which startups or existing companies raise funds from investors to continue building their infrastructure and accelerate research and development.

The rounds start with a “seed round” of funding where a startup typically raises money from the owners to cover initial operating expenses and then expand to Series A, B, and C funding rounds as the company develops to raise additional capital.

In terms of risks, Series B funding is generally less risky than Series A funding, while Series C is less risky than Series B and is typically used by companies that are growing rapidly and need additional capital to fund their expansion.

Musk's xAI Series C funding round included the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and the Oman Investment Authority (OIA).

Participants included Morgan Stanley and BlackRock, which were described as two of the major investors in the fundraising round.

KHC, in which Public Investment Fund (PIF) owns a 17% stake, said xAI has a $45 billion valuation with the latest funding round, indicating a significant increase from its $25 billion valuation during the Series B funding round, the filing showed.

Following the announcement of the acquisition, the shares of KHC, listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange, rose by 0.44% to 9.16 riyals.

xAI’s strategy focuses on developing leading AI models and working closely with other technology companies associated with its founder, including Tesla, SpaceX, and X, whose application has over 500 million users.

KHC said this transaction further solidifies KHC's strategic partnership with Elon Musk, and follows its strategic stake in X (Twitter), held since 2015.

It forms part of KHC’s business model of securing early stakes in emerging technologies and its ambition to lead and innovate within the AI industry, it added.