عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

GFH Approves 6% Cash Dividends

GFH Financial Group Logo
GFH Financial Group Logo
TT
TT

GFH Approves 6% Cash Dividends

GFH Financial Group Logo
GFH Financial Group Logo

The GFH Financial Group (“GFH” or “the Group”) announced the successful conclusion of its Annual General Meeting (AGM) by approving the Board of Directors’ recommendation for the distribution of a cash dividend of 6% of the nominal value of all the ordinary shares, save for treasury shares, equivalent to $0.0159 per share.

The group's shareholders also announced the appointment of Mr. Yousef Abdullah Taqi as a complementary independent director of the Board in its current term, the reappointment of the Group’s external auditors for 2023 and authorized the Board to appoint market maker(s) in any or all markets in which the Group’s shares are listed, subject to regulatory approvals, including the authority to determine the market maker(s), the duration of the contract and other relevant details.

Chairman of GFH Ghazi Al Hajeri said: “Following a year of strong financial results and progress, we continue to build on the support and confidence of our shareholders in the Group and our strategy. We are pleased to announce that shareholders have approved the distribution of another solid dividend as the Group continues to focus on creating value for our shareholders, investors and partners."

"We have been building on this momentum in 2023 and remain focused on further growth in the year ahead,” he added.

For his part, Hisham Alrayes, CEO of GFH, said: “We remain grateful to our shareholders for their continued support and confidence in GFH and our strategy, which saw us make further strides throughout the business in 2022 including delivering double digit growth in income, completing more than $1.2 billion of new investments across global markets, and the listing of our shares on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), marking the Group’s fourth regional listing and a further broadening of our shareholder base to create even more liquidity.”

"In 2022, the Group established new offices in London and Riyadh and concluded the acquisition of two new specialty asset management businesses in the US. These acquisitions will support the further growth of our investment activities and the Group’s pipeline of well-performing, income-yielding investments in the healthcare and residential real estate sectors,” he added.

GFH has more than $17.6 billion of assets and funds under management including a global portfolio of investments in logistics, healthcare, education and technology in the MENA region, Europe and North America.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

Dollar Resumes Upward Trend, Euro Hits Lowest since Nov 2022

US Dollar and Euro banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
US Dollar and Euro banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
TT
TT

Dollar Resumes Upward Trend, Euro Hits Lowest since Nov 2022

US Dollar and Euro banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
US Dollar and Euro banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

The dollar hit new multi-month highs against the euro and the pound on Thursday, the first day of 2025 trading, as it built on last year's strong gains on expectations US interest rates will remain high relative to peers.

The euro fell to as low as $1.0314, its lowest since November 2022, down around 0.3% on the day. It is now down nearly 8% since its late September highs above $1.12, one major victim of the dollar's recent surge.

Traders anticipate deep interest rate cuts from the European Central Bank in 2025, with markets pricing in at least four 25 basis point cuts, while not being certain of even two such moves from the US Federal Reserve, Reuters reported.

The dollar was hitting milestones across the board and the pound was last down 0.65% at $1.2443, its lowest since April, with its fall accelerating after it broke through resistance around $1.2475.

"It's more of the same at the start of the new calendar year with the dollar continuing to extend its advances in anticipation of Trump putting in place friendly policies at the start of his term," said Lee Hardman, senior currency analyst at MUFG.

US President-elect Donald Trump's policies are widely expected to not only boost growth but also add to upward price pressure. That will lead to a Fed cautious about cutting rates too much further, in turn underpinning US Treasury yields and boost dollar demand.

A weaker growth outlook outside the US, conflict in the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine war have also added to demand for the dollar.

The dollar also reversed an early loss on Thursday to climb against the Japanese yen, and was last up 0.17% at 157.26.

It reached a five-month high above 158 yen in late December, potentially putting pressure on the Bank of Japan, which is expected to raise interest rates early this year, but possibly not immediately.

"If dollar/yen were to break above 160 ahead of the next BOJ meeting, that could be a catalyst for the BOJ to hike in January rather than wait until March," said Hardman.

"Though for now markets are leaning towards March after the dovish comments from (governor Kazuo) Ueda at his last press conference."

Even those who are more cautious about sustained dollar strength think it could take a long time to play out.

"The dollar may be vulnerable – but only if the US data confound market expectations that the Fed doesn’t cut rates more than once in the first half of this year, and not by more than 50bp in the whole of 2025," said Kit Juckes chief FX strategist at Societe Generale in a note.

"There's a good chance of that happening, but it seems very unlikely that cracks in US growth will appear early in the year – hence my preference for taking any bearish dollar thoughts with me into hibernation until the weather improves."

China's yuan languished at 14-month lows as worries about the health of the world's second-biggest economy, the prospect of US import tariffs from the Trump administration and sliding local yields weighed on investor sentiment.

Elsewhere, the Swiss franc, another victim of the recent dollar strength, gave back early gains to last trade flat at 0.90755 per dollar.

The Australian and New Zealand dollars, however, managed to break away from two-year lows touched on Tuesday. The Aussie was 0.36% higher at $0.6215 having dropped 9% in 2024, its weakest yearly performance since 2018.

The kiwi rose 0.47% to $0.5614.