Business | Investment
Gulf Finance House to set up steel unit
Islamic Investment bank Gulf Finance House (GFH) has announced plans to create HadeedMena, a new steel producing company.
- Staff Report
- Published: 19:05 July 23, 2008
Dubai: Islamic Investment bank Gulf Finance House (GFH) has announced plans to create HadeedMena, a new steel producing company.
HadeedMena aims to plug the shortfall in domestic steel production in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena). GFH is partnering with Emirates International Investment Company, Khaleej Development Company (KDC), Q-Invest, First Energy Bank and technical partners and market advisors MN Dastur and Gulf Organisation for Industrial Consulting in a deal with an estimated end value of $5 billion (Dh18.3 billion).
The project will deliver a capacity of eight million tonnes of steel per annum in the next four years, and target to reach 12 million tonnes in the future, serving 15% of total regional needs and become one of the key steel producers in the Mena region.
The Mena region consumes approximately 35.4 million tonnes (2006) of steel end-products, although the region produces only around 24 million tonnes of the metal.
Essam Janahi, GFH chairman, said: "We intend to differentiate ourselves by taking a 'top to bottom' approach to the value chain. It will focus both on upstream productions for steel billets as well as the downstream manufacturing for steel re-bars and structures."
Ahmad Al Qattan, vice-chairman and managing director of KDC, said: "We are pleased to join GFH in this partnership as it forms one of the main industrial development initiatives in the region. We believe our plans for this company will give us the competitive advantages wee need."
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