Indonesia`s Duta Graha eyes construction projects in middle east construction

Jakarta (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Construction company PT Duta Graha Indah said it is bidding for an office building project in Bahrain and an apartment project in Ryadh.

The contract value of the office building project in Bahrain alone is estimated at around Rp500 billion (US$55.5 million), Duta Graha Finance Director Laurensius Teguh said. "We are taking part in the tenders for the two projects.

Hopefully we will emerge as winner and could start work in the two Middle East countries next year," he added.

Bank planning bonds for $1bn acquisition

GolfDailynews.com

MANAMA: Bahrain Islamic Bank is planning a $1 billion acquisition next year and expects to raise the capital through Islamic bonds, a top official has said.

The announcement was made on the sidelines of the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) World Bank Conference on Islamic Banking and Finance at the Diplomat Radisson SAS Hotel Residence and Spa yesterday.

"I'm looking for a $1bn acquisition and it will be financed mainly through Islamic bonds," Bahrain Islamic Bank chief executive Mohammed Ebrahim Mohammed said. "A big reason we're trying to grow is to not be acquired ourselves. We haven't had approaches to our knowledge, but small banks are always a target."

Meanwhile, the Council of Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions general secretary Ezzedine Khoja said that the assets of Islamic banks and banking institutions reached $1bn last year, recording a 40 per cent growth rate against the 2005 figures.

The conference was opened by Finance Minister Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa who gave an introductory speech.

This was followed by speeches from Central Bank of Bahrain Governor Rasheed Al Maraj and AAOIFI board of trustees chairman Shaikh Ebrahim bin Khalifa Al Khalifa.

Sponsors of the event include Kuwait Finance House, Gulf Finance House, Al Salam Bank, Arcapita and others.

"It has been an annual tradition to hold this conference as a point to change the views of scholars and analysts," Shaikh Ahmed said.

"The discussion of emerging new tools and Sharia compliant rules increases awareness and enhances standards for transparency and harmonisation between Islamic countries.

"The conference also gives us the benefit of the ability to discuss innovation with new products and consolidating other existing products," Shaikh Ahmed said.

"This conference shows that we are taking the necessary measures to insure Bahrain complies with the best banking practises and standards globally," Mr Al Maraj said.

"I would like to thank AAOIFI in cooperation with the World Bank for enriching our expertise in developing global and national Islamic finance in a sector that is seeing a growth of 10 to 15pc annually."

The global market for sukuks was worth $8bn in 2003, the global market for sukuks is now $70bn and is expected to double in the next three years, a finance ministry official told the GDN.

Also at the conference, Bahrain-based Albaraka Banking Group said its $300 million Islamic bond going to market early next year after the global credit crunch delayed the sale.

Albaraka announced the sale in March this year but due to the US home loan defaults has reorganised to delivery in the first quarter of next year.

The bank also announced the opening of a branch in Indonesia in an attempt to stay ahead of rivals when offering Islamic banking globally.

Mideast investment in Indonesia meagre: ex-envoy

The Peninsula, 9/22/2007 0:17:28

Abdul Wahid Maktub

DOHA: Investment from the GCC and the rest of the Middle East in Indonesia, which is the world's most populous Muslim country, is quite low, rues a former Indonesian ambassador to Qatar.

Abdul Wahid Maktub, who left Doha early this year having served as Jakarta's envoy for a little more than three years, was here on a brief private visit.

He told this newspaper in a brief interview late last week: "There are misperceptions in the Middle East about the safety of investments back in our country. The misgivings need to be removed."

Having recovered from the financial crisis of the late 1990s, Indonesia is making rapid economic strides. The economic growth rate has been 6.5 per cent and expected to shortly climb to seven per cent.

Maktub, who is practising as a legal consultant in the Indonesian capital-Jakarta now, said that he was on a visit to the region to attract investments back home, especially in the booming real estate market. "I have been to Saudi Arabia and now I am here," he said.

One of the biggest achievements to his credit has been that Dubai's real estate giant, Emaar, has agreed to make an initial investment of $800m in a massive city project in Lombok island, which is close to Bali. "Emaar has recently set up an office in Jakarta," said Maktub.

Here, he said he met Sheikh Faisal bin Qassem Al Thani, Chairman of the Qatari Businessmen's Association, and urged him to pay a visit to Indonesia to explore avenues of investment. "He has accepted the invitation," said the former envoy.

"When I had met Emaar's chief, I had only requested him to visit Indonesia. When he visited Lombok, the first thing he did was pray and immediately after that he told me that he was going to develop a city on this virgin and breathtakingly beautiful island," said Maktub.

Saudi Arabia's Bin Laden Group, he said, has given sub-contract for a 60-storey building it is developing in Dubai, to an Indonesian construction company and is quite happy with its work.

A lot of western countries are investing in real estate projects in Indonesia, but a disappointing thing is that the investment inflow from the Gulf and the rest of the Middle East is nil or negligible. It is because businessmen here have misperceptions about the country. There is so much idle money here and a lot of business and investment opportunities in Indonesia.

"Ours is a huge country. It takes eight hours to fly from the easternmost point to the west. You can, thus, imagine how big the country is, and so are the possibilities of doing business and making investments," said Maktub.

"We are adopting a practical strategy. We want businessmen here to simply visit Indonesia and the rest would automatically follow."

Also with Maktub was Gunawa Witjaksono, one of the top real estate developers of Indonesia.

Gulf Petroleum to invest $6 M in Riau power plant

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Gulf Petroleum Ltd., a consortium of Qatari and Bahrain companies, will invest US$6 million in a coal-fired power plant in Indragiri Hulu, Riau province.

The company would cooperate with PT Ridlatama Energi Group of Indonesia in building the power plant with a capacity of 2X300 megawatts, Abdul Aziz Addulaimi, the director of Gulf Petroleum Ltd., said after meeting Vice President Jusuf Kalla here Thursday.

PT Ridlatama Energi Group President Director Anang Widjiantoro said work on the construction of the power plant was expected to start late July 2007.

Hopefully, the power plant would be operational starting 2011, he said.

Ridlatama Energi Group is operating 11 coal fields in Indragiri Hulu.

The consortium is also looking into the possibility of investing in a power plant with a capacity of 2X150 negawatts in East Kutai, East Kalimantan.

Al Baraka Banking Group to expand business into Indonesia

Manama (ANTARA News) - The Bahrain-based leading Islamic banking group Al Baraka Banking Group (ABG) announced its plans to expand its presence in international markets by setting up a representative office in Indonesia.

The bank has recently received the necessary regulatory approvals from Bank Indonesia, the country's Central Bank in this respect.

Sheikh Saleh Kamel, Chairman of Albaraka Banking Group, told IINA that Indonesia, which has the largest Muslim population in the world, estimated at 220 million, will have vast scope for the bank.

"Indonesia has a growing commercial and economic relationship with the Arab and Islamic world, while internally it has witnessed positive economic and financial developments giving rise to an excellent investment environment," he said adding that all these factors encourage major Islamic financial institutions to open offices in Indonesia to serve the Muslim community there and contribute towards facilitating trade flow between Indonesia and the Arab world.

Sheikh Saleh Kamel noted that the successful IPO, which increased the equity of ABG Group from $566 million to about $1 billion, has enabled the Group to expand further into new international markets.

The expansion plans include a number of new markets such as Malaysia, Indonesia, India, China, certain Gulf States and Syria. On his part, Mr. Adnan Ahmed Yousuf, President and Chief Executive of Albaraka Banking Group, said that the ABG is firmly building up its regional and international presence according to a clear and well-thought strategic vision.

The Group is also expanding the range of the banking products and services that it offers to clients, capitalizing on increased financial resources.

Albaraka Banking Group, which is a Bahraini Joint Stock Company listed on the Bahrain and Dubai stock exchanges, is a leading international Islamic bank with a Standard & Poor's long-term rating of BBB- and a short-term rating of A-3.

ABG offers retail, corporate and investment banking and treasury services strictly in accordance with the principles of the Islamic Shari'a. The authorized capital of ABG is $1.5 billion, while the total equity amounts to about $1.2 billion.

The Group has a wide geographical presence in the form of subsidiary banking Units in ten countries, which in turn provide their services through more than 216 branches.