The Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC) announced today its financial results for the fiscal year ending on December 31, 2021, which revealed that it realized a net profit of $130 million. The Corporation’s General Assembly approved the financial statements at its meeting held on Sunday, April 17, 2022.
Commenting on this marked results, H. E. Saeed Rashid Al-Yateem, Chairman of the Board of Directors said, “The financial statements reflect the strength of GIC’s financial position. The excellent performance is the result of the application of GIC’s investment strategy, which is based on diversifying investments, maintaining high quality of assets and following high professional standards in investment. I have high confidence in GIC’s business model and the soundness of its financial strength and liquidity profile”.
Al-Yateem added that GIC continues to implement its long-term investment strategy via direct investments and capital markets portfolios. GIC’s direct investment portfolio managed to undertake and diversify its investments in the Gulf countries in various sectors such as infrastructure, energy projects, education and digital economy. The capital markets portfolio succeeded in achieving sound returns, especially within an environment characterized by uncertainty and market volatility.
Al-Yateem mentioned that GIC maintained its credit rating during 2021, despite the wave of credit rating downgrades in the region in the past two years. Moody’s reaffirmed the GIC’s long-term rating at A2, and Fitch reaffirmed the rating at BBB+. Both ratings carry a “Stable” outlook. The agencies stressed that their decisions are due to GIC’s strategy of deleveraging and reducing risks in addition to maintaining high asset quality and sound liquidity profile.
GIC’s Chief Executive Officer Mr. Ibrahim AlQadhi indicated that GIC continued to implement its investment strategy successfully, which includes deleveraging, diverse asset allocation and comparing performance to benchmarks. AlQadhi said that GIC maintained a strong liquidity profile and reduced its leverage to 1.2 times. He added that 2021 sound performance came in spite of the many challenges that occurred during the year such as the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, inflation expectations and the associated increases in interest rates, volatile oil prices, and capital market fluctuations.
AlQadhi further added that GIC’s portfolios recorded strong returns on investments during the year. In addition, GIC’s Capital Market portfolio achieved returns that are higher than benchmark returns. On the other hand, GIC’s Direct Investment portfolio successfully exited from their stakes in Sudair Pharmaceuticals, National Industrialization Company (Tasnee), and United Power companies in 2021, and partially exited from their stake in Perella Weinberg Company. AlQadhi stressed that GIC investment allocations is in line with GIC’s overall investment objectives and to achieve its mission aimed at contributing to the development of the private enterprise and foster economic growth in the Gulf region.
AlQadhi acknowledged that in 2021, GIC managed to undertake a suite of core projects throughout the GCC, which span across a combo of vital sectors including the education sector, and the digital economy sector due to its belief in the importance of these sectors and their growth potentials. The year also witnessed some developments in GIC’s direct investments in critical projects in the region. During the year, IBRI Solar Power Project was inaugurated in the Sultanate of Oman, in addition to the completion of one of the construction phases of Dewa Solar Power Project in Dubai and the continuation of the implementation of Jubail 3A desalination Water Project in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Osool Poultry Company in the Sultanate of Oman. These investments stem from GIC’s strategy of investing in different sectors in the GCC region.
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For more information, please contact Mr. Khaled AlSuraye, Head of Public Relations at GIC at: +965-22225426