Bank Muscat Izdihar's assets grows 74% to $90m

Business Wednesday 16/May/2018 14:25 PM
By: Times News Service
Bank Muscat Izdihar's assets grows 74% to $90m

Muscat: Bank Muscat Izdihar Real Estate Fund (Izdihar) concluded its second year of operations with impressive accomplishments in both performance and growth.
The fund grew assets by 74 per cent reaching US$90 million and positioned itself as one of the largest real estate funds in the region. The fund maintained a dividend of more than 10 per cent in its second year of operations, significantly above its target of seven to eight per cent.
Izdihar grew its capital by more than 100 per cent through a combination of rights issue and private placement. The fund is well positioned to take its asset base over $200 million on the basis of existing capital. The fund continues to evaluate investments and has a strong investment pipeline. The aim is to become the first billion-dollar real estate fund in the region.
“Izdihar is the first and only Oman-registered real estate fund. We would like to see Izdihar at the forefront of capital markets, as well as real estate development. Izdihar has the potential to become the first billion-dollar real estate fund of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)," said Sulaiman Al Yahyai, Chairman of the Izdihar Fund Management Board.
"The fund’s track record, as well as its strong financial results have led to doubling of the initial investment commitments. I compliment and commend the team for this performance,” he added.
“We reviewed more than $1 billion potential real estate assets investment opportunities in 2017 and have a strong pipeline of more than $250 million at an advanced stage. The fund’s performance has been built on rigorous and detailed due diligence processes," said Abdullah Al Hinai, General Manager, Wholesale Banking.
"We are proud to have been able to deliver a performance that is ahead of expectations. We thank all our investors and the CMA for their support,” he added.
The Izdihar property portfolio, consisting of modern assets, is spread over 70,000 square metres of leasable area and is currently fully leased with a weighted average lease term of more than 10 years.
The portfolio was performing in line with the business plan and outperformed the market averages in terms of occupancy and rental rates in 2017. This gave Izdihar a predicable, sustainable and growing income and reinforced its ability to pay dividends to investors.