National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), the leading bank in Kuwait and the highest rated bank in the Middle East, announced today the launch of the first investment fund in Indian Private Equity with unique investment features. Salah Al Fulaij, Chief Executive Officer of NBK Capital, said that the Fund will offer Private Banking clients the opportunity to privately invest in Indian companies through a group of the best investment managers on a local and international level.
Al Fulaij added that India currently has thousands of competitive companies that show exceptional growth. Owners of such companies in India are just beginning to value the importance of private equity investments in order to increase the level of their companies. Furthermore, they understand that private equity investors can help in improving the management and financial situation of their companies as well as to develop the operational procedures and provide strategic guidance.
Al Fulaij also added that the Fund was setup to achieve long term capital appreciation by making indirect private equity investments in companies in India and in other countries in Asia. The Fund aims to achieve its objectives by building a balanced investment portfolio with attractive returns that will be spread across various investment funds covering different sectors, as well as different vintage years.
Al Fulaij said that the Fund follows two main strategies, which is to invest in high quality private equity funds and invest in mature and attractive private equity funds that are listed on a secondary market. Both strategies offer investment opportunities in companies with attractive valuations, in addition to company and investment manager diversification.
The Fund is denominated in US Dollars and the minimum investment in the Fund is $500,000 with an Offering Price of $1,000. The Fund is closed-ended with a 10 year term, and the possibility of extending the term for an additional two 1-year periods. The offering Period started on 4 May 2008 and ends on 5 June 2008.
Source: Al Bawaba