KUWAIT CITY, Feb 5: Chairman of Kuwait Finance House (KFH) subsidiary Al-Nakheel Real Estate Essam Al-Meilem announced that the company has achieved profits for fiscal year that ended in October 2011 KD 1.6 million, while assets reached KD 144 million. The company managed to execute plans that focus on the operative field, in order to diversify the sources of revenues from real estate services offered to others through Istisnaa, project management, asset management, and magnifying the ratio of risk and returns.
Moreover, he stated after the company’s general assembly meeting, that the company managed to fulfill its financial obligations and overcome several challenges that surfaced as a result of the financial crisis through focusing on operative performance, setting up profit centers, and exiting other investments while making profits. He went on to say that the company has exited lands it used to own in Mecca and Al-Zahran in Saudi Arabia while making 2% and 91% profits respectively.

He stressed that most of the company’s assets in Kuwait are investment real estate with good rents. Aknan project has been operated and marketed in Salmiya, where it is located at Amro Ibn Al-As Street. The residential towers consist of 19 storeys and have several spacious models of residential flats, in addition to a health club, medical clinic tower, and shops. He explained that this project has achieved an increase in revenues and the current occupation is 88%.
Furthermore, he asserted that the company is keen to increase its revenues in 2012 and continue in its expansion plans in Saudi Arabia, UAE, United States, and Britain.
In other news, Strategic Planning Department Manager at Kuwait Finance House (KFH) Fahad Al-Mukhaizeem stated that KFH’s First Global Economic Real Estate Conference that KFH organized Tuesday has made important recommendations to assist the Kuwaiti, GCC and global economies in overcoming the current crises.

He added that the conference coincides with KFH five-year strategic plan that aims to reinforce KFH’s leadership and status in global markets. The conference was attended by former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and other elite economists and real estate specialists for all over the globe.
Moreover, he said that the conference has called for diversifying sources of revenues and not to depend solely on oil in Kuwait; especially that Asian countries compete with the United States and Europe in offering services and products. He noted that the conference stressed the importance of governmental expenditure on infrastructure and economic development projects, in order to boost the economy.
The conference has also called for granting the private sector more space to efficiently take part in the development plan, which will pave the way to turning Kuwait into a financial hub.
Regarding the GCC, the conference asked the GCC countries to execute a batch of economic solutions to offer youth suitable jobs, and to train and encourage them to launch small projects, which will ease the unemployment tension that has triggered in part the so called Arab Spring in the Middle East.

In addition, the conference underlined the importance of having a unified voice in the G20 meetings, in order for GCC countries to take part in global efforts to reform and stabilize the global economy.
Furthermore, Al-Mukhaizeem revealed that the conference recommended the formation of an organization for investment and real estate developers in the GCC, in order to implement programs, policies, and ambitious developmental plans that focus on the real estate sector.
Concerning the global economy, Al-Mukhaizeem mentioned that the conference called for collective efforts to overcome the global economic recession through the collaboration of global economic alliances in the production and consumption field. The conference has also called for investing in projects that are based on clean energy.
The participants asserted the presence of investment opportunities in the residential and commercial real estate in the United States and Europe, in light of the increase in the middle class sector during the coming 10 years, in addition to the expected increase in global growth rates.