-- Olivia Thetgyi
Kuwait-based Rasameel Structured Finance Co. plans to open new offices throughout the Middle East next year. The Islamic investment company, which specializes in Islamic securitization, plans to open an office in Bahrain by the first quarter and offices in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates by the second. “We see there’s great potential in the neighboring countries,” said Issam Al Tawari, vice chairman and ceo, noting that while Kuwait has $4.5 billion of financial receivables that can be securitized Islamically and $15 billion in bank assets, the figure in the UAE is twice as high and in Saudi Arabia is five times as much.
The offices will be joint venture franchises opened with local and international firms, Al Tawari said. He declined to elaborate on the potential sizes of the offices, but noted they may also consider opening up a presence in Turkey. “There’s a huge demand in those markets and Turkey is quite a vibrant economy and the size of the economy is quite attractive,” he said.
Rasameel was established in January 2006 and currently has 35 core professionals in its Kuwait headquarters.