GII to Open Office in Bengaluru for Strengthening India-UAE Shariah Investment Exchange

UAE-based Shari'ah-compliant financial services firm with over USD 2 billion of assets under management - Gulf Islamic Investment (GII) forayed into India with the opening of direct office in Bengaluru, Karnataka.This will strengthen investment ties between India and the UAE.

GII's investment approach in India is sector-agnostic and the firm plans to invest another USD 500m (INR 3,500 crores) in India in the next 3 years. The company is also keen to partner with Indian start-ups and growth companies in their Middle East expansion plans and is open to collaborating with Indian or global investors in future Indian investments.

Commenting on the development, Dr. Aman Puri, Consul General of India, Dubai said, "We are elated to announce that GII would be opening its office in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Karnataka is the Partner State at India Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai this week and is the start-up capital of Asia with Bengaluru housing 40% of India's unicorns. UAE is an important partner in India's emergence as an investment destination and in its vision of becoming an US$ 5 Trillion economy."

In a joint statement, Mohammed Alhassan and Pankaj Gupta, Founding Partners and Co-CEOs of Gulf Islamic Investments, said, "We are delighted to officially announce our plans to establish a GII office in India's technology capital of Bengaluru and deeply grateful to the Honorable Dr. Reddy, the Karnataka government, Dr. Puri and CGI Dubai for their diligent and steadfast support as we set-up our very first international subsidiary. India represents a prime investment destination for GII and this expansion demonstrates our commitment to future investments in the country's burgeoning start-up and high-growth enterprise space. Given the success of our preliminary investment rounds through the India Growth Portfolio series, valued at over INR 1,000 Crores, we look forward to expanding our footprint in India and strategically contributing towards enhancing the India- UAE investment corridor."

In 2020, GII made its Indian investment debut with India Growth Portfolio (IGP-I) comprising significant minority stake investments in a portfolio of healthcare companies, including an award-winning chain of multispecialty hospitals and the country's leading in-vitro diagnostics firm.

Since its establishment in 2014, GII has successfully closed over 45 transactions with asset values ranging from USD 10 million to USD 500 million across real estate, private equity and venture capital investments. The firm's clients include UHNWIs, family offices, banks, institutions, and sovereign wealth funds in the GCC and Asia.