CEO Today Middle East Awards

www.ceotodaymagazine.com 22 CEO Today Middle East Awards 2019 kuwait ABDULLAH HAMAD ALTERKAIT Chairman of Al Safat Investment Company ABOUT ABDULLAH HAMAD ALTERKAIT Abdullah Hamad AlTerkait (35) is the Chairman of Al Safat Investment Company, based in Kuwait, since July 1st, 2013. He is a Kuwaiti national with a Bachelors in Political Science and Management from Kuwait University. He is currently pursuing an Executive MBA Degree from London School of Economics. Al Safat Investment Company was founded in 1983 and has grown rapidly since then. All investments and financial services held or offered by Al Safat are in accordance with the highest standards of Islamic Shariah compliance, which is supervised by a CMA-Certified Islamic finance consultancy company. The company invests in real estate, financial, healthcare, industrial, energy, agricultural, food and other economic sectors through participation in the establishment of specialized companies or purchase of stocks and bonds in these companies, or by management of projects in various sectors. An interview with Abdullah Hamad Al Terkait What is Al Safat investment’s overall business strategy? Al Safat Investment Company (ASIC) has a multi-vector strategy that focuses on ambitious key corporate goals that define its corporate culture. These goals comprise of maintaining investment control mechanisms, seeking rewarding opportunities, maximizing returns, applying proper corporate governance for the best interest of shareholders and capitalizing on promising investments. It also aims to establish a favorable market advantage for its subsidiary and associate companies. Al Safat Investment Company has prepared a future strategy based on the establishment of control mechanisms within the investment operations, with management control being a key factor. The company sets out to identify the promising investment opportunities available in various sectors, enhancing the value of the company’s current investments, set adequate policies and procedures within the group and organizing and redistributing the capital towards new investments and acquisitions locally and regionally by studying and selecting suitable opportunities. Al Safat is keen to be a strong investor through its future investments to ensure that it achieves its vision through the strategy of managing its companies and how to support its management team while focusing on core growth and value sectors. We aim to set minimum investment returns that meet our cost of capital, divest any non performing assets and make sure that our investments are aligned and manintain synergies. What does the rest of 2019 hold for Al-Safat Investment? The future looks very bright for the company. We are currently working on a few projects in the initiatives of youth empowerment and supporting local SME’s. Al Safat is also in the process of rebranding as we feel that our new strategies and ideas need a new look and feel that is more in line with businesses today. Kuwait has seen a substantial growth in young entrepreneurs and start-up’s, with most not having the right support system or financial advice. Companies need to show their support and promote a healthy environment where the young business minds feel comfortable. We are also trying to be socially active and do our part to give back to society. We organize fundraising campaigns, donation drives and site visits to support laborer’s, etc. especially during the holy month of Ramadan. Kuwait is a small but competitive market and so we hope to be able to succeed with the goals and aspirations we have for the company, while bringing in more business and opening new doors. What’s your vision for the future of the company? To me, Al Safat is not just a company, it’s part of a family that has gone through turmoil and persevered. I have employees that have been with the company from before I joined and I think that shows our value and significance. When I joined as Chairman, the company was in somewhat of a rut and at that stage I didn’t know if it could be saved; but I never gave up. We worked together as a team to salvage what we all believed in and to me, that’s what saved the company and got it back on its feet; the unity and love for our jobs. My vision for Al Safat for the years to come is firstly amongst the top 5 investment firms in the Kuwait in the coming 5 years, secondly, to deliver the best service to our clients and shareholders and lastly, to become a company that utilizes its strengths for the good of the community. I am especially excited for the company to enter the area of youth empowerment and I hope we are able to reach and help as many brilliant young minds as possible. In Kuwait, I have noticed there is a gap Q Q Q