On Behalf of

Business & Finance Club - Industry - Manama: Gulf United Steel Holding Company (Foulath) was inaugurated last week with the announcement of three major investments, which together with the existing facilities comprise the company’s manufacturing complex in Bahrain with a total investment value of approximately $3.5 billion.

The opening ceremony was attended by Bahrain Crown Prince and Chairman of the Economic Development Board Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, and addressed by the Minister of Industry and Commerce Hassan Fakhro and the top officials of the steel-manufacturing complex.

“Bahrain is a mature and well-established business hub with the largest financial institutions in the entire MENA region,” said Fakhro.

“The benefits of these projects are not only significant for Bahrain, where the facility has been established, but for the entire region," said Hisham A. Al-Razzuqi, chairman of Foulath and chief executive officer of Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC), Foulath’s 50 percent shareholder. "Together these projects will help to reduce dependence on steel imports and enhance the security of supplies to the Middle East markets, where steel is a critical building block of growth."

More than 300 people were in attendance at the event, including key Bahraini government representatives and dignitaries from across the region and beyond.

Also in attendance were the company’s board members and other representatives of its shareholders.

Foulath’s shareholders include Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC), Kuwait, which is the company’s 50 percent shareholder and is owned equally by the six governments of the GCC.