Abdul Wahab Al-Mutawa, Al-Mal Investment Company’s Board Member and Chief Executive Officer. Abdul Wahab Al-Mutawa, Al-Mal Investment Company’s Board Member and Chief Executive Officer.

KUWAIT: Takharoj is an innovative product launched by Al-Mal Investment Company (K.P.S.C.) to optimize minority shareholders’  value.  Speaking on this occasion in an interview, Abdul Wahab Al-Mutawa, the company’s Board Member and Chief Executive Officer, discussed the genesis of the product and its benefits and features that make it revolutionary in the Kuwaiti market. Excerpts:

Kuwait Times: Our preliminary research about Takharoj revealed that it is targeting minority shareholders in Unlisted Securities. Can you talk more about this and what makes Takharoj unique from other products currently being offered in the market?

Al-Mutawa: Absolutely! You see Takharoj is very different than any other product in the market today in a sense that is primarily designed to deal with any form of investment that is tied to Unlisted Securities, allowing you to become part of a sizable shareholding block with the power to negotiate optimal outcomes. Then, through understanding of the shareholders’ objectives, Al-Mal Investment Company (K.P.S.C.), the company that owns Takharoj, will consult the advice of experts who will propose ideal solutions for minority shareholders.

KT: What is Al-Mal’s objective to creating this unique product Takharoj?

Al-Mutawa: Well, Al-Mal’s objective is to create a unique product to group like-minded minority shareholders and aid them in becoming part of a sizeable shareholding block to negotiate optimal outcomes. Introducing Takharoj highlights our ongoing commitment to deliver products that not only are innovative but also cater to the market’s needs.

It is noteworthy to mention that, Al-Mal Investment Company (K.P.S.C.) employs a team of high caliber financial experts dedicated to analyzing the shares of minority investors and proposing ideal short-term and long-term solutions to maximize the value of the shareholding block.

KT: Can you elaborate on Takharoj’s strategy to maximize the value of minority shareholders?

Al-Mutawa: Well gladly, the way Takharoj works is that after a large number of shares from the same unlisted company have been registered in our data base a sizeable block is created. In that case, the shareholding block that we will be representing will become much stronger once grouped together, thus offering them an optimal value in return. This also includes giving them a voting right on business decision and board members nomination. In any case the shareholding block collectively decides they may want to sell off their shares, we will be negotiating the optimal value for their shares.

KT: What types of investments are we talking about here—stocks, bonds, assets, options, ownership shares?

Al-Mutawa: Takharoj is primarily designed to deal with any form of investment. However, at this stage, Takharoj will only deal with Unlisted Securities.On the other hand, Al-Mal Investment Company (K.P.S.C.) does provide investment advice related to publicly listed companies through its other services.

KT: Is Takharoj buying shares from shareholders, or acting as an intermediary?

Al-Mutawa: That’s a good question. You see, buying shares from minority shareholders is not Takharoj’s main objective; however, after thorough assessment of the company and business potential, Al-Mal Investment Company (K.P.S.C.) might suggest purchasing shares from some of the shareholders if they don’t want to join the block in the suggested strategy, or if they prefer to sell despite our recommendation.  This being said, this scenario is applicable only if the block has a great value and fits Al Mal Investment Company (K.P.S.C.) overall strategy.

And yes, you could say that Takharoj is acting as an intermediary consultant, thanks to our experts who will propose short-term and long-term solutions based on thorough analysis in order to maximize the value of the shareholding block. Al-Mal Investment Company (K.P.S.C.) cannot act without the explicit permission of the actual shareholders.

KT: Do customers need to pay a fee by just uploading my information on the website?

Al-Mutawa: No, the registration process is free. In fact, there are no commissions to be paid until a final success is in place.

KT: This brings me to this question: but how does Takharoj make money out of this?

Al-Mutawa: At Al-Mal we believe in a performance-based fee structure. That means that, where applicable, we will only take a percentage fee of the final transaction value once the solution is implemented. This protects our clients from paying monthly retainer fees in the interim as certain strategies may take 6 months or more to develop and come to fruition.

KT: What is Al-Mal’s strategy to ensure its success in the market?

Al-Mutawa: To ensure the success of Takharoj in the market, we are starting phase one, which is educating and informing people of this unique platform, encouraging them to register their investment information on www.takharoj.com. All they have to do is to create an account, after which they’ll be asked to provide us with the following information: basic personal information, investment details, and upload shares certificates.