Al-Marzouq: Tower near Manhattan leased to Panasonic

The building (inset) Abdul-Aziz Al-Marzouq

KUWAIT: KFH Capital Investment Co, a subsidiary of Kuwait Finance House Group KFH-Group, has announced the successful acquisition of an office tower in New Jersey, USA for $165 million as part of KFH Capital's plans aiming at investing in good income-generating assets.

Abdul-Aziz Nasser Al-Marzouq, KFH Capital's CEO, said in a press release that an investment fund managed by KFH Capital successfully closed the deal of acquiring the tower that houses Panasonic Corp of North America's headquarter in New Jersey for $165 million. Al-Marzouq added that such kind of deals are deemed as a qualitative and successful investment as they enjoy several advantages in terms of the worthy yields and excellent location.

Al-Mazouq said that the property is an office building of 12 floors with total rental space of 337,543 square feet and located in an area surrounded by major markets. The building is about 8 miles away from west of Manhattan in New York City.

He added that the building construction was completed in late 2013. It is fully rented by Panasonic Corporation of North America for a period of 15 years started from last May, the matter that guarantees regular cash flows as Panasonic Corporation of North America is a fully owned subsidiary for the parent company, Panasonic Corporation that enjoys the credit profile of A- rated by Standard & Poor's. The building is also considered as a significant center for Panasonic Corporation in terms of marketing, sales, services, research and development throughout North America.

Moving forward, Al-Marzouq emphasized on the continuing keenness of KFH Capital to enter into income-generating investments with high quality assets as a part of the efforts aiming at achieving the best returns, noting that the aforementioned property is an attractive investment opportunity with added value.

Moreover, he said that the Panasonic building is one of the properties that has an advanced technology and has received a number of certificates and awards such as LEED Platinum Interiors as well as LEED Core and Shell.

KFH was established in Kuwait in 1977 and is enlisted in the Kuwait Stock Exchange. KFH Group is a global pioneer in the field of Islamic banking services, where it offers a wide array of Islamic products and services, not to mention a high standard of innovation and client service.

KFH manages its operations in the GCC, Asia, and Europe through over 446 branches, including KFH-Turkey, in order to offer services for the bank's clients in Turkey, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Germany, Jordan, and Dubai.

KFH's mission is to achieve highest levels of excellence and innovation in the field of client service, while developing common interest for all those concerned with the financial institution. KFH's vision is to spearhead the global development in Islamic financial services, and to upgrade the bank into the level of becoming the most sustainable profitable Islamic bank in the world.