Investcorp inaugurates "Strategic Partnership Group" meeting in Rome
Prodi: We seek economic integration with the Mediterranean and ensuring stability
Kirdar: We carry the message of building a bridge between East and West
Italian Prime Minister, Romano Prodi inaugurated today at St Regis Hotel in Rome the "Strategic Partnership Group Meeting" of Investcorp, an investment bank which specializes in managing assets and alternative investments and operates from New York, London, and Bahrain.
The meeting was attended by Guiliano Amato, Italy’s Interior Minister and a number of the members of the Strategic Partnership Group which comprises international financial experts, investors, members of the bank's board, partners, and senior executives.
Nemir Kirdar
The bank's Chief Executive Officer, Nemir Kirdar welcomed the Italian Prime Minister and the members of the group. He noted that this regular meeting was held previously in the United States, France, Turkey, Germany, and today in Rome "the capital of the ancient world and the point of convergence of trade and tourism from Europe and across Asia and the Middle East, which has left a great impact in the Arab countries including Jordan, Libya, Iraq, Lebanon, and Egypt".
Kirdar added that Investcorp's mission was to act as a bridge connecting East and West, especially through the lines of business it owns, namely private equity, hedge funds, technology investments and real estate investments in the West. Most recently the "Gulf Growth Capital Fund" was added as a new line of business.
Kirdar praised the attributes of Italian Prime Minister, Romano Prodi, "this great man who has won the admiration of the world, especially in view of his successes in four major domains: as an academic and a professor of economics; as a successful businessman and head of a major holding company; as a successful politician, and
of course as a statesman who holds a prominent position at the head of the European Union".
Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi, Prime Minister of Italy, spoke next. He thanked Kirdar for his introduction then congratulated Investcorp for the results it achieved over the past 25 years. He said that history had induced him to move with the EU toward the East, adding that he has often been asked why the advance was not toward the South.
He considered that the fall of the Berlin Wall made it imperative to head toward the East "but the next step we are working on today is to head with the EU to the South, meaning the Mediterranean area".
He noted that there were some sensitivities in the EU regarding this, adding that it would be impossible to build unanimity on such a step. But he stressed that work was proceeding toward building economic integration with the Mediterranean region.
He expressed gratification at meeting such a large number of investors through Investcorp. He noted that his country was suffering from some restrictions because of the Euro, recalling that after World War II it witnessed major economic developments despite the subsequent amendments to the currency exchange rate.
Prodi said that Italy today was the second largest industrial state in Europe. He said he expected the growth rate in Italy to rise and surpass the average EU growth rate.
He pointed out that his country was conducting economic reforms to encourage investment. There are 2,000 medium-sized firms in Italy working in various industrial fields and progressing in three areas: infrastructure, research and development, and tourism.
On politics, Prodi said that his country was working with the EU to achieve stability in the Middle East. In particular by assisting peaceful presidential elections in Lebanon and reaching guarantees for the rights of Palestinian people to an independent Palestinian state and a solution to the issue of the Palestinian refugees. He also highlighted halting violence in Iraq as a priority and conducting a dialogue with its neighbors, especially Iran and Syria.
On Iran, he said that his country did not object to Tehran's acquisition of peaceful nuclear technology but that it was the duty of the international community to make sure that this technology is really peaceful. He considered that any military solution would be a disaster.
Prodi concluded by urging support for medium and small-sized firms, especially in Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria in the Mediterranean Basin. He called on investors to invest in education, revealing that he had a project to build technology universities that would seek to enroll students from North and South in equal numbers. He said these universities will comprise faculties for the sciences of humanities at a subsequent stage.
He said that Italy’s investment in foreign education systems—although modest—has the potential to change for the better the political and economic environment of the entire Mediterranean area.
Sessions
After this, Kirdar reviewed the firm's operations over the past 25 years and its financial results. This was followed by Chief Operations Officer, Gary Long and Chief Financial Officer, Rishi Kapoor who provided a detailed review of each business line.
Investcorp
Investcorp Bank is at the cutting edge of establishments specialized in providing and managing alternative investments and their various products. It operates from offices in New York, London, and Bahrain. Its shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol (IVC) and on the Bahrain Stock Exchange under the symbol (INVCORP). The firm's activities are distributed over five principal investment sectors: Private Equity, Hedge Funds, Real Estate Investments, Technology Investments and Gulf Growth Capital.
Investcorp has developed progressively since it was established in 1982 and is now one of the most prominent and diversified international investment banks in the domain of providing and managing alternative investments, both in the range of products it provides and the geographic area they cover. By the end of June 2007, the bank was managing a portfolio of assets under management estimated at around $13 billion.
