GFH to expand into Saudi health, education sectors with 2 acquisitions: CEO

Hisham Al Rayes, CEO of GFH 

GFH Financial Group CEO is planning to complete two acquisition deals in the education and healthcare sectors in Saudi Arabia soon, CEO Hisham Al Rayes said.

In an interview with Al Sharq TV, Al Rayes said that the group acquired a medical center in southern Saudi Arabia for SAR 1.3 billion and a logistics company for food distribution for SAR 500 million.

GFH is now focusing on secondary cities in the Kingdom, where there is an imbalance between supply and demand for services.

The CEO said that though executing deals in secondary cities presents greater complexity than major cities, the financial returns for investors, community service and added value are significantly more favorable in secondary cities.

Moreover, GFH Group, listed on four Gulf stock exchanges, aims to list its shares on the Saudi stock exchange, directly or indirectly through Riyadh-headquartered GFH Capital.

The group is seeking to maintain a steady growth rate in the third and fourth quarters following a growth of 29% in the first half of 2023, Al Rayes added.

The CEO stated that although rising interest rates could pose a threat to investments, GFH Group's ownership of Gulf Commercial Bank offset this risk, given regional banks benefited from rising interest rates.