Hani Baothman: Structured Trade Finance, Low Risk, Sustainable Returns

Sidra Capital’s CEO, Hani Baothman will be on the panel on real estate discussing current trends in the housing market and possible solutions while structured trade finance will be the core theme on the exhibition floor.

“Euromoney Saudi Arabia Conference in its 10th edition will be under very close scrutiny by the public and private sectors this year. Hence it is the ideal platform to raise awareness for structured trade finance,” said Hani Baothman, CEO of Sidra Capital. “Trade Finance as an asset class is in an equivalent category that can be compared to an A or AA rated credit. Structured trade finance is very low risk and offers sustainable returns, yet it still can be considered niche if compared to other financial products, especially in Saudi Arabia.”

Sidra Capital has recently announced the largest Islamic structured trade finance fund in the world. The strategy of the fund that is co-managed by Swiss based INOKS Capital is to support growth in the real economy by actively providing working capital to non-speculative value added SMEs focusing on agricultural commodities, energies and metals.

“Sidra Capital also has a sizable portfolio of real estate investment projects in the GCC region as well as in the UK,” Hani Baothman added. “The real estate market in Saudi Arabia has been one of the most discussed topics over the past decade. The mortgage law, affordable housing and now the taxation on white lands are just a few topics that have coined public debate. Events such as Euromoney serve as a platform to bring the public and private sectors together to exchange ideas and discuss the economic outlook in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

Licensed by the Saudi Capital Market Authority (CMA) in 2009, Sidra Capital is a Shari’ah compliant, Saudi financial services company. Sidra Capital focuses on Asset Management and Corporate Finance & Advisory and currently manages assets worth approximately SAR 1.6 billion which are all invested in alternative investments.