Tawazun Economic Council has announced the closure of Alfia after successfully fulfilling its purpose of serving as an investment fund for defence contractors.

Tareq Abdul Raheem Al Hosani, chief executive officer of Tawazun Economic Council, said: “Alfia Fund has successfully realised Tawazun Economic Council’s objectives of creating wealth for economic development in the UAE, investing in viable public and private ventures and providing job opportunities to the Emiratis.”

He pointed out that seven defence contractors, along with Tawazun Economic Council, subscribed to the Alfia Fund. 

"Alfia Fund has performed well over its period which is reflected in a 13 per cent percent growth in returns to its investors, accounting for Dh85 million ($23.1 million) in total,” he added.

"The purpose of the fund was to maximise returns from a diversified portfolio of investments in local ventures under the 'Tawazun Economic Program' administered by the Industrial Development Unit of Tawazun Economic Council
Investments in the fund," Al Hosani said, adding that it enabled the defence contractors to fulfil their respective obligations, and to contribute to the ongoing economic development drive. "With the closing of Alfia Fund, we now have yet another successful case on doing business in UAE," he said.

Mohamed Helal Al Muhairi, director of the Alfia Fund, said the fund made six select investments in UAE and has successfully divested from these profitable ventures by selling its shares to private Emirati investors, thereby maximising the value for their investments.

“The fund has created many companies in various sectors, ranging from education, third-party health insurance, construction etc,” he added.
Khaleefa Al Hemairi, Member of Alfia Fund’s Board of Directors, said upon its closure, the fund had distributed both initial investments and earnings to the investors.

"All investments from this fund were done in UAE which has generated good returns enabling defence contractors to not only meet offset obligations but also to gain sizable premium over their initial subscription," he noted.

Formerly known as the Chescor Capital Offset Fund, or CCO, Alfia Fund was established in Mauritius under the management of Chescor Capital Middle East (CCME), and under the administration of International Financial Services Limited.  The fund operations were managed by one of the leading banks in UAE with a high level of expertise in investment funds.

Since its establishment, Tawazun Economic Council has facilitated the creation of over 90 companies and joint ventures, at a total value of Dh36 billion ($9.7 billion), generating more than Dh70 billion ($19 billion) in revenues and creating over 95,000 jobs. The consolidated assets of these companies have grown exponentially to Dh542 billion ($147.5 billion). - TradeArabia News Service