business bites March 2022 55 www.bahrainthismonth.com GFH Financial Group B.S.C has announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and twelve months ended 31 December, 2021. Net profit attributable to shareholders was USD23.88 million for the fourth quarter of the year up 8.92 percent compared with USD21.93 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. The increase was the result of strong continued performance across the Group’s core business lines and significant contributions from its investment banking business, which generated USD52.25 million in fees from placement activities linked to the Group’s investments in the logistics, healthcare and education sectors. This included investments in a prime FedEx logistics facility in the US, the UAE’s leading multispeciality healthcare provider and a global healthcare education pioneer alongside Schroders Capital with whom the Group signed a strategic partnership during the fourth quarter to co-invest in select private equity and venture capital deals in Europe and the Americas. The Group reported net profit attributable to shareholders of USD84.22 million for the full year compared with USD45.09 million in 2020, an increase of 86.77 percent. A MONUMENTAL GROWTH OF PROFITS The Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA) has announced the launch of a threeyear programme to provide Cloud computing training to 600 employees from 75 governmental and semi-governmental entities, in line with the Government of Bahrain’s Cloud First policy. The programme will be rolled out in association with Microsoft as one of the cloudtechnology leaders under its existing contract with the Government of Bahrain. The Microsoft training courses are expected to improve the efficiency of public sector employees in cloud services, in line with the directives of the national leadership and the Supreme Council for Information & Communication Technology (SCICT). The iGA aims to train approximately 200 employees this year and 600 by the end of the program’s term in 2024. The Kingdom of Bahrain adopted its Cloud computing policy in 2017, following a decision by the SCICT, with the aim of redirecting IT investment towards Cloud computing, in cooperation with technology leaders. Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) and the American University of Bahrain (AUBH) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate a number of mutually beneficial initiatives, including supporting the development of students at AUBH, as well as staff at BIC. The agreement was signed in a ceremony attended by BIC Chief Executive, Sheikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa, and AUBH Founding President, Dr. Susan E. Saxton, held at the BIC premises in Sakhir. Under the deal, BIC and AUBH will establish a series of working arrangements that would assist in the educational process at the university and also help in the further career development of BIC staff. These initiatives include creating internship opportunities for AUBH students at BIC; presenting opportunities for BIC staff and their dependants to benefit from various professional certifications, degree programmes at AUBH; creating extracurricular activities that would be beneficial to the community; facilitating joint marketing activities as well as speaking opportunities for BIC guests at AUBH. FOSTERING A CLOUD-FIRST POLICY A Mutually Beneficial Initiative
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