MANAMA: Bahrain's Islamic investment house Arcapita posted on Friday a more than doubling of its third quarter losses on a slump in income and foreign exchange losses. The investment firm said in an advertisement published in the Bahrain Tribune that the net loss in the quarter ended March 31 was $160 million, compared with $73 million a year earlier. Its income in the quarter fell by about 63 percent to $40 million while it said it incurred a net foreign exchange loss of $93 million in the quarter, without elaborating. The quarterly loss was expected as Arcapita said in May it expected a sizable loss for its current financial year that ends June 30. Bahraini investment houses have been particularly hit by a regional property crash late in 2008 as they relied on earnings fees on money they raised for property and private equity projects. While most investments made by Arcapita, with about $3.8 billion in assets one of Bahrain's largest investment firms, are outside the Gulf Arab region, it has still been hit by the subsequent freeze in the region's investor placement markets.
