Real Estate Lunate and Olayan buy into Dubai’s ICD Brookfield Place Dubai’s sovereign wealth fund Investment Corporation of Dubai and Brookfield Corporation have sold a 49 percent stake in ICD Brookfield Place (ICDBP), the emirates’ largest office tower. Abu Dhabi alternative investment fund Lunate and Saudi Arabia-based Olayan will each own 24.5 percent equity interest in ICDBP. It is the largest institutional third-party single-asset real estate […] April 8, 2024
Opinion Economy In the Gulf, the age of the petrodollar will not be ending soon GCC currency pegs have provided stability for 40 years. The dollar remains the best bet for oil exporters April 2, 2024
Health Abu Dhabi puts together global life sciences contender A new company to help establish Abu Dhabi as a major global player in life sciences has been announced by the emirate’s sovereign wealth fund ADQ. The new concern, called Arcera, will act as an umbrella entity for ADQ’s shareholdings in the Swiss pharmaceutical company Acino, Birgi Mefar Group of Turkey and Egypt’s Amoun. Arcera […] April 2, 2024
Finance UAE invests $2.5 trillion overseas, with US the top recipient The UAE has invested an estimated $2.5 trillion overseas as of early 2024, with the United States the prime destination. “The UAE has strengthened its position in the global economy,” Jamal bin Saif Al Jarwan, secretary-general of the UAE International Investors Council, was quoted as saying by the state-owned Wam news agency. “It ranked first […] March 25, 2024
Food & Drink Gulf SWFs named as potential suitors of The Ivy Gulf sovereign wealth funds are among a host of buyers said to be interested in taking charge of the group behind the UK’s prestigious Ivy restaurant. A £1 billion ($1.26 billion) sale is expected to be complete by the end of June. Troia, the company that owns the Ivy and some 50 other restaurants, is […] March 25, 2024
Opinion Economy Egypt must deal with its fundamental challenges Abu Dhabi's cash injection offers short-term relief but serious budgetary issues remain March 21, 2024
Industry Demand for Saudi mining licences rises sharply Incentives and legislation are fuelling growth in Saudi Arabia’s mining industry as the government seeks to stimulate investment under Vision 2030. The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources said demand for Saudi mining licences had surged since a mining investment law came into force in 2021. The number of building material quarry licences jumped to […] March 20, 2024
Artificial intelligence Saudi Arabia to create $40bn AI fund Saudi Arabia plans to create a $40 billion fund to invest in artificial intelligence, The New York Times reported on March 19, citing three sources briefed on the plans. Officials of the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund – the Public Investment Fund – have discussed a potential partnership with US venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and […] March 20, 2024
Giga-projects Work underway on cube at centre of New Murabba giga-project The company building New Murabba, one of Saudi Arabia’s biggest giga-projects, said this week that construction was underway on the development’s centrepiece: a cubic structure being marketed as “large enough to hold 20 Empire State Buildings”. The New Murabba Development Company, which is owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, is charged with creating a […] March 20, 2024
Construction Gulf funds investing in Cyprus ‘only a question of time’ Three sovereign wealth funds from the Gulf are in discussions to invest in real estate projects in Cyprus, according to one of the island’s biggest developers. “It’s only a question of time that it is going to happen,” said Pantelis Leptos, co-president of the developer Leptos Estates, without giving further details on the wealth funds […] March 19, 2024
Finance Saudi PIF ‘interested’ in buying stake in UK Selfridges Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is looking to buy a stake in British luxury department store Selfridges after the collapse of one of its owners, as it seeks ways to improve funding flows to Saudi giga-projects. Austrian company Signa faces insolvency, opening up its 50 percent share in Selfridges to acquisition. The other owner […] March 18, 2024
Banking & Finance India is top Asian target for Middle East investors India is more than twice as important as China as a target for Middle East investment, an industry report has revealed. Since 2020, private capital deal value from the Middle East into Asia has soared more than sixfold, from $14 billion between 2016 and 2019 to $83 billion since 2020, data from the Global Private […] March 11, 2024
Banking & Finance Gulf wealth funds put investing in US well ahead of China Most sovereign wealth funds in the Gulf remain heavily invested in the US, while China represents a much smaller part of their portfolios, data from the consultancy Global SWF shows. The data also shows that the portfolios of Gulf sovereign wealth funds vary widely in terms of their geographical distribution. This is partly a result […] March 8, 2024
Business of Sport Saudi wealth fund becomes sponsor for ATP Tour Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has become the official naming partner of the ATP rankings, part of its wider sponsorship of men’s tennis governing body. The Public Investment Fund will partner with ATP Tour events in Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Beijing and the Nitto ATP Finals, in addition to the Next Gen ATP Finals, hosted […] February 29, 2024
Tech Sovereign funds must be ‘enablers of progress’ says Mubadala chief Sovereign wealth funds have a responsibility to transform from asset investors to enablers of global progress, the CEO of Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, has announced. Al Mubarak told an investor conference in Abu Dhabi: “We are in the business of driving progress and investing in solutions to global challenges.” The government-controlled fund was […] February 29, 2024
Opinion Business of Sport Why cricket could be next on the list for Saudi Arabia’s PIF Saudi Arabia wants sports with mass participation, rich histories and big economies February 27, 2024
Markets Saudi Arabia prods blue chips to list more shares Saudi Arabia is prodding blue-chip companies on its stock exchange to offer more shares to the public as part of a drive to become a global financial centre. Abdullah Binghannam, deputy head of financing and investment at the kingdom’s Capital Market Authority, told a markets forum in Riyadh on Tuesday that a regulatory framework was […] February 21, 2024
Analysis Manufacturing Saudi Arabia joins the dots from minerals to manufacturing Consider for a moment how many different steps there are between digging a lump of iron ore out of the ground in Mauritania and pressing the starter button on a new electric vehicle (EV) in Riyadh. The ore must be mined, concentrated, combined with other elements, put through a furnace, a casting machine, cold- or […] February 13, 2024
Analysis Trade $112bn of trade with India ‘ready to be tapped’ Untapped trade opportunities between India and the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey could be worth more than $112 billion, research has found. An HSBC report, which analyses data from the UN/WTO International Trade Centre, estimates that there is a $61 billion export gap for Indian companies in the key markets of the UAE, Saudi […] February 12, 2024
Opinion Logistics Red Sea attacks could harm more than ports and shipping The Houthi strikes could have serious implications for Saudi Arabia and Egypt January 23, 2024
Leisure & Hospitality PIF’s new deal to spark surge in e-motorsports Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has announced a multi-year partnership with Formula E, Extreme E and E1 powerboat racing to boost the profile of sustainable electric motorsports in the kingdom. The Electric 360 programme is part of the sovereign fund’s carbon reduction initiatives. PIF ranks first in the Middle East for sustainability among the […] January 23, 2024
Markets Saudi US treasuries holdings hit two-year high Saudi holdings of US treasuries surged to a two-year high of $128.1 billion in November from a six-year low of $108.7 billion in June, according to newly released data from the US Department of the Treasury. Treasuries are government debt instruments issued by the Treasury and auctioned by the US Federal Reserve, and are considered […] January 22, 2024
