Analysis Agriculture Down on the farm, Saudi Arabia has a $9.8bn hole to fill The Saudi government is stepping up efforts to attract investors to its agriculture sector after identifying a funding gap of SAR37 billion ($9.8 billion). The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture says there are investment opportunities in plant and animal production, as well as fisheries, processing, manufacture of agricultural products and infrastructure development. Saudi Arabia […] November 28, 2024
Banking & Finance QIA invests in owner of McDonald’s China The Qatar Investment Authority has invested in a continuation fund that will hold a controlling stake in McDonald’s China. Trustar Capital, a Chinese private equity firm, raised $1 billion for the fund, sources told Reuters, with the QIA, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, committing the largest amount, to become the anchor investor. Other investors include the […] November 26, 2024
Economy Saudi ratings upgraded on continued economic reforms Ratings agency Moody’s has upgraded Saudi Arabia’s credit rating on the back of the kingdom’s continued progress in economic diversification, which is likely to be sustained. The Gulf state’s long-term local and foreign currency issuer and senior unsecured ratings were upgraded to “Aa3” from “A1”. In addition, the local and foreign currency medium-term note programme […] November 25, 2024
Video length: 03:43 VIDEO Tech Funding squeeze stifles AI innovation in Mena Emerging technology and AI startups in the Mena region are struggling to find investors. Industry experts say that the Middle East attracts less than 5 percent of global funding for AI because of the lack of specialised venture capital funds that are willing to take risks. “Our region lags behind the rest of the world […] November 25, 2024
Giga-projects Saudi’s Diriyah adds cultural districts to $63bn plan Diriyah Company, backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, has started construction on multi-billion dollar educational and arts districts in the $63.2 billion giga-project. Spanning an area of 14 sq km, the “world’s biggest urban development projects” will house the Qurain Cultural District and Northern District. The Qurain Cultural District will include a range of arts, […] November 21, 2024
Finance PIF sells stake in US concert promoter Live Nation Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has sold its shares in US concert promoter Live Nation Entertainment, according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The sovereign wealth fund acquired a 5.7 percent stake in Live Nation, worth about $500 million, in April 2020 – just as the pandemic began to affect events and travel. […] November 19, 2024
Analysis Oil & Gas Trump’s prospective energy team is a mixed blessing for Gulf The nomination of a fossil fuels veteran and climate sceptic as US energy secretary is likely to chime with Gulf expectations that the second Trump administration will aggressively promote oil and gas as integral parts of the energy mix, according to industry observers. On Saturday President-elect Donald Trump named Chris Wright, the boss of fracking […] November 19, 2024
Opinion Tech The UAE could be squeezed in a US-China tech tussle Emirates would prefer to keep its options open, but Trump might make that impossible November 18, 2024
Finance Kuwait appoints new head of $1trn wealth fund Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, has appointed a new managing director. Sheikh Al-Sabah, a fund board member, will assume the role, replacing Ghanem Al-Ghenaiman, whose four-year term was cut short as he reached retirement age, Bloomberg reported, citing informed sources. The change in top leadership comes as the […] November 15, 2024
Finance Adia taps scientists and hedge funds to boost returns The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia), the UAE’s largest sovereign wealth fund, is using a team of 125 data scientists and hedge funds to expedite its decision-making process. “We are using our increased data and scientific skills to assist the senior investment team to make dynamic allocation decisions,” Bloomberg reported, quoting Jean-Paul Villain, director of […] November 14, 2024
Gaming PIF cuts stake in Nintendo as Switch sales slow Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has trimmed its holding in Nintendo, as the Japanese gaming company suffered a drop in sales for its biggest product. The Saudi sovereign wealth fund reduced its stake to 7.54 percent from 8.58 percent, according to a Japanese regulatory filing on Tuesday. The news of the cut comes just […] November 13, 2024
Sustainability Saudi Arabia’s carbon market to finance climate projects Saudi Arabia has launched a carbon trading market that will help provide financing for climate projects. The Regional Voluntary Carbon Market Company’s (RVCMC) voluntary carbon market exchange platform has more than 2.5 million tonnes of carbon credits for auction, it said in a statement. Buyers can obtain carbon credits from 17 climate projects from around […] November 12, 2024
EXCLUSIVE Business of Sport Roshn seeks contractors for Riyadh World Cup stadium Saudi real estate developer Roshn is inviting expressions of interest from international and local contractors for its 45,000-seat football stadium in Riyadh. Iain McBride, Roshn’s head of commercial, said the Public Investment Fund subsidiary was actively seeking partners “very early in the process” to help “de-risk” the project. “What we don’t want is to design, […] November 6, 2024
Markets OQ’s methanol unit is latest in Oman’s privatisation push OQ Base Industries is to sell up to 49 percent of its shares through an initial public offering in Oman – the fourth flotation of an OQ subsidiary since March 2023. The Omani state oil company raised OR748.8 million ($1.94 billion) in October by offloading a 25 percent stake in its upstream subsidiary OQ Exploration […] November 4, 2024
Banking & Finance Bahrain’s Mumtalakat prizes local investment over global Bahrain’s multi-billion dollar sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat is looking closer to home for investments, prioritising local over international opportunities. Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, minister of finance and national economy at Mumtalakat, said: “What we have found is the most compelling investment opportunities, the highest return on equity investments, are increasingly at home or […] November 4, 2024
Media & Advertising PIF to acquire 54% stake in MBC Group for $2bn Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has agreed to acquire a 54 percent stake in MBC Group for SAR7.5 billion ($2 billion). The fund will buy Istedamah Holding Company’s entire stake through a private transaction priced at SAR41.60 per share, MBC Group said in a statement to the Saudi stock exchange on Sunday. The transaction […] November 4, 2024
Aviation Riyadh Air takes aim at online travel giants Saudi Arabia’s new airline, Riyadh Air, is to compete with global travel companies such as Booking.com and Expedia by developing a one-stop digital platform for customers to plan and manage entire trips. The website will cover flights, accommodation, car rentals, AI-generated itineraries and tickets to attractions and concerts. It will also include shared shopping cart […] October 31, 2024
Video length: 02:57 VIDEO Banking & Finance Private credit will be ‘hottest asset class in the region’ Private credit has yet to take off in the Middle East but will become the “hottest asset class” in the region, according to Ted Koenig, CEO of US asset manager Monroe Capital. Speaking to AGBI at the Future Investment Initiative conference taking place this week in Riyadh, Koenig explained why private credit – non-bank lending […] October 31, 2024
Renewable Energy Acwa Power signs $1.8bn deals to promote renewables Saudi renewable energy major Acwa Power has signed agreements worth $1.8 billion to develop renewable energy and battery storage projects, as well as research and development, across the GCC, China, Central Asia and North Africa. The agreements were signed during the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh. The first pact includes a $690 million agreement […] October 30, 2024
Telecoms UAE telco e& purchases slice of PPF in eastern Europe The UAE telecommunications company e&, formerly known as Etisalat, has completed its acquisition of 50 percent plus one share in the Czech PPF Group’s telecoms business in Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia and Slovakia. The deal, which was approved by the European Commission in September, is valued at €2.15 billion ($2.3 billion), plus a potential earn-out of up […] October 25, 2024
Aviation Adia to invest $750m in debt of India’s GMR Group Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia), the UAE’s largest sovereign wealth fund, will invest about $750 million in the debt of India’s GMR Group, giving it a foothold in one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets. The investment will also allow the Indian company to reduce the pledged shareholding on its airports business. Adia has invested […] October 23, 2024
Giga-projects PIF launches company to build worker accommodation Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has established a company to develop and operate accommodation for workers employed on major projects in the kingdom. Smart Accommodation for Residential Complexes Company (Sarcc) will build workers’ accommodation for both public and private sector developers who are working on projects across the country. Sarcc will also seek opportunities […] October 21, 2024
