Investcorp, Standard Life to Raise $1 Billion for Gulf Fund - Bloomberg

Investcorp, Standard Life to Raise $1 Billion for Gulf Fund - Bloomberg:

Bahrain’s Investcorp Bank BSC and Standard Life Aberdeen Plc plan to raise $800 million to $1 billion for a fund to invest in infrastructure in the Gulf Cooperation Council.

The venture between the Bahrain-based alternative-assets manager and the Scottish firm’s Aberdeen Standard Investments unit will focus on healthcare, education and utilities. It may also invest in the wider Middle East and Levant.

“The GCC region has always benefited from significant availability of capital from the state,” Investcorp co-Chief Executive Officer Hazem Ben-Gacem said in an interview in Abu Dhabi. “Now with oil at half what it was a few years ago and the ambition of governments to diversify away from oil, the window is opening for private capital to play a bigger role in this area.”