Saudi Wants Family Offices to Help Build Americas Investment - Bloomberg
Before 2020, Saudi Arabian investment in Brazil was so small that it didn’t even appear in the central bank’s database for relevant foreign inflows.
That figure jumped sevenfold to $4 billion through 2023, and should keep growing, said Abdulrahman Bakir, managing director of the Americas for the Saudi Investment Ministry.
Key to increasing the two-way flows of money between Brazil and Saudi Arabia — as well as with the rest of Latin America — is connecting institutional investors, private companies and especially family offices, which are multiplying globally and becoming a bigger source of capital, Bakir said.
Last year, the ministry hosted a delegation of 100 Saudi officials, executives, investors and members of family offices to tour seven countries in Latin America over 10 days which led to $3.5 billion of potential investments through memorandums of understanding.
“Think about it as an umbrella of investors,” Bakir said last week in an interview on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative Institute event in Rio de Janeiro. “The sovereign wealth fund, private companies, public companies and family offices. We’re trying to really emphasize a lot now in family offices.”
There’s a plan to connect the top 20 family offices from both countries in “upcoming engagements” this year, he said.
Since taking the Washington-based role, Bakir said he’s pitched his boss, Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih, on expanding their focus to include Latin America and received support.
“The US relationship is very important. It’s been there for ages,” he said. “Frankly, you don’t need me or anyone, no one can really shake the US because it’s the strongest ally for Saudi. But what about South America?”
That’s led to bilateral roundtables from Sao Paulo to Riyadh and even one at the Milken Institute event in Los Angeles in 2022. Fifty Brazilian companies attended the FII event in Riyadh that year compared with five a year earlier. UBS Group AG hosted a Brazil-Saudi dinner at Davos last year, Bakir said.
Major Saudi capital allocations to Brazil include $400 million of direct investments from sovereign wealth fund PIF in funds overseen by Patria, a large alternative-asset manager, according to data provided by Bakir. Manara Minerals bought a stake in miner Vale SA’s base metals unit for $2.6 billion and state-owned SALIC has stakes in Brazilian food producers Minerva and BRF.
Food, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, tourism, mining and petrochemicals are among industries in Brazil that are attractive for Saudi investors, he said. Saudi Arabia is also working to lure more Brazilian companies to set up production facilities and offices there.
Some of the hurdles in the new relationship include regulatory issues, bureaucracy and finding more efficient ways to connect the private sector in both countries.
“Latam is one of the few regions where you have more opportunities than capital,” Bakir said. “In the Middle East, it’s the opposite. So if you come at the sweet spot your returns can be much, much higher.”
Wednesday 19 June 2024
#AbuDhabi Gets Brian Sheth’s Haveli to Join Rush of Firms Setting Up Offices - Bloomberg
Abu Dhabi Gets Brian Sheth’s Haveli to Join Rush of Firms Setting Up Offices - Bloomberg
Abu Dhabi is set to invest in software strategies run by Brian Sheth, whose private equity firm will open an office in the emirate as part of the agreement.
Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners — a $1.65 billion joint venture between Mubadala Capital and Alpha Wave Global — will commit money to technology-focused Haveli Investment, according to a statement on Wednesday. In return, the Austin-based firm will set up a base in Abu Dhabi Global Market — its first outside of North America.
A cadre of big hedge funds, venture capital firms and crypto companies have set up in the city’s financial center in the past year. That’s part of a broader shift in wealth to the capital of the United Arab Emirates, which is home to the world’s richest family and boasts sovereign wealth funds that manage around $1.5 trillion.
Sheth founded Haveli more than a year after leaving Vista Equity Partners in 2020, soon after his co-founder Robert Smith admitted to tax evasion. Its office in Abu Dhabi will include software and gaming investment and operating professionals.
The firms didn’t disclose financial details.
“We look forward to working closely with the Haveli team and to seeing them build a leading team of enterprise software investment and operating professionals in Abu Dhabi,” Fatima Al Noaimi, the co-head of Mubadala Capital Solutions, which includes ADCP, said in the statement.
A key part of ADCP’s mandate is to encourage firms to set up in Abu Dhabi’s financial center in return for investments. It has invested in 29 companies since 2019, Bloomberg News reported in February.
Haveli, which entered into a strategic partnership with asset management giant Apollo Global Management Inc. in 2022, sees the emirate as an “ideal base” to tap the software and gaming industries in the region.
The firm is looking forward to “leveraging our dedicated team in Abu Dhabi to build enduring relationships with quality investors in the region,” Sheth, who’s also chief investment officer of Haveli, said in the statement.
Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners — a $1.65 billion joint venture between Mubadala Capital and Alpha Wave Global — will commit money to technology-focused Haveli Investment, according to a statement on Wednesday. In return, the Austin-based firm will set up a base in Abu Dhabi Global Market — its first outside of North America.
A cadre of big hedge funds, venture capital firms and crypto companies have set up in the city’s financial center in the past year. That’s part of a broader shift in wealth to the capital of the United Arab Emirates, which is home to the world’s richest family and boasts sovereign wealth funds that manage around $1.5 trillion.
Sheth founded Haveli more than a year after leaving Vista Equity Partners in 2020, soon after his co-founder Robert Smith admitted to tax evasion. Its office in Abu Dhabi will include software and gaming investment and operating professionals.
The firms didn’t disclose financial details.
“We look forward to working closely with the Haveli team and to seeing them build a leading team of enterprise software investment and operating professionals in Abu Dhabi,” Fatima Al Noaimi, the co-head of Mubadala Capital Solutions, which includes ADCP, said in the statement.
A key part of ADCP’s mandate is to encourage firms to set up in Abu Dhabi’s financial center in return for investments. It has invested in 29 companies since 2019, Bloomberg News reported in February.
Haveli, which entered into a strategic partnership with asset management giant Apollo Global Management Inc. in 2022, sees the emirate as an “ideal base” to tap the software and gaming industries in the region.
The firm is looking forward to “leveraging our dedicated team in Abu Dhabi to build enduring relationships with quality investors in the region,” Sheth, who’s also chief investment officer of Haveli, said in the statement.
#SaudiArabia Dethrones China as Top Emerging-Market Borrower - Bloomberg
Saudi Arabia Dethrones China as Top Emerging-Market Borrower - Bloomberg
Saudi Arabia has displaced China as the most prolific issuer of international debt among emerging markets, breaking Beijing’s 12-year run at the top.
Data for new-bond sales by both governments and corporates this year reveal the kingdom is borrowing at a record pace as global debt investors begin to back Crown Prince’s Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 plan. Chinese borrowers, on the other hand, are witnessing a buying frenzy in local-currency bonds and have slowed international issuance to one of the slowest paces in recent years.
Overtaking China is meaningful for Saudi Arabia — which has 1/16th of the Asian nation’s the gross domestic product and the drive to become a global business hub by the end of the decade. The latest data suggest improving sentiment as Riyadh seeks funding for projects to diversify the economy from oil and position it as a link between Asia and Europe. Meanwhile, the rest of emerging markets are also witnessing a blockbuster year for bond issuance, amid falling borrowing costs and a hunt for juicy yields.
“Sentiment for Saudi bonds is very healthy,” said Apostolos Bantis, the Zurich-based managing director of fixed-income advisory at Union Bancaire Privee Ubp SA. “It’s not a surprise that the Kingdom has become the largest EM bond issuer given its large funding needs for large infrastructure projects.”
Saudi Arabia has displaced China as the most prolific issuer of international debt among emerging markets, breaking Beijing’s 12-year run at the top.
Data for new-bond sales by both governments and corporates this year reveal the kingdom is borrowing at a record pace as global debt investors begin to back Crown Prince’s Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 plan. Chinese borrowers, on the other hand, are witnessing a buying frenzy in local-currency bonds and have slowed international issuance to one of the slowest paces in recent years.
Overtaking China is meaningful for Saudi Arabia — which has 1/16th of the Asian nation’s the gross domestic product and the drive to become a global business hub by the end of the decade. The latest data suggest improving sentiment as Riyadh seeks funding for projects to diversify the economy from oil and position it as a link between Asia and Europe. Meanwhile, the rest of emerging markets are also witnessing a blockbuster year for bond issuance, amid falling borrowing costs and a hunt for juicy yields.
“Sentiment for Saudi bonds is very healthy,” said Apostolos Bantis, the Zurich-based managing director of fixed-income advisory at Union Bancaire Privee Ubp SA. “It’s not a surprise that the Kingdom has become the largest EM bond issuer given its large funding needs for large infrastructure projects.”
Major Gulf markets gain in quiet trade | Reuters
Major Gulf markets gain in quiet trade | Reuters
Stock markets in the UAE closed higher on Wednesday in holiday-thinned trade after the UAE central bank projected 3.9% GDP growth for 2024 and 6.2% for 2025, while Qatar was also boosted by a global rally.
MSCI's All-World index (.MIWD00000PUS), opens new tab was up 0.2% at 805.13, having traded at an all-time high of 805.43.
Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI), opens new tab edged up 0.1%, led by a 0.8% increase in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU), opens new tab and a 0.9 growth in Dubai's largest lender Emirates NBD Bank (ENBD.DU), opens new tab.
In Abu Dhabi, the benchmark index (.FTFADGI), opens new tab rose 0.4% as its top lender First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB.AD), opens new tab gained 0.7% and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB.CA), opens new tab jumped 4.2%.
ADIB and DIFC innovation hub forged a strategic partnership to drive fintech growth in the region by implementing cutting-edge fintech solutions to accelerate innovation.
The benchmark stock index (.QSI), opens new tab in Qatar rose 0.2%, as almost all the sectors in the index were up.
Qatar National Bank (QNBK.QA), opens new tab, the Gulf's biggest lender, gained 0.1% while Qatar Navigation was up 5.5%.
Markets in Saudi Arabia and Egypt are closed for a long one-week holiday break.
Stock markets in the UAE closed higher on Wednesday in holiday-thinned trade after the UAE central bank projected 3.9% GDP growth for 2024 and 6.2% for 2025, while Qatar was also boosted by a global rally.
MSCI's All-World index (.MIWD00000PUS), opens new tab was up 0.2% at 805.13, having traded at an all-time high of 805.43.
Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI), opens new tab edged up 0.1%, led by a 0.8% increase in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU), opens new tab and a 0.9 growth in Dubai's largest lender Emirates NBD Bank (ENBD.DU), opens new tab.
In Abu Dhabi, the benchmark index (.FTFADGI), opens new tab rose 0.4% as its top lender First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB.AD), opens new tab gained 0.7% and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB.CA), opens new tab jumped 4.2%.
ADIB and DIFC innovation hub forged a strategic partnership to drive fintech growth in the region by implementing cutting-edge fintech solutions to accelerate innovation.
The benchmark stock index (.QSI), opens new tab in Qatar rose 0.2%, as almost all the sectors in the index were up.
Qatar National Bank (QNBK.QA), opens new tab, the Gulf's biggest lender, gained 0.1% while Qatar Navigation was up 5.5%.
Markets in Saudi Arabia and Egypt are closed for a long one-week holiday break.
#Saudi Consumption — Not Production — Is Key to Peak Oil - Bloomberg
Saudi Consumption — Not Production — Is Key to Peak Oil - Bloomberg
The Shoaiba power plant, a sprawling complex of giant boilers and towering chimneys, is the improbable ground zero of the forces reshaping the energy market. Located in Saudi Arabia, it’s the world’s largest oil-fired electricity generator. At its peak, it gulps about 200,000 barrels a day, more than enough to meet the daily consumption of a small European nation like Portugal1.
If global oil demand is to peak within the next five years, as the International Energy Agency just predicted, it will require more than mass adoption of electric vehicles. Ironically, Riyadh will have to slash its own use of its homemade power source, making the Shoaiba and similar power plants the stuff of yesteryear.
The staggering amount of oil the Saudis consume – 3.7 million barrels a day, the world’s fourth most, behind only the US, China and India — means the kingdom would play a key role in shaping demand to 2030, potentially accelerating peak consumption – or delaying it2.
In its latest projection, released last week, the IEA forecast that Saudi oil demand would see the second-steepest decline in absolute terms between now and the end of the decade, falling by more than 500,000 barrels a day. Only the US, thanks to work-from-home and more efficient gasoline and diesel vehicles, in addition to EVs, would see an even larger drop3.
The Shoaiba power plant, a sprawling complex of giant boilers and towering chimneys, is the improbable ground zero of the forces reshaping the energy market. Located in Saudi Arabia, it’s the world’s largest oil-fired electricity generator. At its peak, it gulps about 200,000 barrels a day, more than enough to meet the daily consumption of a small European nation like Portugal1.
If global oil demand is to peak within the next five years, as the International Energy Agency just predicted, it will require more than mass adoption of electric vehicles. Ironically, Riyadh will have to slash its own use of its homemade power source, making the Shoaiba and similar power plants the stuff of yesteryear.
The staggering amount of oil the Saudis consume – 3.7 million barrels a day, the world’s fourth most, behind only the US, China and India — means the kingdom would play a key role in shaping demand to 2030, potentially accelerating peak consumption – or delaying it2.
In its latest projection, released last week, the IEA forecast that Saudi oil demand would see the second-steepest decline in absolute terms between now and the end of the decade, falling by more than 500,000 barrels a day. Only the US, thanks to work-from-home and more efficient gasoline and diesel vehicles, in addition to EVs, would see an even larger drop3.