👋 Hello from the Middle East!

Today in The Daily Circuit, we’re looking at ADQ’s massive Egypt investment, more tankers navigating around the Cape of Good Hope, Aramco’s latest gas discovery and investment advice at FII’s Miami summit from Gwyneth Paltrow. But first, the technoscenti from around the world are pouring into Qatar.

Doha’s tech scene is in the spotlight this week as a Middle East edition of Web Summit — touted as the world’s biggest technology conference — opens today in Qatar’s capital city. More than 1,100 startups from 80 countries are expected to attend the four-day event as the Qatari government joins its neighbors in trying to lure early-stage tech companies to set up shop in the country. Tickets sold out more than a week ago. 

One of those efforts, which is expected to be promoted heavily at Web Summit, is Startup Qatar. The program was rolled out last week and is offering free visas, tax waivers, licenses, office space and funding to promising tech firms. 

Among the event’s prominent participants are Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani and Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan. Top financiers and founders include Huda Al-Lawati, founder and CEO of UAE fund manager Aliph Capital; Will Ahmed, founder and CEO of U.S. wearable tech company Whoop; Fadi Ghandour, Managing Partner at UAE VC fund Wamda Capital; Hosam Arab, co-founder & CEO of Riyadh-based FinTech startup Tabby and Edward Achtner, Head of AI at HSBC. 

Qatar Investment Authority, the country’s sovereign wealth fund, will also feature prominently with Daniyal Khan, a Director for QIA’s advisory group in New York, and Head of Tech Mohammed Al-Hardan set to speak. 

One topic driving the conversation will be why VC dollars are drying up almost everywhere except the Middle East – in particular, the GCC countries. A session tomorrow will tackle this directly: QIA Chief Investment Officer for the Americas Mohammed Al-Sowaidi; Noor Sweid, Founder & Managing Partner at Global Ventures, and Khaled Talhouni, Managing Partner of Nuwa Capital, will be in conversation with TIME contributor Zachary Karabell. 

RESCUE PACKAGE

Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ is leading a consortium that has agreed to invest $35 billion in Ras al-Hekma on Egypt’s northern Mediterranean shore to build a financial and tourism center, which may help resolve a long-stalled agreement on a $10 billion loan package with the International Monetary Fund. The deal prompted Goldman Sachs to suggest that the injection of cash should end Egypt’s foreign exchange crisis. “If the financing comes through as planned, we believe this, along with an upsized IMF program, should provide ample liquidity to cover Egypt’s financing gap over the next four years,” Goldman Sachs’s analyst Farouk Soussa said in the note to investors.

SHIPPING DETOUR

Shipping volumes around South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope have risen 75% from last year as oil tankers and cargo vessels use alternate routes to the Suez Canal because of attacks on the Red Sea from Yemen’s Houthi militants. At the same time, traffic is down 55% in the Suez, the waterway that separates Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula from the rest of the country. Oil companies, meanwhile, are feeling the impact of a long-acknowledged shortage of tankers as detours to avoid attacks in the Red Sea have increased shipping time and demand for the vessels,” Bloomberg reports.

Mubadala: Goldman Sachs’ asset management unit agreed with Mubadala on a $1 billion deal to invest together in India and other markets in the Asia-Pacific region.

Qatar Investment Authority: The Egyptian government has received offers from both the QIA and the Saudi Public Investment Fund to develop a coastal stretch in the resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh.

🚢 Free Trade: The UAE concluded terms with Kenya on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, its third with an African country after Mauritius and the Republic of the Congo.

📚 Analysts Aboard: The CFA Institute, a non-profit educational group for chartered financial analysts, is working to expand its membership in the Middle East, focusing on Saudi Arabia.

💵 Clean Bill: The UAE’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force’s “gray list” of states too tolerant of money laundering is likely to raise confidence in the country and lead to more foreign investment, analysts said.

📃 AI Lending: Biz2Credit, a New York fintech company that uses artificial intelligence to make lending decisions signed a deal with Abu Dhabi-based Magnati to broker loans to small and medium-size businesses in the UAE.

🛢️ Gas Discovery: Saudi Aramco has confirmed its discovery of gas reserves at its giant Jafurah field, estimated to contain 15 trillion standard cubic feet of gas and 2 billion barrels of condensate.

⚡ North Field Expansion: QatarEnergy plans to almost double the area where it extracts natural gas at its North Field site and expand liquified natural gas (LNG) production by 85%.

🏢 Land Sale: Dubai’s Union Properties sold $136 million in land holdings and is assessing offers worth another $325 million as part of a turnaround after racking up $780 million in losses last year.

🪙 Selling Debt: Israel plans to raise $60 billion in debt this year and increase the value-added tax to balance the budget amid spiraling defense spending, the Financial Times reports.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, UAE Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, awarded the 4 Arab Hope Makers finalists $270,000 each on Sunday, in the presence of Crown Prince of Dubai Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed.

Ahmed bin Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of State and the UAE Sherpa to the G20 process, led the UAE delegation participating in the first G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of 2024 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil over the weekend.

Gwyneth Paltrow, the actress, Goop founder and investor, discussed how she assesses companies as head of Kinship Ventures, speaking on Friday at the FII Priority Summit in Miami.

Rex Tillerson, the former U.S. Secretary of State and CEO of Exxon Mobil, will have an LNG tanker named after him by QatarEnergy.
Ran Guron, CEO of Israeli telecommunications company Bezeq, is stepping down after two years in the job.

🏎️ Hot Wheels: Some of the world’s priciest automobiles, including a $3.5 million McLaren Speedtail, will be up for sale in a March 9 supercar auction at RM Sotheby’s in Dubai.

📷 Photo of the day