👋 Hello from the Middle East!

Today in The Daily Circuit, we’re looking at how the UAE’s first gaming resort is progressing, preparations for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Japan, Mubadala’s $3 billion bid for New York-based Fortress Investment and Adam Neumann’s continuing quest to reclaim WeWork. But first, the data shows a robust start to 2024 for Gulf capital markets.

Investor appetite for publicly traded companies in the Middle East remained strong in the first quarter of the year, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE raising over $1 billion in proceeds from initial public offerings. The kingdom continues to dominate listing activity, notching nine out of the region’s 10 IPOs in the first three months of the year and netting the largest chunk of stock market proceeds, according to the EY MENA IPO Eye Q1 2024 report. The UAE’s Parkin Co. IPO raised the most with $400 million, 37% of the total IPO value in the region.

Top performers for returns were the Egyptian Exchange (EGX30), which recorded an 8% gain during the first three months of the year; followed by Boursa Kuwait Premier Market, up 7.5% and then Dubai Financial Market (DFM) with 4.6%. So far, 25 private companies and 10 funds across various sectors plan to list on the exchanges in the MENA region this year. Globally, the IPO market is showing signs of life: 287 IPOs were launched in the first quarter, securing $23.7 billion in proceeds, up 7% compared to the prior year.

The lively Gulf capital markets will play into conversations and dealmaking in Doha next week, as the annual Qatar Economic Forum kicks off Tuesday. An array of Gulf cabinet ministers, central bankers and corporate chiefs will take the stage. Co-branded with Bloomberg – whose editor-in-chief John Micklethwait and a slew of TV anchors will be conducting onstage interviews – the conference will feature Jenny Johnson, President & CEO of Franklin Templeton, and Ken Griffin, Founder and CEO of Citadel.

Also joining panels in Qatar will be Darren Woods, Chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil; Noor Sweid, Founder and Managing Partner of UAE-based Global Ventures; and Gerry Cardinale, Founder, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Redbird Capital Partners.

GAMING CAPITAL

Wynn Resorts, which is building the UAE’s first casino on an island off the coast of the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, will make sure that visitors can avoid the gaming area if they choose. Spokesman Michael Weaver told Khaleej Times that the casino section will be “centrally located” and easily accessible for visitors in the vast complex. The resort, which is scheduled to open in 2027, will also include a spa, a shopping arcade, 20 restaurants, nightclubs on the beach and a massive swimming pool built into a tropical landscape. “It will be very possible to come, experience the rooms, the restaurants, the spa, shopping and never enter the gaming area,” Weaver said.

TOKYO TRIP

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will travel to Japan later this month as the kingdom looks to boost foreign capital flows to fuel its vast Vision 2030 strategy. The de facto leader will meet Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a trip from May 20 to May 23, the Japanese government said today. Japan is one of Saudi Arabia’s biggest buyers of crude oil and the kingdom was Japan’s eighth-biggest trading partner last year, according to the International Monetary Fund, totaling $42 billion. The Public Investment Fund is also one of the largest shareholders in Japanese gaming giant Nintendo Co. The trip is likely to build on the “Saudi-Japan Vision 2030” agreement that was forged on a trip MBS took to Tokyo in 2016. Under the pact, Japanese companies are to invest in industries such as agriculture, healthcare, energy and infrastructure in the kingdom.

Mubadala: A $3 billion bid from Mubadala Capital for Fortress Investment Group, a major investor in credit markets with a large allocation in U.S. rail, has “cleared a significant regulatory hurdle,” the Financial Times reports. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. had approved Fortress’s sale of a majority equity interest to the investment arm of Mubadala Investment Co. Meanwhile, Kelix Bio, which was acquired last month by Mubadala, is looking to buy five UAE-based pharma companies as part of a strategy to expand its product portfolio of generic biopharmaceutical drugs, VC Circle reports.

ADQ: Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly approved plans to build an international seaport for tourist cruise ships and yachts at Ras El-Hekma, the Mediterranean resort project in which Abu Dhabi’s ADQ sovereign wealth fund leads a group that will invest $35 billion.

Public Investment Fund: Saudi Arabia’s new PIF-backed cruise line Aroya is set to launch this December, promising cigar lounges, jacuzzis, 28 dining options, 20 venues for entertainment and a no-alcohol policy, Skift reports.

Qatar Investment Authority: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif sought to develop closer investment ties with the QIA in a meeting with Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in Doha on Thursday.

🛫 Profit Surge: Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways posted a ninefold increase in first-quarter profit of $143 million amid soaring travel demand, an expansion of its routes and lower financing costs.

🏠 New Property: Bahrain-based investment firm GFH Financial Group has acquired a 12% stake in Seef Properties, according to a bourse filing to the DFM on Thursday.

🚕 Taxi App: Pango, the operator of Israel’s most-used app to pay for parking, acquired Gett, an Israeli app-based taxi-hailing service, for $175 million.

💰 Gateway NYC: 97212 Ventures, a New York-based venture capital firm, raised $20 million for a new fund aimed at investing in Israeli startups at the Seed and Pre-Seed stages, while grooming them for growth in the U.S. market.

🌐 Blockchain Analytics: Chainalysis, a New York-based blockchain data and analytics company, will set up a regional headquarters in Dubai for its Southern Europe,  Middle East, Central Asia and Africa division, Cointelegraph reports.

🇰🇼 Turkish Partner: Kuwait and Turkey signed a series of agreements this week covering investment, defense and disaster management during a visit to Ankara by Emir Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad.

📈 ETF Tracker: Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia are exploring the creation of an exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking indices for Hong Kong securities, Reuters reports.

🏗️ Building Boom: Saudi mega-project NEOM unveiled another master-plan on Wednesday, a real estate development called Jaumur, The marina off the coast of the Gulf of Aqaba will add 1,200 residential units, including hundreds of luxury villas and marina apartments, to NEOM.

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed held a meeting with Hakan Fidan, Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, at the Qasr Al Shati palace in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.

Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak, the UAE Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, introduced a conference on Thursday titled “World Governments as Incubator for Tolerance,” which took place within the framework of Abu Dhabi’s AIM Congress 2024.

Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, visited the “Experience Abu Dhabi” stand on Thursday at the Arabian Travel Market show in the Dubai World Trade Centre, alongside DCT Chairman Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak.

Yie-Hsin Hung, CEO of State Street Global Advisors, said the firm is expanding its hubs in Saudi Arabia and the UAE to achieve growth targets in the MENA region, speaking in an interview with The National. 

Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy, is slated to speak at the SALT iConnections gathering of asset allocators in New York City, which opens May 20. 

Adam Neumann, co-founder of WeWork and the Andreessen Horowitz-backed Flow, made predictions for the future of WeWork as his bid to take back the bankrupt co-working company hangs in limbo, speaking to Bloomberg’s Brad Stone in San Francisco on Thursday. He also explains his transition from office to residential real estate with his co-living concept Flow. 

Mariet Westermann, outgoing vice chancellor of New York University Abu Dhabi, discussed her decision to leave her post after five years at NYUAD in an interview with The National.

Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, an Emirati billionaire and philanthropist whose business interests span construction, banking, real estate and energy, is among those named in the “100 Most Influential Arabs” list from Arabian Business. Also included are Lubna Olayan, CEO of Saudi Arabia-based Olayan Financing Co.; Ronaldo Mouchawar, Co-founder of souq.com (acquired by Amazon in 2017); and Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and CEO of Emirates airline.

📽️ Mobster Flick: Saudi Arabia’s “Mandoob” has been a runaway hit with local movie audiences since its release in December. Now, Riyadh-based studio Telfaz11, which produced the film about a Saudi night courier who dodges mobsters as he tries to raise money for his father’s medical bills, has signed a distribution deal with Metis Films to release Mandoob in the U.K. and Ireland, Deadline.com reports.

🎞️ Master Class: Budding Saudi filmmakers learned the latest animation techniques as part of the Saudi Film Festival in Ithra that wrapped up on Thursday, Arab News reports. The animation workshops were led by experts from the U.S. as part of a collaboration between the festival with the American Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Consulate in Dhahran.

May 13-15, Abu Dhabi, UAE: Abu Dhabi Global Healthcare Week. A conference focusing on investments, and innovation to solve the most important global health challenges. Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center and Abu Dhabi City.

May 14-15, Abu Dhabi, UAE: J.P. Morgan Asset Management: Life Sciences Innovation Summit. A gathering aimed at drawing startups and investors from the life sciences sector to Abu Dhabi. Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. 

May 14-16, Doha, Qatar: Qatar Economic Forum, Powered by Bloomberg. A news-driven event dedicated to global business and investment. This year’s theme is “A World Remade: Navigating the Year of Uncertainty.” Request your invitation here. Fairmont & Raffles, Doha.

May 20-21, New York City: SALT iConnections. SALT brings together more than 1,500 asset owners, asset managers and entrepreneurs for curated capital introductions and panel discussions. The Glasshouse.

May 20-22, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Future Aviation Forum. Airline executives, investors and government ministers gather for the third annual conference on the aviation industry. King Abdulaziz International Conference Center.

May 29-31, Marrakech, Morocco: GITEX Africa. The second edition of the biggest tech and startup gathering in Africa. Place Bab Jdid. 

June 5, Hong Kong: Bloomberg Wealth Event. A gathering to bring actionable intelligence to portfolio managers and other dealmakers and analysts from asset managers and owners, family offices and hedge funds. Conrad Hong Kong. 

June 23-26, National Harbor, Maryland: SelectUSA Investment Summit. The highest profile event in the U.S. to facilitate business investment by connecting thousands of investors, companies, economic development organizations and industry experts to make deals. Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center.