The Daily Circuit
👋 Hello from the Middle East!
Today in the Daily Circuit, we’re looking at revisions to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, two AI product announcements out of Abu Dhabi, the PIF consolidating its big entertainment development players and Dubai-based Property Finder securing an exit for OG investor BECO Capital. But first, Qatar elbows into the chips race as the Qatar Economic Forum gets underway.
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani opened the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha this morning with the message that the country is continuing its economic diversification efforts driven by its sovereign wealth fund, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). QIA, which has over a half trillion dollars in assets under management, has made the U.S. its main market but it is eyeing emerging markets like Central Asia and Africa, he said, and the fund is accelerating investments in technology.
His remarks at the Bloomberg-hosted forum follow an announcement from the QIA last night that it plans to be an anchor investor in Ardian Semiconductor, a fund set up by French private equity firm Ardian to invest in the semiconductor industry across Europe.
No deal terms were disclosed but the move comes as Gulf sovereigns are jockeying for key pieces of what is powering the AI revolution, including chips, data centers and intellectual property. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund launched the $100 billion AI investment firm Alat in February and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala followed up a month later as a founding partner of MGX, a deep tech-focused fund aiming for $100 billion in assets under management.
The three-day conference will feature Jenny Johnson, President & CEO of Franklin Templeton (who addressed the Abu Dhabi Global Healthcare Week yesterday), and Ken Griffin, Founder and CEO of Citadel. Also joining panels in Qatar’s capital will be Darren Woods, Chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil; Noor Sweid, Founder and Managing Partner of UAE-based Global Ventures; Rick Gerson, Co-Founder and Chair of Alpha Wave; and Gerry Cardinale, Founder, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Redbird Capital Partners.
📰 Developing Stories
TOUGH CHOICES
As Saudi Arabia sees lower-than-expected foreign direct investment and higher-for-longer interest rates, the kingdom is facing tough choices about what to prioritize in its broad Vision 2030 strategy. Projects at Neom are set to be smaller than first announced, while a target to double Riyadh’s population to 15 million has been cut to 10 million, the Financial Times reports. Meanwhile, top officials from Saudi Arabia’s mega projects like The Line, New Murabba and Diriyah Co. gathered in Riyadh this week to share progress updates and seek new partners. The group discussed challenges with supply chains and securing contractors as they made the case to prospective partners to assist in completing projects, Bloomberg reports. “I think our biggest problem with these projects is time,” said Oussama Kabbani, group chief development officer for the PIF-backed Roshn Real Estate Co. “Make no mistake we made commitments to His Royal Highness that we will be a showcase of the 2030 Vision. The challenge now is how much we can achieve from our promise.”
HEY JAIS
Abu Dhabi’s leading artificial intelligence firms made two announcements about advancements in large language model-based products this week. Core42, a subsidiary of Mubadala and Microsoft-backed G42, has rolled out JAIS Chat as a mobile app available for download on iOS. The bilingual chatbot was developed to meet the growing demand and popularity of generative AI capabilities regionally and can interact in English and Arabic, as well as facilitate translation. Meanwhile, the Technology Innovation Institute, a government-backed research center, launched an update to its LLM, Falcon 2, that it says can outperform big tech players like Meta’s Llama. “We’re very proud that we can still punch way above our weight, really compete with the best players globally,” Advanced Technology Research Council Secretary General Faisal Al Bannai, who is also an adviser to the president on strategic research and advanced technology, said.
💲 Sovereign Circuit
Public Investment Fund: The PIF is consolidating Saudi Entertainment Ventures (also known as SEVEN) under Qiddiya Investment Co. to create a single recreation and entertainment entity in the kingdom. SEVEN will remain part of the PIF and continue to deliver on its mandate to develop 21 entertainment projects in 14 cities across Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, the PIF has invited banks to pitch for roles on the planned initial public offering of the kingdom’s largest medical procurement firm, Nupco, Bloomberg reports. Rothschild & Co. is advising on the potential IPO. Elsewhere, Saudi Arabia’s Al Balad Development Co., which is backed by the PIF, is working to revitalize Jeddah’s historic district and transform it into a heritage and tourism destination.
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority: A consortium led by private equity giant Blackstone, along with ADIA and GIC of Singapore, submitted a non-binding bid late last week to acquire a controlling stake in Haldiram Snacks Food, the combined packaged snacks and foods business owned by the Agarwal family of Delhi and Nagpur, The Economic Times reports.
Kuwait Investment Authority and Oman Investment Authority: The two sovereign wealth funds signed a preliminary agreement for joint investments and to enter into discussions about future opportunities in their respective countries. The plan also calls for assessing investments in existing funds affiliated with the OIA in asset classes such as energy, infrastructure, communications, transportation and logistics, as well as the possibility of forming a joint fund.
Mubadala: Drama continues for the Mubadala-backed grocery delivery company Getir as the Istanbul-based startup is in a dispute with shareholders over key management positions after it shut international operations, Bloomberg reports. Meanwhile, Indonesia will ask Mubadala Energy, a unit of the sovereign wealth fund, to speed up gas development in Indonesia’s South Andaman Block after the firm announced a second major discovery there this week, Dwi Soetjipto, chairman of upstream regulator SKK Migas said on Tuesday.
↪↩ Closing Circuit
🏠 Proptech Exit: Dubai-based Property Finder raised $90 million in debt from California private equity firm Francisco Partners to help finance the buyout and exit of its first investor, Dubai VC fund BECO Capital. Michael Lahyani, Property Finder’s Founder and CEO, told Bloomberg his company is valued at about $1 billion.
🏥 Healthy Debut: The biggest initial public offering in Saudi Arabia drew $91 billion worth of orders for Saudi hospital group Dr. Soliman Abdul Kader Fakeeh Hospital. The IPO on the Tadawul exchange was covered 119 times by institutional investors, according to a statement on Tuesday, with the company and founding family set to raise 2.86 billion riyals ($763.4 million) in the listing.
☁️ Cloud Seeding: Microsoft plans to spend $4.3 billion building cloud and AI infrastructure in France as it goes on an international investment spree. Last month the tech giant made a $1.5 billion investment in Abu Dhabi-backed AI firm G42.
💸 Property Play: Cairo-based developer Golden Town Development has joined hands with Saudi businessman Ahmed bin Abed Al-Juhani to pump $208 million worth of investments into new real estate projects in Egypt.
🪪 Positive ID: French security firm Thales finalized an agreement with the Information & eGovernment Authority of Bahrain to modernize Bahrain’s ID card infrastructure and improve the cards’ biometric features.
🗣 Circuit Chatter
🛢️ Positive Outlook: Oman’s economy is expected to gain momentum amid higher oil prices and accelerated reforms under Oman Vision 2040, but the sultanate faces potential risks from regional geopolitical tensions and sustained high global interest rates, the International Monetary Fund said after a staff mission to the country this week.
🚢 Peaceful Routes: The U.S. has reportedly given an informal nod for Saudi Arabia to continue to try to revive a peace deal with the Houthis. The Yemen-based rebels’ attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea since November have led to a dramatic drop in maritime trade through the route and surging insurance costs.
💰 Big Payday: May paychecks for Emirates Group employees will be a bit fatter as the Dubai airline plans to disperse a 20-week bonus to staff after it posted a record profit for its financial year ending March 31, The National reports.
🩺 Future of Medicine: Innovation in healthcare, from AI and personalized care to anti-ageing treatments, is top of the agenda at the first Abu Dhabi Global Healthcare Week now underway at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center.
🤖 Robot Rescue: UAE company XCath will host a live telerobotic surgery on a model in South Korea on Wednesday during Abu Dhabi Global Healthcare Week to demonstrate how its technology can be used to respond to remote medical emergencies.
🩸Healthy Deposits: Mubadala-backed healthcare entity M42 announced a partnership with Abu Dhabi’s Department of Health to launch a Biobank with the region’s largest hybrid cord blood bank during Abu Dhabi Global Healthcare week. The facility will support medical research and delivery of stem cell therapies.
🌍 Power Circuit
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, on Monday approved the second phase of a heritage architecture project aimed at safeguarding 35 of the city’s historic sites from the 1960s to the 1990s.
Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Council, inaugurated the first Abu Dhabi Global Healthcare Week on Monday under the theme ‘Accelerating the Future of Global Healthcare.’
Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, and President of the Dubai International Financial Centre, appointed four new members to Dubai Financial Services Authority’s Board on Sunday. The appointments of Robert Ophèle, Andrew Procter, Javan Herberg KC and Sock Koong Chua will reinforce the emirate’s position as a leading financial and business center, Sheikh Maktoum said.
Sheikha Sheikha bint Saif Al Nahyan, the honorary president of the Make-A-Wish Foundation UAE, commended the selection of Abu Dhabi to host Make-A-Wish International’s annual “Global Wish” summit next June. She said the organization “embodies the spirit of compassion, generosity, tolerance, and humanity that distinguishes Abu Dhabi’s character.”
➿ On the Circuit
Jimmy Dunne, one of the architects behind the PGA Tour’s framework agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, has resigned from the PGA Tour policy board effective “immediately,” citing a lack of progress on a potential deal with PIF as one of his reasons.
Lucy Frazer, UK Culture Secretary, said her country is “really keen to boost positive social change” in Saudi Arabia, in an interview with The Times, as a trade expo is underway in Riyadh touting British companies and institutions as possible investment and development partners in Saudi’s Vision 2030.
Haitham Abdulkarim has been hired by U.S. private asset manager Blue Owl Capital Inc. to oversee the company’s institutional business in the Middle East, where he’ll focus on scaling investment and operations teams across Abu Dhabi and Dubai, Bloomberg reports. Abdulkarim was previously Head of UAE at BlackRock.
Cristiano Ronaldo is investing in wearable tech start-up Whoop, as it expands in the Gulf. Announcing the partnership while reclining on a pool lounger, the Portuguese soccer star and Al-Nassr FC player revealed that one of his secrets to a good night’s sleep is never taking phone calls after 10pm.
Michael Wong, Deputy Financial Secretary of Hong Kong, said his office is working with financial institutions in the Gulf on the listing of an ETF in the Middle East to track Hong Kong’s stock indices, among other developments to help Gulf sovereign wealth funds tap opportunities in China, in an interview with Zawya on the sidelines of the Capital Market Forum in Hong Kong last week.
🎶 Culture Circuit
🍺 Local brew: The first licensed microbrewery in the Gulf is busily fermenting beer in Abu Dhabi, in a sign of the steady loosening of laws around alcohol in the region, AFP reports. Chad McGehee, co-founder of Craft, said the brewery was using local ingredients including honey, dates, coffee and karak tea to produce unique flavors. He hoped the business would help make the emirate a destination people come to for beer, “like Germany, New York or San Diego.”
⚽ Teething Problems: Saudi Arabia’s billion-dollar splurge on football stars is yet to truly pay off, with the new-look Saudi Pro League failing to produce international accolades and suffering from a lop-sided season where PIF-owned Al Hilal remain unbeaten. But administrators say the league is a work in progress, AFP reports.
📷 Photo of The Day
🗓️ Circuit Calendar
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.
