👋 Hello from the Middle East!

Today in the Daily Circuit, we’re looking at a big bet on Alibaba paying off for the PIF, Mubadala’s 2023 annual report, renewables in Morocco and AD Ports expanding in Turkey and Bangladesh. But first, the UAE is set to make its pitch in Manhattan. 

UAE Economy Minister Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri is the headliner at veteran investor Anthony Scaramucci’s annual SALT-iConnections conference in New York next week. The minister will appear on Monday before a crowd of some of the top American financiers, brought together for the two-day event by Scaramucci, the Founder and Co-Managing Partner of SkyBridge Capital, who hosts a similar event each year in Abu Dhabi. 

Also taking the stage at The Glasshouse in Manhattan will be Bret Leas, Partner & Co-Head of Asset-Backed Finance at Apollo Global Management; Michael Arougheti, Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer and President of Ares Management; and Robbie Mitchnick, Head of Digital Assets at BlackRock. 

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is preparing to welcome aviation leaders next week as more routes to the kingdom are springing up to serve a growing number of tourists and business travelers. British Airways is preparing to resume flights to Jeddah later this year from London’s Heathrow Airport after a five-year hiatus. 

As the three-day Future Aviation Forum gets underway on Monday in Riyadh, Saudi’s Public Investment Fund will be well represented. Several executives from the sovereign wealth fund’s portfolio companies will be networking, including Captain Arnaud Martinez, CEO of The Helicopter Co.; and Edward O’Byrne, CEO of AviLease, as well as heads of regional aviation firms such as Ghaith AlGhaith, CEO of flydubai; Steve Allen, CEO of Emirates-owned dnata; and Saudi budget carrier flynas CEO Bander AlMohanna. 

📰 Developing Stories

SHANGHAI SURGE

A rally this year on the Shanghai Stock Exchange has been a boon to Saudi Arabia. The Public Investment Fund bought 153,000 shares in Alibaba during the first quarter of 2024, profiting from the stock’s 24% jump during the period, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reports, citing disclosures by the PIF to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. By contrast, the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund reduced its portfolio of U.S. stocks by about half to $18 billion. “Investors have relinquished the wait-and-watch approach [for Chinese equities] in favor of building exposure on incremental signs of easing and wiped out the underweight allocation from prior months,” Bank of America strategists said in a note on Thursday, cited by the newspaper. The MSCI China Index has surged nearly 28% since a January low, restoring over $2 trillion of value to Chinese companies listed on the mainland, in Hong Kong and New York, according to Bloomberg data. 

BACK TO AFRICA

Emirates will resume flights to Nigeria in October after resolving problems with the repatriation of ticket sales revenue to the UAE that led to the route’s suspension in 2022. Nigeria has ranked as the top country worldwide for withholding revenue from international airlines as demand for foreign currency has outpaced supply and its banks have not been able to service currency repatriations, The National reports, citing data from the International Air Transport Association. It’s not alone. As of January, the amount of blocked airline payments in Africa and the Middle East stood at $1.8 billion. With the resumption of operations to Lagos, Nigeria’s biggest city, Emirates will run 19 routes to Africa, with 157 weekly flights from Dubai.

💲 Sovereign Circuit

Mubadala: Abu Dhabi’s second-largest sovereign wealth fund published its 2023 annual review today, revealing assets under management have swelled to $302 billion with $27 billion deployed over the year. Those investments were focused on artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure, life sciences and the energy transition as well as expanding its holdings in private credit. “Amidst the complexities that defined the global investment landscape in 2023, Mubadala accelerated its shift towards targeted investments that will shape the future economy” of the UAE, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Managing Director and Group CEO, said in a statement. Mubadala reported $27 billion in investment returns, a 19.5% decline from the market peak in 2021 and down 6.6% compared to 2022. The portfolio achieved a five-year rate of return of 10.3%. Meanwhile, the fund is the naming sponsor of the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix, set to take place on Saturday, June 22 and Sunday, June 23 on Governors Island.

ADQ: AD Ports Group, which is owned by ADQ, is in expansion mode, signing a preliminary agreement to explore development of Bangladesh’s Chittagong Port, where more than 90% of the country’s international trade is conducted. Meanwhile, through its subsidiary Noatum, the port operator has begun operations in Türkiye as it looks to leverage bilateral trade opportunities.

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority: ADIA Lab, the applied research arm of the Middle East’s largest sovereign wealth fund, signed a preliminary agreement to collaborate with Minsait, a Madrid-based digital transformation research firm owned by Indra Sistemas.

Qatar Investment Authority: Mohammed Al Sowaidi, Chief Investment Officer for the Americas at QIA, said the fund is eyeing consumer-driven businesses in Asia and elsewhere, speaking on the final day of the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha on Thursday. 

↪↩ Closing Circuit

🚰 Clean Water: France’s Veolia won a $320 million contract to provide engineering services and technology for Dubai’s Hassyan desalination plant, which is expected to start operating in 2026.

🔌 Energy Boost: Morocco plans to invest $7 billion to almost double its energy capacity by 2027, with much of the power coming from renewables, Energy Minister Benali said at a conference in Rabat.

🤝 Alternative Assets: Blackstone has agreed to buy a majority stake in Israel’s Priority Software at an $800 million valuation, the largest deal made by the leading alternative asset manager since it opened a Tel Aviv office in 2021.

🏢 Investment Manager: Agora, an Israeli startup that develops software for managing property investments, raised $34 million in a Series B financing round led by Qumra Capital, with participation by Aleph and Insight Partners.

🗣 Circuit Chatter

🤖 AI Gospel: Intel and Presight, an Abu Dhabi-based data analytics firm, agreed to collaborate on efforts to accelerate the use of artificial intelligence by businesses across the Middle East.

💺 Flight Companions: In a story about the expanding private credit market in the Middle East, Bloomberg describes a flight to Abu Dhabi in the first class cabin two years ago where passengers included Apollo Global Management Inc.’s John Zito, Blue Owl Capital Inc.’s Doug Ostrover, Sixth Street Partners’ Josh Easterly and hedge fund manager Jason Mudrick.

🐔 More Chicken: Al Ghurair Foods has started developing its new poultry farm at Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi, the first of its three planned large food processing projects aimed at boosting the UAE’s production capabilities and food security.

🌍 Power Circuit

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Ruler of Dubai and Vice President of the UAE met with Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Prime Minister of Kuwait, on the sidelines of the 33rd Arab League Summit in Manama on Thursday to discuss increasing collaboration. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, was also present. 

➿ On the Circuit

Saad bin Ali Al Kharji, Qatar Tourism Chairman, said a unified GCC visa, similar to the Schengen visa in Europe, is set to be implemented by the end of this year amid a tourism push in the six-nation bloc, speaking on the final day of the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha on Thursday. 

Barak Eilam, CEO of Israel’s NICE Systems, said he will step down after 10 years in the post and help select a successor.

Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi, President of the Sharjah Art Foundation, has been named Artistic Director of the 25th Biennale of Sydney, Australia’s largest arts festival, taking place from March 2026. Sheikha Hoor has directed the Sharjah Biennial since 2002.

🎶 Culture Circuit

😂 For Laughs: The inaugural Abu Dhabi Comedy Week kicks off this weekend, with American actor and stand-up comedian Aziz Ansari first to take the stage at Etihad Arena on Saturday. Headliner Dave Chappelle will perform on Thursday, May 23. It will be Chappelle’s first gig in Abu Dhabi, after previously selling out two shows in Dubai. 

📷 Photo of The Day

🗓️ Circuit Calendar

May 18, Cannes, France. Variety Panel on AlUla. Discussion on Saudi filmmaking at Cannes Film Festival features Charlene Deleon-Jones, executive director of Film AlUla, and Greg Silverman, CEO of Stampede Ventures. La Plage des Palmes.

May 18-26, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Abu Dhabi Comedy Week. Standup comics Dave Chapelle, Aziz Ansari, Bassem Yousef and Chris Tucker headline the first annual festival. Etihad Arena. 

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 25-26, Dubai, UAE. Summer Blessings. Dubai festival celebrates the palm tree as the UAE’s national icon with live performances, date-themed events and artisan marketplace. Shindagha Museum.

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.