The Weekly Circuit

👋 Hello from the Middle East! 

This week we’re looking at a deal driving Saudi Arabia’s EV push, a new tally of white-collar workers in Abu Dhabi, the mud-brick palaces dusted off amid Saudi’s tourism push and a visit between the Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Carlyle’s David Rubenstein. But first, to the Copacabana Palace in Rio de Janeiro.

Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative, which counts the Public Investment Fund as a founding partner and hosts the annual “Davos in the Desert” gabfest, has kicked off its first gathering in Latin America. The FII PRIORITY meeting comes as the kingdom and wider Gulf region is broadening its sphere of influence in South America’s largest economy, finding common ground with a flurry of recent deals in food security, renewable energy and mining. 

PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan will be among the first to take the stage at the Copacabana Palace on Wednesday with a program that will delve into the energy transition, the Gulf’s emergence among the BRICS nations and new technology. Mohamed Alabbar, Founder and Chairman of the UAE’s biggest developer, EMAAR Properties, and an FII Board Member, said the Rio de Janeiro event “signifies Brazil’s pivotal role in global investment and sustainability.”

Back home, the PIF continues its dogged drive to create an electric vehicle market in the kingdom. The sovereign wealth fund’s EV-maker CEER announced on Tuesday a $2.2 billion deal with Hyundai Transys for the South Korean parts supplier to make the drive systems for its cars. Drive systems are responsible for converting the energy from an EV’s battery into mechanical power to move the wheels. 

The decade-long supply deal is set to start in 2027, when CEER aims to drive the first of its SUVs, sedans and coupes off the assembly line. CEER, the joint venture between the PIF and Taiwan’s Foxconn, is not Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s only play into electrification as he looks to grow the share of EVs in the kingdom to 30% by 2030 – up from 1% right now. 

In addition to setting up CEER in 2022, the kingdom has invested at least $6.4 billion in California luxury EV maker Lucid Motors, which it majority owns, and has built an EV metals plant. In October, the PIF and Hyundai announced a $500 million joint venture to build a factory for internal combustion engines and EVs, creating a planned factory hub alongside CEER and Lucid in Jeddah’s King Abdullah Economic City.

And white-collar workers are the fastest-growing segment of Abu Dhabi’s population amid an influx of financial firms setting up shop in the UAE’s capital, according to new 2023 census data. The population of Abu Dhabi has reached 3.8 million people, with males outnumbering females 2 to 1 and residency up 83% since 2011. 

Welcome to The Weekly Circuit. Read on for the stories, deals and players at the top of the news across the MENA business landscape. Please send comments and story tips to [email protected].

UNBURIED TREASURE

Saudi investment in heritage tourism is starting to pay off

Across Saudi Arabia, ancient sites filled with the remnants of mud-brick imperial palaces and rocky Nabatean tombs are coming back to life, Rebecca Anne Proctor writes for The Circuit.

Desert Drawcard: From Riyadh’s Diriyah royal district and storied Red Sea port of Jeddah to the desert region of AlUla, the kingdom is spending lavishly to uncover its buried past and use it as a draw for both foreign and domestic tourists.

Rich Rewards: Over the last five years since Saudi Arabia first introduced online visas for international visitors, tourism has grown dramatically. More than 100 million visitors entered the kingdom in 2023, a 56% increase from 2019. 

Click here to read the full story.

CAPITAL GAINS

Carlyle’s Rubenstein explores investments in Dubai

David Rubenstein, Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of The Carlyle Group, met with Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed, the First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, over the weekend, as competition heats up to attract private capital to the region, The Circuit’s Kelsey Warner reports.

Partnering Up: “We discussed the unique model for public-private partnerships established by the UAE and Dubai, and the new investment opportunities resulting from this approach,” Sheikh Maktoum, who is also UAE Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and President of the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC), wrote in a post to Instagram.

Expansion Plans: Carlyle, one of the world’s biggest private equity and alternate asset managers with $425 billion under management, opened an office in Dubai’s DIFC in 2006. Rubenstein said the firm is looking to expand its footprint in the region and eyeing new opportunities in emerging markets, according to a statement carried by state media WAM.

Click here to read the full story.

Public Investment Fund: The PIF is looking to create a new boxing league in the sovereign wealth fund’s latest push into the sporting world. The fund is in talks to invest in a joint venture with some of boxing’s biggest stakeholders that would create a new consolidated league to feature more boxing bouts, Reuters reported. Discussions involving leading promoters, including Matchroom Boxing and Golden Boy Promotions, could result in a deal valuing the new entity between $4-5 billion, according to the news agency. Turki al-Sheikh, Chairman of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority, is part of the negotiations. Meanwhile, the PIF met with the PGA Tour Enterprises Transaction Subcommittee in New York City last week as negotiations over a tie-up between the PIF-owned LIV Golf and North America’s top tour continue past the one-year mark. “Progress was made,” according to a statement from the subcommittee, which added meetings are happening several times a week “to work through potential deal terms and come to a shared vision on the future of professional golf.” Attendees included PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan, as well as Strategic Sports Group principal John Henry and players Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority: ADIA has led a $100 million investment round in a mix of primary and secondary investments in Mumbai-based beauty retailer Purplle at a $1.2 billion valuation, India’s Economic Times reports. 

Qatar Investment Authority: The QIA has participated in a $90 million Series C fundraising round of Bright Peak Therapeutics, a Swiss and American biotechnology company developing immunotherapies to target tumors in which the Qatari fund is an existing investor. The round was led by Johnson & Johnson Innovation. Meanwhile, Qatar-listed Mazaya Real Estate has sold a plot of land in Dubai for $6.7 million, the last of its properties outside Qatar, the QIA-backed developer said in a filing on Wednesday. 

ADQ: Abu Dhabi energy company TAQA, owned by ADQ, has confirmed it ended talks with Spanish group Criteria Caixa to jointly take over Spanish gas and power firm Naturgy Energy Group. TAQA had been holding discussions with private equity investment firms GIP and CVC to acquire their shares in Naturgy, according to a statement to Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange on Tuesday. Meanwhile, ADQ-backed PureHealth is in line for a potential $800 million windfall, if U.S. subsidiary Ardent Health’s July ambitions for an IPO go to plan.

Mubadala: Stake, a Dubai-based real estate investment platform raised $14 million in a Series A funding round led by Middle East Investment Partners. Investors included Mubadala, Saudi Aramco’s Wa’ed Ventures and New York-based Republic Maximal. Fast-fashion online retailer Shein, which is backed by Mubadala, probably won’t qualify for the FTSE 100 Index even as the Singapore-based company gears up for an IPO that could be one of the largest ever in the U.K., The Times of London reports. 

Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, the UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, was elected chairman of Presight, replacing Mansoor Al Mansoori who becomes Vice Chairman. Al Jaber is also CEO of the national oil company ADNOC, President of the COP28 climate summit and Chairman of alternative energy firm Masdar.

Aramco CEO Amin Nasser went from New York to London as he drummed up support from international investors on a roadshow where the state oil giant’s shares were on sale, Reuters reports in a feature looking into how the Saudi-educated engineer approached the secondary offering that ultimately yielded $11.2 billion for the kingdom. 

WeWork CEO David Tolley stepped down after the co-working space provider emerged from bankruptcy on Tuesday. Commercial real estate industry veteran John Santora has been named to replace him. Santora most recently served as Tri-State Chairman at global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield. The startup was one of the biggest bets by SoftBank Group’s first Vision Fund, with major backing from Mubadala and the Public Investment Fund. Softbank owned a 71% stake in the embattled company last November, although it wrote down most of its investment. Co-founder and former Owner Adam Neumann made a failed bid of $650 million in April.

Indian Oil Minister Hardeep Puri’s appointment to a second term on Monday underlines Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s belief that the former diplomat is best suited to manage ties with Saudi Arabia, Russia and other fuel suppliers, Bloomberg reports.

Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, called the company’s $3.1 billion acquisition of Dubai-based Careem in 2020 “one of the best acquisitions that Uber has made” with the two companies still operating separately in the region, in an interview with The National. “Careem represented an opportunity to buy into and to build on the entrepreneurship that we saw in the Middle East,” he said. 

Mohammad Al Fahim has been hired by U.S. asset management giant Blackrock as Managing Director and Head of the UAE to lead client business in the UAE, Oman and Bahrain. He was previously at Goldman Sachs. 

Sanjay Advani and Nisar Sindhi have been hired by Swiss wealth manager Julius Baer Group Ltd. as managing directors to strengthen its business with wealthy Indians in Dubai. Advani was previously at UBS and Sindhi was at JPMorgan.

🪆 Cultural Ties: Oman’s growing ties with Russia were on full display with the sultanate’s participation as the guest of honor at the 27th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum last week. Oman’s National Museum organized a cultural evening showcasing the history of the Omani Empire in Asia and Africa at the State Hermitage Museum in St.Petersburg, and committed to hosting an exhibition in Muscat in October focused on the relationship between the Central Asian khanates and the Russian imperial court. Oman, which saw a 308% surge in Russian tourists in 2023, was also busy drumming up more business for its luxury hospitality sector during the forum. 

💃 Eid Entertainment: While many UAE residents will take the opportunity for a short vacation for the Eid Al Adha holidays, falling on June 16-18 this year, there are also plenty of live shows for those staying close to home. The National rounds up 10 concerts and events, from late Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum’s hologram concert returning to Dubai, to “Matilda, The Musical” at Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena.

🎨 Art Opening: Saudi Arabia is opened its first digital art museum – called teamLab Borderless Jeddah – in the Al Balad area’s Culture Square on Monday. Spanning 10,000 square meters, the new museum in the historic district will highlight art based on light, sound and touch.

June 11-13, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Future Investment Initiative Priority Summit. Saudi Public Investment Fund holds FII conference for first time in Latin America. Copacabana Palace.

June 16-18, Across MENA: Eid Al Adha. Government offices and businesses are closed throughout the region for the Islamic holiday.

June 22-23, New York City: Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix. Flying catamarans compete at SailGP’s two-day racing festival in New York Harbor. Governors Island.

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.

July 15-26, Granada, Spain: ADIA Lab International Summer School. A course of lectures and case studies to explore the critical role of trust and safety in AI, examining the ethical, technical and societal implications of AI applications. University of Granada.