👋 Hello from the Middle East!

Today in The Daily Circuit, we’re looking at the growing mountain of sovereign wealth amassed by Saudi Arabia’s PIF, the second island being grafted onto Abu Dhabi’s Al Maryah island financial center, Congressional scrutiny of G42’s AI deal with Microsoft and the new Trump tower set to grace Jeddah’s skyline. But first, the Emirati foreign trade minister’s coast-to-coast tour of America.

From meeting U.S. policymakers face-to-face in Washington to chatting with OpenAI execs in San Francisco, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade and Talent Attraction Thani Al Zeyoudi says his cross-country tour last week should pay dividends in relationship-building abroad.

Along with a raft of discussions about artificial intelligence “as the defining technology of our era,” Al Zeyoudi’s Silicon Valley sojourn put him in direct contact with a wide gamut of Silicon Valley investment firms, he said today in a LinkedIn post.

Those included TPG, Thoma Bravo, Viking Global Investors, Lux Capital, Khosla Ventures, Brave Capital, Audere Capital, Flagship Capital Management, General Catalyst and Mubadala Ventures – which the minister called “sources of capital formation being directed to bleeding-edge technologies shaping the world today.” He said companies including Flexport, Interos, Lightmatter and Lila Sciences were “keen to explore partnerships with the UAE.”

Reflecting on the SelectUSA Investment Summit in suburban Washington D.C., where he was a keynote speaker, Al Zeyoudi noted his meetings with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy as especially useful in kindling American-Emirati collaboration.

“While we shared non-oil trade of $40 billion in 2023, I believe our nations have only touched the surface of bilateral opportunity,” Al Zeyoudi said. “Sectors such as renewable energy, sustainability, biotechnology, life sciences, finance, and logistics are all ripe for further development.”

Abu Dhabi’s AI-focused energy company AIQ, meanwhile, announced a partnership agreement on Monday with Texas-based Halliburton’s Landmark unit to help expand the use of AI tools in oil and gas production.

TRILLION-DOLLAR TANK

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund swung into the black in 2023, recording revenues of SR 331 billion ($88.3 billion) and more than doubling earnings growth from 2022, according to an audit by KPMG as reported by Arab News. The fund is also nearing the trillion-dollar mark in assets under management, surging 28% to $986 billion last year. The PIF, the most active state-backed investor in the world, fueled growth through the receipt of a transfer of 4% of Aramco shares; a turnaround in fortunes at Softbank, which in previous years has been the source of losses; and a flurry of acquisitions including in technology and energy diversification. The fund recorded a profit of SR 64 billion ($17 billion) compared to a loss of SR 17 billion ($4.5 billion) in the previous year. The national purse is the foundation of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s Vision 2030 economic diversification strategy, relied upon to drive tens of billions of dollars in investments to develop nascent sectors like tourism, technology and manufacturing in the kingdom. 

ISLAND HOPPING 

As Dubai breaks ground this week on its own financial hub expansion, Abu Dhabi too is bursting at the seams to accommodate the financial firms flocking to the UAE capital, Bloomberg reports. For several years Abu Dhabi Global Market on Al Maryah Island struggled to attract tenants and its four towers were largely unoccupied. But recent efforts to attract global players in finance have brought the campus to near-capacity. The government is now looking to bridge the free zone with next-door neighbor Al Reem Island, a move, first announced in April 2023, that will give it 10 times as much space and make it one of the largest financial districts in the world, occupying 3,558 acres. 

💲 Sovereign Circuit

Public Investment Fund: TVM Capital Healthcare, a Dubai and Singapore dual-headquartered private equity firm that counts the PIF’s Jada Fund of Funds as a limited partner, made a $35 million investment late last month in Boston Oncology Arabia, a bio-generic drugs manufacturing company based in Saudi Arabia. 

Mubadala: Abu Dhabi-listed Yahsat, a subsidiary of Mubadala, has chosen Elon Musk’s SpaceX to launch its new geostationary satellites, which are scheduled to enter space in 2027 and 2028 and cost $1.1 billion.

↪↩ Closing Circuit

🚢 LNG Carriers: Adnoc Logistics and Services has awarded South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean up to $2.5 billion in shipbuilding contracts to build liquefied natural gas carriers.

📈 Saudi IPO: United International Holding Co. a subsidiary of Saudi-traded United Electronics Co. (eXtra), received approval from the Saudi Capital Market Authority to sell 30% of the company’s share capital in an IPO the Tadawul stock market.

🕌 Bond Issue: Arada Developments, a UAE-based property developer, received approval from Nadaq Dubai to offer a $400 million Sukuk Islamic Bond.

🗣 Circuit Chatter

🤖 Double Clicking: The $1.5 billion investment from Microsoft in Abu Dhabi artificial intelligence firm G42, and a follow-on deal for the firms to build a data center in Kenya, is facing scrutiny from Capitol Hill and the Pentagon. Still, of the international efforts by the Biden administration to curtail technology competition with China, the relationship “holds the most promise,” Bloomberg reports. 

🏗️ Trump KSA: The Trump Organization and Dubai-based Dar Global announced plans for a luxury residential tower under the Trump brand in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Financial terms were not disclosed.

🚆 Strap Hangers: Dubai plans to more than double the number of Metro stations in operation by 2040 and develop shopping areas and parks around the stations. The project will expand the Metro from the current 64 stations to 96 stations by 2030 and, 10 years later, 140 stations.

💰 Emirati HQ: AXA IM Alts, a French alternative investment management firm with $200 million in assets under management, has chosen the Abu Dhabi Global Market as the location to house its first office in the Middle East and expand its regional footprint.

🌍 Power Circuit

Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman announced on Monday the discovery of seven oil and gas deposits in the kingdom’s Eastern Province and Empty Quarter.

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding, was reappointed to the post through June 4, 2027, by the company’s Board of Directors.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council, announced on X today that Dubai has won the bid to host ICCV 2029, a prestigious conference on computer vision and artificial intelligence.

Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Executive Council of Abu Dhabi, visited the trading offices of ADNOC Group in the Abu Dhabi World Market, where he met graduates of the ADNOC Academy of Trade and Trading and encouraged them to help the emirate become a world trading center for new energy resources.

➿ On the Circuit

Saudi Economy Minister Faisal Alibrahim said construction delays in Neom and other mega-projects are connected to the complications of creating new sectors in the economy and “accelerating our diversification story,” speaking last week in an interview with CNBC at the “Davos in China” summit in Dalian, China. He said “feedback from the market” and “feedback from delivery” will enable planners to “make adjustments as necessary.”

Dr. Noha Khater, Co-founder of Egyptian healthtech platform Almouneer, is eyeing expansion for the diabetes-focused service in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, she told The National in an interview. 

Fatima Al-Dhaheri, Head of Abu Dhabi’s economic unit for food and water security known as the AGWA Cluster, led a delegation last month to the Future-Food Tech Summit in Chicago. She was joined by “senior representatives” from ADIO, Abu Dhabi’s government agency responsible for inward investment; Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem; the Technology Innovation Institute, an advanced technology research center in Abu Dhabi; as well as Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority, the food safety, food security and biosecurity regulator in Abu Dhabi, according to a statement.

🎶 Culture Circuit

🏖️ Beach Getaway: The newly opened Naama Beach Villas & Spa in Fujairah brings a boutique Maldives-inspired experience with private pool villas to  one of the UAE’s most desirable coastal destinations, according to a first look review by The National. The luxury resort boasts a completely private beach and 44 pool villas, each one with up to four bedrooms and tended to by a personal butler.

📷 Photo of the Day

🗓️ Ahead on The Circuit

July 1-3, Milan Italy: The Global Energy Transition Congress & Exhibition. An event bringing together thought leaders, innovators, and industry experts to address the challenges of accelerating the global energy transition. Milano Convention Centre.

July 10-11, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Global EV and Technology Forum. The inaugural summit in Saudi Arabia bringing together policymakers, companies and investors focused on sustainable urban mobility solutions. Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition 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. 

Aug. 12-15, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Saudi Food Expo. One of the kingdom’s largest trade shows for the food & beverage industry. Riyadh Front Exhibitions. 

Sep. 30-Oct. 2, Dubai, UAE: Future Hospitality Summit. The global conference for leaders in the hospitality industry expands this year at a new location with dedicated space for ESG planning, country pavilions and a larger exhibition area. Madinat Jumeirah.