The Daily Circuit
Today in The Daily Circuit, we’re looking at the UAE’s first free-trade agreement in Africa, the Saudi PIF’s upcoming presentation at the Farnborough International Airshow, the bumpy path toward Ray Dalio’s collaboration with Abu Dhabi’s G42 and a pool of $100,000 prizes for new Arab fiction. But first, more sovereign wealth funds are jumping onto the India bandwagon.
UAE Minister of Economy Abdullah bin Touq heads to India today with a bevy of Emirati business leaders in tow as the world’s most populous nation looms ever larger as a magnet for sovereign investment.
Bin Touq is leading a trade delegation that will engage with top government officials and corporate chieftains in India, which is the UAE’s third largest trade partner. The tour, which will feature a business conference on Wednesday in the framework of the UAE’s Investopia Global Talks, follows reciprocal visits to each other’s country this year by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The UAE is far from alone in courting India. An analysis by U.S.-based Invesco found that 88% of sovereign wealth funds, including all of those in the Middle East, consider the Indian subcontinent to be the most attractive target for investment among emerging markets. The report notes the interest Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih expressed last year in establishing a branch of the Public Investment Fund in India’s Gujarat International Finance Tec-City and channeling capital to Indian startups.
Also steering investment decisions are the winds of war roaring through Lebanon, Israel, Gaza and the Red Sea, according to Invesco, which found that 95% of the region’s sovereign wealth fund managers see geopolitical tensions as the most serious risk to economic growth over the coming 12 months.
📰 Developing Stories
AFRICA TRADE
The UAE’s steady campaign to conclude free trade agreements with partner nations around the world has reached Africa. In a ceremony on Monday, senior leaders of the UAE and Mauritius met in Dubai to sign a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement that will eliminate more than 97% of all import tariffs between the two countries. Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, and Maneesh Gobin, the Mauritius Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, signed the document while Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth looked on via video link. In the past three years, the UAE has signed free-trade pacts with India, Israel, Indonesia, Turkey, Cambodia and Georgia. The agreement with Mauritius was the first with an African country. The UAE is also seeking to reopen trade talks with the EU by the end of the year, Al Zeyoudi told Reuters on Monday.
DALIO’S DILEMMA
A planned collaboration between hedge funder Ray Dalio and the UAE’s top official for international investment and artificial intelligence, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, is facing delays as Bridgewater Associates reckons with a non-compete agreement its billionaire founder signed before leaving the firm, Bloomberg reports. The American investor is looking to advise an asset management arm of Abu Dhabi’s AI firm G42, which is chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon, who is also Chairman of sovereign wealth funds Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and ADQ. Dalio’s firm disputed the report. “Bridgewater and Ray have both communicated that there have been no discussions or conflicts between Ray and Bridgewater on those topics, and that anything suggesting otherwise is completely false,” Bridgewater said in a statement to Bloomberg.
💲 Sovereign Circuit
Public Investment Fund: The sovereign wealth fund, which owns the new Saudi carrier, Riyadh Air, will make a presentation on Wednesday at the U.K.’s Farnborough International Airshow during an inaugural U.K.-Saudi Aviation High-Level Roundtable. Meanwhile, the PIF has tallied the direct and indirect jobs it has created via its 95 portfolio companies and puts the headcount at 762,000 in a new report. Its direct holdings include 23 companies such as oil major Saudi Aramco, telco STC, mining firm Ma’aden and alternative energy firm Acwa Power.
Qatar Investment Authority: The QIA has approached a court in Bengaluru, India to compel the founder of embattled tech giant Byju’s, Byju Raveendran, to disclose and freeze the transfer of his personal assets. He has been accused of “financial mismanagement and compliance issues” as his edtech platform has imploded this year. The QIA aims to claim up to $235.19 million of Raveendran’s personal assets, according to court documents after previously investing in Byju’s in 2019 and 2022 and loaned Raveendran approximately $250 million in March 2022 when the company was valued at $22 billion.
Mubadala: Mubadala Energy has named Bakheet Al Katheeri, CEO of UAE at Mubadala, as Chairman of the Board, while Mansoor Mohamed Al Hamed, Managing Director and CEO of Mubadala Energy, has also joined the board alongside Inderpal Singh, Executive Director, UAE Industries at Mubadala. Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi venture capital fund Shorooq Partners, which counts Mubadala Capital as a backer, has invested as part of a $1.5 million pre-seed round in Pakistani electric motorcycle company Zyp Technologies. Sanad, a Mubadala-owned aerospace engineering company, signed an agreement with Rolls Royce to send top employees deemed to have leadership potential for a six-month stint at the U.K. luxury carmaker.
↪↩ Closing Circuit
🛢️ Oil for Kenya: Three Kenyan banks have dropped out of the government’s $500 million monthly oil import arrangement with Saudi Arabia and the UAE. NCBA Group, Absa Bank Kenya and Co-operative Bank have exited the deal, paving the way for new entrants Equity Group, United Bank of Africa, Diamond Trust Bank, I&M Bank and Pakistan’s MCB.
🏭 Acid Maker: Lionsbridge, a subsidiary of U.S. construction services firm Wesson Group, is planning to build a phosphoric acid factory at Egypt’s Abu Tartour port, pledging to invest up to $3 billion.
⛽ Offshore Gas: Energean, the London-based gas and oil explorer, will invest about $1.2 billion to develop its Katlan site off Israel’s Mediterranean coast, with gas output expected to start in early 2027.
☁️ Wiz Walks: Wiz, a four-year-old Israeli developer of cloud security software, turned down a record $23 billion buyout offer from Google parent Alphabet and will pursue an IPO instead.🔒 Guarding Identity: Linx Security, an Israeli startup focused on identity security, raised $33 million in a financing round led by Index Ventures and Cyberstarts.
🗣 Circuit Chatter
🚢 Shipping Emissions: The longer shipping routes that cargo vessels have been forced to chart because of attacks by Yemen’s Houthis on traffic in the Red Sea has led to a 6% increase in the industry’s carbon emissions, Bloomberg reports.
✈️ Delayed Delivery: Low-cost UAE airline flydubai said its expansion plans have been “hindered” by extensive delays in the delivery of aircraft it ordered from Boeing.
🛩️ Repair Hub: Gulf Air, the national carrier of Bahrain, announced plans to build a state-of-the-art maintenance, repair and overhaul facility at Bahrain International Airport.
🌍 Power Circuit
Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, chaired a board meeting of the Advanced Technology Research Council and reviewed plans to launch new ventures in data security, mobility and agritech.
➿ On the Circuit
Xia Cai, Qatar Airways’ Senior Vice President of Product Development, unveiled the airline’s updated business class cabins to reporters at the UK’s Farnborough International Airshow on Monday, with new configurations that cater to families.
Martin Helweg, CEO of P&O Maritime Logistics, a unit of Dubai logistics giant DP World, is stepping down after nearly eight years at the company, he shared in a Linkedin post on Tuesday.
Princess Reema bint Bandar Al-Saud, Saudi Ambassador to the U.S., is at the Olympics in Paris where she has attended the opening of the International Olympic Committee session on Monday.
🎶 Culture Circuit
📚 Book Smart: Saudi Arabia is turning to Arabic writers as a source for adaptations as the kingdom looks to expand its film industry. To spur storytelling, the government has launched a global prize for Arabic fiction with a prize pool of $690,000, including first prizes of $100,000 for several categories.
📷 Photo of the Day
🗓️ Ahead on The Circuit
July 2-Aug. 25, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Esports World Cup. An international competition for professional gamers with a $60 million prize pot. Boulevard City.
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.
July 22-26, Farnborough, U.K.: Farnborough International Airshow. Airline executives, investors, government officials gather for industry presentations and dealmaking. Farnborough International Exhibition & Conference Centre.
July 27-Aug. 4, Washington D.C. Mubadala Citi DC Open. Tennis tournament featuring nine of the world’s top 20 players. Rock Creek Park.
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.