The Weekly Circuit
đź‘‹ Hello from the Middle East!
In the Weekly Circuit today, we’re looking at Talabat’s oversubscribed food delivery IPO, Rothschild & Co.’s new wealth management office in Dubai, the Kuwait Investment Authority’s new chief and Qatar’s effort to strengthen business connections with the UAE. But first, the Keir Starmer has his sights set on the Gulf.
The U.K. looks to be getting ready for a new round of Gulf diplomacy, with an emphasis on cementing commercial ties with Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will be looking for fresh investment from Gulf sovereign wealth funds if he follows through with plans to visit Riyadh and Abu Dhabi next month, the Financial Times reports. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman may also visit London next year, the newspaper said.
Starmer’s Labor government would like to secure investment from Gulf countries for sectors ranging from energy to infrastructure, including projects such as the Sizewell C nuclear power plant in eastern England, according to the FT.
The U.K.’s trade relationship with the six member nations of the GCC is worth £57 billion ($72 billion), according to British officials. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is the majority owner of the Newcastle United football club. Manchester City is owned by the Abu Dhabi United Group, whose owner is Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President and Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE.
Meanwhile, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed – the UAE’s National Security Advisor and Sheikh Mansour’s brother – is taking markets to new heights. Buoyed by International Holding Co. and First Abu Dhabi Bank – both of which Sheikh Tahnoon leads as chairman – stocks traded on Abu Dhabi’s ADX and Dubai’s DFM are now worth more than $1 trillion, Bloomberg reports.
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].
POWER TRIO
PIF’s Yasir Al-Rumayyan sits with Trump, and Musk at UFC 309 in New York
Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, sat with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk in ringside seats at the United Fighting Championship’s UFC 309 event last Saturday night in New York’s Madison Square Garden, The Circuit’s Jonathan Ferziger reports.
Al-Rumayyan, who is also Chairman of Saudi Aramco, the world’s biggest oil company, as well as the PIF-owned LIV Golf tournament and English football club Newcastle, showed up in a photo posted on Musk’s X social media platform, chatting with fellow golf lover Trump while watching the fights.
Click here to read the full story.
CIRCUIT INTERVIEW
Qatar’s QDB shepherds companies to Dubai to promote diversification
Qatar and the UAE are making new efforts to strengthen commercial ties with shared interest in shifting their economies away from dependence on oil and gas, The Circuit’s Omnia Al Desoukie reports.
Khalid Al-Mana, Qatar Development Bank’s Vice President of Enterprise Development, brought executives from 25 companies – including Doha Cables, Delta Corp., Dderve, Q Ceramic and Doha Plastic – on a relation-building trade mission to Dubai this week. Among the group were firms with interests ranging from artificial intelligence and sports technology to construction, steel and food.
In an interview with The Circuit, Al-Mana highlights Qatar’s strategic focus on economic diversification. QDB is making particular efforts to support small and medium-sized businesses, or SMEs, promoting exports and facilitating greater activity by Qatari companies in global markets.
Click here to read the full interview.
đź’˛ Sovereign Circuit
ADQ: Modon Holding, a unit of the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, announced a partnership with Egypt’s Hassan Allam Holding for large-scale construction projects within Egypt’s $35 billion Ras El Hekma project.
Kuwait Investment Authority: The Kuwaiti sovereign wealth fund appointed Sheikh Saoud Salem Abdulaziz Al-Sabah, a member of its board, as KIA’s new Managing Director, Reuters reports.
Mubadala: Masdar, the renewable energy company owned by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala, ADNOC and TAQA, signed an agreement with Azerbaijan’s SOCAR Green and Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power to develop 3.5 GW of offshore wind projects in the Caspian Sea.
Public Investment Fund: The Saudi sovereign wealth fund sold its 5.7% stake in U.S. concert promoter Live Nation Entertainment, the parent company of Ticketmaster, which it acquired for $500 million in April 2020, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority: Lenskart, an Indian eyewear company backed by the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, is in talks to conduct a secondary share sale that could raise as much as $300 million and boost the firm’s valuation by 20% to $6 billion, the Economic Times reports.
↪↩ Closing Circuit
🛵 Keeping it Hot: Talabat, the Middle East unit of Europe’s Delivery Hero, is cruising into a Dubai IPO that is on track to be one of the region’s biggest. Investors swept up all the shares in its $1.5 billion offering within minutes after subscriptions opened on Tuesday, Bloomberg reports.
🛢️ Refinery Complex: Saudi Aramco and China’s Sinopec oil company have started building a $9.8 billion refinery and petrochemical complex in southeast Fujian province, marking another big joint investment between Saudi Arabia and China.
🚗 Autonomous Fleet: Pony.ai, a California-based startup backed by Saudi Arabia’s Neom Co. and Toyota that operates self-driving vehicle fleets in the U.S. and China, is seeking to raise up to $195 million in a Wall Street IPO, Bloomberg reports.
💰 Money Pocket: Egypt-based Amenli, a company that leverages technology to modernize insurance, raised $2.3 million in funding led by European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s Venture Capital arm, with additional support from Y Combinator, to expand operations and enhance services.
đź“Š Data Growth: The data center market in the UAE is projected to grow at an annual rate of nearly 10% over the next five years, creating a market worth $2.6 billion by 2029.
đź—Ł Circuit Chatter
đź’Ľ Ultra Wealthy: Rothschild & Co. launched a wealth management office in Dubai to boost its offering to local clients as well as to ultra-high-net-worth individuals in the region.
đźšš Port Demand: DP World, the UAE-based global ports operator, may revise its investments of $3 billion in new expansion plans in Africa while mulling further expansions in India and Egypt, depending on demand and project feasibility, Chairman and CEO Sultan bin Sulayem said.
đź©ş Medical Shares: Jana Medical Company’s IPO in Riyadh was oversubscribed, with demand reaching 150% on Saudi Arabia’s Nomu Parallel Market.
🇹🇷🇶🇦 Ankara Agreements: Turkey and Qatar signed a series of agreements on Thursday ranging from trade facilitation to military and technical cooperation during Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani’s visit to President Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, Reuters reports.
🌍 Power Circuit
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayedheld a meeting in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar.
Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, concluded a diplomatic visit to Brazil where he attended the G20 Summit, accompanied by Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation; Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of State; Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, Minister of Investment; and Waleed Al Mokarrab Al Muhairi, Deputy Group CEO of Mubadala.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed, the UAE Ruler’s Representative in Al Dhafra Region witnessed the groundbreaking ceremony for ADNOC’s low-carbon LNG project in Al Ruwais Industrial City, accompanied by Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC’s CEO.
âžż On the Circuit
Marc Rowan, CEO of Apollo Global Management, has emerged as a key contender for appointment as U.S. Treasury Secretary by President-elect Donald Trump.
Ayman Al-Sayari, Governor of the Saudi Central Bank, attended the General Meeting of the MENA Financial Action Task Force in Riyadh on Tuesday and said the kingdom is committed “to unify joint regional efforts in combating money laundering, financing terrorism and the proliferation of arms.”
Philip Philippides was appointed CEO of Mashreq Capital, the asset management unit of Dubai-based Mashreq Bank. He previously worked at Morgan Stanley, BlackRock/iShares and MSCI.
Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falihmade a series of official visits last week to Sweden, France, and Tunisia, accompanied by representatives from several major Saudi companies in a bid to strengthen the kingdom’s global partnerships while encouraging reciprocal investment.
🎶 Culture Circuit
📽️ Cinema Heritage: Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival returns to Jeddah on Dec. 5 in a refurbished version of its original home in the city’s historic Al-Balad district. The Cultural Square that will house the glittering two-week film fest features five cinemas and a huge auditorium that will host back-to-back screenings from early morning to late at night, Variety reports.
🗓️ Ahead on The Circuit
Nov. 20-22, Abu Dhabi, UAE: Xpanse. A forum dedicated to exponential technologies bringing 3000 thought leaders and industry pioneers. ADNEC.
Nov. 21-24, Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi International Boat Show. A platform for marine enthusiasts that offers live performances and the opportunity to navigate the waters of Abu Dhabi. ADNEC.
Nov. 23-24, Dubai: Forbes Medical Tourism and Wellness Summit. Discussions will center around efforts by participant countries to attract patients from abroad for medical care. Jumeirah Beach Hotel.
Nov. 26-28, Abu Dhabi: Global Media Congress. The event brings together a range of media groups to discuss the latest trends in publishing and media.
Nov. 26-29, Dubai: Big5 Global. The event gathers participants who are interested in technology and construction. Dubai World Trade Centre.
Dec. 4-6, Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Business Week. Participants will hear from business pioneers who built billion-dollar enterprises, developed global brands and led significant campaigns. ADNEC.
Dec. 5-6, Abu Dhabi: Milken Institute Middle East and Africa Summit. Corporate executives, investors, government officials, and philanthropists gather to address the globe’s most pressing issues. St. Regis Saadiyat Island.
Dec. 5-8, Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2024. World’s fastest race drivers compete in the Abu Dhabi leg of the Formula One season. Yas Marina Circuit.
Dec. 9-10, Abu Dhabi: The Bitcoin Conference. The conference connects industry leaders in an exposition hall featuring a fusion of technology and art. ADNEC.
Dec. 9-12, Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Finance Week. Market experts and entrepreneurs from around the world discuss the latest market trends. Al Maryah Island, ADGM Square.
