Damac’s Sajwani calling banks to keep $20B promise to Trump

After pledging $20 billion to build data centers in the U.S. while sharing the Mar-a-Lago podium with President-elect Donald Trump, Damac Group CEO Hussain Sajwani needs to deliver.

In a television interview with Bloomberg today, the billionaire property developer said that level of investment will require close involvement with banks and other financial institutions.

“This is an asset-based business. With infrastructure, normally you borrow 60% to 70% from the banks or financial institutions, or bonds – leverage,” he said.

“Damac Properties will be able to put the equity, which will be in the range of the other 30%, which will be around $5 to $6 billion.”

Dubai’s Damac pours $3 billion into Southeast Asia data centers

Dubai developer Hussain Sajwani sees AI gold in Southeast Asia.

The Emirati billionaire’s Damac Group plans to invest about $3 billion through its Edgenex subsidiary to build data centers across Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand over the next three to five years, Bloomberg reports.

Damac, which focuses primarily on Dubai real estate, has been diversifying into a variety of industries from tech to fashion.

Edgenex, which already operates two data centers in Saudi Arabia, plans to build the digital infrastructure in its new Asian facilities that can house the high-end servers essential for providing artificial intelligence services.

Bill Gates talks up AI prospects in round of Abu Dhabi appearances

Bill Gates crisscrossed Abu Dhabi this week as an evangelist for the many applications of AI technology.

The Microsoft founder and philanthropist came to the UAE’s capital to participate in an event showcasing the benefits artificial intelligence can offer farmers and agricultural industries, particularly in Africa.

Together with Mariam Almheiri, head of International Affairs at the UAE Presidential Court, Gates discussed progress on the $200 million partnership formed between the UAE and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation at last year’s COP28 climate summit in Dubai. Microsoft is investing $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based G42 to fund data centers and work on AI projects.

Among the projects Gates highlighted at the event on Wednesday was AgriLLM, which focuses on fine-tuning the open-source Falcon large language model to improve agricultural research and development knowledge. AgriLLM aims to synthesize complex agricultural research into accessible, actionable insights for farmers and extension workers.

Gates also taught a 30-minute “masterclass” for students at the CNN Academy Abu Dhabi and several UAE universities, which focused on how AI and other emerging technologies can address global challenges such as disease eradication, climate change, and food security in underserved regions.

Gates met separately with billionaire developer Hussein Sajwani, Chairman of DAMAC Properties, to talk about charitable activities.