Trump headlines FII Miami, pitching U.S. to Saudi investors

President Donald Trump headlines Saudi Arabia’s FII Priority Summit in Miami today, pitching international investors on American business while the Iran war roils markets around the world.

The three-day conference, sponsored by the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, drew its usual bevy of Wall Street bankers, who listened to Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan warning about the impact of escalating geopolitical tensions.

“What we’ve seen in the ​last ‌few weeks ⁠is an ​impact beyond what we ​have ‌seen even post-Covid ⁠in terms of supply ⁠chain disruption,” Al Jadaan said. “We really need ⁠to make sure ​we ⁠resolve ‌the conflict very quickly.”

The PIF, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, indicated it will keep investing globally despite the Iran war, with Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan telling the conference that the kingdom’s financial position is solid.

“The Saudi macroeconomic and physical position remains strong, stable and resilient… We measure our returns not in quarters but in decades, and PIF remains committed to its investments around the world,” Al Rummayan said.

Among the conference’s other speakers on Thursday are Steven Mnuchin, the former U.S. Treasury secretary and founder of Liberty Strategic Capital; Dina Powell McCormick, President and Vice Chairman of Meta; Mary Callahan Erdoes, CEO of Asset & Wealth Management at JPMorgan Chase; and William E. Ford, Chairman and CEO of General Atlantic.

Before Trump takes the podium at Miami’s Faena Hotel, the conference will hold separate sessions with White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Paramount Skydance’s David Ellison and FIFA head Gianni Infantino.

Saudi investor summit opens in Miami with Iran war in focus

Saudi Arabia’s FII Priority Summit opened its formal proceedings in Miami on Thursday, with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Governor of the Public Investment Fund, set to deliver the keynote address to the gathering of global investors and policymakers.

With U.S. President Donald Trump due to speak on Friday, the conference takes place against the backdrop of war in the Middle East and the disruption of global energy markets following Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Among speakers appearing on Wednesday are Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan, Ambassador to the U.S. Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, and Khalid Al-Falih, the Minister of State who formerly served as Investment Minister.

The lineup includes Dina Powell McCormick, the newly appointed President and Vice Chairman of Meta, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, AI leader Fei-Fei Li of Stanford University, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon.

Also scheduled to address the gathering are White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, White House advisors Jared Kushner and Massad Boulos, former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, real estate developer Stephen Ross and FIFA head Gianni Infantino.

Before the main sessions, the FII Priority summit on Wednesday focused on Latin America, highlighting the region’s growing importance in global capital flows. The program featured Delcy Rodriguez, Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodriguez since the U.S. abduction of President Nicolas Maduro. Rodrigues spoke remotely and expressed hope the country will draw more international investors.

Trump to address Saudi FII Summit next week in Miami

Saudi Arabia has lined up U.S. President Donald Trump to headline its annual FII Priority Summit in Miami, Fla., next week.

The kingdom’s Future Investment Initiative Institute announced on Wednesday that Trump will speak at the conference’s opening session Feb. 19 at the Faena Hotel in Miami Beach. 

Among those also scheduled to participate in the three-day event are SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son, BlackRock’s Robert S. Kapito, Oracle’s Safra Catz, Point72’s Steven Cohen and Bridgewater’s Nir Bar Dea. Saudi Public Investment Fund Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan is the conference’s host.

The Miami conference will take place in the wake of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s pledge last month to invest at least $600 billion in the U.S. over the next four years. Trump responded with thanks while suggesting that the kingdom raise its investment to $1 trillion.

Florida is a center of Trump family activities, with the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach serving as the President’s home between terms in the White House. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner lives with his wife Ivanka Trump and three children on Miami’s exclusive Indian Creek Island. Kushner’s $4.6 billion private equity fund Affinity Partners, which is backed by sovereign wealth funds in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, is based in Miami.

Trump’s appearance at the conference also comes amid tension between the two countries after the President proposed that the U.S. take possession of the Gaza Strip. The plan would move some 1.8 million Palestinian residents out of the war-ravaged territory while building resort hotels that would turn Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”

Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, the Palestinian Authority and other Arab countries have condemned the Trump plan, saying any Gaza reconstruction effort must not force residents to leave.

Miami’s FII summit debates risks amid investor zeal for AI tech

In a week that saw Nvidia’s shares rise to dizzying heights, pumping up stock markets around the world, it didn’t take long for the subject of artificial intelligence to anchor itself in the center of debate at Saudi Arabia’s Miami investor conference.

Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Governor of the Public Investment Fund, which sponsored the Future Investment Initiative’s two-day Priority Summit, tackled the subject in Thursday’s lead-off session, pitching the kingdom as a natural hub for developing AI technology.It took 14 minutes into the opening of Saudi Arabia’s Miami Beach investor conference for the enthusiasm around artificial intelligence to anchor itself at the center of debate.

Al-Rumayyan also said that in 2025, the PIF plans to start increasing its annual investments by as much as 75% to about $70 billion. The Riyadh-based sovereign wealth fund currently has more than $700 billion under management and projects growing to between $2 trillion and $3 trillion by 2030.

“AI would consume a lot of energy, and we are the global leader when it comes to fossil fuel energy and when it comes to renewable energy,” said Al-Rumayyan, who is also Chairman of Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company. “So I think we are very well positioned to be an AI hub.” He noted that the kingdom has the “political will” and wealth to build the energy-intensive data centers critical to expanding use of AI. (Click here for the live feed.)

The question of how to manage the dizzying growth of AI technologies was a natural for participants in the conference, a spin-off of the FII’s central annual event in Riyadh known as “Davos in the Desert,” which attracts some of the world’s most prominent investors. Many were avidly tracking Nvidia on their mobile phones after the Silicon Valley semiconductor giant’s shares surged more than 16% following a glowing earnings forecast for its AI chips.

Blackstone Group CEO Steve Schwarzman, who followed Al-Rumayyan to the stage, flagged the risks presented to society, the economy and the labor market by AI.

“The people that I know who are on the cutting edge… are really cautious about this technology,” he said in the conference’s first panel discussion at Miami’s Faena Hotel & Forum.

“In other words, they love it. It can do marvelous things. But unlike most of the business community, they are not against regulation. In fact, they’re pretty enthusiastic about regulation, because they see the downside. And they want those downsides to be addressed,” Schwarzman said.

Jenny Johnson, CEO of Franklin Templeton, an investment firm with $1.5 trillion in assets under management, reminded Schwarzman that AI’s downsides have been clear to Hollywood fans of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s avenging cyborg for decades.

“If you watch the movie “The Terminator,” it kind of scares you, but on the other hand, if we don’t create environments where the good folks are learning how to use AI, the bad guys become the experts on it,” Johnson said. “And so you have to… allow for innovation to happen.”

Scheduled for Friday at the Miami summit were Palantir CEO Alex Karp, Carlyle’s David Rubenstein, 26North’s Josh Harris, General Atlantic’s Anton Levy, J. Paul Getty Trust’s Katherine Fleming and Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer. A talk by actress and Goop wellness guru Gwyneth Paltrow closes the conference.

The Daily Circuit: Dubai property a seller’s market + Qatar fishes for startups

👋 Hello from the Middle East!

Today in the Daily Circuit, we’re looking at Day 1 of the FII Priority conference in Miami, Qatar’s warm embrace of startups ahead of next week’s Web Summit, the entrée of South Korea’s H2O digital hotels to the UAE and the promise of fresh VC funds in Cairo from Sawari Ventures. Happy Founding Day to those in Saudi Arabia. Up first: a seller’s market emerges in Dubai.

A three-year price rally for Dubai property has some declaring that an affordability crisis is taking shape in the UAE’s most populous emirate. It has also made for a seller’s market, as analysts predict a slowdown is coming in 2024 and investors are cashing out now. Property prices crossed the 2014 peak last year amid unprecedented demand, fueled by surging rental prices and a rising population. Russian buyers and a post-pandemic bump has also spurred house sales in the famously safe UAE.

Sellers are positioned well, according to a study by Betterhomes, one of the city’s biggest real estate firms, and are now capitalizing on a surge in property transactions and escalating prices driven by heightened buyer demand.

A seller’s market in Dubai signifies robust demand, limited inventory and a consistent trend of delivering elevated returns to both investors and end-users, according to Toni Abou Jaoude, a Betterhomes sales manager. Betterhomes calculated a significant increase in value from 2020 when the price increases began, ranging from a conservative estimate of 50% to as high as 200% in certain areas of Dubai.

A cooling-off period is expected. Mayed Alrashdi, a research analyst at Emirates NBD, told Khaleej Times headwinds are expected in 2024 as high-interest rates prevail and new units come onto the market. “The anticipated increase in supply, comprising 41,500 apartments and 18,500 villas in 2024, should help to stabilize residential real estate prices this year,” he said.

STARTUPS WELCOME 

As Qatar prepares to host next week’s Web Summit extravaganza, government planners are trying to attract early-stage tech companies to set up shop in the country. One of those efforts, Startup Qatar, was rolled out on Wednesday, offering free visas, tax waivers, licenses, office space and funding to promising tech firms. All the services are described and accessible through the campaign’s website and will be promoted heavily at Web Summit Qatar. The conference, which opens Feb. 26 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre, expects more than 1,100 startups from 80 countries. Tickets are already sold out.

GOOD VIBRATIONS

Nvidia Corp.’s latest glowing sales projections are reverberating through Middle East tech hubs that have been riding the AI craze and the push to produce more advanced semiconductors. The Silicon Valley chipmaker said on Wednesday it expects first-quarter revenue of about $24 billion, topping analyst estimates by $2 billion and setting off a 9% surge in the company’s shares. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang appeared at last week’s World Governments Summit in Dubai, where he said that every country should assemble its own AI infrastructure. Last year, Huang announced that Nvidia is building its most advanced generative AI cloud supercomputer at its R&D center in Israel.

Oman Investment Authority: Oman’s sovereign wealth fund appointed Lazard Inc. to advise on a potential IPO of the state-owned Oman Electricity Transmission Co., Bloomberg reports.

Mubadala: Mubadala Investment Co. has partnered with primary investors and private equity firms, including Stone Point Capital and Clayton Dubilier & Rice, to purchase the remaining stake in an insurance brokerage business from US-based Truist Financial Corporation. Zamp, a Mubadala-backed food retailer that operates Burger King in Brazil, is in talks to take over the Starbucks franchise from its current owner that is in bankruptcy proceedings.

Qatar Investment Authority: Ascend Elements, a Westborough, Mass.-based developer of sustainable battery materials for electric vehicles backed by the QIA, raised $162 million in new equity investments to build a new 1 million square foot sustainable lithium-ion battery plant in Kentucky.

🏗️ Going Up: Construction costs in Saudi Arabia are projected to rise by up to 7% in 2024, according to a new report by Currie & Brown.

🩺 Doctor’s Orders: Saudi healthcare firm Al-Modawat will start trading next week on the Tadawul Stock Exchange after selling 20% of its shares in a Feb 5 IPO.

🚙 Driving Mideast: Chinese electric vehicle company XPENG announced plans to expand to the Middle East, with a partnership deal with Ali&Sons for the UAE market.

🇰🇷 Capital HQ: H2O, a South Korean digital innovation company in the hospitality industry, has established its regional headquarters in Abu Dhabi in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office.

📦 Fair Trade: About 7,000 delegates are expected to descend on Abu Dhabi next week for the World Trade Organisation’s 13th Ministerial Conference, faced with the tough task of brokering key trade agreements, The National reports.

🚢 Ship Builders: Abu Dhabi defense conglomerate EDGE said it will launch a $32 billion joint venture to build naval vessels with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri.

📚 Study Buddy: Thiqa Tutoring, a UAE edtech startup, raised $300,000 from investors Mashael Fairooz, founder of JEO Capital, and Lamya Mahmood, CEO of Lamya Group.

💵 Exit Strategy: Egypt’s Banque Misr racked up $100 million in exits last year and is so far planning in 2024 to sell off its investments in at least seven companies for about $50 million.

🤖 AI Images: Bria, an Israeli startup that develops visual generative AI applications, raised $24 million in a Series A funding round led by GFT Ventures, Intel Capital, and Entrée Capital.

⌨️ Photonic Funds: DustPhotonics, an Israeli startup that develops silicon optical networks for massive data centers and AI applications, raised $24 million.

💰 New Capital: Cairo-based venture capital firm Sawari Ventures will launch a new fund to back start-ups in Egypt with an investment goal of around $150 million.

The Future Investment Institute’s Priority Summit gets underway today in Miami with a packed lineup tackling opportunities in alternative assets, the advent of AI and the economic consequences of conflict. Gulf moderating favorite Eithne Treanor is in conversation with PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan to start the day. Elsewhere on the program, CEO of Honeywell Vimal Kapur, Josh Harris of Palantir, Google’s Caroline Yap, former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury now of Liberty Strategic Capital, Steve Mnuchin, Affinity Partners’ Jared Kushner, entrepreneurs Inna Braverman and Billy Thalheimer and Dr. Mehmet Oz are all set to speak. And another former Treasury chief, Larry Summers, rounds out the day.

Jerry Inzerillo, CEO of Diriyah Gate Development Authority Group, talked about Saudi Arabia’s rich history in an interview on Founding Day: “Founding Day for all of us in Diriyah is special. It’s who we are,” he told Arab News.

🎶 Culture Circuit

🌴 Modern R&R: Saudi Arabia’s NEOM mega-project announced plans for a new wellness retreat on the mountainous Gulf of Aqaba coast. Elanan will have 80 rooms and suites and aims to provide a modern take on relaxation, with subtle use of technology. The new project joins eight other new resorts from NEOM on the Gulf of Aqaba.

📷 Photo of the day

📅 Circuit Calendar

Feb. 19-23, Dubai, UAE. Gulfood. Exhibitors from 127 countries attend food and beverage industry’s largest conference in the Middle East. Dubai International Conference Centre.

Feb. 21-22, Dubai, UAE: Step Conference. The Dubai edition of the leading tech festival for emerging markets. Internet City.

Feb. 22-23, Miami Beach, FL: FII Priority Miami. A summit on disruptive technology and investment trends hosted by the Future Investment Initiative Institute. Faena Hotel Miami Beach.

Feb. 24-25, Abu Dhabi, UAE: Berklee Abu Dhabi Music Summit. A summit that dives into the basics of the music business, providing independent artists with a roadmap to develop their careers. Berklee Abu Dhabi.

Feb. 26-29, Doha, Qatar: Web Summit Qatar. A Middle East edition of the technology crowd mega-event, gathering investors, entrepreneurs and business leaders. Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre. 

Feb. 28-29, Abu Dhabi, UAE: Investopia. A gathering of investors hosted by SALT and Investopia, an investment platform launched by the UAE Ministry of Economy and backed by Mubadala and the Department of Economic Development. St. Regis Saadiyat. 

Feb. 29-March 2, Sakhir, Bahrain: Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix. Bahrain International Circuit.

March 1, Abu Dhabi, UAE: Abu Dhabi Family Office Summit. One of the largest meetings in the region for family office leaders and investors. Saadiyat Rotana.  

March 4-7, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: LEAP. A global technology conference for developers, startups, investors, C-suite and media. King Abdul Aziz International Conference Center.

March 5-6, Doha, Qatar: International LNG Forum. Gathering of industry leaders and key stakeholders to discuss the future of gas in a key export market. InterContinental Doha Beach. 

March 7-9, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative lands in Miami

Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative gabfest is taking the show on the road  — landing in Miami tomorrow for the second annual edition of its Priority Summit. 

The two-day agenda at the Faena Forum is expected to see about 800 executives, investors and policymakers meet around the theme “on the edge of a new frontier,” with a focus on investment opportunities and disruptive technologies.

“The world feels like an increasingly troubled place, with violent conflicts, cost of living crises, climate change, AI uncertainties, pandemic threats and other big problems,” Richard Attias, CEO of the FII Institute, told Arab News. “And so, it has never been more important to convene leaders from investment, business and government to address the root causes and come up with practical answers.”

The FII is a non-profit run by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Other editions of FII’s Priority Summits have taken place in Hong Kong, London and New York. The events serve as a tee-up for the big “Davos in the Desert” conference, taking place each November at the Ritz Carlton in Riyadh.

Speakers include Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone, Jenny Johnson of Franklin Templeton, Mary Callahan Erdoes of JP Morgan, David Rubenstein of Carlyle, Dina Powell McCormick of BDT & MSD Partners and Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell. Others exploring global economic trends, financial markets, and policy dynamics include Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Governor of the PIF and the Chairman of the FII Institute; Princess Reema bint Bandar Al-Saud, Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to the U.S.; and Khalid A. Al-Falih, the Saudi Minister of Investment.