US investment bank Goldman Sachs is set to be the first Wall Street firm to set up a regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Ministry of Investment has granted a licence for the new business in Riyadh, according to a Bloomberg report. The move is in accordance with a new law introduced this year which mandates that any overseas company with state contracts must have a regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia with a minimum of 15 employees. Northern Trust selects Saudi Arabia for Mena HQ Rothschild & Co opens Saudi office Goldman currently has offices in Dubai, Doha and Riyadh bu ..read more

UAE-based alternatives manager Shorooq Partners has completed the first close of its second private credit fund. The fund, launched in partnership with South Korea-based private equity firm IMM Investment Global, has a fundraising target of US$100 million. It is focused on backing Mena-based startups with an average ticket size of $10 million in industries such as manufacturing, industrials, financing and software services. Al Waha Fund of Funds invests in Shorooq Partners The two firms also collaborated on the first private credit fund launched in 2021. “It’s imperative to recognize the nuan ..read more

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund the Public Investment Fund (PIF) has announced a strategy to invest in the aerospace and satellite sectors. To this end, the PIF has launched Neo Space Group (NSG), a wholly-owned subsidiary designed to develop the local space industry. The new business will have four business segments – satellite communications, earth observation and remote sensing, satellite navigation and Internet of Things. PIF-backed VC firm to target Mena startups In addition, NSG will also launch a satellite and space-focused venture capital fund. According to the PIF, the move is i ..read more

Growth in the Mena region’s initial public offerings (IPOs) market will be dependent on three phases – privatisation of state entities, listings by family-owned businesses; and the rise of fintech startups. This is the conclusion of a report compiled by the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) in association with LSEG Data & Analytics. The Regional Outlook for Banking and Capital Markets report notes that the region, and Dubai in particular, has attracted a growing number of wealthy families and individuals, many of whom are looking to capitalise on investment opportunities through ..read more

Post for Investment (PFI), the investment management business of Egypt Post, has launched PFI Asset Management with new management. According to PFI managing director and chief executive Ahmed Ali Abdel Rahman, PFI Asset Management will offer investment products to “cater to the diverse needs and goals of individuals, financial institutions and corporations”. This includes offering “unconventional” investment funds and portfolio management services for banks, insurance companies, government and non-government financial institutions, family offices, and individual investors. Egypt to issue mor ..read more

Ras Al Khaimah, one of the lesser known of the seven emirates that make up the UAE, has seen its credit rating upgraded to A+ by rating agency Fitch. The upgrade (from A to A+) comes on the back of a number of large-scale investment projects and an economic diversification plan that has led to stronger medium-term growth prospects, stated Fitch. It is the mega tourism projects that are seen as the most promising opportunities for investors and the catalyst for attracting more money to the northernmost Emirate in the UAE. UAE removed from money laundering grey list The tourism projects, which ..read more

UK asset manager Hargreaves Lansdown (HL) has rejected a takeover bid from a consortium backed by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). The consortium also includes a number of private equity groups such as Luxembourg-based CVC Partners, Nordic Capital and ADIA subsidiary Platinum Ivy. The latest bid of £4.76 billion (US$6.05 billion) values HL shares at 985p but was unanimously rejected by the HL board because it “substantially undervalues Hargreaves Lansdown and its future prospects”. ADIA invests in Australian private credit fund FAB makes bid for EFG Herme ..read more

Golden Gate Ventures, a Singapore-based asset manager, has launched a US$100 million venture capital (VC) fund aimed at startups in the Mena region. The Golden Gate Ventures Mena Fund will be domiciled in Qatar and is hoping to raise $100 million. So far it has raised $20 million from investors including some of the most prominent families in Qatar and their respective holding companies, such as Al Khor Holding, Al Attiya Group and Sheikh Jassim Bin Jabor Al Thani. Saudi wealth fund discloses venture portfolio Mena VC funding declines by 42% The launch comes on the back of a Golden Gate openi ..read more

An ETF backed by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund Public Investment Fund (PIF) that will track Saudi stocks is set to launch on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. A memorandum of understanding is expected to be signed by the PIF, Saudi telco National Technology Group and Japanese asset manager SBI Holdings, according to a report from Nikkei Asia. Should the ETF be launched, it would be the first fund to be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange to track Saudi equities. Lunate Capital launches first sharia-compliant India ETF Saudi and Hong Kong exchanges to explore cross-listing The MoU is indicative of gr ..read more

The portfolio of Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund Mubadala has broken through the the threshold of US$300 billion in assets under management (AuM). The fund also announced plans to double its portfolio’s size over the next ten years. The announcements were made as part of Mubadala’s annual review which revealed that its five-year rate reached 10.3% in 2023, up from 8.5% in the previous year. Mubadala and Goldman form $1bn private credit partnership Proceeds were down slightly over the same time period – $27 billion for 2023 versus $29 billion in 2022 – largely as a result of divestments ..read more