maaxx.ca

Journalist: Avanty Nurdiana
| Editor: Avanty Nurdiana

KONTAN.CO.ID – RIYADH. More and more private equity firms are opening offices in the Gulf region. This is a form of effort by a private equity firm to strengthen relationships with public and family fund managers in the region.

Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Gulf region are considered potential financial pools. Globally, fundraising and alternative investments, including private equity, fell 21% on an annual basis to $972 billion as of November 1, according to the Prequin study.

One of the private equity firms that has opened an office in Saudi is Ardian. Since last January, Ardian opened an office in Abu Dhabi and has a team of 12 people.

Read also: Oil prices could rise further until the end of the year

Ardian plans, among other things, to invest in green energies, such as hydrogen. “We estimate the team will be 25 people by the end of next year,” François Aissa-Touazi, head of global investor relations at Ardian, was quoted as saying yesterday by Reuters.

Saudi Arabia Terms of Service

Brookfield, a Canadian asset management company, also recently opened an office in Riyadh. The company also plans to open another office in Abu Dhabi. This year, European company Tikehau Capital also opened an office in Abu Dhabi. CVC even opened an office in Dubai last year.

Brookfield chief executive Bruce Flatt has admitted he is building a business in Saudi Arabia. “We only have a turnover of less than $10 billion in this region. We are developing all these activities in Saudi Arabia,” he said.

Deputy Governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Yazeed A. al-Humied, at the Future Investment Initiative (FII), or what is usually nicknamed Davos in the Desert, said that the Saudi Arabia reportedly requires foreign fund managers who want to collect money from the rich. In Saudi Arabia, you must have a regional office in the country.

Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al Jadaan previously said that the requirement to have an office in Saudi Arabia would be set in January 2024. Currently, Saudi Arabia is trying to privatize a number of sectors, football clubs to flour factories. Saudi Arabia is also opening up key assets previously inaccessible to foreign investors.

Read also: Global oil prices could be boosted by continued supply cuts by OPEC+

Most of the deals concluded so far relate to the infrastructure sector, such as oil and gas pipelines to real estate. Public companies are also looking for ways to transition to clean energy, such as hydrogen and carbon.