Thufile Ariful Mohamed Sirajudeen, M.Eng’s Post

Been there before the GFC, when accessing Saudi money and petrodollars was a key strategy for investment bankers/money managers in the region. But today, things have changed. Regional SWFs now require a permanent local presence. How will the industry respond? Post-2008, fee slashing became the price fund managers had to pay to secure these investments. In the West, there's a narrative that OPEC’s cheap oil powered the 20th Century Industrial Revolution, marking the largest wealth transfer in history. What’s often overlooked is how it also created a significant knowledge gap. The question now is: how much of the world’s technology and expertise will be transferred to the region, and where will it be most impactful? #SWFs #MiddleEast #Investment #WealthTransfer #OPEC #KnowledgeGap #TechnologyTransfer #EconomicShift

Middle East $4 Trillion Sovereign Wealth Funds Force New Concessions From Wall Street 👇 As many of you saw last week, Wall Street is on edge as Recession fears spark $1.3 trillion sell-off as tech titans tumble. As investors flee to safety amidst alarming economic signals, the once-mighty 'Magnificent Seven' face a staggering market reckoning. However, the World's Biggest Oil Company Saudi aramco Generated $56B In Profits — More Than NVIDIA, Meta & Tesla Combined. Bloomberg recently wrote: ‘You Have the Money, You Can Make the Rules’: A New Era of Middle East Wealth Here are the Middle East sovereign wealth funds currently making all the rules: - Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) - Public Investment Fund (PIF) - Qatar Investment Authority - Kuwait Investment Authority - Oman Investment Authority - Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company ("Mumtalakat") - Mubadala - ADQ Apollo Global Management, Inc., Blackstone and other big money managers are reshaping longstanding practices to win part of the $4 trillion in Gulf sovereign wealth. Within the moneyed circles of the Middle East, there’s increasing talk of a shifting power dynamic in the upper echelons of high finance. Gone are the days of private equity bigwigs and hedge fund honchos flying to the Gulf, shuttling between five-star hotels and gleaming office towers in Abu Dhabi, Doha and Riyadh, then leaving with massive checks for their latest funds. If you want to raise cash from the Middle East, you have to invest in the future of the Middle East's economy. For many of you around the world, whilst your government is arguing with itself and your economy is tumbling, is It the right time to jump on a plane to the Middle East? #UAE #FamilyOffice #MiddleEast https://lnkd.in/d5h_g7yX

Another reinforcement of the importance of the Middle East in global capital flows: BlackRock has struck a deal with the Saudi government to open a multi-class investment firm in Riyadh, anchored by a US$5 billion mandate from the Public Investment Fund. The funds will be invested primarily in the Kingdom – and will be managed by a Riyadh-based team – with the goal of attracting additional overseas investment and deepening its capital markets through a range of funds invested in public equities and bonds, as well as alternative assets such as private credit and infrastructure. #PIF #SaudiArabia #capitalmarkets #BlackRock https://okt.to/NchbUD

Excellent capital markets development for the region

With the total pool of Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund assets estimated to reach $7.6 trillion by 2030, they want to co-invest, get a larger share of deal profits and, most crucially, bolster economies that have been largely built on copious amounts of oil. The growing heft of these Middle Eastern groups is set to disrupt the economics of what’s traditionally been one of the most profitable corners of the investment industry and the early evidence suggests financial institutions are willing to play by these new rules. https://lnkd.in/eDdTW6ur

While the west has almost completely halted capital investment in China, Middle East sovereigns continue to be active as Qatar's sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority acquires a 10% stake in China Asset Management Co., Ltd. Co., one of the nation’s largest mutual fund firms. The stake will be sold by leading Chinese private equity fund manager Primavera Capital Group, creating a rare exit in the current China private equity market! The Chinese mutual fund industry expanded to more than 30 trillion yuan ($4.1 trillion) in April even after a stock-market rout earlier in the year, and is poised to continue to achieve attractive forward growth driven by domestic demand, in spite of the slowdown in global foreign capital. The Qatari's, alongside sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates continue to actively deploy capital into China and there is no evidence of this slowing anytime soon. #china #sovereignwealthfunds #capitalmarkets #qatar #saudiarabia #unitedarabemirates #middleeast #mutualfunds https://lnkd.in/gBqqVSCH

Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) across the GCC signed off $55 billion across 126 transactions in the first nine months of 2024, accounting for 40 per cent of global deals, a new report showed. US-based organisation Global SWF, which monitors the activities of these bodies, identified the region’s ‘Oil Five’ – Abu Dhabi’s ADIA, ADQ and Mubadala, along with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Qatar Investment Authority – as leading this robust investment wave. Read more: https://lnkd.in/de2za4wK

Investing in GCC mid-term bond/sukuk is more valuable than other options. Seize the opportunity to benefit from attractive returns and stability.

FTSE Russell, An LSEG Business extends its congratulations to China Southern Asset Management Co., Ltd. and Huatai-PineBridge Fund Management Co., Ltd. (Formerly AIG-Huatai) for the launch of mainland China's first Saudi Arabia exchange-traded funds, offering mainland investors exposure to the stock market of Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) largest economy. The two feeder funds, mirroring the CSOP Saudi Arabia ETF [ticker: 2830] which tracks the FTSE Saudi Arabia Index, will operate under the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) program. – The right ETF starts with the right index – Find out more about the FTSE Saudi Arabia indices: 👉 FTSE Saudi Arabia Net Tax Index Factsheet: https://lseg.group/3uu4LtC 👉 FTSE Saudi Arabia Inclusion Index Series Methodology overview: https://lseg.group/47GiGM5 #FTSERussell #Indexinvesting #SaudiArabia #ETFs

A thriving capital market drives all prosperous economies. Sh. Mohammed AlQahtani shared an interesting insight in here - There’s a very unique opportunity for investment firms in Saudi Arabia under the current conditions. As the market matures, the ‘blue ocean’ status will fade and a newer, more competitive environment will emerge. This uniqueness is reflected in the breadth of opportunities for value creation as well as capital formation and deployment. #privateequity #investmentbanking #saudiarabia #investments #venturecapital