RIYADH: Abraaj Capital, a regional private equity firm, plans to initiate a SR2 billion investment platform dedicated exclusively to investing in Saudi Arabia. The landmark initiative will focus on making investments across a variety of asset classes including private equity, small-and-medium sized enterprises (SMEs), real estate, and public equities. The announcement was made Monday by Amr Bin Abdullah Al-Dabbagh, Governor of SAGIA, and Arif Naqvi, founder and Group CEO of Abraaj Capital, on the sidelines of the 5th Annual Global Competitiveness Forum (GCF), which is convened by SAGIA. The initiative will seek to access attractive investment opportunities in the Kingdom's private and public sectors. Despite the global financial crisis, the fundamental macroeconomic environment in Saudi Arabia continues to remain robust underpinned by favorable demographic trends, reform-oriented policies, and prudent use of hydrocarbon liquidity to ensure long-term sustainable economic growth. With the ability of this investment entity to potentially tap the public markets at some point in the future, this initiative will lay the seeds for the potential establishment of one of the region's first permanent capital vehicles, a form of investment entities that is increasingly being used in developed markets by private equity firms. The investment plan is subject to obtaining all necessary regulatory clearances and approvals from all relevant regulators including the Capital Markets Authority (CMA). Abraaj has also agreed with SAGIA to develop initiatives that will seek to promote a holistic ecosystem to encourage entrepreneurship within the Kingdom by providing entrepreneurs with access to knowledge workshops, mentorship initiatives and networking platforms. "We are extremely pleased to announce our intention to launch this investment platform that will capitalize on the favorable macroeconomic landscape and the solid investment opportunities that the Kingdom has to offer. One of the areas this initiative will be active in is to facilitate the growth of small and medium enterprises here in Saudi Arabia," Naqvi said. "As this announcement makes clear, we are fully committed to supporting the promotion of a culture of entrepreneurship in the Kingdom, and shouldering our share of the private sector's responsibility to help create jobs in our region." "Today, the greatest challenge facing the Kingdom, and the wider region, is the imperative of job creation," he added. "Approximately 70 percent of the population of Saudi Arabia is under 30 years of age. The launch of our Saudi-focused investment platform is a compelling private-sector initiative that, we believe, will help address this demographic imbalance by facilitating expansion opportunities for Saudi-based companies of all sizes thanks to our financial resources and strategic/operational capabilities across the MENASA region and beyond. This in turn will have direct and positive consequences on the social and economic environment in the Kingdom." "Saudi Arabia is by far one of the largest economies in the region, and offers a wide spectrum of investment opportunities in sectors such as healthcare, infrastructure, education, transportation and logistics, food and beverages, and more. Additionally, the Kingdom's real estate and public equities markets offer a compelling value-proposition for investors. It's a market that has great potential," he added.
