Business | Investment

Mena sees boom in private equity

Private equity firms from the Middle East and North Africa are managing in excess of $13 billion and are playing an increasingly significant role in the creation of the millions of extra jobs needed in the region over the next decade, said the organisers of the second Private Equity Forum, which opens in Dubai on Monday.

  • Staff Report
  • Published: 23:54 June 22, 2008
  • Gulf News

Dubai: Private equity firms from the Middle East and North Africa are managing in excess of $13 billion and are playing an increasingly significant role in the creation of the millions of extra jobs needed in the region over the next decade, said the organisers of the second Private Equity Forum, which opens in Dubai on Monday.

The growing impact of the private equity industry on the economic diversification of the Gulf will be the subject of a special study to be released at the forum, which runs until Thursday at Al Murooj Rotana Hotel.

"Private equity encompasses investing in companies whose shares are not traded on stock exchanges and runs from small venture capital investments in start-up companies to multi-billion dollar buyouts of well known public companies," said Swati Taneja, director of the forum organised by IIR Middle East.

In the region, private equity opportunities are emerging in a number of key areas, including family-dominated companies rationalising their operations and enterprises wanting to increase operations, extend geographic spread or form new partnerships.

Big inflow

"Private equity deals in established economies may be drying up but billions of dollars are still flowing into the Middle East," said Taneja.

In the Gulf, private equity has tended to focus on taking stakes in companies to help them become more efficient and expand into new markets. The sector has also been biased towards real estate and infrastructure investment.

The study to be released today at the forum, Catalysing Diversification: Private Equity and the GCC, has been produced by Ithmar Capital - headline sponsor of the forum - in association with Dow Jones.

Ithmar Capital currently has $500 million worth of assets under management through two existing funds.

Diamond sponsor is M'Sharie, the private equity arm of Dubai Investments, which has 17 subsidiaries under its umbrella.

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