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Dubai World sees unique opportunities in Africa
Investment group Dubai World sees unique opportunities in Africa and is eyeing a fresh deal for a port and a business park in Tanzania after signing a $800 million contract in Senegal on Monday, its chairman said.
- Reuters
- Published: 00:41 January 23, 2008
Dakar: Investment group Dubai World sees unique opportunities in Africa and is eyeing a fresh deal for a port and a business park in Tanzania after signing a $800 million contract in Senegal on Monday, its chairman said.
Sultan Ahmad Bin Sul-ayem said the state-owned conglomerate, whose interests range from real estate to ports, had just closed major investments in the United States and was confident that the economy there remained strong and could avoid a recession.
Dubai World's Jafza International subsidiary signed the Senegal deal following investments in South Africa, Mozambique, Djibouti and Rwanda.
"The opportunities which you see in Africa, you don't see them anywhere else in the world, but you have to be in Africa to do it," he told Reuters in an interview.
He said Dubai World was looking at building a port and a business park or special economic zone - where companies get tax and export incentives - in Tanzania, but did not provide further details.
Hotspots
"Because we are in the market, we get a feel and a quicker reaction compared to people sitting in Europe," he said, listing Africa alongside China and India as the group's hot-spots for investment. "We have a team dedicated to looking at opportunities in Africa."
With revenues estimated at more than $30 billion, Dubai World's ventures range from the world's third largest port operator DP World, to special economic zones company Jafza, and real estate projects in Dubai such as The Palm island and The World.
Following the listing of a nearly $5 billion stake in DP World last year, the biggest IPO in the Middle East, Bin Sulayem said the conglomerate did not plan to float any more units but could make use of other financing options, such as bonds.
Shares in DP World fell as much as 17 per cent yesterday to a lifetime low as Gulf stock markets suffered their biggest meltdown since a 2006 crash.
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