Investcorp strengthens business relations with Asian economies

Business Bureau, Gulf Today

A senior delegation from Investcorp, a leading global provider and manager of alternative investment products, led by Executive Chairman, Mohammed Alardhi, has successfully concluded a tour of four vibrant emerging Asian economies. The visit comes as the Firm’s Asian based investors’ Assets under Management (AUM) grows to 10 per cent (over $2.5 billion) of its global AUM as a result of its strategy to expand its footprint and offering in the East.

The delegation from Investcorp, which also included Co-CEO, Hazem Ben Gacem, and Head of Placement and Relationship Management, Timothy Mattar, met with several business partners, prominent family offices and next generation investors in Hong Kong, Jakarta, Dhaka and Singapore.

During the tour, the Executive Chairman, along with the visiting Investcorp delegation, were honoured to be hosted by Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, where they had the opportunity to hear about the nation’s economic success story - one of the fastest growing economies in the world which continues at an unprecedented rate.

Investcorp has been actively expanding its presence in Asia as part of its strategy to diversify its geographic presence and expand its offering to investors. Since 2015, the Firm has grown its AUM relating to Asian based investors from near zero to over $2.5 billion and has opened offices in Singapore and India, employing 30 professionals to service clients in the region and is looking to become an active alternative investor in the region. Investcorp has also recently invested in China’s flourishing technology sector, through partnering with China Everbright.

In partnership with Singapore’s Business Families Institute (BFI), Investcorp is now facilitating a reciprocal Arabian Gulf tour for Asian investors of Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, enabling participants to learn from some of the most successful transgenerational business families, meet with key economic policy makers and network with Bahrain’s growing start-up community.  

Mohammed Alardhi, Executive Chairman of Investcorp said: “As Investcorp is expanding its presence and offering Eastwards, our recent visit to a number of dynamic Asian countries has reinforced two very crucial points; first, there are several attractive investment opportunities for Investcorp to strongly consider across multiple sectors including infrastructure and technology. Second, appetite for alternative investments is growing amongst Asian institutions and family offices. We believe we can harness our strengths and expertise in the alternative asset management space to grow our AUM derived from Asian based clients, from the current $2.5 billion.”

Alardhi added, “We are delighted to be able to reciprocate and welcome a delegation of next generation Asian investors to the Gulf so soon after the conclusion of our own visit and look forward to further expanding our footprint and commitment in Asia by forging strategic partnerships, scoping attractive investment opportunities and growing our client base.”

Hazem Ben Gacem, Co-CEO of Investcorp said: “During our time in Asia, we saw first-hand economies from Indonesia to Bangladesh undergoing significant investment to help close several gaps, including infrastructure, investment and trade. Emerging Asian economies are expected to grow between 4-7% per year for the next five years and key drivers of growth include resilient private consumption and positive FDI inflows. We believe that Investcorp is in a strong position to be a key player in Asia for the long term because of our expanding presence in Asia, our deep knowledge of the Gulf and our successful investments in the West.”

Investcorp is a leading global manager of alternative investments. Led by a new vision, Investcorp has embarked on an ambitious, albeit prudent, growth strategy. The Firm continues to focus on generating value through a disciplined investment approach in four lines of business: private equity, real estate, absolute return investments and credit management.

As at December 31, 2018, the Investcorp Group had US$ 22.5 billion in total AUM, including assets managed by third party managers and assets subject to a non-discretionary advisory mandate where Investcorp receives fees calculated on the basis of AUM.

Since its inception in 1982, Investcorp has made over 185 Private Equity deals in the US, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa region and Asia, across a range of sectors including retail and consumer products, technology, business services and industrials, and more than 600 commercial and residential real estate investments in the US and Europe, for in excess of US $59 billion in transaction value.