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Bahrain's Investcorp Sets Up $1 Bln Fund with China's CIC

Bahrain-based Investcorp said CIC's commitment "comes at a time when the GCC's appeal to institutional investors is gathering pace.” Asharq Al-Awsat
Bahrain-based Investcorp said CIC's commitment "comes at a time when the GCC's appeal to institutional investors is gathering pace.” Asharq Al-Awsat
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Bahrain's Investcorp Sets Up $1 Bln Fund with China's CIC

Bahrain-based Investcorp said CIC's commitment "comes at a time when the GCC's appeal to institutional investors is gathering pace.” Asharq Al-Awsat
Bahrain-based Investcorp said CIC's commitment "comes at a time when the GCC's appeal to institutional investors is gathering pace.” Asharq Al-Awsat

Alternative investment company Investcorp has launched a $1 billion fund backed by China's sovereign wealth fund CIC to invest in companies across Saudi Arabia, the wider Gulf region and China, it said in a statement on Wednesday.

The platform, which will also be anchored by institutional and private investors from the Gulf region, will target "high-growth companies" in sectors such as consumer, healthcare, logistics and business services.

Bahrain-based Investcorp said CIC's commitment "comes at a time when the GCC's appeal to institutional investors is gathering pace.”

Investcorp’s Executive Chairman, Mohammed Alardhi, said: “This commitment by CIC, one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, is a testament to Investcorp’s unparalleled franchise in the GCC and reinforces the trust placed in the firm’s global platform and teams."

"We are looking forward to building on this relationship and growing our partnership in the future,” he added.

"Investcorp is perfectly placed to facilitate cross border cooperation and investments between the GCC and China," the firm's Co-CEO Hazem Ben-Gacem was quoted as saying in the statement.

CIC, which is owned by China's State Council, or cabinet, invests overseas through two subsidiaries, CIC International Co and direct investment vehicle CIC Capital Corp. It also has a domestic investment unit, China Central Huijin.

"During the past couple of years, we have built several bilateral funds with leading financial institutions to facilitate industrial cooperation between China and major economies in the world. Currently we are working closely with Investcorp to build a similar bilateral fund to strengthen financial and industrial ties between China and GCC countries," said Dr. Bin Qi, Executive Vice President and Deputy CIO of CIC.

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Egypt Targets 10 mln Ton Wheat Harvest

A farmer shows wheat plants at a field in Al Fayoum Governorate, southwest of Cairo, Egypt March 21, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
A farmer shows wheat plants at a field in Al Fayoum Governorate, southwest of Cairo, Egypt March 21, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
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Egypt Targets 10 mln Ton Wheat Harvest

A farmer shows wheat plants at a field in Al Fayoum Governorate, southwest of Cairo, Egypt March 21, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
A farmer shows wheat plants at a field in Al Fayoum Governorate, southwest of Cairo, Egypt March 21, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo

Egypt expects to harvest 10 million tonnes of wheat this year, up from 9 million in 2023, driven by improved crop yields and ambitious land reclamation efforts, Agriculture Minister Alaa Farouk told Reuters late on Wednesday.

He said 3.1175 million feddans (about 1.30 million hectares) have been cultivated this season — slightly lower than the 3.5 million feddans announced earlier by the planning ministry and 3.2 million feddans in 2024 (1.34 million hectares), suggesting a possible decline in total wheat area.

Farmers have told Reuters that wheat has become less profitable compared to crops like beet, whose area increased from 500,000 feddans (210,000 hectares) to 700,000 feddans (294,000 hectares) this year.

The government plans to buy 4-5 million tonnes of local wheat and import about 6 million tonnes to provide heavily subsidised bread for over 69 million Egyptians.

Farouk said newer high-yield wheat strains developed by the Agricultural Research Center have raised productivity by 7-8.5%.

"This is vertical expansion, and horizontal expansion is coming," he said.

That horizontal expansion is led by the Mostakbal Misr for Sustainable Development, which plans to reclaim 4 million feddans across the country.

Farouk said some of that land is ready for production and the rest will follow in the next two years, offering major opportunities for agricultural investment.

Mostakbal Misr, recently tasked with wheat imports, is also developing infrastructure and growing crops tailored to local consumption, exports and agri-processing, Farouk said..

Farouk added the government is studying a potential rise in local fertilizer prices. Urea and nitrate fertilizers cost around 9,500 Egyptian pounds ($185) per tonne to produce but are sold at a subsidized 4,500 ($87.63). Export prices reach up to 20,000 pounds ($389.48), Farouk said.