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
TT

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.



Saudi Ports Authority Signs $53 Million Deal to Establish Logistics Zone at Dammam Port

Mazen bin Ahmed Al-Turki, Acting President of the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani), and Ali Sultan Al-Qahtani, Chairman of Sultan Logistics, during the signing of the agreement. (Mawani)
Mazen bin Ahmed Al-Turki, Acting President of the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani), and Ali Sultan Al-Qahtani, Chairman of Sultan Logistics, during the signing of the agreement. (Mawani)
TT

Saudi Ports Authority Signs $53 Million Deal to Establish Logistics Zone at Dammam Port

Mazen bin Ahmed Al-Turki, Acting President of the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani), and Ali Sultan Al-Qahtani, Chairman of Sultan Logistics, during the signing of the agreement. (Mawani)
Mazen bin Ahmed Al-Turki, Acting President of the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani), and Ali Sultan Al-Qahtani, Chairman of Sultan Logistics, during the signing of the agreement. (Mawani)

Saudi Arabia’s Ports Authority (Mawani) signed an agreement with Sultan Logistics to develop a new logistics zone at King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam, in the eastern region of the Kingdom. The investment is valued at SAR 200 million ($53.3 million) and will cover a total area of 197,000 square meters.

The contract was signed by Mawani’s Acting President Mazen bin Ahmed Al-Turki and Sultan Logistics Chairman Ali Sultan Al-Qahtani in the presence of several officials.

The new zone will include 35,000 square meters of warehousing space, administrative offices, and a designated yard for storing and maintaining both dry and refrigerated containers. It will also feature a re-export area, aiming to boost the port’s operational efficiency and the quality of logistics services provided.

The project is part of Mawani’s broader initiatives aligned with the goals of the National Transport and Logistics Strategy, which aims to develop logistics zones both inside and outside the Kingdom’s ports. These efforts support Saudi Arabia’s ambition to become a global logistics hub and to offer high-efficiency services in line with the nation’s Vision 2030 development roadmap.

The logistics zone at King Abdulaziz Port is expected to boost the port’s competitiveness by offering specialized logistics services, increasing the private sector’s contribution to economic development, and furthering economic diversification.

The year 2024 has already seen the launch or groundbreaking of eight logistics zones and centers across the Kingdom, with a total private sector investment of approximately SAR 2.9 billion ($773 million). These zones are part of a broader logistics infrastructure development plan involving over SAR 10 billion ($2.66 billion) in investments across 20 logistics zones overseen by Mawani.

Among the key milestones was the opening of Maersk’s largest global logistics investment at Jeddah Islamic Port—an expansive facility worth SAR 1.3 billion ($346.5 million) covering 225,000 square meters.