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Arcapita’s CEO: We Have Successfully Executed 100 Investment Transactions with a Total Value of $31 Billion

Arcapita CEO Atif Abdulmalik. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Arcapita CEO Atif Abdulmalik. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Arcapita’s CEO: We Have Successfully Executed 100 Investment Transactions with a Total Value of $31 Billion

Arcapita CEO Atif Abdulmalik. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Arcapita CEO Atif Abdulmalik. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Atif Abdulmalik, Chief Executive Officer of Arcapita Group Holdings (Arcapita), a Sharia compliant global alternative investment firm, has set out Arcapita’s strategic transformation plan for the coming five years. The strategy aims to increase the size and volume of Arcapita’s transactions in the private equity and real estate sectors by introducing new product offerings. This new phase of expansion builds on Arcapita’s track record of 100 transactions with a total value of US$31 billion over the past 25 years.

Abdulmalik explains that Arcapita’s business activity is a mix of direct private equity investments and investments in real estate with a particular emphasis on industrial properties in the Company’s core markets of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), mainly in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and the US. Through its transformation strategy, Arcapita intends to diversify its asset base further and minimize risk exposure by acquiring real estate and private equity assets in sectors that demonstrate solid long-term fundamentals.

Abdulmalik added that Arcapita is expanding its logistics activities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by creating a logistics-focused real estate fund with investments of up to US$1 billion. Combined with other funds in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, this will bring the Company’s total investments in the industrial sector to US$1.6 billion.

These investments reflect growing demand among foreign and institutional investors for attractive investments in the Saudi market, with much opportunity for growth being driven by Vision 2030 and changing investment approaches by a new generation of investors.

Arcapita has been investing for the past 25 years. What are your plans for the Company’s next phase?

Over the past 25 years, Arcapita has completed 100 investments with a total value of US$31 billion. For our next phase, we have adopted a five-year transformation plan based around making further quality investments in promising markets, increasing the size of our transactions in private equity and real estate, and introducing new product offerings. We are also looking to consolidate our presence in important strategic markets, including opening our offices in Riyadh in April. This new office is an important milestone in furthering our business in the region and will help us capitalize on the opportunities generated by Saudi Vision 2030.

What are the goals of Arcapita’s strategic transformation plan?

Arcapita’s investment strategy focuses on private equity and real estate and with the transformation plan we will increase our activities in both sectors. In terms of real estate, Arcapita intends to diversify its asset base and minimize risk exposure by targeting assets in defensive real estate sectors with strong long-term fundamentals such as the industrial sector and the long-term residential rentals market. In private equity, we look to acquire asset-light technology-enabled companies that have the potential to growth organically and through bolt-on acquisitions.

In addition, Arcapita supports socially responsible investments with select product and service offerings, including deal by deal investments, investment funds and managed accounts. Arcapita also aligns its interests with the interests of its investors by seeking to co-invest a 5% to 10% stake in each investment opportunity.

What are Arcapita’s main investment segments in the private equity sector?

Private equity investments have been a mainstay of Arcapita’s investment strategy over the past two decades. In this space we largely focus on acquisitions in the business services, logistics, and consumer segments, each of which has its own characteristics, growth potential, and return profile.

The outsourced business services sector has considerable growth potential and Arcapita is acquiring companies in areas such as waste management and property valuation. For example, we recently acquired Nationwide, which provides valuation services to large mortgage institutions throughout the United States. Logistics companies and consumer services are also benefiting from the growth of e-commerce, last mile delivery services, and tech-enabled retail; trends which were accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

What about Arcapita’s real estate investments?

Arcapita’s real estate investment strategy focuses on the industrial, multifamily, and student housing sectors.

In the industrial space, we focus on properties that are either leased to a single long-term tenant, or leased to a variety of smaller tenants on shorter term leases. The sector has proven resilient and has historically maintained high occupancy rates during recessionary periods given the vital importance of storage and distribution facilities in supply chains. This was clearly demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic as the demand for industrial space was boosted by e-commerce activity. In general, the industrial sector outperformed the office, retail, and hospitality sectors during the pandemic.

Within the multifamily sector, Arcapita strategically invests in markets with strong employment and population growth rates, and concentrates on Class B properties with a selection of Class A properties.

In student housing, we seek properties serving large US public universities with over 10,000 students and located relatively close to campus. Arcapita recently exited the University of Tennessee’s Quarry Trail student housing property after maintaining an occupancy rate of almost 100% despite challenges presented by the pandemic and growing net operating income by approximately 24% over a two year holding period.

Does this expansion in global markets support Sharia compliant products?

As you know, Arcapita has been committed since its inception in 1997 to providing Sharia compliant investment services and products. The key values and ethical standards we have adopted are reflected in all our transactions and activities to date, and that will not change.

We opened our first international office in Atlanta, Georgia in 1998, when Arcapita was the first Sharia compliant private equity investment firm in the United States. Since then, we have witnessed growing global demand for Sharia compliant products, particularly in key international markets where we are now focusing our expansion plans.

Reports show increasing growth in many sectors in the US market. What is the size of Arcapita’s private equity investments in the United States?

Arcapita has invested more than US$17 billion in US private equity and $13 billion in US real estate over the past 25 years, including in some landmark transactions.

For example, one success story was our relationship with Caribou Coffee, the global coffee chain. After acquiring and growing the business, Arcapita took the company public, making it the first Sharia compliant listing on a US exchange. We also partnered with Prologis, a leader in US logistics real estate, and jointly acquired approximately 80 industrial real estate properties across the country and successfully exited that investment in 2006.

We have built a track record of investing in business services companies, and currently have a substantial controlling interest in a number of asset-light US companies. One such example is Nationwide Property and Appraisal Service, the second largest independent appraisal management company in the US, which serves mortgage lending institutions across all 50 states. Nationwide is a market leader with a network of over 15,000 licensed appraisers, with its clients including more than 100 blue-chip lenders and 21 of the top 25 wholesale lenders in the US. This investment is a continuation of Arcapita’s US private equity strategy focused on asset-light, tech-enabled business services companies.

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Abubakr Al-Qirbi to Asharq Al-Awsat: Ali Abdullah Saleh Anticipated His Fate at the Hands of the Houthis

Saleh with Hosni Mubarak in 2003 (AFP) 
Saleh with Hosni Mubarak in 2003 (AFP) 
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Abubakr Al-Qirbi to Asharq Al-Awsat: Ali Abdullah Saleh Anticipated His Fate at the Hands of the Houthis

Saleh with Hosni Mubarak in 2003 (AFP) 
Saleh with Hosni Mubarak in 2003 (AFP) 

Former Yemeni Foreign Minister Dr. Abubakr Al-Qirbi reflected on the unraveling of Yemen’s political landscape following 2004, the year that marked the beginning of a complex and eventually fatal relationship between the late President Ali Abdullah Saleh and the Houthi movement.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat in the second and final part of an in-depth conversation, Al-Qirbi shares personal insights on the war, Iran’s influence, the Arab Spring, and how Yemen’s long-time ruler foresaw his tragic end.

According to Al-Qirbi, Saleh first began to see the Houthis as a threat around the year 2000, when they started building external alliances, including with Iran and Libya, and shifting from religious activism to overt political mobilization. This culminated in the first armed conflict between the Yemeni government and the Houthis in 2004.

Al-Qirbi believes the Houthis’ turn toward Iran was a direct consequence of the wars waged against them in Yemen. “They sought a protector, and they found one in Iran,” he said, noting that Tehran’s support came not only from the government but also from religious institutions.

He recounted that he personally visited Iran twice to address Yemen’s concerns, meeting both President Mohammad Khatami and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. “We stressed three things: Yemenis—Sunnis and Zaydis—had coexisted peacefully for centuries; regional peace depended on non-interference; and Iran needed to stop supporting the Houthis, even indirectly.” Tehran, for its part, assured him of its commitment to Yemen’s stability but, Al-Qirbi implied, offered little practical restraint.

Talk of Succession

Reflecting on the 2006 elections, Al-Qirbi described them as a turning point: “It was the first time Saleh truly earned his win, receiving 60 percent of the vote in a competitive race.” He insisted the process was largely free and fair, with credible international observers in attendance.

These elections, however, intensified internal political strife. There was growing suspicion that Saleh was preparing his son for succession, a rumor that dogged his later years and stirred discontent among Yemenis and international stakeholders alike.

The Arab Spring: Shock and Opportunity

Yemen, like much of the Arab world, was caught off-guard by the speed and ferocity of the Arab Spring. Al-Qirbi acknowledges that while the regime anticipated regional change - particularly after 9/11 and increased US civil society activity - the spark from Tunisia was unexpected.

“Saleh wasn’t surprised by the demands for reform,” Al-Qirbi noted, “but he questioned the method. His position was that change should come through democratic institutions, not by toppling governments.”

During the mass youth sit-ins and growing opposition movements, Al-Qirbi believes Saleh recognized the West’s shifting stance. “He realized that the US and others were now saying plainly: Saleh must go.” Despite this, the president insisted any transition should occur constitutionally, not through force.

One of the most poignant moments in the interview comes when Al-Qirbi addresses Saleh’s reaction to the downfall of fellow Arab leaders like Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak and Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi. “It deeply affected him,” Al-Qirbi said. “These were men he knew personally. Watching them fall, especially so brutally, had a profound impact.”

Saleh, according to Al-Qirbi, was aware of the cost of clinging to power.

“He could have crushed the protests with force. He had the means, but he chose not to, fearing the chaos it might unleash.” Ultimately, Saleh agreed to a Gulf-brokered deal to step down in 2011, ushering in Vice President Abed Rabbuh Mansour Hadi as his successor.

From Vice President to Rival: The Hadi Transition

Al-Qirbi was a strong supporter of Hadi’s elevation to the presidency, arguing that his long service as vice president and his lack of overt political ambition made him a natural and unifying choice. But the relationship between the two men quickly deteriorated.

“Saleh began to feel that Hadi was sidelining him from the General People’s Congress (GPC),” Al-Qirbi said. “He felt betrayed, especially when Hadi began appointing his own loyalists to represent the party in the National Dialogue Conference.”

This rift widened dramatically as Houthi forces advanced through northern Yemen. While some accused Saleh of allying with the Houthis to settle scores with political rivals, Al-Qirbi disputes this characterization. “He never truly allied with them. At best, there was a tactical understanding, and even that crumbled once they reached Amran.”

Al-Qirbi confirms that Saleh had urged Hadi to stop the Houthi advance before they reached Sana’a, a warning that went unheeded. “Saleh expected the government to act, but it didn’t. That was a pivotal moment.”

The Fall of Sana’a and Saleh’s Final Days

When the Houthis seized Sana’a in 2014, Al-Qirbi was in the city. He recalls the shock that swept through the capital as government forces surrendered without resistance. “Nobody expected it to happen so easily,” he said.

Despite forming a brief partnership with the Houthis, Saleh grew increasingly uneasy. Al-Qirbi recounts how Houthi supervisors effectively controlled ministries, sidelining GPC ministers and eroding Saleh’s influence.

By 2017, tensions reached a breaking point. As Saleh prepared to commemorate the anniversary of the GPC’s founding, Houthi forces viewed the event as a political threat. That same year, they killed him.

“Saleh anticipated it,” Al-Qirbi admits. “He understood the risks of engaging with the Houthis and sensed early on that they were not true partners.”

Al-Qirbi speaks of Saleh with a mix of admiration and reflection. “He was a flexible leader, willing to engage with enemies, and he preferred dialogue over violence. Had he been a man of force, he could have crushed the protests. But he chose restraint.”

Asked whether Saleh’s long rule prevented the building of a true Yemeni state, Al-Qirbi acknowledges both internal constraints and missed opportunities. “There were moments - after reunification, after the 1994 war, and especially after 2006 - where a stronger state could have been built. But like many revolutionary leaders, Saleh became too focused on power and too cautious to make drastic reforms.”

On Yemen’s famously complex tribal and political fabric, Al-Qirbi supports Saleh’s infamous quote likening governance in Yemen to “dancing on the heads of snakes.” He agrees, “It’s an accurate description. Balancing tribal, regional, political, and external interests is an impossible act.”

Hope for Unity?

Despite everything, Al-Qirbi remains cautiously optimistic about Yemen’s future. “Yemen must return to unity. Without it, there can be no long-term stability,” he insists. But he warns that foreign interference remains a significant obstacle. “The day Yemenis are left to negotiate among themselves is the day peace becomes possible.”

Asked whether the Houthis could be brought under the authority of a national government, he offers a realist’s view: “There are now three centers of power: Sana’a, Aden, and the internationally recognized government. None are truly sovereign in their decisions. But if dialogue is given a real chance - without outside manipulation - Yemenis will find a solution.”