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It’s a busy week in the foreign press so far, with LuLu’s IPO getting attention, alongside the UAE’s rising influence in the private credit, crypto, and LNG spaces.
#1- CNBC interviewed supermarket chain LuLu’s CEO Saifee Rupawala about its anticipated ADX IPO and expansion plans in the GCC. These plans include setting the UAE and Saudi Arabia as the main target markets, with plans to open 40 stores and expand into 31 cities in the Kingdom.
#2- Meanwhile, Bloomberg is looking at Abu Dhabi’s foray into private credit as part of its diversification efforts, best illustrated by Mubadala’s USD 3 bn takeover of Fortress in May and its backing of Blue Owl, which owns a stake in HPS Investment Partners.
#3- Crypto was also in the spotlight, with a Reuters piece on European hedge fund management Brevan Howard ramping up its crypto trading operations in the UAE, drawn to what the hedge fund’s group head of compliance, Ryan Taylor, called “sensible regulations.” Nearly USD 2 bn of its USD 30 bn portfolio is allocated to crypto, with a “significant” share of the trading done from the Emirates, Taylor said, without specifying the exact figures.
WATCH THIS SPACE- Dubai’s hedge fund momentum is also growing, with the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) set to welcome five more hedge funds in the coming weeks, raising the total registered funds from 65 to 70, Reuters quotes Jonathan Beardall, DIFC’s head of wealth and asset management, as saying.
#4- UAE emerges as big LNG competitor: Reuters also came out with an exclusive with Qatar’s Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi, who acknowledged heated competition from the UAE, the US, and Oman in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market. Japanese and South Korean buyers are turning to these suppliers due to their flexible contract terms and lower prices, al-Kaabi said.
