Abraaj Group, the Dubai-based private equity firm with US$7.5 billion in assets, is among Gulf investors targeting acquisitions in North Africa as a surging population boosts demand for products from health care to food and banking.
Abraaj plans to raise as much as $250 million for a second North Africa fund after fully investing its first, Ahmed Badreldin, the firm's head of the Middle East and North Africa, said in an interview.
Majid Al Futtaim Holding, a Dubai-based owner and operator of malls and hypermarkets, is buying the Metro supermarket chain in Egypt and is also building a mall outside Cairo, chief executive Iyad Malas said.
Investors from the oil-rich Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, are seeking to deploy cash into industries benefiting from consumer spending in North Africa even as political turmoil trap the Egyptian economy in its worst slowdown for two decades.
"There is this myth that Arab Spring economies have no growth, no opportunities," Mr Badreldin said at the World Economic Forum in Jordan May 24. "That's not really the case." The firm's existing businesses in North Africa are increasing revenue by about 20 per cent a year, he said.
Abraaj has stakes in more than 30 companies in the Middle East and North Africa, including medical laboratories in Egypt, an aircraft maintenance facility in Jordan, supermarket chain Spinneys and Cairo-based technology company OMS. It usually invests a maximum of $100m in a company, he said.
* Bloomberg News
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
Killing of Qassem Suleimani