Abu Dhabi's International Holding Company has entered into a definitive agreement to sell off its $2 billion foreign direct investment stake in two Adani Group companies, citing a rebalancing strategy of its overall portfolio.
IHC, through its Green Energy Investment Holding and Green Transmission Investment Holding units, reached the deal with an unnamed buyer to unload its investment in Adani Green Energy and Adani Transmission, IHC said on Thursday in a statement to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares trade.
"The company is currently completing all required procedures and obtaining all necessary regulatory approvals to implement the signed transactions," it said.
The structure and other terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
IHC, the UAE's most valuable listed company, made the investment in April last year in the Indian business conglomerate led by billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani.
As part of that deal, IHC invested in three green-focused companies of the Adani Group – Adani Green Energy, Adani Transmission and Adani Enterprises – which are all listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange of India.
At the time, IHC said that it was "a long-term investment in India as the country is driving much innovation globally, including the green energy sector".
Adani Group is emerging from a firestorm triggered by a January report from Hindenburg Research, which accused the Ahmedabad-based company of stock manipulation and improper use of offshore tax havens, as well as raising concerns about its high level of debt.
Adani Group has vigorously denied all the allegations. Earlier this month, it released a statement saying that its financial status remained unaffected and it has "rebounded strongly since the release of a short-selling report in January 2023", without mentioning New York-based Hindenburg.
IHC, whose subsidiaries include Alpha Dhabi Holding, Q Holding, International Securities, Al Seer Marine and Multiply Group, has made several strategic investments in recent quarters to further expand its asset base.
It has investments in sectors including clean energy, food and agriculture, health care, property, information technology and artificial intelligence in 20 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.
Last month, IHC reported a more than 62 per cent jump in second-quarter net profit to Dh4.56 billion ($1.24 billion), as revenue grew 13 per cent annually to about Dh13 billion.
At the time, it also said that its strategy is now inclined towards more domestic business acquisitions, leveraging the UAE's stable economic environment, investor-friendly government policies, strategic location, tax incentives and diverse property market.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
The bio:
Favourite film:
Declan: It was The Commitments but now it’s Bohemian Rhapsody.
Heidi: The Long Kiss Goodnight.
Favourite holiday destination:
Declan: Las Vegas but I also love getting home to Ireland and seeing everyone back home.
Heidi: Australia but my dream destination would be to go to Cuba.
Favourite pastime:
Declan: I love brunching and socializing. Just basically having the craic.
Heidi: Paddleboarding and swimming.
Personal motto:
Declan: Take chances.
Heidi: Live, love, laugh and have no regrets.
Gender pay parity on track in the UAE
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
The years Ramadan fell in May
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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