LONDON: The British financier Amanda Staveley has come back from holiday on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia to handle some pressing matters for Arabian Gulf clients, and makes time for a breakfast meeting with Arab News.
We meet at her substantial townhouse just off Park Lane in London’s swanky Mayfair. It has to be over breakfast because the rest of her day will be taken up with client meetings before she heads back to her family.
But in the midst of a hectic flying visit, she will also be keeping one eye on events a few miles away in Southwark Crown Court, where the opening day of a rather important trial is taking place, one in which she has a very personal interest.
In Southwark, four former directors of the Barclays banking group were attending the opening day of a trial brought by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), the UK’s main financial enforcer, on charges of alleged conspiracy to commit fraud in their dealings with Qatar investors in 2008, when the bank was effectively bailed out by the Arabian Gulf state.
Staveley — who was involved in similar deals for Abu Dhabi investors that fateful year — is also suing Barclays, through her investment vehicle PCP Capital Partners. PCP is claiming £720 million ($935 million) in damages plus interest and costs that will bring the total value of her lawsuit up to around £1 billion.
Eye-watering, even by Staveley’s standards. So her interest in the Southwark proceedings is understandable, not that she can say very much in public about it.
“My case will go ahead in about six months, and will be well over by the time the SFO trial even gets to court,” she says, picking at some fruit. “But the stress of all the confrontation with Barclays was terrible. I was heavily pregnant at the time and my baby was born very prematurely,” she says.
The baby, a boy, is 3 years old now and doing well, enjoying his Sardinian holiday with his father, Iranian-born businessman Mehrdad Ghodoussi.
I am planning to attend the Southwark hearing straight after breakfast with Staveley, and promise to keep her informed of proceedings there.
I had not seen her for some time since she left Dubai — where she once lived permanently — to bring her child up in her native UK. But she has the knack of slipping back into an easy familiarity and likes to hear gossip from the Arabian Gulf about the movers and shakers she still mixes with there.
Staveley is very interested in the big plans for economic transformation in Saudi Arabia, she says and quizzes me on the latest news. She believes the initial public offering (IPO) of Saudi Aramco is a good thing and would like to see London get at least some of the IPO action.
“If the Aramco IPO comes to London it will be great for the UK. Some institutions might have doubts about it maybe, but I think it is a good thing for the company, London and Saudi Arabia.
“The Saudi transformation has to happen. It has to create a critical mass and a better level of liquidity,” she says.
She sees enormous opportunity for her private equity company PCP Capital Partners in the $200 billion privatization program being prepared in tandem with the Aramco IPO.
“There are lots of things we want to do in Saudi Arabia. Technology investment is a big opportunity for us, and PCP has got a big Shariah-finance side,” she says, reeling off deals in real estate and diamonds she has recently seen through using Shariah-compliant sovereign bonds.
“I’m very excited about what is happening in Saudi (Arabia). There are big opportunities in infrastructure, funded by local bonds. We’ve done $7 billion to date in the Gulf in bond deals,” she says.
In particular, she would like to get involved in some of the transactions being planned by the Saudi investment giant Public Investment Fund (PIF), which is slated to become the biggest sovereign wealth fund in the world. PIF is part-funding the Vision Fund set up by Japanese financial institution SoftBank.
“We’d like to get involved with PIF in the Vision Fund, perhaps helping Abu Dhabi people invest more in that. I think we’ll be doing more advisory work on that,” Staveley says. Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi government investment group, also has a big interest in the Vision Fund.
“We have to find the big unicorns to invest in the Middle East. Like ARM Holdings, that was such a good deal. I loved that,” she says. The British semiconductor group ARM was bought by SoftBank last year for nearly $24 billion in one of the Vision Fund’s earliest deals.
Some of her and PCP’s most notable and profitable work came via contacts in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi.
There was, of course, the deal that helped Barclays stay out of government ownership in 2008 with a cash injection from Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, who put some £3.5 billion into the British banking group, which turned a healthy profit for the sheikh. Sheikh Mansour is not the subject of any investigation by the British authorities into the case.
According to the legend, Staveley got a £30 million fee for that transaction, but she has never publicly acknowledged that amount.
There was also some chatter that the size of that fee alienated her from the UAE establishment, but that does not seem to be the case.
She still talks about senior Emirati royals as friends and business partners, and regularly visits the region for top-level meetings.
And why would her investment partners not be happy with her efforts? Since the turn of the century, when she first got involved in investment in the region, she has helped enrich Arab investors in a number of areas, using her finely honed personal and investment skills to identify transactions that would appeal to them.
Just before the Barclays deal, she helped pull off the deal that has perhaps got Abu Dhabi more global publicity than any other — the purchase for £210 million of Manchester City Football Club for an investment group that included the same Sheikh Mansour.
New ownership with deep pockets enabled City to compete at the top level of European football and did more to raise the profile of Abu Dhabi than any of more mundane forays into the corporate world or real estate investment she helped arrange.
The City deal was pretty straightforward compared to another attempt at buying into the British national sport. In 2007, Dubai investors related to the ruling family took a long hard look at buying Liverpool Football Club, but the deal never materialized and the club was eventually sold to American investors who own it to this day.
Staveley’s interest in British football has not diminished, and she does not rule out another attempt to buy an English club on behalf of her investors. She has two clubs in her sights and is ready to go — at the right price.
Her career in investment began with deals in the Arabian Gulf, and investors there are still her mainstay, but she has broadened her source of funds these days.
“We (PCP) are a vanilla private equity fund but with sovereign investors, from the Gulf and China and elsewhere,” she says.
One thing on her mind, as it is for most people living in the Gulf region, is the standoff between Qatar and four of its neighbors — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, the Anti-Terror Quartet — that has been an increasing concern for business people in the region.
She has been involved in some big deals for the Qataris, and as we talk in the heart of Mayfair she points to grand buildings that are owned by senior members of the Qatari royal family, which she helped them purchase. But she sees a danger of that source of income slowing as long as the current high-tension situation is maintained in the Gulf.
“The Qatar crisis certainly has affected business already. We were in the middle of one transaction and had to stop it. But I think they will calm it down. I expect good sense to prevail. Nobody benefits from conflict,” she says.
Staveley speaks from experience, because another big transaction for her, in the telecoms sector in Yemen, has been more or less put on hold due to the ongoing military confrontation there.
Whatever happens in the Gulf, it is very unlikely to change her mind about doing business in the region. “The Gulf has always been my love and I’m passionate about it,” she says.
Amanda Staveley: Doyenne of Mideast deal-doers sees ‘big opportunities’ in Saudi Arabia
Amanda Staveley: Doyenne of Mideast deal-doers sees ‘big opportunities’ in Saudi Arabia
Foreign direct investment inflows to Saudi Arabia hit $5.17bn in Q4 2023
RIYADH: Foreign direct investment inflows to Saudi Arabia rose 17 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the previous period, according to recent data.
The analysis, released by the General Authority of Statistics, utilizes an updated approach characterized by heightened transparency and governance standards. FDI inflows were shown to have reached SR19.38 billion ($5.17 billion), up from SR16.6 billion in the third quarter.
FDI outflows, representing the Kingdom’s investments in foreign countries, also increased by around 17 percent to SR6.19 billion during this period. Consequently, the net inflow, reflecting the difference between the two, reached SR13.187 billion.
The updated methodology for calculating FDIs aligns with international standards and was developed to enhance accuracy and comprehensiveness through collaborative efforts by the Ministry of Investment, the General Authority for Statistics, and the Saudi Central Bank, in conjunction with the International Monetary Fund.
The new methodology reflects the Kingdom’s commitment to enhancing investment promotion and transparency, aiming to create an attractive global financial environment.
This effort includes initiatives such as the National Investment Strategy, the Regional Headquarters Program, and zero-income tax incentives for foreign companies. These measures are seen as essential for advancing Vision 2030, which aims to expand and diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy.
In 2023, the Kingdom saw a 12 percent increase in FDI inflows, reaching SR72.28 billion compared to SR64.6 billion in 2022. This excludes a major SR58.1 billion deal with Aramco in 2022, where a consortium led by BlackRock Real Assets and Hassana Investment Co. acquired a 49 percent stake in a new gas pipeline subsidiary.
Saudi Arabia’s regional headquarters program has attracted multinational corporations like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon to establish operations in the Kingdom. Additionally, companies such as Northern Trust, Bechtel, and Pepsico from the US, as well as IHG Hotels & Resorts, PwC, and Deloitte from the UK, have joined this initiative.
These moves enable these companies to participate in government contracts, energize Saudi Arabia’s hospitality sector, and establish it as a global business hub.
Looking ahead, the Kingdom aims to achieve an FDI inflow target of SR388 billion by 2030, equivalent to 5.7 percent of gross domestic product, while positioning itself among the 15 largest economies in the world.
Unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia drops to 4.4% in Q4 2023: GASTAT
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s overall unemployment rate dropped to 4.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023, marking a decrease of 0.4 percentage points from the same period in 2022.
When compared with the previous three months, the latest report from the General Authority for Statistics revealed a 0.7 percentage point decline in the Kingdom’s joblessness rate in the fourth quarter of 2023.
GASTAT data showed that non-employment among Saudi nationals stood at 7.7 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, indicating a decrease of 0.3 percentage points compared to the same period in 2022.
However, the participation of locals in the labor force during the last three months of 2023 decreased by 1.2 percentage points year on year, reaching 51.3 percent.
Reducing the number of people without jobs is a crucial objective outlined in Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, with goals set for such rate to decrease to 7 percent by the end of the decade, alongside a projected women’s participation rate in the workforce of 30 percent.
In the fourth quarter, the unemployment rate among Saudi females decreased by 2.6 percentage points to 13.7 percent compared to the previous three months.
For Saudi males, this remained unchanged at 4.6 percent in the fourth quarter, while their labor force participation decreased by 0.2 percentage points to 66.6 percent.
Meanwhile, the employment-to-population ratio among women increased by 0.6 percentage points to 30.70 percent during the same period.
The GASTAT survey revealed that a significant 94.9 percent of Saudi nationals without jobs are open to working in the Kingdom’s private sector.
Moreover, 80.1 percent of non-employed Saudi females and 91 percent of males indicated that they would accept work for eight hours or more per day.
The report showed that 62.1 percent of non-employed Saudi females and 43.8 percent of males are willing to commute for a maximum of one hour.
The most commonly used active job search method among Saudis was to seek assistance from friends and relatives, with 85.6 percent of aspirants following this practice.
GASTAT reported that 73 percent of Saudi job seekers applied directly to employers, while 59.4 percent made use of the National Employment Platform, also known as Jadarat.
Oil Updates - prices advance as investors reassess US inventories data
TOKYO: Oil prices edged up on Thursday, following two consecutive sessions of decline, as investors reassessed the latest data on US crude oil and gasoline inventories and returned to buying mode, according to Reuters.
Brent crude futures for May were up 31 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $86.40 a barrel while the more actively traded June contract rose 32 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $85.73 at 7:15 a.m. Saudi time. The May contract expires on Thursday.
US West Texas Intermediate crude futures for May delivery were up 39 cents, or 0.50 percent, to $81.74 a barrel.
Both benchmarks were on track to finish higher for a third consecutive month, and were up about 4.5 percent from last month.
In the prior session, oil prices were pressured following last week’s unexpected rise in US crude oil and gasoline inventories, driven by a rise in crude imports and sluggish gasoline demand, according to Energy Information Administration data.
However, the crude stock increase was smaller than the build projected by the American Petroleum Institute.
“We ... expect US inventories to rise less than normal in reflection of a global oil market in a slight deficit,” Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB Research, said in a note, adding: “This will likely hand support to the Brent crude oil price going forward.”
Also providing support to prices were US refinery utilization rates, which rose 0.9 percentage points last week.
Recent disappointing inflation data affirms the case for the US Federal Reserve to hold off on cutting its short-term interest rate target, a Fed governor said on Wednesday, but he did not rule out trimming rates later in the year.
“The market is converging on a June start to cuts for both the Fed and the European Central Bank,” JPMorgan analysts said in a note. Lower interest rates support oil demand.
Investors will watch for cues from a meeting next week of the Joint Monitoring Ministerial Committee of producer group the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries amid supply concerns over geopolitical risks.
OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, are is unlikely to make any oil output policy changes until a full ministerial gathering in June, but any sign of members not sticking to current production quotas will be viewed as bearish, analysts at ANZ Research said.
“The lack of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas continues to keep tension in the Middle East elevated,” ANZ said.
Dubai sees 550% annual rise in global SMEs attracted to the emirate
RIYADH: Asian and Australian businesses helped fuel a 550 percent annual rise in small and medium enterprises setting up in Dubai in 2023, according to a report.
The emirate’s international chamber has revealed 104 SMEs were attracted to Dubai in the 12 months to the end of December, a development that underlines its ambitions to double the size of the emirate’s economy and consolidate its position among the top three global cities.
According to a statement, 32 percent of the firms shifting to the emirate were from the Middle East and Eurasia, followed by Asian and Australian SMEs at 29 percent.
Latin America and Europe accounted for 26 percent of companies, while 13 percent attracted were from Africa.
The top sector for these SMEs was trade and logistics at 17 percent, followed by IT at 13 percent, and food and agricultural firms third with 10 percent.
Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, president and CEO of Dubai Chambers, attributed the rise to the emirate’s business-friendly environment, the ongoing development of services together with favorable legislation, and the diverse range of investment opportunities available.
He added: “Our network of international representative offices in key global markets has effectively promoted Dubai’s business community and highlighted the emirate’s value for companies seeking global expansion.
“We remain dedicated to contributing to the objectives of the Dubai Economic Agenda, with a primary focus on attracting foreign direct investments in both traditional and emerging sectors.”
The growth in SMEs from across the globe moving to Dubai sits alongside a goal from the emirate’s leadership to see home-grown small businesses expand overseas.
The total number of representative offices across the world operated by the Dubai International Chamber increased by 16 in 2023 and now stands at 31.
This expansion received additional fuel in January when Dubai’s Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed announced a 500 million dirham ($136.16 million) plan to help SMEs tap into global markets.
The initiative was launched in conjunction with Emirates NBD, Dubai’s biggest lender by market value, and will see the bank provide financing to companies at competitive rates.
According to a release at the time, the SME sector accounts for 60 percent of the workforce in the emirate.
Saudi Mobily fastest growing firm in Middle East telecom sector in 2024: Brand Finance
RIYADH: Saudi Mobily has been ranked as the fastest-growing firm in the telecommunication sector in the Middle East in 2024 by marketing consultancy Brand Finance.
The list revealed that the value of the company has risen by about 18 percent compared to the previous year, thereby maintaining its leading position among the largest companies in the sector in the Middle East.
The newly released rankings and figures align with Saudi Arabia’s goal to further develop and promote digital transformation in the Kingdom and upgrade the services provided in the information and communication technology field.
“Mobily has become the best choice for both individual and corporate customers, as its achievements at the brand level reflect its outstanding performance in providing integrated and pioneering digital services in the Kingdom and its achievement of great progress in digital infrastructure development,” Senior Vice President of Brand and Corporate Communications at Mobily Noura Al-Shiha said.
Brand Finance also placed the firm’s CEO, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Badran, among the top 10 business chiefs in the global brand protection index.
This was mainly attributed to the various initiatives he launched since joining the company, also referred to as Etihad Etisalat Co., in 2019, and his pivotal role in enhancing the growth of the firm’s brand.
Al-Shiha said that Mobily’s CEO’s inclusion in the global brand protection index reflects his interest in making the company one of the strongest business names in the world.
Brand Finance evaluates labels based on several main criteria, including the Brand Strength Index, the companies’s impact on boosting revenue and profit, and future growth expectations.
The majority of Mobily’s investments focus on developing infrastructure and adopting new technologies such as cloud computing and the Internet of Things, increasing data centers, and expanding the scope of 5G network deployment.
Seeking to provide a modern experience to its customers, the company is keen to make them the focus of its attention by adopting the “Customer First” approach. This strategy aims to achieve the goals of Saudi Vision 2030, which strives to improve the quality of life for families and individuals in the Kingdom.