DUBAI: Abu Dhabi fund Aabar Investments has raised its stake in Arabtec Holding to 53 percent, a market official said yesterday, effectively taking control of Dubai's largest builder after a failed $1.7 billion bid two years ago.
The state-owned fund, which owns stakes in high-profile names such as German carmaker Daimler, commodities trader Glencore and Italy's UniCredit, had bought Arabtec shares through subsidiaries in recent weeks and its stake stood at 10.45 percent in April.
An official at the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) said trade done on May 6, and settled on May 8, had lifted Aabar's position to 53 percent. The new shareholder structure will be updated on the bourse's website on Monday, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Arabtec shares, which have soared 94 percent year-to-date, slumped 6.4 percent intraday amid fears the company may delist and minority shareholders' interests be overlooked. The stock ended down 5.76 percent. Aabar rattled investors in 2010 when it delisted from the Abu Dhabi bourse, months after its $1.7 billion effort to buy 70 percent of Arabtec failed. The fund was taken private by its then-majority shareholder, International Petroleum Investments Corp. (IPIC).
"I don't think we are dealing with another Aabar/IPIC situation here - and that's probably why retail is selling off - but I do believe that given the important news and price action over the last few trading sessions, Arabtec needs to come out with clarification," said Haissam Arabi, fund manager at Gulfmena Investments. Arabtec and Aabar officials did not respond to requests for comment. In a statement, the DFM said it does not disclose information about any investor or major shareholdings by any publishing method besides company profile pages on its website.
Arabic daily Alrroya quoted Aabar Chairman Khadem Al-Qubaisi on Saturday as saying the sovereign fund had taken the controlling stake. "The company (Aabar) has bought a 23-percent stake directly from Arabtec during the last period, while it acquired the remaining 30 percent from other shareholders," Qubaisi, who is also Arabtec's newly-appointed chairman, was quoted as saying.
Al-Qubaisi said that the investment was "a successful opportunity," adding Aabar is planning to award more real estate contracts to Arabtec in Abu Dhabi.
Arabtec appointed four Aabar executives to its board last month, including Al-Qubaisi.
"It looks like Aabar has bought out the shares of Arabtec's founder and other shareholders in the company. When the stake build-up was being made, we knew it was coming," a Dubai based trader said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Nasser Saidi, executive director of Dubai-based corporate governance body Hawkamah, said more legislation was needed to protect minority shareholders.
"If there's an appropriate legislation in place, that would help exchanges to ask for proper disclosures from companies that are involved in M&A," said Saidi, who is also chief economist at Dubai International Financial Centre.
ABU DHABI PROJECTS
Aabar first raised its Arabtec stake to disclosure levels in March when it emerged it owned 5.3 percent. It later doubled it to 10.5 percent through another subsidiary.
After the 2010 attempt to buy a major stake ended, both firms said they would continue to work together in the future and form strategic partnerships.
In April, Aabar gave the builder a $60 million contract to build a residential development in the oil-rich emirate.
Last week, the Abu Dhabi government identified an Arabtec consortium that includes Greek and Turkish firms as the preferred bidders for an estimated $3 billion contract to expand its international airport.
UAE Aabar Investments raising stake in Arabtec Holding to 53%
UAE Aabar Investments raising stake in Arabtec Holding to 53%
Saudi Arabia’s cultural sector is a new economic engine between Riyadh and Paris, says ambassador
RIYADH: Culture has become a fundamental pillar in bilateral relations between France and Saudi Arabia, according to the French Ambassador to the Kingdom, Patrick Maisonnave.
Maisonnave noted its connection to the entertainment and tourism sectors, which makes it a new engine for economic cooperation between Riyadh and Paris.
He told Al-Eqtisadiah during the opening ceremony of La Fabrique in the Jax district of Diriyah that cultural cooperation with Saudi Arabia is an important element for its attractiveness in the coming decades.
La Fabrique is a space dedicated to artistic creativity and cultural exchange, launched as part of a partnership between the Riyadh Art program and the French Institute in Riyadh.
Running from Jan. 22 until Feb 14, the initiative will provide an open workspace that allows artists to develop and work on their ideas within a collaborative framework.
Launching La Fabrique as a space dedicated to artistic creativity
The ambassador highlighted that the transformation journey in the Kingdom under Vision 2030 has contributed to the emergence of a new generation of young artists and creators, alongside a growing desire in Saudi society to connect with culture and to embrace what is happening globally.
He affirmed that the relationship between the two countries is “profound, even cultural par excellence,” with interest from the Saudi side in French culture, matched by increasing interest from the French public and cultural institutions unfolding in the Kingdom.
Latest estimates indicate that the culture-based economy represents about 2.3 percent of France’s gross domestic product, equivalent to more than 90 billion euros ($106.4 billion) in annual revenues, according to government data. The sector directly employs more than 600,000 people, making it one of the largest job-creating sectors in the fields of creativity, publishing, cinema, and visual arts.
Saudi Arabia benefiting from French experience in the cultural field
Maisonnave explained that France possesses established cultural institutions, while Saudi Arabia is building a strong cultural sector, which opens the door for cooperation opportunities.
This comes as an extension of the signing of 10 major cultural agreements a year ago between French and Saudi institutions, aiming to enhance cooperation and transfer French expertise and knowledge to contribute to the development of the cultural system in the Kingdom.
He added that experiences like La Fabrique provide an opportunity to meet the new generation of Saudi creators, who have expressed interest in connecting with French institutions and artists in Paris and France.
La Fabrique encompasses a space for multiple contemporary artistic practices, including performance arts, digital and interactive arts, photography, music, and cinema, while providing the public with an opportunity to witness the stages of producing artistic works and interact with the creative process.
