Bahrain-based alternatives firm Investcorp has secured the backing of Chinese sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corporation (CIC) for an investment platform that will target high growth companies across the GCC and Asia.
The Gulf-Sino platform, called Investcorp Golden Horizon, is targeting US$1 billion in investment from a combination of anchor investor CIC, institutional and private investors in the GCC and the Investcorp Saudi-Pre IPO fund.
Investment will be centred on a number of sectors including consumer, healthcare, logistics and business services.
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According to Investcorp, the platform has been launched to capitalise on the growing appeal of the GCC to institutional investors attracted by the region’s “stable regulatory environment and its pro-business policies, including its economic diversification drive and strategic privatisation mandates”.
“This is the first step in what we expect to be a fruitful relationship and we look forward to making significant positive impacts on businesses in both regions,” said Hazem Ben-Gacem, Co-CEO of Investcorp.
“As one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, CIC has been actively investing in both developed and emerging economies,” said Dr Bin Qi, executive vice president and deputy CIO of CIC.
“During the past couple of years, we have built several bilateral funds with leading financial institutions to facilitate industrial cooperation between China and major economies in the world.
“Currently we are working closely with Investcorp to build a similar bilateral fund to strengthen financial and industrial ties between China and GCC countries,” said Qi.