'The shopping list is being readied': Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi are scouting for cheap investments after the coronavirus sell-off
- Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, and other Gulf nations are looking to scoop up discounted assets as the novel coronavirus continues to weigh on valuations.
- Saudi's Public Investment Fund, Abu Dhabi's Mubadala, and other sovereign wealth funds are exploring investments in areas such as healthcare, technology, and logistics, the Financial Times reported.
- Gulf funds have recruited investment banks to help them identify opportunities.
- "The shopping list is being readied," a banking executive in the region told the newspaper.
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Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, and other Gulf nations are seeking to splash their cash as the novel coronavirus continues to depress asset prices.
Saudi's Public Investment Fund, Abu Dhabi's Mubadala, and other sovereign wealth funds in the region are eyeing healthcare, technology, logistics, and other industries that are poised to outperform once the global economy rebounds, the Financial Times reported, citing bankers and people close to the funds.
Gulf nations may be weathering the one-two punch of a pandemic and depressed oil prices, but the managers of their sovereign wealth funds are still drafting investment banks to help them identify cheap deals.
"The shopping list is being readied," a banking executive in the region told the Financial Times.
The PIF - armed with about $320 billion in assets - has taken stakes in cruise giant Carnival and European oil groups including Shell and Total in recent weeks. It agreed to acquire Newcastle United, an English football club, on Tuesday.
The fund is being "strategic and opportunistic," a senior Saudi official told the Financial Times, adding that the kingdom is looking at "very interesting areas" such as logistics, technology, and telemedicine.
Meanwhile, Mubadala is "waiting for the right time" to make overseas investments in areas such as pharmaceuticals and medical technology, a person familiar with the $230 billion fund told the newspaper.
The Qatar Investment Authority, which owns the Harrods department store in London and the Paris Saint Germain football club, is also hunting for bargains, the FT added.
