Davos 2024: Inside Investcorp’s plan to build China-Gulf 'investment bridge'

DAVOS, Switzerland — Investcorp, one of the Middle East's largest alternative asset managers, plans to build “an investment bridge” between the Gulf and China, where the company helps launch businesses from both sides of Asia and the Middle East in the other region.

The Bahrain-based private equity firm, which invests in sectors including health, real estate and green energy, is looking to raise between 2 billion and 4 billion yuan (up to $550 million) in its first private equity fund denominated in Chinese renminbi. However, the final amount of funds raised will depend on market conditions. Investcorp plans to apply for a license with Chinese regulatory bodies in the coming months that will allow it to start raising capital from domestic institutions starting in spring 2024.

In an interview with Al-Monitor on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Investcorp co-CEO Hazem Ben-Gacem said, “There's a big push for investments in infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific, controlled buyouts in Japan and growth investments in India and China.”

The company has grown from having $10 billion in assets under management in 2018 to $153 billion today.