Palestinian Investment Fund

A few years back, S& P had done a report on the assets held by Palestinian authority which determined that approximately USD$ 600 million has been invested in various commercial ventures across the world.The report looked at investments in ten privately- and/or publicly-held companies, six in the telecommunications sector and the balance in biotechnology, insurance, the gaming industry, and cement.

While browsing through their official site however, one tends to wonder , just how much transparency exists ( the website shows only investments made locally). An audited report in early 2000 indicated investments included Israeli patronized ventures.

Unlike other funds in the region that have been more than generous to a depressed western economy, the PIF is now looking towards a future that will encompass investments that will benefit the people. Their books are currently audited by E&Y.

The challenge ofcourse lies in enticing foreign partnership and the team led by Mr Mustafa Mohammed,Cheif Executive of the PIF is trying make a difference by paving the way towards a private investment driven sustainable economy.

Visa IPO

It so happens that I'm pretty familiar with one of the lead managers for the gonna-make-me-rich (aka get rich quick ,aka im smokin washingtons from here to Kansas) IPO scheme that is Visa.

The bank is offering it to their private banking customers EXCLUSIVELY.Think thats bad , wait till you hear this..the minimum you need to put in is ..hold your breath ..a whopping USD 180k !!! Off to E-trade!

Totally understandable? Well..the demand for shares of Visa is expected to be strong because shares of top rival MasterCard have performed so well. Shares of MasterCard have soared more than 300% from their first day closing price of $46. That's a great return for an IPO that priced at $39 a share on May 24, 2006.

At a price band between $37- $42, the IPO is currently oversubscribed well beyond the projected 16 billion. Personally I'm hearing stories of folks in the US putting their houses on mortgage to get into the gig (no exaggeration here). We ll be here to keep you posted !

Goldman Sachs & Company, one of the banks arranging the Visa IPO, arranged a meeting with potential investors in Dubai to tap wealth in the Gulf, which is reaping a windfall from record oil prices. Infact the Kuwait Investment Authority is looking at a significant investment in Visa.

2 years from now, we oughta either see a few millionaires getting a whole lot richer or a whole load of people charging the gates of the card company.

Update: Kuwait Investment Authority has confirmed buying $800mn worth shares of Visa

What happened to the Sovereign Wealth Funds?

A couple of months ago, Mubadala this, Qatar Investment Authority, that. You couldn't hear enough of the Sovereign wealth funds. Now they've become yesterday's news. I'm going to see what they've been up to now that the "spotlight" appears off them again.

On a side note, did anyone read the article in Businessweek a couple of weeks back about buyout firm Abraaj Capital. They're the top buyout firm in the Middle East, with an AUM of $4.9 billion. This is the kind of company to follow, along with their founder, Arif Naqvi. Some of the deals under his name are the buyouts of logistics company Aramex, Egyptian Fertilizers and Saudi Airline National Air Services. He's since tripled his investment in Aramex through an IPO, made $800 million selling Egyptian Fertilizers to Orascom Construction and plans an IPO of National Air Services.

Most of the major US and EU private equity firms have approached Abraaj to acquire them but Naqvi refuses, understandably so. Abraaj has what they covet, a strong footing in the region. Mr. Naqvi's and Abraaj should be followed by anyone interested in Middle East finance.

Petro dollar future Article

Morgan Stanley has put up a very good analysis on where the petro dollar is headed [Share]