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US-based Guggenheim Investments, with assets of about $357bn, is actively considering an office in Saudi Arabia and wants to capitalise on investment opportunities in infrastructure and transportation as part of its expansion in the Gulf region.
The firm has an office in Dubai, the region’s top financial and trade hub, and is in the process of getting licensed in Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s oil-rich capital city and home to sovereign wealth funds managing around $2tr.
“We are very, very positive on the region,” Anne Walsh, chief investment officer at Guggenheim Partners Investment Management, told Reuters on the sidelines of the Milken Institute’s Middle East and Africa summit in Abu Dhabi.
“And to be a leader in artificial intelligence and technology investment, which I see amongst the countries in the region, and the ability to harness energy, both fossil fuels and others, here in the region is going to be strong as well to support that technology business. So I see a great deal of opportunity.”
Asked whether Guggenheim was looking at Riyadh, Walsh said the company was in “active due consideration, yes.”
“And, you know, we are looking to deploy capital in Saudi Arabia as well. So not just with an office, but to actually make investments, and particularly from our transportation equipment and infrastructure investing. That makes a lot of sense to us.”
Saudi and US officials touted billions of dollars in new investments and growing financial ties between the two countries in November.
Gulf states have accelerated efforts to diversify their economies away from hydrocarbons for longer-term sustainable growth, investing heavily in non-oil sectors like financial services, tourism, technology and manufacturing.
Earlier this year, Guggenheim Investments became a strategic partner of the Future Investment Initiative Institute, which organises Riyadh’s flagship annual investment conference.
