Investcorp, a global provider and manager of alternative investment products, and Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI), a global asset manager and part of Standard Life Aberdeen, has launched a joint venture that will invest in social and core infrastructure projects in Gulf Cooperation Council (Gulf or GCC) countries.
The joint venture will actively target greenfield and brownfield social and core essential infrastructure assets in sectors including healthcare, education, utilities, social housing, smart cities, roads and rail.
GCC countries have a population of around 57 million people and have almost half the world’s oil reserves. The region has benefited from the world’s demand for oil over recent decades but their governments are now taking steps to diversify economies away from oil. As part of this, various initiatives have been launched to prioritize the development of critical social and core infrastructure.
ASI has invested in 120 social infrastructure projects over the past 20 years.
“Infrastructure is a unique and highly sought-after investment, especially in times of global economic uncertainty, because it is typically characterized by stable and predictable long-term cash flow,” said Hazem Ben-Gacem, Investcorp’s co-CEO. “Moreover, there is a healthy pipeline of infrastructure projects and deals in the GCC, which means there is a potential to generate real value for those types of investment.”
