Sunday, Oct 23, 2011
--Says will continue to have euro exposure
--Fixed income, hedge funds are on radar
--Regional focus to be on growth sectors
By Oliver Klaus
Of ZAWYA DOW JONES
DEAD SEA, Jordan (Zawya Dow Jones)--Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Co., the country's sovereign wealth fund, is seeking to channel more cash into liquid investments globally as part of its diversification strategy and will continue to have euro exposure in its portfolio, Chief Executive Officer Talal Al Zain said.
Al Zain told Zawya Dow Jones in an interview on the sidelines of a World Economic Forum event on Jordan's Dead Sea that, as part of the fund's diversification strategy, it was seeking to inject more cash into global markets to expand its portfolio of liquid investments at a time when "opportunities" were arising from depressed valuations amid a gloomy economic outlook for Europe and the U.S.
Mumtalakat is the holding vehicle for a number of companies based in Bahrain, with assets including Gulf Air, the Bahrain International Circuit and the McLaren Group. Under the fund's long-term strategy, it plans to hold about half of its portfolio--presently valued at about $9.5 billion and comprising more than 35 companies--in the Middle East-North Africa, or Mena, region, with the remainder to be invested globally.
"The focus, globally at least, we're looking at deploying equity into capital markets, liquid investments--so fixed income, hedge funds and so on. We're a sovereign wealth fund, we continue to have a long-term horizon, but we need to diversify our portfolio," Al Zain said.
"Regionally and in Bahrain, we have said and will continue to look at sectors that provide growth and in the Mena region there's a strong focus on education, healthcare and so on," he added.
Al Zain said the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis had not affected Mumtalakat's strategy towards the euro and the firm would instead seek out opportunities arising from the currency's recent weakness.
"We are long-term investors, we're not speculators. We're not going to change our strategy because certain economic events are taking place. The only thing that we would do is that we will try to look at opportunities. The euro is a major currency and if you look at global investments and diversification, our exposure to the euro is going to be important for us," Al Zain said.
"If I am looking at the global market and I'm saying in this global market I need to deploy more cash into local portfolios, then definitely my exposure in these portfolios will have euro in it. Of course, we have to bear in mind that at the end of the day we're U.S. dollar fixed because the Bahraini dinar is pegged to the dollar," he added.
Mumtalakat's portfolio of companies ranges from aluminum production to financial services, telecommunications, real estate, tourism, transportation and food production.
-By Oliver Klaus, Dow Jones Newswires; +9714 446-1693; oliver.klaus@dowjones.com
Copyright (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Co.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
23-10-11 0743GMT
