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Dubai-listed asset manager Shuaa Capital is looking to raise $200 million in its latest funding round.
The investment platform announced on Sunday the launch of its fourth fund of the year, the “Shuaa Financing Opportunities Fund”, which has so far attracted $68 million in commitments from investors.
In a statement to the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) on Sunday, the company with $13 billion assets under management said it had managed to raise more than $140 million in the last three months.
The company had earlier launched three shariah-compliant funds, the Shuaa High Yield Sukuk Fund, Nujoom Aggressive Fund and Nujoom Balanced Fund.
New fund
The new fund is targeting “special situations” in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. It is a closed-ended fund with a four-year tenure, targeting “mid-teen returns” in the private debt market.
“The key objective [of the fund]… is to generate income yield and preserve capital, through a well identified mandate covering targeted and strategic investments in senior, mezzanine and unitranche Sharia-compliant financing for corporates and developers operating in the GCC region,” the company said.
Jassim Alseddiqi, chief executive officer of Shuaa, said there are still “attractive opportunities” in the region despite the challenging market conditions.
“Against the backdrop of a changing regulatory and business environment, several project deals and assets in liquidity-hit sectors are unable to progress or fulfil certain obligations, particularly due to the challenges posed by COVID-19,” he noted.
Key sectors
“Despite the challenging market conditions for borrowers, Shuaa believes that there are attractive opportunities in the GCC market that will generate appropriate risk-adjusted returns for investors in key sectors, including healthcare, real estate, hospitality, construction and shipping,” Alseddiqi added.
He said opportunities in the current market environment include short-term recapitalisations, growth capital, bridge loans and acquisition financing.
“Shuaa’s investment team has hence identified several needs for this type and level of financing in projects across the GCC region and is looking to provide them with innovative alternative investments including last-mile funding, something in which we have successfully engaged since the last financial crisis,” he said.
(Reporting by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria)
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