ADQ, Azerbaijan’s AIH set up joint investment platform

Abu Dhabi fund ADQ and Azerbaijan Investment Holding (AIH) have agreed to set up a joint venture to invest in different sectors including agriculture, technology, pharmaceuticals and energy infrastructure.

The venture will seek and leverage investment opportunities to generate sustainable financial returns on deployed capital.

Its investments will primarily be located in Azerbaijan, the UAE, and Central Asia, with the potential to expand to other countries.

ADQ and AIH will each hold a 50 per cent interest in the venture, and each fund will commit $500m.

“The establishment of this joint investment platform not only strengthens the bilateral ties between our two countries but also underscores ADQ’s commitment to fostering meaningful partnerships in strategic markets that align with our investment priorities,” said Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, managing director and CEO of ADQ.

“We are confident in the value and expertise we bring as an asset owner to the platform, which has the potential to unlock growth opportunities in sectors that play a key role in the development of target geographies.”

The establishment of a joint investment platform between ADQ and AIH follows the setting up of a co-investment venture between the Abu Dhabi-based holding firm and Kazakhstan’s Qazaqstan Investment Corporation earlier in December.

The two funds agreed to commit equal financial and operational contributions to each investment.

Founded in 2018, ADQ has been consolidating its portfolio, privatising some assets and making strategic acquisitions to build companies that are leaders in their industries locally or regionally.

The fund, estimated by Global SWF to manage $108bn in assets, is one of the most active dealmakers in the Middle East.

ADQ bolsters UAE, Azerbaijan ties

Meanwhile, the UAE’s Ministry of Investment and Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Digital Development and Transport signed an MoU that is aimed at strengthening the digital infrastructure in the South Caucasus region nation with a focus on the development of data centres.

Data centres are crucial to a country’s digital infrastructure as they provide a secure space for storing critical data and running applications.

Through the MoU with the UAE, the number of data centres in Azerbaijan is expected to rise significantly.

Azerbaijan has taken steps to advance its digital economy in recent years, with a focus on the centralisation of e-services and the digitisation of public services.

The social and economic strategy of the government in Baku also features digital transformation as one of its priority areas.

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