ABU DHABI: US-based Guggenheim Investments, with assets of about USD357 billion, 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 USD2 trillion.
“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.”