Hong Kong fund snaps up Jordan Dubai capital

Hong Kong fund snaps up Jordan Dubai capital

Jordan Dubai Capital said that Hong Kong-based HPF private investment fund had wholly acquired its shares in a deal worth $130 million.

July 9, 2012 11:10 by Reuters

Jordan Dubai Capital said that Hong Kong-based HPF private investment fund had wholly acquired its shares in a deal worth $130 million.

It will open the door for HPF, set up in January, to expand its portfolio in the region, where it was targeting investment areas such as infrastructure and real estate development, Mahesh Harilela, a majority holder in HPF and the shareholders’ representative, told reporters on Sunday.

“The Middle East and North Africa region is very attractive, considering the Arab spring (uprising) has taken place, and we believe this is the right opportunity for expansion in the region,” Harilela said.

HPF had allocated $150 million to seek projects with up to seven-year timespans in Egypt, Libya, Morocco and other countries, with the wave of unrest in the region offering opportunities that risk-averse firms normally shun, he said.

The deal – which will retain the Amman-based firm’s management – did not require Jordanian regulatory approval, he added.

Jordan Dubai Capital, set up in 2005 as a subsidiary of investment giant Dubai Capital, has since the global financial crisis of 2008 divested most of what it once said was a $1.5 portfolio that it had acquired in energy and property assets.

The sale includes Jordan Dubai Capital’s existing minority stake in Jordan Dubai Islamic Bank, which commenced operations in January 2010, and in Jordan Dubai Properties, a property firm.

Jordan Dubai’s major divestment was the sale last year of a 51 percent stake in Jordan’s Central Electricity Generating Company (CEGCO), the country’s largest power generating firm.

(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Ediitng by David Hulmes)