UAE’s IHC to invest billions in emerging markets, says CEO

UAE’s IHC to invest billions in emerging markets, says CEO

International Holding Co. plans to invest billions of dollars in markets including Indonesia, Colombia, Turkey and India as the UAE firm steps up its breakneck expansion. IHC, the UAE’s most valuable listed firm, will target sectors such as food, infrastructure and health care across these countries and investments will range from $1 billion to $5 billion depending on the country and opportunity, CEO Syed Basar Shueb said in an interview. “These new markets are more lucrative for us because they give decent returns and it gives us exposure to that country,” Shueb said. “Double-digit growth is the minimum of what we’re looking for.” With investments ranging from Elon Musk’s SpaceX to a local fishery and Abu Dhabi’s largest property developer, IHC is at the forefront of a drive to diversify the UAE economy and deploy its oil windfall overseas. The company’s market capitalisation has rocketed to $170 billion within a matter of months. Shares in IHC have soared 127 per cent this year, leading a 21 per cent gain on the FTSE ADX General Index and putting it among the top 10 performing equity benchmarks in the world this year. The company’s new expansion plans would build on recent trade