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Hi readers,
Recently, an investor who was traveling in Saudi Arabia told me that there was “exciting stuff happening there.”
Saudi Arabia is the biggest country within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which also counts Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as members.
I’ve never been to any of these countries, and am looking forward to visiting Dubai, which is part of the UAE – and the GCC’s main business hub – next year.
The city is home to the Investment Corporation of Dubai, one of the investors featured in our visual story mapping Middle Eastern investments in Asian tech firms.
State-backed investment houses like the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Mubadala, as well as Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, have invested in a range of Asian tech, from established listed companies like Nintendo to IPO aspirants such as Lenskart.
Geopolitical and social forces are likely to increase such flows of capital. Earlier this week, it was reported that Dubai was setting up a new fund to invest domestically and internationally.
We’ll be closely watching – and hopefully reporting more – on this topic in the future.
— Simon Huang, journalist at Tech in Asia
Top stories this week
Image credit: Timmy Loen
1️. Mapping Middle Eastern investors fueling Asian tech firms
Factors driving rising investor interest from the UAE and Saudi Arabia include the energy transition and global geopolitics.
2. Staff departures, write-offs at Temasek startups uncover deeper issues
While GoodWorker has shuttered, Trustana and Affinidi have lost a large number of staff.
3. TikTok Shop gets winning hand in Indonesia via Tokopedia mega deal
Acquiring a 75% stake in Tokopedia puts TikTok Shop in a better position to dominate the country’s ecommerce scene, analysts say.
Getting that perfect timing
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