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Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Finance and Insurance |
Founded | Dubai, UAE (2003) |
Headquarters | , |
Area served | UAE China United States |
Key people | Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman |
Products | Financial services |
Parent | Dubai World |
Website | www.istithmarworld.com www.istithmar.world |
Istithmar World ("istithmar" (Arabic) for "investment" (English) is an investment firm based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). This company is a state-run business owned by Dubai World, a Dubai government-owned company, and was established in 2003. Originally known as "Istithmar," the company was renamed as "Istithmar World" in 2008.
Istithmar World, which was created in 2003 as the investment firm of Dubai World specializes in private equity and alternative investment opportunities globally. In the five years since its inception, Istithmar World has built a portfolio of investments in markets ranging from North America and Europe to Asia and the Middle East, and across a variety of sectors, including consumer, industrial, financial services and real estate.
An analysis of Istithmar's investment portfolio which included the investment of $3.8 billion with an associated $14 billion of debt, has not performed positively. In a number of cases, Istithmar has lost control of assets or sold at a loss. As a subsidiary of Dubai World, the company has been mentioned in numerous press reports related to the high debt levels of its parent. Since late 2009, the company has seen numerous departures of high-profile executives.
Headquartered in Dubai, UAE, with offices in Shanghai, China and New York City, United States, Istithmar World invests through its three separately-managed divisions: Istithmar World Capital, Istithmar World Aviation and Istithmar World Ventures.
The Board of Istithmar [1] is led by the Chairman, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum. Other Board Members include Mohammad Ibrahim Al Shaibani (Director General of the Dubai Ruler's Court), Farouk Bin Hamad Al Thani (Chairman, Belwan Al Thani Group) Abdul Rahman Saleh Al Saleh (Director General of the Finance Department), Hamad Mubarak Bu Amim (Director General of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry), Sa’adi Abdul Rahim Hassan Al Rais and Sun Yong Chang.
Each of the divisions had its own management teams until a re-organisation was enacted at the end of 2009 and in early 2010. Istithmar World Capital saw the departure of its co-CIOs, John Amato and Felix Herlihy, who had joined the firm in 2006, [2] who announced their departure in September 2009. [3] On 20 January 2010, the CEO of Istithmar World Capital, David Jackson announced that he would be leaving the firm. [4] Andy Watson, who had been promoted from CIO of Nakheel to CIO of Istithmar became acting CEO.
In July 2012, the board of Istithmar was reshuffled by chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, before being entirely replaced a few hours later, on the instructions of Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, by the board of Dubai World. [5]
On 26 November 2009, the Wall Street Journal reported that Dubai World was seeking to sign a 6-month debt standstill agreement with its creditors. [6] In response to the announcement Moody's and Standard & Poor's downgraded the debt of various Dubai government-related entities, with Moody's downgrading the affected agencies to sub-investment grade status. The effect of the announcement was widespread fear in the global financial markets with a negative impact of equities markets around the world and a significant increase in the cost of insuring debt issued by Dubai related entities. [7]
On 30 November 2009, Dubai World made a statement in an attempt to counter rumours and mis-understanding. [8] In the statement, Dubai World indicated that Istithmar would not be part of the proposed restructuring process. Instead the restructuring process would focus on several property related subsidiaries, most notably Nakheel. The statement noted that the total debt subject to the proposed restructuring was circa $26 billion.
Istithmar World Capital states on its website that it has deployed $3.5 billion of capital in 35 investments across the globe. In an interview with the Financial Times in March 2009, the then CEO, David Jackson indicated that total assets under management by Istithmar had declined due to the global financial crisis and were $9 billion by the end of 2008. [9] In the article, Jackson indicated that Istithmar had delivered returns of approximately 10% since its foundation. According to The Times in an article on 7 February 2010, [10] Istithmar invested a total of $3.8 billion of its own capital from its foundation and took on an additional $14 billion of debt.
Existing and historic investments include:
In addition to preceding list of investments, the re-organisation of Dubai World, announced in October 2009, led to a number of other assets being transfer to Istithmar from an investment management perspective. [54] These assets included Dubai World Africa, an investment vehicle for the African Continent. The flagship investment is the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town, South Africa. Other investments include game reserves, wildlife conservation and eco tourism in Africa, with operations in South Africa, Rwanda, Comoros, Mozambique, Senegal and Zimbabwe.
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