Edmond de Rothschild has announced its plans to establish a presence in Saudi Arabia in collaboration with Watar Partners, an independent financial services firm. This initiative includes the launch of an infrastructure debt strategy in the country, in partnership with SNB Capital, a leading Saudi asset manager. The local partner in the joint venture, Watar Partners, will provide a multidisciplinary financial services team experienced in advising a broad base of Saudi clients. Edmond de Rothschild will contribute its infrastructure debt team, which manages over €5 billion in assets across 18 countries.
As a first step, Edmond de Rothschild aims to establish a new infrastructure debt fund platform designed to play a crucial role in financing projects throughout Saudi Arabia. This aligns with the country’s Vision 2030 program, which sets ambitious goals for developing local infrastructure in key areas such as transportation, energy, energy transition, digital, social services, utilities, and the circular economy. This investment platform will provide additional liquidity to existing equity and senior debt instruments and will be structured alongside SNB Capital. “This partnership offers deep knowledge of the region’s financing needs and its ambitious multi-trillion dollar infrastructure program,” they noted.
Edmond de Rothschild and Watar Partners also announced the creation of a joint venture to expand Edmond de Rothschild’s expertise in infrastructure debt investment in the region. Scheduled for the second half of 2024, the joint venture will focus on offering infrastructure debt solutions and advisory services to Saudi family offices and institutional investors. It plans to open a local office in Riyadh in the second half of 2024 and hire local resources. The launch of the strategy and the creation of the joint venture are subject to obtaining the necessary regulatory licenses and approvals.
“I am extremely pleased to establish a presence for Edmond de Rothschild in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through this partnership with SNB Capital and Watar Partners. This is a logical step for our group, based on long-standing business relationships with the country. Edmond de Rothschild brings an excellent track record in infrastructure debt in Europe. I am confident that this experience will benefit the realization of the Vision 2030 program, which perfectly aligns with our mission to foster sustainable growth and development around strong roots and heritage. We look forward to contributing to the future development of the country’s infrastructure and increasing our long-term presence to serve this important market,” said Ariane de Rothschild, CEO of Edmond de Rothschild.
Following this launch, Rashed Sharif, CEO of SNB Capital, stated: “We are delighted to collaborate with Edmond de Rothschild as the investment house deepens its relationship with Saudi Arabia. As the Kingdom’s and Middle East’s largest asset manager, SNB Capital is poised to unlock growth opportunities in the infrastructure space, from transportation to renewable energies. We are confident in driving sustainable impact and creating a local growth engine that supports the ambitious goals of Vision 2030. Strategic international relationships that enable us to continue playing our role in fostering innovation and financial solutions are crucial to our strategic goals, and we value partners who share our vision for achieving lasting market development.”
Lastly, Abdulwahab A. Al Betairi, Managing Partner of Watar Partners, added: “We are extremely pleased to partner with one of Europe’s most renowned financial franchises. Edmond de Rothschild is a name that comes with a great reputation and heritage, as well as sophisticated investment expertise. I firmly believe that Edmond de Rothschild will bring the knowledge and experience we need to fulfill the plans of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 objectives.”
Por Alicia Jiménez
Por Claudia Robledo