Giant UAE firm wants to go long on EMs: Emirati firm International Holdings Co. (IHC) plans to invest bns of USDs into emerging markets like India, Colombia and Turkey as part of its plans to expand its exposure, IHC CEO Syed Basar Shueb told Bloomberg in an interview. The company, which has the country’s national security adviser, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al Nahyan, as chairman, will target sectors such as food, infrastructure and health care across countries with which the UAE has trade agreements. Investment tickets will range between USD 1-5 bn depending on the country, Shueb said.

The company is looking for ultra fast-growing companies: “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.” IHC has invested in the likes of Elon Musk’s SpaceX and major Abu Dhabi developer Tamouh.

One of SODIC’s new owners just got a major new shareholder: Private equity giant Apollo has acquired an 11.1% stake in the investment arm of Aldar Properties, Aldar Investment Properties, in a USD 400 mn transaction, the Emirati developer said yesterday. This is part of a USD 1.4 bn investment announced earlier this year.

Also worth noting this morning:

• The original Dr Doom stays true to his name: The perma-bear economist Henry Kaufman — who forecast the 1982 bull market — calls on the US Fed to take more drastic measures and “shock the market” to rein in inflation. (Financial Times)
• World’s largest wealth fund suffers record loss: Norway’s USD 1.2 tn sovereign fund lost USD 174 bn in 1H 2022 on the market sell-off, marking its biggest ever USD loss. (Financial Times)
• The SPAC market has hit a new low: July was the first SPAC-less month since 2017, further evidence that the pandemic-era craze is well and truly over. (WSJ)
• Meme-stock bulls are short-squeezing like it’s 2021: Bullish market inflation expectations have Reddit traders piling back into meme stocks, sending share prices surging and squeezing short sellers to the tune of USD 2.1 bn this month alone. (Bloomberg)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 rose 2.2% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 898.48 mn (10.9% above the 90-day average). Foreign investors were net sellers. The index is down 15.8% YTD.

In the green: Madinet Nasr Housing (+7.5%), GB Auto (+5.6%) and Credit Agricole Egypt (+5.4%).

In the red: Juhayna (-2.2%), Oriental Weavers (-1.3%) and Mopco (-0.2%).