Home grown in the desert: agri-tech companies in the UAE and Saudi Arabia
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Amazon’s announcement this week that it has agreed to acquire Souq.com for an estimated USD650m sets the scene for a battle between the global online retail giant and a soon-to-launch regional competitor in the shape of Noon.com. The prize at stake is large, with the Middle East region’s online shopping market set to grow by 30% per annum between now and 2020, according to consultancy AT Kearney.
Noon.com is the brainchild of Mohammed Al Abbar, chairman of Emaar Properties PJSC and leading figure of Dubai’s growth story, and funded in part by the vast reserves of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). This partnership was last seen in evidence towards the end of 2016 when the PIF helped to fund the acquisition of Americana, the region’s largest fast food operator, and owner of the Pizza Hut and KFC franchises, amongst others.
In the latest in our series of company snapshots, we profile Adeptio LLC, widely seen as Al Abbar’s personal investment vehicle and the main player in the Americana acquisition. We also explore some of Al Abbar’s other corporate interests and the relationships between the entities involved.
