Muscat –
Sovereign wealth fund Oman Investment Authority (OIA) has committed US$150mn to ewpartners – an investment firm based in Saudi Arabia and China – for enhancement and stimulation of the sultanate’s economy and the region.
OIA is joining other marquee sovereign wealth funds and international investors in backing ewpartners’ Technology Innovation Fund II, a US$1bn private equity fund focused on expansion stage technology and technology-enabled investments in the GCC.
The partnership includes establishment of a local fund with OIA’s Future Fund Oman, through which ewpartners will support Oman Vision 2040 by leveraging products, technologies and capabilities of industry champions from matured markets, especially China, to build successful companies.
ewpartners will invest across sectors of relevance for Oman’s economy, with a focus on advanced manufacturing, ICT, renewable energy, logistics, tourism and agriculture, as part of the country’s ambitious economic mandate.
OIA has selected ewpartners owing to its strong track record of investing in the GCC, as well as its relations with sovereign wealth funds in developing the economic agenda for the region.
ewpartners was the first private equity firm to establish an Asia-MENA cross-border investment platform in 2017 and has since partnered with Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia to create and scale local and regional businesses using a cross-border strategy. In all, ewpartners has invested in 18 GCC portfolio companies with industry leading Asian enterprises such as Alibaba Cloud and J&T Express.
Future Fund Oman made the investment announcement at a signing ceremony and panel discussion in Muscat last week to highlight its latest investment projects. In attendance was ewpartners’ Founder and Managing Partner Jessica Wong, who said, “We are proud to be selected by OIA for this important investment mandate as Oman looks to achieve its ambitious Vision 2040. We have invested on behalf of sovereign wealth funds in the GCC for seven years using a cross-border strategy with Asian partners identifying opportunities for economic transformation and delivering financial returns.
“We aim to facilitate knowledge-sharing between East and West, leveraging established markets’ capabilities for the benefit of the region. We remain ready to deliver on the economic transformation agenda of the GCC and assist companies in Asia who see the impact they can have in supporting the GCC in its objectives.”
Mulham bin Bashir al Jarf, Deputy Chairman of OIA, said the announced projects align with the strategic goals of Oman Future Fund, which aims to stimulate and grow the local economy, develop key economic sectors, collaborate with the private sector, attract foreign investment, and create opportunities for small and medium enterprises and start-ups. He noted that the projects, including the local fund with ewpartners, represent the fund’s first batch of investments since its operational launch on January 17, 2024, with strong interest from both local and international investors.
