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ABU DHABI / WAM
The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (Adio) on Thursday announced the signing of a strategic agreement with CCB International, an investment services company owned by China Construction Bank Corporation (CCB), to boost Chinese investment into the UAE capital. Signed during Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW) 2023, the agreement will foster stronger collaboration to support Chinese companies expanding into Abu Dhabi and the Middle East and North Africa region.
Economic ties between the UAE and China continue to expand rapidly, with non-oil bilateral trade growing by 18 percent in 2022 to $72 billion. The agreement between Adio and CCB International will boost further trade by enabling investment and joint venture opportunities between Chinese and Abu Dhabi corporates and by facilitating fund-raising and dual or secondary listings of Chinese companies in Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), and vice versa.
Badr Al-Olama, Director-General of Adio, said, “Adio’s strategic agreement with CCB International marks a significant milestone in fostering investment between China and Abu Dhabi. This collaboration will unlock new commercial opportunities that will benefit both markets and elevate our economic ties to new heights.”
Adio and CCB International will focus on supporting companies in key sectors of shared interest, such as industrials, renewable energy, ICT, cloud computing, smart mobility and e-commerce.
As part of the agreement, Adio will identify, screen and facilitate opportunities for Chinese companies with the Abu Dhabi IPO Fund (ADIPOF) that meet the eligibility requirements to list on the Abu Dhabi Exchange.
Mitchel Seah, CEO of CCB International (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., said “Being one of the first Chinese investment services groups to sign a memorandum of understanding with ADIO, we are extremely excited at the opportunity to promote the development of ‘The Belt and Road’ initiative and to deepen the financial cooperation between China and the UAE.”
CCB International provides a full range of investment services for companies that are listed or looking to list and throughout the whole IPO process. The company provides a full range of products and services, including sponsorship and listing, financial advisory, mergers and acquisitions and restructuring, additional listing, shares distribution, re-financing for listed companies, direct investment, asset management, securities brokerage, market research, investment consulting and commodities business.
ADIO, which opened an office in Beijing in 2021, has strong links with Chinese companies. In October, ADIO announced that China’s Neta Auto, Hozon Auto’s electric vehicle (EV) brand, will conduct research and testing of smart car technologies supported by Abu Dhabi’s new Smart and Autonomous Vehicles Industry (SAVI) cluster.