The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) today announced a collaboration with Hong Kong-based ARTE Capital, one of Asia’s leading asset managers, to set up its regional headquarters in Abu Dhabi and launch a US$1 billion fund for Chinese companies expanding to the Middle East. Announced during the flagship Abu Dhabi Finance Week 2023, the move underscores Abu Dhabi’s position as a leading global financial hub and opens a new avenue for Chinese companies to establish operations in the UAE capital and wider region.

ARTE Capital Middle East will be based at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and is regulated by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) to manage assets and investment funds, arrange deals and credit, and provide advisory services. The company plans to raise a US$1 billion ARTE China-Arab Strategic Fund for investment in Chinese companies planning to expand to the Middle East. This fund will be managed by ARTE Capital in ADGM and backed by ARTE Capital Group’s investors.

ADIO will be providing a range of growth-enabling support to ARTE Capital Middle East and will help to facilitate the Abu Dhabi expansion of companies through the ARTE China-Arab Strategic Fund. The Fund launches at a time of expanding UAE-China economic ties, with non-oil bilateral trade growing by 18 percent in 2022 to $72 billion.

Badr Al-Olama, Director General of ADIO, said, “Abu Dhabi is the gateway for Chinese companies to new markets and new frontiers in the region. As UAE-China economic ties continue to strengthen, a wealth of new expansion opportunities for Chinese companies will unfold. ADIO’s collaboration with ARTE Capital will facilitate and accelerate this growth and enable more Chinese companies to thrive in Abu Dhabi and the MENA region.”

ARTE Capital is a multi-strategy asset manager headquartered in Hong Kong, operating under the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (HK SFC). The company recently led a delegation to Abu Dhabi of 10 Chinese multibillion Dollar companies operating in sectors including education, manufacturing, biotech, gaming and AI, to assess expansion opportunities in the Emirate.

Ethan Chan, Chairman of ARTE Capital Group, commented, "Both the FSRA licence and the MoU with ADIO are significant milestones for ARTE. ADGM has positioned itself well as an international financial hub for the Middle East region, and we look forward to working with Abu Dhabi Global Markets, ADIO and the sovereign wealth funds that have supported our platform over the years. We see a rapidly growing demand for asset management and investment banking services in the Middle East region, which is the reason why we took this strategic step to cater to the needs of our clients. ARTE is proud to declare ADGM as its Middle East headquarters, with robust support from the ecosystem. With support from ADIO, ARTE will connect Middle East capital with Chinese enterprises, enabling them to expand their business locally in the Middle East region and allowing our friends in the Middle East to invest in exciting opportunities."

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 within Abu Dhabi’s new Smart and Autonomous Vehicles Industry (SAVI) cluster.