Value Seeker

Bahrain-based Investcorp cites Indonesia as key market for its Asia expansion.

- Ardian Wibisono

Founded in 1982, Bahrain-based alternative asset manager Investcorp has grown rapidly in the past few years under the leadership of Mohammed Alardhi. Since being appointed as executive chairman in 2015, Alardhi, a former jet fighter pilot, has had big ambitions for the company. He plans to grow Investcorp’s assets under management (AUM) from $11 billion in 2015 to $50 billion in the midterm. So far, the company has already made it more than halfway to the target. One of the strategies to achieving the target is to expand into new markets, namely Asia.

Investcorp made a name in the 1980s and 1990s by taking stakes in and successfully turning around the business performance of luxury groups Gucci and Tiffany. However, the company has since expanded its portfolio further, beyond private equity.

In Asia, Investcorp has operations in Singapore as well as in Mumbai, through the acquisition of real estate and private equity businesses from IDFC in India. The company has also launched its debut investment in China with the offering of a Chinese tech investment fund in partnership with Hong Kong-based China Everbright Ltd., and a $500 million food fund in partnership with Chinese state-owned conglomerate China Resources and Fung Investments, the private investment arm of the families of Hong Kong’s Victor and William Fung.

And now, the company is eyeing Indonesia as one of the key markets in Asia. In early January Alardhi paid a visit to Jakarta, his second visit to the city in a year, to look for partnerships and opportunities. His visit was also only days before President Joko Widodo headed to Abu Dhabi to witness the signing of a dozen investment deals including with Mubadala Investment Company, which happens to be Investcorp’s biggest external shareholder.