MENA Sovereign wealth funds spend $2.3 billion in China during 2023

Regulatory data revealed that wealth funds in the Middle East and North Africa region spent $2.3 billion in China in 2023. The capital invested by sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East and North Africa region based in China rose from millions to billions last year, according to the regulatory body. In Hong Kong.

Figures released by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority showed that US$2.3 billion was invested in 2023, a massive increase from the US$100 million spent the previous year. Kenneth Hui, external executive director of the Monetary Authority, attributed this growth in capital flow to the communication efforts made by Chinese financial institutions and regular trips to the Gulf region to deal with the market.

Hong Kong has made a concerted effort to attract more investment from the Middle East and North Africa region in recent months, partly due to a weak IPO market.

Examples of the growing ties between the two markets include the Saudi Public Investment Fund opening offices in China and Hong Kong in recent years, in addition to a number of memorandums of understanding concluded between central banks in Hong Kong and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries to encourage greater financial cooperation.