International Spotlight

Bloom Holding: Premium Community Living in Abu Dhabi

UAE's real estate sector has been a magnet for investors for decades now, and house prices have risen steadily for years, including Abu Dhabi residential sale prices having risen 7% y-o-y in the first quarter of 2024 according to international property business JLL. Abu Dhabi-based Bloom Holding is breaking new ground in this dynamic sector and expanding its role both as a partner to international investors in the UAE, and as an investor abroad.

Tamer Group: Accelerating Vision 2030 Through World-Class Healthcare Services

Tamer Group is One of Saudi Arabia's most trusted healthcare & wellness providers. Founded in 1922 by Dr. Mohammed Said Tamer – who opened the first pharmacy in the Arabian Peninsula – Tamer Group is helping to drive the kingdom's healthcare transformation through a variety of integrated services, from pharmaceutical supply manufacturing to e-commerce and logistics.

Budget Rent a Car, Saudi: Championing a Brighter, Greener Future for Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia's transportation industry holds a pivotal role in its Vision 2030 agenda, both as a catalyst for economic and environmental progress and by supporting the boom in tourism. With a rich history spanning over 45 years, Budget Saudi (United International Transportation Co.) stands as the world's largest franchisee of Budget Rent a Car. Leading the car rental market in Saudi Arabia, Budget Saudi commands an extensive fleet of vehicles and offers a comprehensive range of transportation and logistics solutions for both individual and corporate clients.

Beretta Holding: The Legendary Italian Family Dynasty Diversifying to Succeed

Established in 1995 as the holding company of famed industrial dynasty Beretta – whose origins date back to 1526 – Beretta Holding is a globally recognized leader in firearms, optics, ammunition, clothing and accessories dedicated to hunting, sports, and other outdoor pursuits, as well as defense & law enforcement. Headquartered in Luxembourg, the group currently comprises over 50 individual companies, including prestigious brands like Beretta, Benelli, Chapuis, Armes, Manurhin, SAKO, Steiner, and Holland & Holland, and stands as an enduring symbol of Italian craftsmanship, technology and uncompromising quality worldwide.

Jerich International: Holistic Logistics

With its strategic location at the heart of Europe, Austria is a natural centre for the logistics industry. The country has become a global leader in logistics innovation, including in environmentally-friendly freight transportation. The industry has a turnover of around EUR34bn, according to official figures, making it a key economic contributor. Austria's Jerich International has become a leader on international markets since its foundation more than 50 years ago, following a deliberate customer-focused strategy that has brought it blue-chip clients globally, including Amazon.

American Hospital Dubai: UAE's Healthcare Leader

The country's economic growth and growing profile as a medical tourism destination support the healthcare sector's rapid expansion. According to Omnia Health, the industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of nearly 9% by 2023, making it one of the economy's most dynamic sectors. American Hospital Dubai is the first hospital in the Middle East to have American standards and expertise, serving the people of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states. It is the region's number one specialist healthcare leader, offering orthopedics, oncology, and pediatrics, among various centers and specialist units.

The Agram Concern: Croatia's Entrepreneurial Success Story

Croatia's growing affluence has supported the growth of the insurance sector, which collected premiums of EUR1.7bn in 2023, up 7.1% on 2022, according to official figures. One of the largest business entities in South East Europe (SEE), the Agram Concern is a regional leader in this thriving market, but also has extensive activities in sectors including healthcare, tourism, financial services, and banking.

SIBO Group: A Trusted Partner in Global Packaging Solutions

Manufacturing holds a pivotal position in Slovenia's economy. Notably, 25% of the sector's value-added comes from the domestic chemical industry, with two-thirds of these companies engaged in plastic processing. These firms are crucial in supplying plastic packaging products for industrial and consumer use, benefiting from Slovenia's unique concentration of tool and mould makers—the highest per capita in Europe. At the forefront of these key players is SIBO Group, a distinguished leader in developing and producing plastic components such as caps, closures, bottles for packaging solutions. With over half a century of unparalleled expertise, SIBO group also excels in supplying components for medical devices and delivering technical solutions across a broad range of industries.

BreadTalk Group: Leading Singapore's F&B Industry to New Horizons

Food & Beverage (F&B) services are integral to Singapore's domestic consumption, with sales in the sector estimated at SGD 1 billion in February this year – a 14.7% year-on-year increase – according to the Singapore Department of Statistics (DOS). One of Singapore's most prominent F&B players is BreadTalk Group, a pioneer of the artisanal bakery scene and owner and operator of multiple household-name brands ranging from restaurants to food atriums, including Din Tai Fung, Toast Box, Food Junction, and Food Republic. BreadTalk Group is behind some of Singapore's most celebrated foods and dishes and operates 700 outlets across 14 international markets.

Tanmia: Partner in the Sultanate

Favourable oil prices and "sustained reform momentum" are driving Oman's economy forward, according to a recent assessment by the IMF. The Fund commended the Sultanate's macroeconomic management and its progress on its "ambitious structural reform agenda", that will support Oman's development going ahead. Oman National Investments Development Company, known as Tanmia, is the gateway to this flourishing, promising market. Tanmia is able to leverage its ultra-stable shareholders, underpinned by the Special Protection Fund – a recently-created consolidated national pension organization - and the Oman Investment Authority, the Sultanate's sovereign wealth fund.

Japan: Vibrant, Pioneering, Confident

In the post-pandemic landscape of global business, Japan has emerged as the new darling of investors. Last year, the net flow of foreign money into Japanese stocks reached a decade-high of JPY 7.69 trillion, led by countries like the UK, which increased its average monthly investment by ten times, according to data from the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Fearing missing out, deep-pocketed US investors are now gearing up to make this year another record breaker – Bain Capital recently announced it intends to double its investment in Japan. Meanwhile, tech giants like AWS, Microsoft, and Google, as well as major semiconductor players like TSMC, are upping their investments and generating a constant stream of cash flowing into core industries.

Japan: Asia's Leading Post-Pandemic Economy

If 2023 marked Japan's breakout, 2024 could herald the beginning of a decade-long ascent as Asia's premier investment destination. Clear indicators abound, notably the Nikkei index's historic surge beyond its late 1980s peak, surpassing 40,000 for the first time in history, alongside a significant rise in wages at major firms—the highest percentage increase seen in 33 years.

Japan: The Technologies of Tomorrow, Here Today

According to Morgan Stanley, nominal growth – which gives a clearer picture of Japan's economy than real growth – reached 5% in 2023, its highest level since 1991. For comparison, Japan's nominal growth averaged just 0.2% between 1995 and 2020. Likewise, inflation has kept above the Bank of Japan's 2% target for the past 18 months, incentivizing businesses and households to switch from saving to investing. Recognising the opportunity, global investors are piling in.

Japan: Growth and Innovation

What sets Japan's current equity market apart from its previous highs is its significantly increased affordability. As per Goldman Sachs Research, 46% of equities on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's (TSE) Prime Market are presently trading below their book value, a stark contrast to just 5% of their S&P 500 counterparts. Coupled with the TSE's incentives for companies to enhance valuations and earnings, in tandem with Japan's exceptionally low borrowing costs and interest rates, this renders it an attractive playing field for investors.

Saudi Arabia: An Unmissable Investment Opportunity

Saudi Arabia is undergoing a remarkable transformation. Seeking to power new growth outside its considerable oil reserves, the Kingdom has embarked on a landmark diversification effort to propel itself into a global powerhouse for innovation, investment, and trade. Its rewards already include surpassing the USD 1 trillion GDP mark for the first time in 2022 and the accolade of the fastest-growing G20 economy the same year. Encouragingly, the Kingdom's non-oil economic growth has sharply accelerated since the pandemic and is expected to reach 5.4% next year, according to the IMF – which expects the economy as a whole to grow above the global average at 4.0%.

Japan: Dawn Breaks for the Rising Sun

Boasting a multi-decade-high equity market, a supply chain haven for countries diversifying away from China, and "immense technological innovation and digitalization," according to the IMF, Japan continues to remind global investors why, in 2023, they should bet on Asia's largest and most advanced economy. Enabled by the Bank of Japan's ultra-loose monetary policy, this year marks a historic turning point for Japan – a meaningful return to healthy inflation after three decades of stagflation.

Japan: Upgrading capitalism by equipping today's businesses with tomorrow's technologies

As the Nikkei index rockets to heights last seen at the peak of Japan's post-war miracle economy, investors worldwide have reached a consensus: Japan is a 'buy.' According to analysts from Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan, record gains have been driven by the high upside in Japan's equity market, a position all but confirmed by the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) itself – when it outlined plans this March to force companies trading below their book value to increase their stock prices.