The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) announced on Thursday individual partnerships with financial services companies Florin Court Capital (Florin Court) and Tribe Infrastructure Group (Tribe) as part of its AED 2 billion (US#545 million) Innovation Programme. The two partnerships support the growth of the companies’ capabilities and international footprint from Abu Dhabi, while expanding the quantitative asset management, trading and advisory base of the emirate’s financial sector, said an ADIO press release.
ADIO has awarded Florin Court and Tribe competitive financial incentives and will support the companies via its non-financial incentive offering throughout the partnership. The companies will also benefit from Abu Dhabi’s advanced financial services infrastructure, internationally competitive regulatory framework, access to capital and local talent, an extensive research and development (R&D) support network and a time zone that favourably overlaps with key global markets.
Tariq Bin Hendi, Director General of ADIO, said, “The rapid pace of development in Abu Dhabi’s booming financial services sector gives rise to novel opportunities and creates access for existing and new players in the market. The emirate has emerged as a global financial hub, a position that is set to strengthen with the introduction of Florin Court and Tribe’s global expansion. ADIO’s partnerships with the two sector leaders will propel their growth from Abu Dhabi, as they capitalise on the emirate’s enabling business environment to pursue new strategies and expansion.”
Florin Court will establish its new trading, research and operations hub in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the emirate’s international financial centre (IFC). Tribe is pursuing broader global expansion from its headquarters in ADGM. The partnerships strengthen the UAE capital’s status as a financial hub, which is already home to three of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world, a thriving stock exchange and an award-winning IFC.
Juma Al Hameli, Chief Strategy & Business Development Officer at ADGM said, “ADIO’s partnerships with Florin Court and Tribe is testament to the strength of ADGM’s holistic business ecosystem which enables business to thrive through a collaborative approach. With our progressive regulatory and licensing regime, we are proud to make tangible contributions to the realisation of Abu Dhabi’s great investment potential. We look forward to seeing the new partnerships flourish and will continue to develop pathways for companies and entrepreneurs to achieve their aspirations.”
Partnerships with Florin Court and Tribe Florin Court, a leading hedge fund manager specialising in the quantitative trading of alternative markets, was established in London, as part of Brummer & Partners. Since its inception in 2017, the award-wining Florin Court Capital Programme has returned 44 percent to institutional investors by using sophisticated mathematical trading systems on 350 markets as diverse as electricity and emissions, emerging market interest rates, Chinese commodities, and emerging market and digital currencies. Under the partnership, Florin Court will set up its trading, research and operations centre at ADGM, from where it will also establish a global internship programme and an academic engagement programme in mathematics, statistics, machine learning and finance.
Dr. Douglas Greenig, CEO and Co-founder of Florin Court, said, “At Florin Court, we strive to innovate – applying the best techniques from data science to alternative markets that are off the beaten path to give our investors better returns and superior risk control. Abu Dhabi was the first choice for our new technology, research and trading centre. It is an outstanding place for innovation and growth. It is a city on the move. We want to be part of Abu Dhabi’s success story as a global financial hub. We are grateful for the strong support of ADIO and look forward to taking the next steps in our growth in one of the world’s most dynamic cities.”
Tribe is an active financial advisor and developer that was founded in the UAE in 2011 and headquartered out of ADGM since 2016. It improves the sustainability of communities by delivering infrastructure project finance solutions for both governments and the private sector. Tribe’s partnership with ADIO builds on its longstanding commitment to Abu Dhabi as a business hub, from which it connects to its key markets in the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Australia. The partnership will enable Tribe to expand its existing financial advisory team and assist with the launch of its recently established funds management offering. In addition, it will engage with Abu Dhabi’s local talent through training courses and overseas secondments, and educate global investors on the progress of the infrastructure and public-private partnership (PPP) project landscape in the emirate.
Peter McCreanor, CEO of Tribe Infrastructure Group, said, “Since our inception, our goal has been to deliver bespoke advisory and development solutions to advance the critical infrastructure needs of government and the private sector in our target markets. Since our launch in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, from our base at ADGM we have committed to developing sustainable infrastructure and energy security solutions. We continue to support the acceleration of the energy transition in the UAE and abroad through our partnership with ADIO. We see strong long-term growth potential in these markets and believe our bespoke solutions and partnerships will drive growth for the UAE and beyond.”
In addition to the Financial Services sector, ADIO’s AED 2 billion Innovation Programme targets innovation-led companies focused on Information and Communications Technology, Health Services & Biopharma, AgTech, Tourism and more, said the press release.
