News

A warm welcome to HFI's April 2024 eNewsbook.

Hugh Fraser International was delighted to be part of speaker panel for the EIC (Energy Industries Council) GCC Energy Market and Project Q1 Update webinar. The EIC DataStream project database is now tracking 92 new energy projects for 2023 and 14 new energy projects were announced between January and March 2024, with the market value for the region standing at US$628 billion for the period to 2030.

This all represents big opportunities but the MENA market is also laced with challenges. The markets are mature and competitive with high levels of price sensitivity and increasing pressures from protracted vendor approval processes, localisation policies, taxation and legal compliance costs. 

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates both represent almost US$200 billion of energy projects markets: as well as our Q1 2024 editions of our SAVI - Saudi Arabia Ventures Initiative (SAVI) and ADVI - Abu Dhabi Ventures Initiative (ADVI) eGuidebooks, tracking the lessons learned from recent ventures in these key markets we have now introduced our HFI’s Establishing, Restructuring and Exiting Local Partner Ventures in the MENA Region eGuidebook can be found here.

Local Partner Ventures (LPV) often play a key role in the success or failure of ventures in the MENA region but they end too often in under performance or contentious exits. We are committed to playing our role in working hard to establish stable win/win LPVs from which MENA businesses can grow. Please see the Local Partner Ventures eGuidebook here.

The conference events schedule is now emerging from the Ramadan/Eid period: key events in April are Middle East Energy 2024 in Dubai and World Future Energy Summit 2024 in Abu Dhabi, both this week and the OPES OMAN Petroleum & Energy Show next week in Muscat. Please feel free to get in contact if you are attending.

I hope the features in our eNewsbook will be of interest and please get in touch if we can be of support in your MENA business ventures.