UAE, and Greece have recently signed up a number of agreements, and MoUs between the two nations within investment, renewables, healthcare, advanced industries, technology, as well as other core sectors.
Industry sources stated that, during Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s official state visit to the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor, Mubadala Investment Company (“Mubadala”) and Hellenic Development Bank of Investments (“HDBI”), the sovereign fund of funds of Greece, signed an agreement to extend their €400 million co-investment partnership to include venture capital (“VC”) and private equity (“PE”) investments in top-performing Greek funds that are focused on high growth sectors.
The Mubadala-HDBI co-investment partnership was first established in 2018 with an initial focus on minority direct PE investments in Greek businesses.
Industry sources further added that Mubadala and HDBI closed their first co-investment under the newly extended agreement to Athens-based VentureFriends Fund III, an early-stage tech investor.
The agreements were signed in the presence of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic of Greece at the Qasr Al Watan Palace in Abu Dhabi.
Industry sources also claimed that UAE’s top firms, including ADNOC, Masdar, Mubadala, and ADQ, signed agreements during the meeting.
Waleed Al Mokarrab Al Muhairi, Mubadala’s Deputy Group CEO, commented: “Over the years, the economy of Greece has not only demonstrated its resilience, but it also now presents some very exciting growth opportunities. Our extended partnership with HDBI will enable Mubadala to accelerate its investments in Greece, capitalizing on an increasingly active innovation and entrepreneurial landscape across multiple sectors. We look forward to our continued collaboration with HDBI in the months and years ahead as we collectively seek to tap into Greece’s burgeoning innovation-driven sectors.”
Dr. Haris Lambropoulos, HDBI’s President, commented: “Our collaboration with Mubadala is based on mutual trust and understanding. The extension of our strategic co-investment partnership is the beginning of a new era, in full alignment with the investment principles and values of our respective organizations. It also provides a unique opportunity to further promote our bilateral relations, leveraging the dynamism of the Greek economy and its resilience in the face of global challenges and uncertainties.”
Antigoni Lymperopoulou, HDBI’s CEO, commented: “Our co-investment approach has been delivering solid results by promoting the Greek investment ecosystem, which is focused on talent and innovative entrepreneurship.”
VentureFriends stated that their core focus is on scalable B2C and B2B startups that can develop a sustainable moat over time, with a track record of successful investments in PropTech, Fintech, Marketplaces, and SaaS. VentureFriends targets investments in Greece, throughout Europe, and selectively around the world, comprising the UAE, where it has been an early investor in Instashop since 2016 and most recently an early investor in Huspy.
George Dimopoulos, Founding Partner of VentureFriends, stated: “We are very excited to welcome Mubadala and HDBI as LPs in VentureFriends III. We are looking forward to building on this partnership, and with the help of these two organizations, continue to support founders and companies that will become leaders in their respective spaces, including Blueground (Proptech), Belvo (Fintech), and Instashop (B2C). Through the co-investment partnership, Mubadala and HDBI have jointly reviewed a number of investment opportunities over the past four years, with further direct and fund investment opportunities currently under review.”
The key highlights of the agreements, and MoUs in the meeting comprised: –
- An MoU between the UAE and Greece in the field of economic cooperation, signed by Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, the UAE Minister of Economy, and Adonis Georgiadis, the Greek Minister of Development and Investments.
- A strategic framework agreement between Motor Oil and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), signed by Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, managing director and group CEO of ADNOC, to explore opportunities to supply LNG cargoes to Greece, as well as explore other cooperation opportunities between the two sides.
- An MoU between Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) and the Greek Government on eco-island renewables deployment, signed by Dr. Al Jaber in his capacity as the chairman of the Board of Directors of Masdar, and Konstantinos Skrekas, the Greek Minister of the Environment and Energy.
- An MoU between Masdar and Motor Oil to cooperate on decarbonizing the energy market in Greece, signed by Dr Al Jaber and Konstantinos Skrekas.
- An MoU between Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala) and the Hellenic Development Bank of Investments (HDBI), signed by Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the managing director and group CEO of Mubadala Investment Company, and Antigoni Lymperopoulou, CEO of the Hellenic Development Bank of Investments, to extend their partnership in the €400 million co-investment platform.
- An MoU, signed by Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, the managing director and chief executive officer of ADQ, and Konstantinos Fragkogiannis, the Deputy Minister of Economic Diplomacy and Openness at the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to establish a €4 billion Investment Initiative to facilitate investments in the Greek economy across a wide range of sectors.
- An MoU between Masdar and KYOTO S.A., signed by Dr. Al Jaber and Achilles Constantakopoulos, chairman of TEMES S.A., to establish a Joint Venture (J.V.) to develop onshore renewables energy projects in Greece.
- An MoU on security cooperation, fighting organized crime and counter-terrorism, signed by Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, and Panagiotis Theodorikakos, the Greek Minister of Citizens’ Protection.
- An MoU between the UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology and Greece’s Ministry of Development and Investments in the field of advanced industries and technology, signed by Dr. Al Jaber and Adonis Georgiadis, the Greek Minister of Development and Investments.
- An MoU between the UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology and Greece’s Ministry of Development and Investments in the field of standardization, signed by Dr. Al Jaber and Adonis Georgiadis.
- An MoU between the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention and its Greek counterpart, signed by Abdul Rahman bin Mohammad bin Nasser Al Owais, the UAE Minister of Health and Prevention, and Dr. Mina Gaga, the Greek Alternate Minister of Health. An MoU between the Office of the UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change and the Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy, signed by Dr. Al Jaber, the UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change, and Konstantinos Skrekas, Greek Minister of the Environment and Energy.
