latamdubai09

I talked to many people at the Latin American Mid-East forum in Dubai and all of them found the presentation by Southern Cross, one of the PE firms from Latin America, quite interesting.

What strikes us more was the similarity with Middle East situation: growth of middle class + need for infrastructure. (There were some other interesting notes like "Investing in private equity Vs. public markets" and the success stories of their investments.)

DubaiBeat.com exclusively shares this presentation with you. Enjoy! (Click on full screen)

(See other presentations in our Middle East Private Equity & Venture Capital Presentations archive)

We were busy today in the Latin American Mid-East Forum. Some quick notes from our twitter updates in case you've missed them. (We will update with more interviews and presentations shortly)

• Felix Herlihy (Istithmar World) saying don't rush into investments, as "everything" looks cheap these days! Invest in what you know.
  
• Pablo Fetter (Istithmar World): Dubai is the Miami of its region and very attractive place for investment
  
• Pablo Fetter: oil demand is down but supply is down too (Canada oil sands only make sense with like $80). So expect higher oil prices (~$70)
  
• Moderator: what is different in Latin American real estate and Dubai? Answer: We do things in "millions", but they do it here in "billions"!
  
• Latin American real estate panel participant: "Architecture" and nice buildings are good, but Dubai also needs to focus on "Urbanization"
  

(Follow us on twitter for quick updates related to venture capital and private equity in Dubai and the Middle East)

One of the Latin American Private Equity firms with representatives at the upcoming Latin American Mid-East Investors Forum this Wednesday is called “The Southern Cross Group”, a buyout fund with over $1.1 billion of capital under management.

This is how Euromoney describes them in an article back in 2006: “Southern Cross Group is making waves in Latin American private equity, standing out because of its aggressive and sometimes contentious strategy – it only invests in companies in which it has unchallenged control of management – which is bringing it high returns.”

High returns indeed. (We are hearing on realized transactions they have generated 3.5X invested capital with a gross IRR in excess of 35%.) Check out their portfolio companies here, and look for them, (and us!), this Wednesday at the Forum.

Here is the brochure of "The Latin American Mid-East Investors Forum" which will be held next Wednesday (NOT Thursday as we originally reported), February 4, with DubaiBeat.com as an official Media Partner.

(According to organizers, 132 investors from 83 funds/companies are registered. So you may not want to miss this event.)

(Updated with correct dates. Sorry!)
On a Thursday, which is a convenient day for business guys here in the Middle East Wednesday, there will be an interesting forum for private investment community at Jumeirah Emirates Towers Dubai. And if you are a Gulf-based investor, the event is free for you!

On Thursday Wednesday, February 4, 2009, LatinFinance (the Latin American arm of Euromoney Institutional Investor) will host the Inaugural Latin American Mid-East Investment Forum (LA-MEIF) at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers in Dubai.

As of now 61 investors from 36 funds/companies in the Gulf are going to participate. So there seems to be many great investors to meet and chat.

DubaiBeat.com is proud to be an official supporting organization for this event. More details on the forum available here.

DubaiBeat.com is proud to be an official supporting organization of The Latin American Mid-East Investors Forum at Jumeirah Emirates Tower Dubai. More on this event here.