The Wall Street Journal-20080116-General Electric Co-- GE- Credit Suisse to Start A Fund With Abu Dhabi
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General Electric Co.: GE, Credit Suisse to Start A Fund With Abu Dhabi
General Electric Co., Credit Suisse Group and Abu Dhabi plan to launch a $1 billion fund to invest in infrastructure in the Middle East in the first quarter, people familiar with the matter said. The companies and Abu Dhabi-owned investment firm Mubadala Development Co. are seeking regulatory approval for the fund, these people said. Flush with cash from four years of high oil prices, Persian Gulf countries such as the United Arab Emirates are using these funds to upgrade infrastructure to accommodate rapid economic growth and to diversify economies dominated by oil and gas. Funding requirements are the highest for power, water desalination, housing and transport infrastructure. "Energy consumption in particular is going through the roof in the region," Eckart Woertz, program manager for economics at the Dubai-based Gulf Research Center, told Zawya Dow Jones. Mubadala is developing the world's largest aluminum smelter in Abu Dhabi with Dubai Aluminium Co. at an estimated cost of $8 billion.
