According to the sources privy to the details, UAE Crown
Prince Mohamed bin Zayed has decided to unfreeze US$10 billion in Israeli
companies that he had promised to former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The UAE's large sovereign funds will divide the investments
between them, including the ADIA Fund and the Mubadala Fund, although the first
fund that will enter the Israeli market is the ADG (Abu Dhabi Growth) Fund,
part of the ADQ Group. This fund plans investing US$200 million in Israeli
companies during the year 2022, and a similar sum each year over 10 years.
A senior source, Abu Dhabi has been waiting patiently for
the Israeli political scene to stabilize before renewing the process of
fulfilling bin Zayed's promise. Herzog's visit, personal, diplomatic but not
political, meant that he was the right person at the right time to officially
initiate the investment process.
ADG Fund Chairman Faris Mohammed Al Mazrouei met with
several members of the small Israeli delegation that accompanied President
Herzog. At meetings in Abu Dhabi, the Israelis and Emiratis spoke about the
mechanisms for the investment and how organizations like the Manufacturers
Association of Israel and the Israel Export Institute would help direct the
investments.
Another important link in the chain will be Start-Up
National Central, which in recent years has specialized in matching up Israeli
startups with investors. Start-Up National Central CEO Avi Hasson, who traveled
to the UAE as part of President Herzog's delegation, informed that the
unfreezing of the US$10 billion by the UAE for investment in Israel was highly
significant for both the countries. He said that the Emirati use the investment
funds as a strategic tool and are expressing through the funds the importance
with which they see relations with Israel.
Hasson thinks that Israel is perceived by the Emirati as a
symbol of innovation and progress due to the companies located here,
and therefore it represents a good investment. "This is not philanthropy
or a political investment fund," he said. "The Emirati are seeking
profits from their investments. We do not have a commercial agenda but
extensive knowhow of the abilities in the advanced technology sector and the
ability to connect Israeli companies with the precise needs of investors."
Hasson stressed there has to be a match between the Israeli ‘here
and now’ approach and the slower UAE approach of first building trust through a
genuine connection between the parties and only then moving forward.
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