Tarek Sultan, the chairman of Kuwaiti logistics giant Agility Global, is optimistic about the incoming administration of Donald Trump in the US and said the country will play a key role in the company’s investment strategy.
“I am quite bullish about the new administration … even their political appointees, as well as ambassadors, come with a sort of business experience,” Mr Sultan told The National this week on the sidelines of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week in the UAE capital.
“It’s clear to me that this is going to be an administration that's focused on business, and creating growth and value for the US and for the global economy."
Mr Trump, who will take over the US presidency next week for the second time, has outlined a range of proposals focused on tax relief, reducing costs, increasing tariffs and bolstering the American economy.
Economic relations between the US and Gulf states are expected to improve under a US administration led by Mr Trump, who has cultivated strong ties with regional rulers and businesses through his business ventures and his previous stint in the White House.
Mr Trump this month announced that UAE company Damac Properties had made a $20 billion investment in the US to build data centres, in a project aiming for capacity of 2 gigawatts over the next four years.
Mr Trump is not expected to overturn the Biden administration’s landmark legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act, which provides significant tax credits for carbon capture and storage projects, as well as clean hydrogen production – both of which have been widely adopted by the US oil and gas industry.
“A lot of technologies are coming from the US,” Mr Sultan said. "We're investing heavily in those technologies and artificial intelligence in areas that basically help power the green transition.
“These are all technologies that are, to a large extent, based in the US and actually being propagated in the US. Going forward, the US is going to be a very important part of any investment equation for our company and many others.”
In October 2023, Agility invested in Loop Global – a US-based provider of EV-charging solutions.
Loop Global, which has its regional headquarters in Abu Dhabi, will set up “thousands” of charging units in the emirate next year and is also planning to install them in Dubai, Mr Sultan said.
In a report published last year, global consultancy company PricewaterhouseCoopers highlighted that public charging infrastructure was the most significant bottleneck for rapid EV adoption in the UAE, with demand outpacing charging point availability.
Agility, the biggest logistics company in the Middle East and North Africa region, listed its unit Agility Global on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) last year.
The subsidiary houses services company Menzies Aviation, Tristar, a global fuel logistics business, as well as Agility Logistics Parks business in Saudi Arabia, Africa and South Asia.
“We think the ADX listing was strategic for our business,” Mr Sultan said. "It creates a platform to potentially list other companies in our group [and] we're always in the process of actually assessing these opportunities."
