US e-commerce titan Amazon said it committed $1 billion to a new venture investment fund that aims to invest in companies developing technology to support various e-commerce business processes such as customer fulfillment, logistics, safety, supply chain and warehouse management.
Called the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund, the new initiative will focus on companies of all stages — from early stage start-ups to established businesses.
These could include companies working in the areas of robotics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, autonomy and other emerging technologies, Amazon said.
“We see an opportunity to look beyond our own experience and empower companies that are developing emerging technologies,” Alex Encarnacion, Amazon’s vice president of worldwide corporate development, said.
“Whether our investment helps them grow or leads them to work with Amazon, or both, we are excited to help advance these technologies as online shopping becomes even more important to people who are looking for more convenience and time savings.”
The Covid-19 pandemic, which led to lockdowns around the world, hastened the move to digital services as consumers switched to cashless payments and online shopping. Globally, digital payments are expected to grow to $8.26 trillion by 2024, from $4.4tn in 2020, Statista said.
Global e-commerce market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 14.7 per cent from 2020 to 2027, from $9.09tn in 2019, according to Grand View Research, an India and the US based market research and consulting company.
Amazon said the investment size will vary based on the opportunity and the beneficiary company’s stage of growth.
The fund will invest in companies that imagine solutions that “incrementally increase delivery speed” and improve the experience of employees working in warehousing and logistics fields.
Its first round of investments is focused on wearable technology that could enhance safety in fulfillment buildings and robotics designed to complement and co-exist with people’s lives.
These industries are inherently complex, said Mr Encarnacion.
“With our scale, Amazon is committed to investing in companies that will ignite innovation in emerging technologies that can help improve employee experiences and safety while seamlessly coexisting with workforces across the supply chain, logistics, and other industries,” he added.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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