Senaat, one of the UAE’s largest industrial holding companies, is planning to invest Dh5 billion ($1.36 billion) on further expanding its portfolio of industrial projects over the next two years.

Over the past five years, Senaat invested over Dh16 billion developing the metals sector, the company said.

The announcement on the new plans was made by Husain Jasim Al Nowais, Senaat’s chairman, when he spoke at the Global Financial Markets Forum, a high-profile annual conference organised by the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD).

Al Nowais shared his views on the country’s diversification efforts and where he sees UAE industry heading in light of recent market developments at the conference attended by 1,300 delegates.

Al Nowais said: “Lately we’ve found ourselves relentlessly pursuing one common goal: diversification. While we owe much of the early stages of our incredible success to oil, our coming together through an event such as GFMF is a testament to how far we’ve come since then. It is in fact partnerships such as these, that allow us to come out to the world and demonstrate that we are in fact so much more than just oil-producing nations and that our strength lies in the diversity of our crafts and our cooperation. I congratulate NBAD on having created such a world-class event that is now symbolic of Abu Dhabi.”

He added: “At Senaat, our commitment to the industrial sector is solid. Our industrial journey has clearly been paved by successes, and sound collaboration with the financial community. But how do we take what is exceptional today and make it the best choice of tomorrow? I believe we need further support from the financial community.

"The industrial sector would welcome banks exploring ways, including the creation of a domestic bond market, to provide longer-term funding that better matches the average life of assets on the balance sheet of industrial players. We, as the industrialists, would like to see local banks establish even deeper relationships with major Export Credit Agencies and be able to act as an intermediary in such deals. We also need to develop the commodities market, specifically iron ore, copper and grain, as it will help with commodity hedging."

GFMF, which started today, will discuss major challenges and opportunities in today’s world economy from the perspectives of regulators, asset managers, sovereign wealth funds, bankers and politicians.

Senaat, which translates as “Industries”, manages more than $6.9 billion of industrial assets and employs more than 15,000 people. Senaat has invested over $4.7 billion in the non-oil sector since 2004 and its leadership is made up mainly of Emirates nationals.

Senaat's subsidiaries include: Emirates Steel; National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC); Arkan     Arkan; Ducab; Agthia; Al Foah; and Taweelah Aluminium Extrusion Company (Talex).

IPO for unit

Meanwhile, in another report, Al Nowais said that Senaat has shelved plans to go public but instead is considering options to sell shares in one of its subsidiaries.

Senaat had in the past said it planned to go public. It has taken two of its subsidiaries public, food and beverage company Agthia and building materials firm Arkaan, both listed in Abu Dhabi.

"We will do an IPO of a subsidiary this year, not Senaat," Al Nowais told Reuters on the sidelines of the forum, declining to name the firm. "Arkaan and Agthia are driving us to evaluate the option for one more of our companies."

The company will focus on basic downstream industries whose products can be used locally, such as pipe manufacturing, Nowais said. - TradeArabia News Service and Reuters