Blackrock, Top Dubai Lender Partner on Private Markets Platform

(Bloomberg) — Blackrock Inc. is partnering with Dubai-based lender Emirates NBD on a new platform designed to give Middle Eastern investors greater access to fast-growing private markets.

The product will offer Emirates NBD’s wealth clients access to private credit and alternative assets, according to a statement on Tuesday. It will be based on BlackRock’s Alternative Investments platform, which has more than $450 billion assets under management.

The firms will first launch a range of so-called evergreen offerings, which allow investors more flexibility than closed-end funds, focused on income and growth strategies exclusively in the United Arab Emirates.

International players are fast entering the private credit space in the Middle East, partnering with wealth funds in the region including Mubadala Investment Co., Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, ADQ and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

Private credit was Mubadala’s best-performing asset class for three years in a row, its deputy chief executive officer said in January.

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