How the Middle East became central to Indonesia’s new sovereign wealth fund

Indonesia’s newest sovereign wealth fund, announced its first overseas investment not in a financial capital, but in Mecca. Earlier this month, Danantara Indonesia acquired the 1,461-room Novotel Makkah Thakher City and 14 adjoining land parcels totalling roughly 4.4 hectares, located about 2.5 kilometers from Masjid al-Haram. Executed through Danantara Investment Management in partnership with Saudi developers Thakher Development Company and Al Khomasiah Real Estate Development, the transaction gives Indonesia its first state-backed hospitality presence in Islam’s holiest city. The land will be developed in phases under an integrated master plan that could eventually support up to 5,000 hotel rooms, alongside retail and supporting facilities, subject to regulatory approvals. For a fund launched less than a year ago, the choice is […]