(Yicai) Jan 23 -- Investcorp has a long-term vision and strategy for China, Executive Chairman Mohammed Bin Mahfoodh Alardhi told Yicai in an interview at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos.

The Bahrain-based alternative investment firm announced yesterday that it has been selected by a large Asian institution to invest over USD100 million in Southeast Asia, bringing the total amount of capital raised by Investcorp from Asian institutional investors over the past 18 months to USD2.2 billion.

In April last year, Investcorp and China Investment Corporation jointly unveiled the the Investcorp Golden Horizon investment platform with an initial USD1 billion to invest in high-growth companies across Saudi Arabia, the other countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council, and China.

Excerpts from the interview are below: 

Yicai: What is your strategy for the Chinese market?

Mohammed Alardhi: We started in China a few years ago and our vision, our strategy there is really for the long term. We've done some investments there in technology, in healthcare and last year we [started] this platform with CIC to invest in the Gulf and in China.

Yicai: Do you have any other plans regarding Asian markets in general?

MA: We invest in Indonesia and we have investors from Malaysia. Japan is an important market for us [and] we opened an office there. We also have a strong business in private equity in India.

Yicai: How is the rapid pace of technological change, especially in intelligent technologies, shaping your portfolio and your investment priorities?

MA: We’ve been investing in technology for over 15 years. Our fifth fund in technology just closed and lately we've been investing in anything to do with AI, cyber security, and data.

Yicai: More and more Chinese companies want to expand their business in the Gulf countries and the Middle East. What is your advice for them?

MA: My advice is to refer to what CIC did and choose a local partner who is familiar with the local market and understands the business and investment environment in the region, so the Chinese companies can work with them to achieve their goals. This is the right way to enter the Gulf market.

Editor: Tom Litting