Investcorp plans to invest $650m in Middle East

Investcorp, previously an investor in high-end brands Gucci and Tiffany, is in talks with families and businesses in the Gulf, North Africa and Turkey, said Azmat Taufique, co-head of the bank?s Gulf Growth Capital business. New investments under its $1 billion Gulf Opportunity Fund would strive to mirror a 70 percent acquisition last year of the Middle East?s largest gold and jewelry maker, L?Azurde, which Investcorp made along with partners, Taufique said. ?We are looking at other businesses in the region with similar dynamics, not necessarily jewelry but broadly in mass luxury,? Taufique told the Reuters Global Luxury Summit, adding he estimated the mass luxury market would grow about 10 percent a year in the region; Kazinform cites the Arab News. See www.arabnews.com for full version