Middle Eastern capital and Chinese auto companies are rushing in both directions, with the ambition to integrate into the global industrial chain

Last night, Abu Dhabi investment institution CYVN Holdings announced that it would invest another US$2.2 billion in NIO. Together with the US$1.1 billion invested in July, it has invested US$3.3 billion in NIO in just one year and holds 20.1% of its issued and outstanding shares, making it the company's largest shareholder. However, the company's founder Li Bin still holds voting control of NIO.

In recent years, the Middle East capital with strong financial resources has actively expanded into electric vehicles and smart driving. For example, earlier, Saudi Arabia's NIF (NEOM Investment Fund) invested $100 million in Pony.ai; Saudi Arabia and Human Horizons (also known as HiPhi) signed a $5.6 billion investment agreement; in December 2022, Saudi Arabia reached a cooperation agreement with China's Skywell Auto.

In addition to Chinese companies, these industrial funds in the Middle Eastern countries are also actively recruiting American electric car manufacturer Lucid and investing in Faraday Future Automobile founded by Chinese businessman Jia Yueting.

Behind this series of investments is the Middle Eastern countries' desire not to over-rely on oil, and new energy has naturally become a breakthrough in investment.

In fact, the frequent cooperation between Middle Eastern capital and Chinese new energy vehicle companies is a two-way effort based on a common goal.

According to Li Bin, the founder of NIO, NIO will enter the UAE market and set up battery swap stations there in 2024. On the other hand, BYD and Hongqi electric vehicles from my country have already been sold in the Middle East and are being enthusiastically sought after by the market.

A major automotive revolution is underway, and the Middle East has seen investment opportunities. On the one hand, they want to get rid of the current situation of over-reliance on oil and move closer to new energy; on the other hand, they also want to leverage China's strength to integrate into the global new energy industry chain.

For this reason, the cooperation between Middle Eastern capital and Chinese car companies is not just a simple investment behavior. It also invites companies to build factories and set up R&D centers in the Middle East. In other words, embracing new energy is not an investment strategy of a certain country in the Middle East, but a common expectation of almost all local countries.

Take the United Arab Emirates as an example. The country has a population of only 10 million, but it is prepared to invest 600 billion dirhams (1.16 trillion yuan) and plans to achieve zero emissions by 2050; Oman has a population of about 4.5 million, and it plans to replace 79% of all cars in the country with electric vehicles by 2035; Jordan, with a population of 11.3 million, imported 16,990 electric vehicles last year, and electric vehicles from China accounted for 40% of its market share, which should continue to rise steadily in the future.

Among all the Middle Eastern countries, Saudi Arabia, a traditional oil-producing powerhouse, has made the most resolute investment in the field of electric vehicles. Its goal is to increase the annual production of domestic electric vehicles to 500,000 by 2030. The Saudi Crown Prince even created Ceer, the country's first independent electric vehicle brand, for this purpose.

When the world enters the post-oil era, a new pattern is likely to be formed. The space for cooperation between China and the Middle East will further increase. In the field of new energy vehicles, China needs the market and investment of the Middle East, and Middle Eastern countries can use this to achieve zero emissions, get rid of oil dependence as soon as possible, realize industrial transformation, and integrate into the global industrial chain. All of this is undoubtedly what China's huge industrial system is best at. From this perspective, the resonance between China and Middle Eastern countries in the new energy industry has long written the word win-win in the memorandum.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.