By Daniel Flynn
DAKAR (Reuters) - Investment group Dubai World sees unique opportunities in Africa and is eyeing a fresh deal for a port and a business park in Tanzania after signing a $800 million contract in Senegal on Monday, its chairman said.
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem said the state-owned conglomerate, whose interests range from real estate to ports, had just closed major investments in the United States and was confident that the economy there remained strong and could avoid a recession.
Dubai World's JAFZA International subsidiary signed the Senegal deal following investments in South Africa, Mozambique, Djibouti and Rwanda.
"The opportunities which you see in Africa, you don't see them anywhere else in the world, but you have to be in Africa to do it," he told Reuters in an interview late on Monday.
He said Dubai World was looking at building a port and a business park or special economic zone -- where companies get tax and export incentives -- in Tanzania, but did not provide further details.
"Because we are in the market, we get a feel and a quicker reaction compared to people sitting in Europe," he said, listing Africa alongside China and India as the group's hotspots for investment. "We have a team dedicated to looking at opportunities in Africa."
With revenues estimated at more than $30 billion, Dubai World's ventures range from the world's third largest port operator DP World, to special economic zones company JAFZA, and real estate projects in Dubai such as The Palm island and The World.
Following the listing of a nearly $5 billion stake in DP World last year, the biggest IPO in the Middle East, bin Sulayem said the conglomerate did not plan to float any more units but could make use of other financing options, such as bonds.
Shares in DP World fell as much as 17 percent on Tuesday to a lifetime low as Gulf stockmarkets suffered their biggest meltdown since a 2006 crash, amid fears a possible U.S. recession would infect the world economy.
FAITH IN U.S. ECONOMY
Despite the wave of gloom sweeping financial markets about the health of the U.S. economy, bin Sulayem pointed to his company's tender launched last week to buy up to $400 million worth of shares in Kirk Kerkorian's Las Vegas casino group MGM Mirage.
"We are investing in the United States and we are very selective investors. I believe that the economy in the U.S. is healthy," he said. "I don't think this is a recession. I believe there may be a mini recession in certain areas."
JAFZA CEO Chuck Heath said his company had 19 projects in the pipeline, including its first entry into the United States. The company is planning a $700 million logistics hub in South Carolina near the port of Charleston.
"We have just reached agreement for Russia. We are going into Romania, India, several places in Africa -- Senegal being key -- the Middle East region and Asia," he said.
Last year, JAFZA said it was considering establishing two special economic zones in Pakistan near Karachi and Port Qasim but Heath said these projects had been placed on hold as the company reassessed the political and economic environment.
The central Asian country has been plunged into turmoil following the assasination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto in late December.
