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Commodity Rally Spurs Investment Vehicle
By LAURA SANTINI
February 29, 2008

HONG KONG -- Pricier commodities are pushing some governments to look for ways to offset the increases with new investment vehicles.

One government in the Middle East has started an investment company that plans to break ground on mining projects in Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe and has already made a $1 billion deal to develop a region of Indonesia rich in coal and other natural resources.

RAK Minerals & Metals Investments -- newly established by the government of Ra's al Khaymah, one of the seven emirates in the loose federation that forms the United Arab Emirates -- will put up about one-third of the necessary capital, with the rest coming from affiliated investment groups in the emirate.

The strategy is twofold, says Madhu Koneru, who has worked on previous mining investments on behalf of the emirate's government and is overseeing the venture.

It is to tap new commodity sources for possible import to the Middle East and, to the extent these ventures turn a profit, to prevent the rising price of commodities from eating into government coffers, Mr. Koneru says.

Rather than buying stakes in existing operating companies, as other government-linked entities from the Middle East often do, RAK Minerals & Metals will hunt for "greenfield," or brand-new, opportunities, such as the one in Indonesia, which could yield higher returns.

"We are going to be taking a lot more risk," Mr. Koneru says.