Acelen, a company backed by Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, has announced it will invest more than R$12bn ($2.4bn) in renewable fuels in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia over the next 10 years. The company and the government of Bahia signed an investment plan and memorandum of understanding on April 15 in Abu Dhabi. 

The project will produce biodiesel and sustainable aviation kerosene from vegetable oils and animal fat, in a process known as ‘hydrotreating’. “We will produce sustainable fuel on a global scale, inserting Brazil in the development of the international sustainable [supply] chain,” Luiz de Mendonça, Acelen’s CEO, said in a statement on April 15.

The focus will be mainly on selling to foreign markets, Mr de Mendonça continued, but if Brazil “moves forward with discussions already underway regarding incentive policies for the production and consumption of renewable fuels in the country, Acelen will be ready to operate in the domestic market as well”.

The project, which is expected to start production in the first quarter of 2026, will produce one billion litres of renewable fuels per year and create 90,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Joint venture to develop $10bn Japanese resort

US-based MGM Resorts and Japanese financial services group Orix are moving ahead with their joint venture plan to develop a $10bn “integrated resort” in the Japanese city of Osaka. Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has officially certified the development plan submitted last year, according to an MGM release on April 14. 

“It is an honour to be selected by the government of Japan to develop a tourism project of this scale,” MGM Resorts CEO and president Bill Hornbuckle said in the statement. “We couldn’t be more excited to get started on the development of one of Japan's first integrated resorts … and we look forward to working with our partner Orix and Osaka prefecture/city to realise this long-held goal.”

The project will reportedly house Japan’s first casino. In 2018, the Japanese government passed a law regarding the “development of specified complex tourist facilities areas”. Also known as the “integrated resort development act”, it legalised casino gambling in those areas. 

Saudi Arabia transfers oil profits to sovereign wealth fund

Some 4% of Saudi Aramco’s total issued shares have been transferred from state ownership to Sanabil Investments, a financial company wholly owned by the country’s sovereign wealth fund the Public Investment Fund (PIF), according to a release from the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on April 16.

In the release, Saudi’s crown prince and prime minister, Mohammed bin Salman, said this was in line with Saudi Arabia’s long-term goals to boost and diversify the national economy and expand investment opportunities, as outlined in the government’s Vision 2030 plans. He said that the PIF will continue with its mandate to launch new sectors, build new strategic partnerships, localise technology and create more direct and indirect job opportunities in the local market, according to the SPA.

The Saudi state will remain Saudi Aramco’s largest shareholder following the transfer, retaining a total ownership of some 90% of the company’s shares. According to the UAE government news agency, this follows a similar transfer last year, giving PIF an 8% stake in Aramco.

And finally: the African Development Bank, EU and France are set to invest $300m in the Kakono Hydropower Plant located in northern Tanzania, according to a statement from the bank on April 14.