Section 3
interview
alexandre katrangi
Alexandre Katrangi: Interview
by Kamil Grund
Kamil: Your career spans global capital markets, strategic investments, and high-level partnerships. What defining moment shaped your philosophy as an international investor operating across regions and cultures? Alexandre: Coming from a globalized family since the seventies, multicultural and multi-religious, my father is of Syrian- Saudi origin and my mother is French. I was born in Paris and grew up in Saudi Arabia, the United States, and Africa. Since my childhood, I have been involved in globalization and international exchanges. For me, from the very beginning of my professional career, working internationally became a natural thing. I was embedded to communicate in different languages and interact with various cultures, religions, regulations, and systems. This allowed me to attract clients from the very start who, although very focused on their ecosystem, were not accustomed to international exchanges. It is important to place this in the context of the nineties, a period marking the beginning of this globalization. Kamil: You operate at the intersection of capital, geopolitics, and innovation. In today’s fragmented world order, how do you assess risk differently when navigating emerging markets versus established economies? Alexandre: Well, trivially, one of my historic New York Wall Street tycoon buddies used to tell me, “money and politics walk together despite the usual public common thinking…” At Licorne Gulf Holding, our investment arm, I approach emerging markets with a stronger focus on political stability, currency volatility, regulatory shifts, and liquidity constraints, often relying on scenario analysis and higher risk premiums. In established economies, my assessment leans more on market cycles, sector fundamentals, and historical data, as regulatory frameworks and capital markets tend to be more stable and predictable. But most important is the mental spirit and stability of the founder or owner, and his appetite and knowledge of the market he’s targeting. We benefit from a significant advantage due to our twenty-seven years of existence as an investment holding company. Over the years, we have established strong personal relationships with
military personnel, generals, colonels, politicians, business people, industrialists, and bankers. These contacts allow us to engage with them regularly to perceive and understand market trends, as well as the impact of their decisions. This approach has recently led to one of our major investments made in the last four months. We infused capital and acquired shares in an international think tank and lobbying company. This organization plays a crucial role as a reference for evaluating the impact of a strategic decision, or structural, operational, financial, or political choice. Furthermore, our global network allows us to operate according to geopolitical dynamics while adhering to official regulations. It is worth noting that these regulations are often disconnected from political and media trends. For example, countries like Russia or China, which face sanctions, continue to operate with other regions of the world without encountering major difficulties. Kamil: Your recent book War and Wealth explores the historical connections between conflict and economic development. What inspired you to write this book, and what core insight do you want global leaders to take away from it? Alexandre: For twenty-seven years, we have worked and invested in countries often in conflict, from the Middle East to Africa, passing through regions of Latin America. We have and still operate in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Yemen, and the Emirates. I myself lived for several years in Chad, while also passing through the Central African Republic, Sudan, Somalia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Congo. In all these countries, despite the devastating conflicts for the populations, international businesses and banks continued their activities. Each conflict has often led to economic development or political and societal awareness, resulting in reforms and changes. Major conflicts have also spawned innovations that contributed to the evolution of the world. World War II is a symbolic example. Although this war was terrible for humanity, it also gave rise to advances in defense systems, economics, and medicine. These innovations resulting from war have facilitated significant development in modern societies, benefiting our planet.
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