HSBC, Dubai $500 mln fund makes 1st Arab investment

DUBAI, April 17 (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA.L) said a $500 million Middle East infrastructure fund it manages made its first investment two years after its creation, buying into a port operator in Egypt to tap growing trade.

The fund, which HSBC, Dubai International Capital and Abu Dhabi-based Waha Capital OILC.AD set up in March 2006 with $50 million each, bought a minority stake in Alexandria International Container Terminals to tap into annual cargo growth in Egypt of about 12 percent, HSBC said in a statement on Thursday.

Dubai International Capital is an investment agency owned by the ruler of the Gulf Arab emirate.

"Egypt is a strategically important location, given that it straddles the Suez Canal," Robert Swift, chief executive officer of MENA Infrastructure Fund, said in an interview with Reuters.

The terminal company, an affiliate of Hong Kong's Hutchison Port Holdings (0013.HK), will invest in cranes and other equipment this year, Swift said.

The fund could make its second investment during the next six months, Swift said. (Reporting by John Irish, editing by Will Waterman)