What 'private' actually means
A public company's shares trade on an exchange. Prices update through the day, anyone can buy or sell in normal conditions, and the company publishes results on a fixed timetable.
A private company does none of that. Its shares are not listed, there is no exchange price, and it decides what information to share and with whom. Private markets are simply the buying and selling of stakes in these unlisted businesses, funds and credit arrangements.
Why access is restricted
Because there is less public information and no exchange to exit through, regulators in the UAE and the wider GCC generally limit private-market offerings to defined investor categories such as professional or institutional investors.
Restriction is not a status symbol. It exists because these investments can be hard to value, hard to sell and can lose all their value.
How people usually get exposure
Most individual investors do not appear on a private company's share register. They invest through a fund or a special-purpose vehicle that holds the asset and issues units or interests to its investors.
That is the structure Harbor illustrates: a regulated vehicle holds the asset, and investors hold units in the vehicle.