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Investments by Abu Dhabi’s second-biggest sovereign investor Mubadala surged by a 3rd final 12 months, pushed by a leap in offers in North America, personal fairness and synthetic intelligence.
The sharp improve in capital deployment by the now $330bn fund underscores the urge for food for offers from Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth funds, which had been among the many largest sovereign spenders final 12 months and are persevering with to wager closely on the US regardless of the financial uncertainty since President Donald Trump took workplace.
Mubadala made Dh119bn ($32.4bn) price of investments in 2024, up from Dh89bn the earlier 12 months. Business tracker International SWF stated it was the world’s most lively sovereign wealth fund final 12 months.
The investor’s belongings beneath administration additionally elevated 9 per cent to Dh1.2tn in 2024, and Mubadala stated it had made a ten.1 per cent annualised return over the previous 5 years, barely beneath the ten.3 per cent five-year return price it reported final 12 months. It doesn’t report returns on an annual foundation.
Chief govt Khaldoon al-Mubarak stated the 23-year-old fund’s portfolio had been “constructed to navigate market cycles and scale future-focused sectors — from AI and clear power to life sciences, semiconductors and superior manufacturing — all aligned with our nationwide priorities”.
The standout area for dealmaking was North America, the place investments nearly doubled 12 months on 12 months, Mubadala stated.
Abu Dhabi has been eager to stress its help for the US economic system regardless of the administration, and earlier this 12 months pledged to make $1.4tn price of investments over the following decade. Trump is scheduled to go to the United Arab Emirates subsequent week.
AI is a specific focus for Mubadala, which owns 50 per cent of Abu Dhabi’s AI funding automobile MGX alongside Abu Dhabi AI group G42, chaired by highly effective nationwide safety adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
MGX final 12 months backed a $30bn AI infrastructure fund, involving BlackRock, Microsoft and others.
The UAE is positioning itself as a regional hub for AI and is looking for higher entry to the superior US-made chips wanted to energy the rising expertise.
Mubadala has additionally raised the proportion of its belongings deployed in personal fairness investments and decreased the quantity in public markets, reflecting a broader long-term development.
The investor stated that 40 per cent of its belongings had been now in personal fairness, up from 38 per cent final 12 months, whereas the proportion invested in public markets was now 23 per cent, down from 25 per cent in 2023.
Mubadala has additionally elevated its bets on infrastructure and personal credit score, and its personal debt portfolio is now price $20bn, the fund stated.
Sovereign funds within the oil-rich Gulf management 40 per cent of the world’s sovereign wealth, in accordance with a Deloitte report printed in March.