ABU Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment was the world’s most active sovereign wealth fund (SWF) last year as it ramped up deal-making across everything from private credit to artificial intelligence.
That came as Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which was the most active in 2023, slowed down spending and refocused on investing at home.
Mubadala deployed US$29.2 billion in 2024, according to research consultancy Global SWF. That was 67 per cent more than a year earlier and far out-paced the 7 per cent wider growth in investments by sovereign funds globally.
Middle East sovereign wealth funds made up five of the top 10 most active global dealmakers for the second year in a row, according to the report. Two other Abu Dhabi-based funds, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and ADQ, were also on the list, alongside the Public Investment Fund and Qatar Investment Authority. Those five funds invested US$82 billion last year.
Yet it is Abu Dhabi’s sovereign funds that made up the vast bulk of the global index, illustrating the oil rich emirate’s more aggressive approach to using its financial firepower to become a global force across industries including finance, technology and life sciences. Sovereign funds controlled by the emirate invested over US$57.6 billion last year, according to Global SWF.
The Saudi wealth fund deployed US$31.6 billion in 2023 either directly or through subsidiaries. That dropped to around US$20 billion last year.
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PIF governor Yasir Al Rumayyan said in October that the fund’s focus was shifting to the domestic economy as it looked to develop new industries and promote economic diversification.
The Middle East is home to a raft of sovereign funds, which have become an increasingly prominent source of cash for international deals after a surge in energy prices in 2022 left most Gulf government budgets in surplus.
Singapore’s GIC and Temasek Holdings were also “significantly more active than in 2023”, when both funds had cut deployment by around 50 per cent as they adopted a more cautious investment approach.
That helped drive up overall investment by sovereign funds to US$136.1 billion, from US$127 billion in 2023.
Developed markets remained the main focus for most global sovereign wealth funds, with Mubadala putting 85 per cent of its deployed capital into them. BLOOMBERG
