Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company outpaced Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) in spending in 2024 after the latter reduced its global investments in 2024.
Mubadala and its subsidiaries invested USD 29.2 billion in 2024, up from USD 17.5 billion in 2023, Reuters reported citing the preliminary data from research company Global SWF. That accounted for nearly 20% of the USD 136.1 billion spent globally by sovereign wealth funds, while the PIF’s investments declined by 37% to nearly USD 20 billion in 2024, down from USD 31.6 billion in 2023.
In October 2024, the PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan said the fund plans to reduce its foreign investments to around a fifth of its total assets under management and will focus on domestic funding and artificial intelligence. The UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia sovereign funds, meanwhile, invested a record USD 82 billion in 2024, a more than 10% rise from the previous year.
While Canada’s Maple 8, Singaporean funds, and Australian superannuation funds were more active last year than in 2023, they remained below the peaks in 2021 and 2022. Globally, sovereign funds’ assets under management (AUM) rose by 6.1% in 2024 to USD 13 trillion, while public pension funds’ AUM grew by 6% to USD 25 trillion.
Established in 2017 by the merger of Mubadala Development Company (now Mamoura Diversified Global Holding) and the International Petroleum Investment Company, Mubadala Investment Company, or Mubadala, is based in Abu Dhabi. As of January 2025, the sovereign wealth fund manages a diverse portfolio of assets and investments in the UAE and abroad, with its assets under management (AoM) being valued at more than USD 300 billion.
Mubadala’s diverse portfolio spans over 50 countries across sectors including retail, clean energy, self-driving cars and AI technology. In the UAE, the sovereign wealth fund owns or has invested in companies including Aldar Properties, Emirates Global Aluminium, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), G42, Masdar, Tabby and Yahsat. Internationally it owns or has invested in Turkey’s Getir, Global Foundries and Waymo in the US, CityFibre in the United Kingdom and Jio Platforms and Tata Power Renewables in India.
Mubadala has announced plans to invest significant capital into healthcare, artificial intelligence, space technology, digital infrastructure and the Asian and US markets. Mubadala’s subsidiaries include the asset management company Mubadala Capital, Mubadala Technologies and Mubadala Energy.
The brilliant brain behind Mubadala’s meteoric rise has been its CEO Khaldoon Al Mubarak. This article will give a brief overview of the personality.
Who Is Khaldoon Al Mubarak?
Khaldoon Al Mubarak was born in the United Arab Emirates. He graduated from Tufts University in the United States with a degree in economics. His future career in business and finance, which would encompass a variety of industries like energy, healthcare, technology, and real estate, was made possible by his educational background.
In the Middle East, Khaldoon Al Mubarak is regarded as one of the most powerful businessmen. He has gained respect both domestically and abroad thanks to his adeptness in navigating intricate international markets and his strategic vision in making investments in a variety of industries. With the company now managing a portfolio valued at over USD 200 billion, Mubadala’s assets have increased dramatically under his direction.
Al Mubarak is also renowned for his visionary leadership style, which frequently focuses on long-term plans that prioritise technological innovation, sustainability, and international collaborations. He is known for having a realistic approach to business, taking measured chances and looking for chances that fit with the UAE’s larger objectives for economic diversification.
His management style places a strong emphasis on the value of cooperation and fostering synergies between the public and private sectors. This has aided Mubadala’s expansion as well as the UAE’s overall economic prosperity.
Mubadala In No Mood To Slow Down
The French multinational aerospace and defence company Safran will be partnering with Mubadala to promote aerospace innovation and development in the UAE. This expanded strategic framework agreement, which was unveiled at the Abu Dhabi Air Expo in November 2024, emphasises the crucial domains of advanced materials, manufacturing, maintenance, human capital development, and space.
By combining Safran’s experience with Mubadala’s well-established aerospace assets, such as Strata Manufacturing and Sanad, this expanded partnership will aim to transform the aerospace industry. Through the collaboration, Sanad’s capabilities will be greatly increased, and new alliances across Safran’s varied aerospace portfolio will become possible.
To further enhance Mubadala’s wide range of aerospace products, the collaboration also intends to expand Strata’s current capabilities in the production of aircraft structures to include engine components.
Staying true to its plan of investing in the healthcare sector, the Emirati sovereign wealth fund acquired an 80% stake in Global Medical Supply Chain and Al Ittihad Drug Store from GlobalOne Healthcare Holding, the healthcare division of UAE-based Yas Holding.
The acquisition expanded Mubadala’s footprint in healthcare logistics and pharmaceutical distribution. Talking about Global Medical Supply Chain, the venture provides end-to-end supply chain services for medical products, including demand planning, procurement, logistics, inventory management, warehousing and maintenance. It serves more than 200 medical facilities across the UAE.
Al Ittihad Drug Store, on the other hand, distributes more than 1,000 pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare products from over 40 suppliers, covering multiple therapeutic categories such as anti-infectives, asthma, diabetes and oncology.
The wealth fund’s growing focus on the healthcare sector stems from the fact that research from investment banking advisory firm Alpen Capital predicts that healthcare spending in the Gulf region will reach USD 135.5 billion in 2027, implying an annual growth of 5% from USD 104 billion in 2023.
Al Mubarak’s Vision For Mubadala’s Future
The Abu Dhabi-based wealth fund will focus on investments across Asia in the coming days. Mubadala has invested USD 4 billion in India, including investments in billionaire and Reliance Industries’ boss Mukesh Ambani’s telecom and retail businesses, as well as Tata Power’s renewable energy unit. In September 2024, the Emirati Wealth Fund officially opened an office in Beijing to further strengthen the growing economic relations between the UAE and China.
Keeping in mind the tech-driven reality of the 21st century global economy, Mubadala will also have an artificial intelligence member as a consultant on its investment committee from 2025. It will incorporate AI in every aspect of its operational model, including corporate, administration, accounting and investment, Khaldoon Al Mubarak stated.
Mubadala, which has reached USD 330 billion of assets under management today, up from USD 200 million when it first started 20 years ago, is “zooming in” on key sectors that will be growing in the future including AI, technology, financial services, life sciences and healthcare, Mr Al Mubarak informed the media, while concluding that his venture is focussing on the private credit front as well, adding that Mubadala has an exposure to the asset class of almost USD 20 billion.