DUBAI: Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company accounted for about 20% of the almost US$136.1bil spent by sovereign wealth funds worldwide last year, overtaking Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund amid a surge in spending from Gulf countries.
Mubadala and its subsidiaries deployed US$29.2bil in 2024, up from US$17.5bil invested in 2023, based on a preliminary annual report from industry specialist Global SWF, which tracks the world’s sovereign investment funds.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund lost its ranking as the world’s most active sovereign wealth fund after it cut its investment spend by 37% to US$19.9bil in 2024 from US$31.6bil the previous year.
PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan said in October the sovereign wealth fund was more focused on the domestic economy and aiming to reduce the fund’s international investments.
Still, the Gulf’s sovereign wealth funds controlled by governments of Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Saudi Arabia “invested a record” US$82bil in 2024, a rise of more than 10% from 2023, the report said.
Other groups such as Canada’s Maple 8, the Singaporean funds or the Australian superannuation funds were more active than in 2023, but remained below their peaks in 2021 and 2022, the report added.
Overall sovereign wealth funds’ assets under management rose 6.1% this year to US$13 trillion, a historical peak, and public pension funds rose 6% to reach US$25 trillion. Norway has the world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund.
Sovereign investments into digitisation, which include data centres, digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence (AI) and space investing, reached US$27.7bil in 2024.
Abu Dhabi, a wealthy oil producer and longtime security partner of the US, is in a race to become an AI leader amid rising competition in the region as Qatar and Saudi Arabia pitch themselves as potential AI hubs outside the United States.
The push is led by the government-backed G42 and MGX, a firm in which Mubadala is a partner. Emirati officials believe the Gulf state’s bet on AI will strengthen its international clout by making it a key economic actor long after demand for oil has dried up. — Reuters