By Hadeel Al Sayegh
DUBAI (Reuters) – Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company accounted for about 20 percent of the approximately $136.1 billion spent by sovereign wealth funds around the world last year, overtaking Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund amid a surge in spending from Gulf states.
Mubadala and its affiliates injected $29.2 billion in 2024, up from $17.5 billion invested in 2023, based on a preliminary annual report issued by industry specialist Global SWF, which tracks the world's sovereign investment funds.
The Saudi Public Investment Fund lost its ranking as the most active sovereign wealth fund in the world after it reduced its investment spending by 37% to $19.9 billion in 2024 from $31.6 billion in the previous year, according to the report.
Public Investment Fund Governor Yasser Al-Rumayyan said in October that the sovereign wealth fund was focusing more on the local economy and aimed to reduce the fund’s international investments.
However, the report said Gulf sovereign wealth funds controlled by the governments of Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Saudi Arabia “invested a record” $82 billion in 2024, an increase of more than 10% from 2023.
Other groups such as Canada's Maple 8, Singaporean funds or Australian superannuation funds were more active than in 2023, but remained below their peak in 2021-2022, the report added.
Sovereign wealth funds' total assets under management rose 6.1% this year to $13 trillion, a historic peak, and public pension funds rose 6% to $25 trillion. Norway has the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world.
Sovereign investments in digitization, which include data centers, digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence, and space investment, reached $27.7 billion in 2024.
Abu Dhabi, a wealthy oil producer and longtime security partner of the United States, is vying to become a leader in artificial intelligence amid growing competition in the region as Qatar and Saudi Arabia position themselves as potential AI hubs outside the United States.
The campaign is being led by G42 and government-backed MGX, a company in which Mubadala is a partner. Emirati officials believe that the Gulf state's bet on artificial intelligence will enhance its international influence by making it a major economic player long after demand for oil has dried up.
The report said that the volume of investment in real estate and private equity by sovereign wealth funds did not change, while infrastructure and credit continued to rise.
Deal activity by state funds rose 5% in 2024 to $216 billion. The average deal size rose to a six-year high of $370 million.
