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03 December 2024

UAE SWF assets to increase to Dh3.57trn

Published
By Waheed Abbas

The UAE sovereign wealth fund assets are expected to reach $975 billion (Dh3.578trn) this year, making up 43 per cent the total SWF assets held by the GCC countries.

According to global trade credit insurance company Euler Hermes, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries’ sovereign wealth fund assets are forecast to reach $2.25 trillion (Dh8.25trn) in 2014.

The UAE is followed by Saudi Arabia with SWF assets totalling $680 billion (Dh2.49 trillion), followed by Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain.

“The financial cushion provided by such reserves (of variable liquidity) allows GCC countries to boost domestic demand through state spending on infrastructure projects (thereby boosting jobs and future growth) and on social spending (health, education and other welfare provision). Trade opportunities with the GCC are therefore likely to remain relatively buoyant in the forecast period, even if global conditions are not supportive,” Andrew Atkinson of Euler Hermes wrote in a recently-released note.

According to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute figures, assets held by the UAE SWFs stand at $919.5 billion (Dh3.374trn) with Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia) holding the lion’s share.

Adia is the world’s second largest sovereign wealth fund with $773bn (Dh2.83trn) assets, followed by Investment Corporation of Dubai at $70bn (Dh257 billion), Ipic at $65.3bn (Dh239.65bn), Mubadala at $55.5bn, Emirates Investment Authority at $10bn and Ras Al Khaimah fund at $1.2bn.

Saudi Arabia’s Sama Foreign Holdings is the world’s third largest fund with $675.9bn assets under its management.

SWF Institute said globally assets under management have risen to $6,365.8bn from $6,357bn at the end of March 2014 with Middle East controlling 35 per cent.

(Home page image courtesy Shutterstock)