Abu Dhabi dominates MENA sovereign wealth fund spending

Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company was the most active sovereign investor across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) during the first nine months of 2025, as the region gains prominence as a hotbed of economic activity and financial strength. 

MENA sovereign investors ploughed $56.3 billion in 97 transactions from the beginning of January through September, Global SWF said in its 2025 MENA Playbook launched on Wednesday.

MENA SWF activity made up about 40 per cent of all global activity, with over a third of the capital deployed in the US, 28% across Europe, including the UK, and 16% domestically. 

Mubadala invested $17.4 billion, followed by Abu Dhabi Investment Office, which spend $9.6 billion. They were trailed by Qatar Investment Authority ($7.6 billion), Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund ($6.2 billion) and Abu Dhabi's ADQ ($4.8 billion).

The funds, dubbed as the Oil Five, in the report, comprised 81% of all sovereign dealmaking across the MENA region, with Abu Dhabi’s three wealth funds funds comprising more than half of it. 

On balance, state-owned investors − which includes SWFs, public pension funds and central banks – spend $8.2 trillion in the nine months through September. While it was a modest increase over 2024’s $8 trillion, MENA state-owned investment is projected to reach $12 trillion by 2030. 

Inbound capital from global state-owned investors into MENA remains limited, despite recent partnerships with Canada’s La Caisse and investments by Singapore’s GIC and China’s CIC.

“The war has made it worse, as Norway’s NBIM, the world’s largest SWF, recently sold $2.8 billion of Israel-related stocks. However, governments across the region - especially in the GCC - are making significant efforts to attract offices of asset managers," the report added.