UAE becomes world's 4th largest state investor with Dh10.75 trillion assets

01/01/2026 03:32 AST

The UAE's state-owned investors (SOIs) have $2.931 trillion (Dh10.75 trillion) in assets under management, making the country the fourth-richest in the world, according to the 2026 Annual Report released by Global SWF on Thursday.

The state-owned companies in the US lead globally with $13.2 trillion assets under management, followed by China ($8.22 trillion), Japan ($3.84 trillion), the UAE ($2.93 trillion), and Norway ($2.27 trillion). The SOIs include sovereign wealth funds, public pension funds, and central banks.

The UAE's largest state-owned institutions with largest assets under management are Abu Dhabi Investment Authority with $1.18 trillion, Investment Corporation of Dubai ($429 billion), Mubadala ($358 billion), ADQ ($251 billion), Emirates Investment Authority ($116 billion), Dubai Investment Fund ($80 billion) and Dubai Holding ($72 billion).

In October 2024, Abu Dhabi was named the richest city in the world by the Global SWF's First City Ranking, overtaking Oslo.

Abu Dhabi had $1.7 trillion in assets managed by its various SWFs headquartered in the city; therefore, the city was named 'Capital of the Capital'.

Importantly, the UAE was also the fifth-largest recipient of sovereign funds in 2025, receiving $9.9 billion, up from $7.9 billion in 2024. The US was the top recipient ($131.8 billion), followed by the UK ($25.8 billion), Germany ($18.8 billion), and Canada ($17.7 billion).

Globally, the SOIs continued to gain scale in 2025 as they benefited from the rally in financial markets and pursued mega-deals across any possible form and sector, seeking partnerships and new strategies to invest and operate.

"Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) reached a historic high in December 2025, passing $15 trillion for the first time ever. Together with public pension funds (PPFs) and central banks (CBs), which also significantly expanded their balance sheets during the year, they now manage $60 trillion in assets and reserves. Our projections suggest that this figure could be close to $80 trillion by the end of the decade in 2030," it said in the annual report.

Out of $60 trillion in assets owned by SOIs, over a third sits in Asia, 26 per cent in North America, 19 per cent in Europe, and 15 per cent in the Mena region. "We are expecting the SWF segment to grow faster than PPFs and CBs in the next few years, and therefore, it is possible that Asia and Mena will increase their relative weight, while North America and Europe may stall. Oceania, Latam, and Africa will likely stay small," it added.

Khaleej Times