UAE’s Mubadala To Focus More On U.S., European Markets: COO

Abu Dhabi investment fund Mubadala Development Co plans to focus more on U.S. and European markets this year as those economies slowly recover, its chief operating officer said on Tuesday.

Mubadala, which has stakes in General Electric and private equity firm Carlyle, shifted some of its focus to emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia, China and Indonesia after the global financial crisis hit the United States and Europe.

“We are seeing 2014 as a time of significant growth for Mubadala’s international portfolio as we move ahead our footprint in markets where we see long-term potential,” Waleed al Muhairi told Reuters.

“We’re of course looking at emerging markets, but also to markets like the U.S. and Europe in particular, as recession is being replaced by signs of recovery,” he said without elaborating.

Mubadala’s assets totalled 204 billion dirhams ($55.5 billion) in June 2013; it has yet to announce its end-2013 results.

The fund’s investments have included mines, ports and oilfields around the world, but it also has a mandate to boost Abu Dhabi’s local economy. It plans to focus on domestic areas such as real estate, healthcare, infrastructure and finance over the next five years, al Muhairy told a conference on Tuesday.

“You are likely to see increased activity in those areas,” he said.

Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE, sits on 10 percent of global oil reserves and accounts for 90 percent of the UAE’s oil output, making it one of the world’s wealthiest economies.