Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia): Special focus

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Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia): Special focus

Euromoney is the leading source for information about sovereign wealth funds. In April 2006 we were the first magazine to gain access to ADIA, and the facts and figures revealed in that story are used by many other information providers to this day.

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia), the largest sovereign wealth funds (SWF) in the Middle East, and one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world, is also one of the most secretive. Established in 1967, Adia has an estimated $627 billion assets under management, but has never published an official figure. It manages the Emirate of Abu Dhabi's excess oil reserves and its portfolio is said to grow at an annual rate of 10% compounded. 

Get up to speed on Adia and the wealth funds today on euromoney.com.

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EEMEA round up: Adia hires JPMorgan banker

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Opportunities in the Gulf: Distribution holds the key

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Abu Dhabi plans for a pleasant future

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Sovereign wealth funds: Panic
Published February 2008 International Financial Law Review

Sovereign wealth funds: Help when help is needed

Euromoney January 2008

"Adia, the world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund, invests in equities, fixed income, real estate, hedge funds, private equity and commodity trading advisers. These asset classes are then broken down further to allow for greater specialization. Overall, Adia’s asset allocation is roughly 50% to 60% in equities, 20% to 25% in fixed income, 5% to 8% in real estate, 5% to 10% in private equity and 5% to 10% in hedge funds and CTAs." Sovereign wealth funds: The new rulers of finance, December 2007

 

Abu Dhabi plans for a pleasant future 
Euromoney April 2008
"But Abu Dhabi reportedly gains more income now from its financial investments than from its oil revenues. For financiers, it is home to the fabled Abu Dhabi Investment Authority: the world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund, and one of the most secretive."


Sovereign wealth funds: Panic 
Published February 2008 International Financial Law Review
"...the IMF has already asked Singapore, Norway and Abu Dhabi to help it draw up disclosure benchmarks for sovereign wealth funds...three funds are amongst the oldest and highest profile SWFs, though they differ in their levels of transparency. Norway's government fund is highly reputable and respected. The Government of Singapore's Investment Corporation and Abu Dhabi's Investment Authority meanwhile, are considered by some to be more secretive."


Sovereign wealth funds: Help when help is needed 
Euromoney January 2008
"Last month, Euromoney wrote in its cover story that, "with stock markets in Europe and the US tumbling, credit markets in dislocation and M&A activity drying up, the influence of sovereign wealth funds will become even more apparent". Just how apparent was illustrated within days when sovereign funds in Asia and the Middle East helped to bail out Citi, Morgan Stanley and UBS through cash injections totalling a combined $22.5 billion.  The terms of the Citi deal show where the power lies. It is heavily biased towards Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia),
the sovereign fund that is injecting $7.5 billion."

Singapore: UBS bailout will make GIC biggest shareholder 
Euromoney January 2008
"If this sounds familiar, it should: it mirrors the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority’s $7.5 billion, nearly 5% stake in Citi, secured a matter of weeks earlier."

US acquisition finance: Deals change; covenants return
Published January 2008 International Financial Law Review
"Distressed M&A may be a popular way back in for the investment houses, a good example being the $7.5 billion Abu Dhabi Investment Authority gave Citigroup this November."


 


Sovereign wealth funds: The new rulers of finance 

 Sovereign wealth funds: The new rulers of finance

Euromoney December 2007
State-owned, cash-rich and increasingly influential, sovereign wealth funds have emerged as the most controversial players in the financial markets. All the constituents – banks, private equity, corporates, hedge funds – want a slice of their action. Just how powerful will the funds become?

Getting the basics right
It is one thing to want a sovereign wealth fund but to actually set one up is a long and challenging process.

Financial institutions weigh up the opportunities
The proliferation of sovereign wealth funds is an opportunity and challenge for investment banks and asset managers. The opportunity is clear: potential business.



The rise of sovereign wealth funds
Estimated size of the 10 biggest sovereign wealth funds
Country Fund Launch year Size ($bln) Growth rate (%) estimated p.a.
UAE Abu Dhabi Investment Authority 1976 625 10
Norway Government Pension Fund – Global 1990 360 28
Singapore GIC 1981 215 9.5
Kuwait Kuwait Investment Authority 1953 213 30
China China Investment Corporation 2007 200 N/A
Russia Stabilization Fund 2004 127.5 96
Singapore Temasek 1974 108 35
Qatar Qatar Investment Authority 2005 60 N/A
US Permanent Reserve Fund (Alaska) 1976 40.2 18
Sources: Standard Chartered, Oxford Analytica, Norges Bank

Sovereign wealth funds: The new rulers of finance
December 2007

Bond Outlook November 28th  
"This week the “good news” was the USD 7.5 billion purchase of hybrid bonds in Citigroup by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority suggesting that confidence in financial institutions may be returning"
 


China-Middle East investment links: Opening up the oil road
Euromoney November 2007
"...The biggest of these wealth funds, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia), is also focused on China and within its equities investments has a specific pool of money dedicated to the People’s Republic."
 
Hedge funds: Evolvence to open Gulf’s first hedge fund
Euromoney November 2007
"Khaled Al-Muhairy, who previously headed the North American department of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia), is the founder of Evolvence."
  
Middle East equity research poll 2007: Regional research starts to blossom
Euromoney August 2007
"According to Raed Zawaideh, a trader at state-owned government fund the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia), less than 5% of research in the region is negative. When markets in the Middle East start to plunge, as many of them did in 2005/06, much of the research simply dries up"
  
Sovereign wealth funds: The $2 trillion investor
Euromoney July 2007
The Abu Dhabi authorities spin off a new investment arm, the Abu Dhabi Investment Council, from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia). 
 
Arab 100: Oil keeps recovery in Arab banking on track
Euromoney February 2007
"The government owns 65% of ADCB through the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia)."
  
The New Economics Arms Race  
Euromoney September 2006
The US is buried under a mountain of debt, much of it owned by past or current enemies. The ageing, ill man of Europe gets older and sicker. New economies of the Middle East, Latin America, emerging Europe and Asia are using windfalls to build for the future, and exert their influence across the globe. This is the new financial order. Markets will never be the same again. 
 
Borrower awards - Best Middle Eastern borrower: Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank
 Euromoney June 2006
"...Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia), the government organization that manages the emirate’s excess oil reserves, holds a 65% stake in ADCB..."


Money and mystery: Adia unveils its secrets 

 

Euromoney April 2006
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is one of the world’s biggest institutional investors. It is also one of the most guarded. It publishes no numbers. It seldom makes any public statements. In a rare interview, two of its most senior officials lift the lid on the organization, revealing the reasons for its success. Sudip Roy reports from Abu Dhabi.


A breeding ground for talent | Abu Dhabi makes big waves  
Conservative ethos | External managers | Beta dominance | Market views | Avoidance techniques

Abu Dhabi taps its own funds
Euromoney April 2006
Although the oil-rich emirate does not need other people’s money to finance big-ticket projects, it has shown an increasing appetite for project finance.

 
  

Airline bond is a domestic market breakthrough   
Euromoney September 2001
"The UAE has 58,000 dollar millionaires and there is at least $10 billion of new investable money created each year, leaving aside the amount generated by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority," says a banker. "If only a small percentage of this is diverted into local capital markets, the effect will be dramatic."

Arab 100 1998: Waiting for the after-shock 
Euromoney September 1998
"Arab Banking Corporation (2) and Gulf International Bank (16) both operate as offshore banking units (OBUs). The former, whose ranking remained unchanged, is owned by the Kuwait ministry of finance, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and the central bank of Libya, each of which have a one-third stake, and has a truly global outreach. "

Arab 100 1997: Good times hit the Gulf 
Euromoney September 1997 
"... Arab Banking Corporation (2), whose business has a truly global spread, is owned by the Kuwait finance ministry, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and the Central Bank of Libya."

Arab 100: 1996
Euromoney September 1996
"... The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (19) is majority-owned by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and is the UAE's largest bank by total assets."

 

 

  

 

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