Abu Dhabi wealth fund bucks the trend to bet on Turkey

Abu Dhabi wealth fund bucks the trend to bet on Turkey

The lira was in freefall and warnings of a deepening crisis in Turkey were growing when ADQ, an Abu Dhabi state investment vehicle, did what few other foreign investors have been willing to do: it pledged to pump billions into local businesses.

Now the fund is on the hunt for investments, from financial institutions to logistics and food, despite the economic turmoil. Mohammed Hassan al-Suwaidi, chief executive of ADQ, told the Financial Times that the lira’s weakness could provide opportunities, saying it was a “great time” to buy if you take “a long-term view”.

He added that the fund was already in “discussions with the Turkish sovereign fund [TWF] on a couple of opportunities,” including companies within TWF’s portfolio.

“They have some stranded assets that they can either bring you into, or you could develop a platform from, so we are looking at a few things with them,” Suwaidi said.

ADQ’s $10bn commitment underscores the rise of a fund that has rapidly become one of Abu Dhabi’s most active strategic investors since it was set up in 2018.

It came during a rare visit to Turkey in November by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Abu Dhabi’s crown prince and de facto leader of the United