Abu Dhabi fund ADQ is pivotal to emirate’s domestic and foreign agenda

Abu Dhabi fund ADQ is pivotal to emirate’s domestic and foreign agenda

ADQ, Abu Dhabi’s newest sovereign fund, has a remit to reshape the emirate’s economy and is key to the oil exporter’s diplomatic ambitions, according to industry experts.

While the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) focuses almost exclusively on long-term financial returns, ADQ and Mubadala, another Abu Dhabi sovereign fund, have broader objectives, according to Steffen Hertog, Associate Professor at The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Abu Dhabi’s government founded ADQ in 2018 with the aim of helping to diversify the emirate’s economy. Its chairman is Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s national security advisor and the brother and close ally of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the UAE and the ruler of Abu Dhabi.

“ADQ started as a holding company for various existing state-owned assets but has since started acquiring local and international assets,” said Hertog. “It seems to be taking on a role similar to that performed by Mubadala, taking larger direct shares in companies in sectors of strategic, developmental importance for Abu Dhabi, so it is much more than a financial investor.”

In May, ADQ signed a partnership agreement with Greece’s national development bank and sovereign fund to co-invest €4 billion in Greek companies.

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