2nd October, 2026
The 2026 MENA Playbook released today by Global SWF highlights the state of play of Middle Eastern Sovereign Investors as at the end of the third quarter of 2026.
1st October, 2026
In the past ten years, Abu Dhabi has evolved into a global financial powerhouse, supported by the massive sovereign wealth of the emirate, and evidenced by the number and caliber of companies establishing a presence in the city’s free zone. The September 2026 edition of the Global Financial Centers Index (published by Z/Yen and China’s CDI) ranked Abu Dhabi at 13th place globally, up from 21st place in 2025. Part of the credit must be attributed to Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), which opened in 2015 and started changing the tone and the dynamics of the emirate. Starting from scattered pools of capital and low-profile finances, ADGM pushed for a unified discourse and a pro-active approach to attract inbound foreign capital based on the existing wealth, coining the terms the Falcon Economy, and the Capital of Capital.
30th September, 2026
Temasek is turning years of co-investment with Gulf sovereign funds into a permanent regional presence. The Singapore state investor will open offices in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi in the first half of 2027 and deepen engagement in Qatar, bringing its own investment teams closer to QIA, Mubadala, KIA, MGX and L’IMAD. Its disclosed direct Gulf portfolio remains limited, but the relationships are already well established.
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24th September, 2026
The conflict is raising the value of infrastructural resilience, spare capacity and regional connectivity, bringing economic security further into Gulf sovereign investment decisions.
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14th September, 2026
Private equity entered 2026 with more money moving through fewer deals. KPMG’s latest Pulse of Private Equity puts global investment at US$1 trillion across 9,294 deals in H1 2026, while the rolling 12-month deal count fell to 20,105, its lowest level in more than five years.
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4th September, 2026
Retail property has moved from the margins of sovereign real estate investment to one of its busiest segments in 2026.
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3rd September, 2026
Sovereign investors are adding to Alibaba while the public market sharply reprices earlier state-backed investment in Shein, exposing two very different routes into Chinese and China-linked equities.
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2nd September, 2026
Two supertankers carrying a combined 4 million barrels of Saudi crude were struck by unidentified projectiles while leaving the Strait of Hormuz on September 1, reinforcing the prospect of prolonged disruption six months into the Iran war.
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25th August, 2026
The UK's fifth Sovereign AI investment adds to a growing pool of state-backed vehicles in China, Europe, the Gulf and Asia, as governments seek equity exposure to the companies and infrastructure driving artificial intelligence.
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20th August, 2026
Some of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds and public pension funds are concentrating more capital with hedge fund managers, with the Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC) becoming one of the biggest new sources of allocations in 2026.
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12th August, 2026
Singapore’s GIC is extending its investment in Anthropic into the infrastructure required to run Claude, joining Macquarie Asset Management in a new data centre platform dedicated to the US artificial intelligence company. Global SWF estimates GIC has already invested around US$ 6.3 billion in Anthropic, making it the company’s largest sovereign investor.
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7th August, 2026
Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company is considering investing up to JPY1 trillion (US$6.3 billion) in a proposed 500MW artificial intelligence data centre in Japan’s Akita Prefecture. It may lead a group of Japanese and overseas investors, although no commitment, financing timetable or ownership structure has been announced.
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