Gulf consolidates stature as sovereign wealth hub, lags on per capita holdings
A frenzy of recent initial public offerings has again highlighted Gulf states' statuses as global wealth hubs.
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DUBAI — The Gulf region is home to the world’s largest pool of sovereign wealth funds capital. Assets held by the Gulf Cooperation Council’s 19 sovereign wealth funds reached a historical peak of $4.1 trillion in 2023 and could rise to $7.6 trillion by 2030, according to some predictions.
Most of this sovereign wealth is concentrated in sovereign wealth funds attached to states known as the “Oil Five” — the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) ADIA, Mubadala, ADQ, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Qatar’s QIA — in reference to their having used fossil fuel income to power their economic growth, strengthening the region’s stature as a wealth hub. Last year, the PIF ranked as the highest-spending sovereign wealth fund in the world, deploying $31.6 billion across 49 deals. The Saudi Arabian fund made up 25% of global state-owned investments in 2023.
The Gulf's status as a wealth hub was on display again this past week when Spinneys, the high-end supermarket chain that operates premium grocery retail stores in the UAE and Oman began trading on Dubai’s stock market. Its initial public offering (IPO) attracted $19 billion in orders for the sale of $375 million worth of shares as investors hunt for rare listings of the Gulf’s private sector companies.
