Gulf sovereign wealth funds collectively stepped up dealmaking over the last three months, defying expectations that the Iran war would subdue their investment appetite.
The five biggest spenders–split across Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar–collectively spent almost $26bn during March, April and May, with most of the capital flowing into developed market assets.
They comprised Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), the UAE’s Mubadala, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and L’imad, as well as the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).
“These vehicles…have shown no sign of slowdown (yet), with a stronger average pace in the past quarter, than in the five years before the start of the war,” industry specialist Global SWF said in its latest report published on 1 June.
Read more: Property prices are down in Dubai. Is it a war-induced blip, or something more serious?
