Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ’s $35bn investment into Egypt is the biggest FDI into the Middle East and Africa (MEA) to date and helps shore up the country’s dwindling foreign exchange reserves. AdvertisementData from greenfield investment monitor fDi Markets shows the $35bn pledge is the world’s fifth biggest announced FDI pledge on record, and the biggest to date in MEA. It beats the region’s previous record set by Infinity Power, which is backed by another Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, Mubadala, last March when it committed to co-develop a $34bn green hydrogen project in Mauritania. This is the latest example of a growing trend of sovereign wealth funds taking greenfield risk and investing directly into real assets. “The immediate FDI will help the country overcome its current hard currency crunch,” Egypt’s prime minister Mostafa Madbouli Madbouly said at the signing ceremony on February 23.
