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The world’s biggest asset manager BlackRock Inc has obtained a commercial license in Abu Dhabi and has revealed plans to seek regulatory approval to operate in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).
The news comes weeks after the US asset manager, with $11.4 trillion in AUM, announced its plans to set up its regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia.
BlackRock said the Abu Dhabi move will allow it to work with sovereign wealth funds, wealth managers and investment vehicles based in the UAE capital, with a focus on AI infrastructure and transition focused solutions.
Earlier this year BlackRock appointed Mohammad AlFahim as Head of the UAE, while Ben Powell relocated to the region to serve clients as BlackRock Investment Institute’s first Chief Middle East & APAC Investment Strategist.
BlackRock’s growing focus on this region saw CEO Larry Fink as one of the headline speakers at Riyadh’s Future Investment Initiative (FII) forum last month, where he spoke about the largest macro trend in the world today is the amount of capital needed to digitise and decarbonise and rebuild infrastructure, amounting to trillions of dollars.
In May, BlackRock Inc. also revealed plans to set up a new investment platform in Saudi, backed by up to $5 billion from the country’s sovereign wealth fund the Public Investment Fund (PIF).
(Writing by Bindu Rai, editing by Brinda Darasha)
