Abu Dhabi sovereign investor Mubadala Investment Company and Goldman Sachs have signed a $1 billion partnership to co-invest in private credit opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region.
The partnership will be managed by the private credit team at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, with an on-the-ground team across several Asia-Pacific markets, the companies said in a joint statement on Monday.
They plan to invest $1 billion in long-term capital in “high-quality” companies across the private credit spectrum in the region, with a particular focus on India.
“The diverse and rapidly growing economies, as well as the increasing private equity deal volumes, are significantly driving demand in [the] Asia-Pacific for customised credit solutions from non-traditional lenders,” said Omar Eraiqat, deputy chief executive of diversified investments at Mubadala.
The partnership will boost Mubadala's private credit exposure in the Asia-Pacific region, which “is central to Mubadala’s strategic growth initiatives”, he said.
Demand for private credit – lending to companies by financial institutions other than banks – has grown significantly in recent years.
Unlike most bank loans, private credit solutions can be modified to meet borrowers’ needs in terms of size, type or timing of transactions.
The size of the private credit market is estimated to grow to $2.3 trillion by 2027, from about $1.4 trillion at the start of 2023, according to a report by Morgan Stanley.
Goldman Sach's global private credit team currently oversees more than $110 billion in assets under management, with a presence across the Asia-Pacific region.
Last year, the company opened an office in Abu Dhabi Global Market to boost its regional presence and forge closer ties with key domestic players.
Goldman Sach's partnership with Mubadala is expected to enable both businesses to continue scaling their investment activity in the growing Asia-Pacific credit market, they said.
The opportunity in private credit in the Asia-Pacific region is “expansive”, said Greg Olafson, global head of private credit at Goldman Sachs Alternatives.
“With strong economic growth in the region and favourable conditions for private lenders to support the growth of leading companies by providing flexible, long-term capital, we believe we are at the early stages of a defining era for private credit in [the] Asia-Pacific.”
Global investors are increasingly allocating resources to the private credit market, with a host of banks and asset managers pouring capital into the fast-growing industry.
Mubadala’s credit investments unit focuses on direct lending to middle market and large cap companies across several industries and asset classes.
In September, Mubadala teamed up with New York-based alternative asset manager Blue Owl Capital to co-invest in private credit opportunities.
The partnership was established with a $1 billion commitment to Blue Owl’s credit platform and will initially focus on its technology lending strategy, which provides financing solutions for several technology and software companies, Mubadala said at the time.
In January last year, Mubadala also signed a joint venture with Alpha Dhabi Holding, a unit of Abu Dhabi's International Holding Company, to co-invest in private credit opportunities.
Fabrizio Bocciardi, head of credit investments at Mubadala, said that India, in particular, stood out as a key market with “significant opportunities in private credit”.
We believe we are at the early stages of a defining era for private credit in Asia Pacific
Greg Olafson,
global head of private credit at Goldman Sachs Alternatives
India remains a key focus for Mubadala, which manages more than $284 billion in assets globally and plays a key role in the UAE's economic diversification strategy.
Last year, Mubadala revealed new investment deals in India as part of its expansion in the world’s most populous country.
In April, Mubadala and the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, a Canadian pension fund, became anchor investors in Cube Highways Trust, an infrastructure investment trust in India.
This month, the company also said it was investing in India’s Manipal Health Enterprises as part of its continued expansion in Asia’s third-largest economy.
FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
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Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
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Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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