Aldar and Mubadala Capital launch Aldar Capital to connect global investors with GCC assets

Aldar and Mubadala Capital unveil new platform for institutional real asset access

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Abu-Dhabi-Skyline
Abu-Dhabi-Skyline
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Dubai: Aldar and Mubadala Capital have formed a new joint venture, Aldar Capital, to connect global institutional investors with high‑quality real estate and infrastructure opportunities across the GCC. Headquartered in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the platform will serve as a gateway for international capital seeking institutional‑grade exposure to the region’s growing real asset sector.

The partnership combines Aldar’s leadership in real estate investment and development with Mubadala Capital’s institutional fund management and global investor network. Together, the firms aim to build a scalable investment platform underpinned by strong governance, transparency, and alignment with international standards.

First fund to raise $1 billion

Aldar Capital’s first fund, set to launch in 2026, will target $1 billion and offer professionally managed real asset funds for global institutional investors, including sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, insurance companies, and family offices. The platform’s product lineup will cover the full risk‑return spectrum, giving investors flexibility in building exposure across the UAE and wider GCC.

"Leveraging Aldar’s real estate expertise and Mubadala Capital’s global network, Aldar Capital will enable international investors to access the region’s next wave of growth and reinforces Abu Dhabi’s role as a leading hub for institutional investment," said Talal Al Dhiyebi, Group CEO of Aldar.

“Institutional investors are increasingly prioritizing real assets for their diversification benefits and long-term income potential, yet access to institutional-grade opportunities in the UAE and GCC has been limited. Aldar Capital will address this gap by offering a transparent, professionally managed platform built to global standards and underpinned by deep, historical regional expertise and track record," said Hani Barhoush, CEO of Mubadala Capital. "Bringing together Mubadala Capital’s global investment reach and investor network with Aldar’s on-the-ground real estate leadership, the platform will reflect Abu Dhabi’s evolution as a nexus for global capital and the growing confidence of investors in the region’s governance, growth, and long-term potential.”

The joint venture reinforces Abu Dhabi’s position as a global centre for long-term institutional investment. By structuring Aldar Capital within ADGM’s regulatory ecosystem, the firms aim to instill investor confidence through internationally recognised compliance and operational oversight.

Aldar currently manages Dh47 billion ($12.8 billion) in real estate assets across commercial, residential, retail, logistics, and hospitality sectors. The launch of Aldar Capital aligns with Aldar’s 2030 strategy to reach Dh20 billion in annual net profit, enabling it to manage third‑party capital and expand institutional engagement.

What it means for investors

For global investors, Aldar Capital offers an institutional gateway to one of the world’s fastest‑growing real asset markets. Its structure provides an efficient route for long-term capital deployment into high-quality, income-generating assets while supporting Abu Dhabi’s efforts to diversify its economy and attract sustainable investment.

Mubadala Capital, managing and advising over $430 billion in assets, extends its reach through this platform, giving global investors access to the GCC’s maturing infrastructure and real estate sectors within a transparent, regulated environment.

Nivetha Dayanand is Assistant Business Editor at Gulf News, covering aviation, financial markets and commodities. A business and financial journalist with a strong interest in multimedia storytelling, she regularly takes complex financial and economic subjects beyond the written word, producing explainer videos that make them easier for a wider audience to understand. Nivetha has interviewed senior policymakers, business leaders and global financial figures both on and off camera. Her past guests include UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Khaled bin Alwaleed Al Saud, a member of the House of Saud and the founder and CEO of KBW Ventures, Jihad Azour, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund and Indian ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and N. Chandrababu Naidu. She has also hosted and moderated panels, conferences and awards shows, bringing her newsroom experience to live conversations on business, finance and the economy. An Erasmus Mundus journalism alum, Nivetha is drawn to stories that affect people directly and to reporting that gives a platform to voices that might otherwise go unheard. She was among the first journalists to speak to Petrofac employees in the UAE about unpaid salaries, broke the news of the planned demolition of Dubai’s well-known “Toyota Building”, and helped set the record straight on widely circulated claims that a giant replica of the Moon was coming to Dubai. More recently, her exclusive interview with EDGE Group CEO Hamad Al Marar revealed how the UAE-based defence group deployed its systems along the country’s shore border and established a geofence around the UAE within 48 hours of the February 28 escalation. Prior to joining Gulf News, Nivetha worked at ITP Media, where she helped launch Finance Middle East, a new publication covering the region’s financial sector. Her role spanned reporting and editing, video production, interviews and events. Across print, digital, and video, she focuses on finding the people behind business stories and explaining why those stories matter to the audience reading or watching them.

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