Diversification is the cornerstone of Dubai Investments’ success

When Dubai Investments (DI) was set up in 1995 as a one-of-a-kind investment company, its mandate was clear – create business and investment opportunities for UAE nationals. Pursuing this goal over the past 30 years, it has grown into a Dh22.1-billion conglomerate with more than 30 subsidiaries and associate companies, having a finger in every pie and fuelling the country’s economy.

From real estate and manufacturing to financial services, healthcare and education, DI scoured through diverse sectors for business opportunities and exploited their potential to consistently deliver strong financial performances and sustainable growth.

For the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024, the company recorded a net profit before tax of Dh1.3 billion, a 21 per cent increase over the previous year. During its 30-year journey, it has registered a total profit of Dh19.2 billion and distributed cash dividends and bonus shares to the tune of Dh8.4 billion to its 15,956 shareholders.

Khalid Bin Kalban, Vice Chairman and CEO of DI, attributes this success primarily to its well-defined diversification strategy. “Diversification has been the cornerstone of DI’s success, transforming it from a single-sector entity into a powerhouse with interests spanning real estate, manufacturing, healthcare, and financial services,” he explains. “From the outset, the group’s vision was to build a sustainable business model that could withstand market fluctuations while continuously unlocking long-term value for stakeholders.”

With no constraints on entering any sector or industry in a rapidly growing economy, DI was free to explore lucrative business propositions that made financial sense. The manufacturing sector caught its attention first. It acquired Marmum Dairy Farm in 1996, established Emirates Building Systems in 1997 and set up Emirates Glass and Global Pharma in 1998.

However, DI was keenly aware of the need for diversification to reduce risk as well as increase revenue streams. It remained alive to all the possibilities and soon enough, real estate and financial investments beckoned. “Instead of concentrating on a single industry, we took a strategic approach—spreading our investments across complementary sectors to build a resilient and self-sustaining ecosystem,” says Kalban.

Today, real estate makes up the biggest segment in DI’s diversified portfolio, with assets worth Dh15.7 billion accounting for about 71 per cent of DI’s total assets, and contributing Dh1.19 billion to the 2024 profit. With its flagship project, Dubai Investments Park, remaining a hot favourite among renters and sales by its property arm, Dubai Investment Real Estate, shooting up on the back of strong demand and the success of the Danah Bay project in Ras Al Khaimah’s Al Marjan Island, the sector has continued its good performance. Recent acquisitions by Al Mal Capital REIT has also bolstered the segment’s performance.

Worth Dh4.5 billion, the investments segment is the second-biggest in DI’s portfolio. DI invests in financial assets as well as acquires stakes in companies across diverse sectors such as healthcare, education and financial services.

By spreading risk across diverse sectors, DI has been able to consistently post profit and pay dividends to its shareholders, Kalban reiterates. “Diversification has allowed Dubai Investments to leverage synergies within its portfolio, ensuring stable revenue streams even in times of economic uncertainty.”

If diversification has been the foundation of DI’s success, divestment has helped shape its edifice. More than an exit strategy, in DI’s hands, divestment has turned into a strategic lever for sustainable growth, says Kalban. “The company’s investment philosophy is centred on identifying high-potential sectors, building market-leading businesses, unlocking value at the right time, and redeploying capital into emerging opportunities.

“Over the years, DI has successfully nurtured and scaled businesses across industrial manufacturing, real estate, healthcare, financial services, and education.

“Once these businesses reached a level of maturity and market leadership, selective divestments were undertaken to crystallise gains and reallocate capital into higher-yielding ventures.”

The strategic divestment of stakes in key businesses, such as Marmum Dairy Farm in 2016 or Emicool in 2022, has allowed the company to monetise assets at an optimal valuation while maintaining exposure to high-growth segments through retained interests and partnerships.

From its small beginnings in the desert of Dubai, DI has today emerged as a truly pan-UAE company, with international presence in Angola, Africa to boot. It has a sizeable manufacturing presence in Abu Dhabi, led by Emirates Float Glass, one of the region’s leading glass production facilities, along with investments in other sectors such as sports management. In Sharjah, it has real estate investments and manufacturing facilities. Its ambitious waterfront development, Danah Bay is located on Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah. In Fujairah, the company has tied up with Fujairah Investment Establishment to develop Al Taif Business Centre, a mixed-use project driving residential, commercial and retail growth while in Ajman, it has entered into strategic partnerships to build assets in the education sector.

Through ingenuity and innovation, DI has built a unique and successful operating model that other businesses and countries love to emulate, whether it is its diversification and divestment strategy or the framework of a city within a city such as Dubai Investments Park.