Mubadala CEO Al Mubarak on Monetization, AI, Private Credit

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00:00I'm joined now by Hizakiti Khaldun Mubarak. It's really good to chat to you.

00:04There's so much to talk about going into what is going to be quite a pivotal week, I think,

00:08for the global economy. But first, let me just start off with a question about Mubadala,

00:13because this is the second year in a row, I believe, that you were the most active

00:17sovereign wealth fund in the world. Why have you been so active?

00:22Well, first of all, thank you for having me. It's a pleasure to be here today with Bloomberg,

00:27especially on a Monday, before this very interesting week we have ahead of us.

00:332025 was another very active year for Mubadala. Listen, the markets have been very interesting

00:38in the sectors we like, in the geographies we like. We've been working hard since inception

00:44to get Mubadala to where it is today. And I think over the last two years, we've really cranked it up

00:49as an organization, as an institution. And 2025, I think we deployed anywhere between 35 to

00:5740 billion dollars in terms of investments around the world. We've had a lot of monetizations

01:02also. We've effectively monetized probably the same amount, around 35 to 40 billion also.

01:06What about the sectors you like going into 2026? Is it the same pretty much playbook that you

01:12looked at in 2025? Or are things going to be a little different?

01:15Yeah, I think our trajectory in terms of sectors over the last couple of years has been pretty

01:18consistent. I think we've taken a very strong view on artificial intelligence, on AI, the entire

01:23spectrum of technology. I think that's an area Mubadala has been really spending a lot of time

01:27on. So that continues to be the case. I think on the infrastructure side of it, digital infrastructure,

01:33that remains, again, a very core area for us. Healthcare, consumer, financial services,

01:39credit. These are, again, areas which have performed extremely well over these last couple of years.

01:44And I think going forward, we continue to be pretty convinced of this.

01:49There's a lot of talk, as you see, you're watching Bloomberg, I'm sure, you know, you see a lot of

01:53people talking about too much hype or over exuberance in the ecosystem of artificial intelligence.

01:59Has it made you have to be a lot more discerning about where you're looking for value and for growth

02:05and for scale in this space?

02:08No, I think the space, we have a lot of conviction on that space. I think leaving the noise and the hype

02:14aside, I think we have a very clear view of what we think are the investable spaces within the

02:20technology space, where we think, particularly when it comes to AI enablement, there's a lot of

02:26aspects that I think we believe in, we've invested well in, I think we will continue to invest in,

02:34and I think the growth continues to be high in that area.

02:38Yeah, last year when I spoke to your deputy, Walid, he was mentioning to me that private

02:43credit was a really big performing part of your portfolio. Do you expect that to continue in

02:48coming years, given how much spread compression we've seen in that place, and also new players

02:51coming to the market?

02:52Yeah, I mean, listen, we've built the capability in private credit over these last couple of years.

02:57It's now a significant contributor to our balance sheet. Last year was the best, 2024,

03:03when he would have spoken to you. It was the best performing asset class for us. Last year,

03:09it was strong, I think, mid-double digits, so quite strong. As you said, I think there's more

03:15headwinds in that space, but I think if you are with the right partner, and given the platforms

03:21we've built over these last couple of years, we remain quite, I would say, bullish and firm on that

03:26space.

03:26Yeah, let's talk about your geographic focus. The UAE last year pledged to invest $1.4 trillion

03:33into the U.S. How much of Mubadala's investment objectives are centered around opportunities

03:41specifically in North America and the United States?

03:45Well, let's start with the first word you use, the UAE. The UAE is a very important aspect of our

03:52portfolio. Of course, we are based in the UAE. We are owned by the government of Abu Dhabi.

03:57We have a significant aspect of our portfolio in the UAE, and last year was an exceptional year

04:02for us. We had north of 20% returns in our UAE portfolio across real estate, infrastructure,

04:09industrials, technology. So it's been a very healthcare, very strong year for us in the UAE,

04:16and I think the UAE is well positioned for growth, I think, going forward. And we're well positioned

04:22to take advantage of that as significant investors in the UAE market. The U.S., of course, is the

04:28largest market. It's where we've been significantly vested since inception. It remains our largest

04:34market in terms of, particularly in the sectors we're focusing on, technology. 25 was a good year.

04:4126, I think we will continue to invest. You talked about the commitment made last year. I think for

04:47us, it's business as usual in the U.S. We know the U.S. market. We know how to invest. We know where to

04:51invest, and we have the right partners to invest with there. What about Asia? What opportunities

04:54are you seeing there? I really like Asia. I really like Asia. Over these last 10 years, we've been

05:00starting from a weak point as a portfolio. We were undervested in Asia. I've focused a lot, I think,

05:06as an organization towards building our knowledge in Asia, understanding the markets, and then

05:11focusing on the sectors we like most. We've done that. Today, we have a very strong operation in

05:17China. We know the markets in Southeast Asia well. 2025 was strong in Korea, Japan, China, all these

05:26markets we've done very well in. So I think it worked very well for us.

05:31Yeah, that lays up nicely my next question, which is one about the main story this week, which is going

05:36to be geoeconomic fragmentation and the weaponization of economy. Do you worry about the consequences of

05:43that and the fact that you will and you are training with different potentially competing blocks around

05:50the world and the potential retribution that that could bring up from the U.S. administration?

05:55I think one has to always be careful. I think as geopolitics plays the role it plays and increasingly

06:02more and more, it impacts all businesses and it impacts all, I would say, investment institutions.

06:07One has to be very conscientious of that. I think we've done very well. I think as the UAE, in that sense,

06:13we've done very well as an investment institution, as Mubadala in that sense also. We try to be agnostic.

06:18We try to pick the sectors right. We try to position ourselves with the right partners, both west, east,

06:25north, south. And I think we've done that. And our return, I think, shows that. Today, Mubadala,

06:31when I look at our returns over 10 years, over five years, double digits, double digits. We continue to

06:36be north of 10 percent on average over the last 10 years, which shows, again, among sovereign funds,

06:44we're probably top of the list.

06:45Yeah. So a multi-way, multipolar world is not going to affect your investment decisions?

06:50No, because I think it actually fits very well, the way we operate and the way we invest.

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