Adnoc attracts Dh62bn in foreign direct investment to the UAE in 2020

Over last four years, Adnoc has helped drive FDI worth Dh237bn to the UAE

General view of the ADNOC headquarters is seen in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, December 23, 2018. Photo taken December 23, 2018. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company helped attract Dh62 billion ($16.8bn) in foreign direct investment to the UAE this year, mainly through various multi-billion dollar transactions signed in the midstream and infrastructure segments.

Over the last four years, the state-owned firm has helped to drive Dh237bn in FDI flows to the UAE.

On Sunday, the company said it plans to spend Dh448bn to develop its upstream, midstream, downstream and its trading and marketing businesses over the five years between 2021 and 2025. Of the proposed spending, Dh160bn will be directly channelled into the UAE economy.

In July, a consortium of the world’s leading infrastructure and sovereign wealth funds signed an agreement worth $20.7bn to invest in Abu Dhabi’s natural gas pipelines infrastructure. The transaction, the largest single global energy infrastructure deal this year and the Middle East's biggest, will unlock $10.1bn of foreign investment into the UAE.

Global Infrastructure Partners, Brookfield Asset Management, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, South Korea's NH Investment & Securities and Italy’s Snam took stakes in Adnoc’s lucrative midstream assets.

In September, a $5.5bn deal with Apollo Global Management to lease some of its properties led to a further FDI inflow of $2.7bn.

Last month, Abu Dhabi Pension Fund and ADQ said they would invest $2.1bn in Adnoc’s gas pipeline infrastructure, as the energy company looks to open up opportunities for local investors too.

In an interview with The National in September, Adnoc Group chief financial officer Ahmed Al Zaabi said the company was also committed to providing opportunities for local investors as its efforts to attract foreign capital pick up pace.