Mubadala losses widened to US$1.14bn

Abu Dhabi state investment firm Mubadala reported an overall loss of AED4.2bn (US$1.14bn) for 2011 as the value of its investments declined. The group made an overall loss of AED4.2bn for the full year ending 31 December compared to a loss of AED338m in 2011, the firm said in a statement. In a statement, Mubadala said that the losses had been “primarily driven by negative fluctuations in the fair market value of Mubadala’s financial investments, as well as a reduction in the market value of certain real estate holdings, both impacted by market volatility”. “While our financial investments’ performance were impacted by the volatility in the global marketplace during 2011, we continue to maintain a long-term financial investment perspective,” Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, CEO of Mubadala, said in a statement. “As we look ahead to new markets and growing our global businesses, Mubadala is well positioned to deliver long term value and sustainable returns to its shareholder, stakeholders and partners,” he added. The privately-held firm, which is one of only a few state-backed firms to publish financial results, said revenues for the full year increased 77 percent to AED27.9bn while total assets increased 73 percent to AED177bn. Mubadala, which has stakes in companies across a wide range of sectors including General Electric and the Carlyle Group, is one of three wealth funds owned by Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi, home to around seven percent of the world’s proven oil reserves, is trying to diversify its assets away from oil by investing globally. Mubadala last month said it will invest US$2bn in Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista’s EBX Group in exchange for a 5.63 percent stake in the firm and an indirect interest in his publicly listed companies. “[The deal] marks our first significant direct investment into one of the fastest growing markets and is an important step in Mubadala’s development of strategic opportunities in Brazil and Latin America,” Al Mubarak, said.