Abu Dhabi Wealth Fund to Focus on Tech, Climate Change

An Emirati man wears a protective mask as he walks past buildings in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates September 1, 2020. REUTERS/Nir Elias/Pool/File Photo
An Emirati man wears a protective mask as he walks past buildings in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates September 1, 2020. REUTERS/Nir Elias/Pool/File Photo
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Abu Dhabi Wealth Fund to Focus on Tech, Climate Change

An Emirati man wears a protective mask as he walks past buildings in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates September 1, 2020. REUTERS/Nir Elias/Pool/File Photo
An Emirati man wears a protective mask as he walks past buildings in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates September 1, 2020. REUTERS/Nir Elias/Pool/File Photo

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) sees technology and climate change as key investment areas for its post-COVID-19 strategy, it said in its 2020 annual review.

As of the end of last year ADIA achieved 20-year and 30-year annualized rates of return of 6% and 7.2% respectively, compared with 4.8% and 6.6% in 2019, it said in its report, published on Wednesday.

"As with any great shock to the status quo, the pandemic has also acted as a catalyst to accelerate a number of important themes in global financial markets," Managing Director Hamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan said in the report.

Major areas of focus for the fund include technology, healthcare, renewable energy, and real estate sub-sectors such as logistics and data centers, Reuters reported.

ADIA increased its exposure to renewable energy and through its infrastructure investments it now has an indirect interest in assets with a renewable capacity of more than 20 gigawatts.

On the equities side, its Indexed Fund Department introduced a climate change portfolio last year.

In 2020 ADIA combined previously separate external and internal equities departments, one tasked with overseeing the activities of external managers and the other with managing multiple internal portfolios.

It also created a team - for which it plans to hire more people - tasked with implementing investment strategies using a quantitative, scientific approach, it said.



IMF Approves Third Review of Sri Lanka's $2.9 Bln Bailout

Peter Breuer, Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF along with Katsiaryna Svirydzenka, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF and Martha Tesfaye Woldemichael, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF, attend a press conference organized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Thilina Kaluthotage
Peter Breuer, Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF along with Katsiaryna Svirydzenka, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF and Martha Tesfaye Woldemichael, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF, attend a press conference organized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Thilina Kaluthotage
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IMF Approves Third Review of Sri Lanka's $2.9 Bln Bailout

Peter Breuer, Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF along with Katsiaryna Svirydzenka, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF and Martha Tesfaye Woldemichael, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF, attend a press conference organized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Thilina Kaluthotage
Peter Breuer, Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF along with Katsiaryna Svirydzenka, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF and Martha Tesfaye Woldemichael, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF, attend a press conference organized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Thilina Kaluthotage

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the third review of Sri Lanka's $2.9 billion bailout on Saturday but warned that the economy remains vulnerable.
In a statement, the global lender said it would release about $333 million, bringing total funding to around $1.3 billion, to the crisis-hit South Asian nation. It said signs of an economic recovery were emerging, Reuters reported.
In a note of caution, it said "the critical next steps are to complete the commercial debt restructuring, finalize bilateral agreements with official creditors along the lines of the accord with the Official Creditor Committee and implement the terms of the other agreements. This will help restore Sri Lanka's debt sustainability."
Cash-strapped Sri Lanka plunged into its worst financial crisis in more than seven decades in 2022 with a severe dollar shortage sending inflation soaring to 70%, its currency to record lows and its economy contracting by 7.3% during the worst of the fallout and by 2.3% last year.
"Maintaining macroeconomic stability and restoring debt sustainability are key to securing Sri Lanka's prosperity and require persevering with responsible fiscal policy," the IMF said.
The IMF bailout secured in March last year helped stabilize economic conditions. The rupee has risen 11.3% in recent months and inflation disappeared, with prices falling 0.8% last month.
The island nation's economy is expected to grow 4.4% this year, the first increase in three years, according to the World Bank.
However, Sri Lanka still needs to complete a $12.5 billion debt restructuring with bondholders, which President Anura Kumara Dissanayake aims to finalize in December.
Sri Lanka will enter into individual agreements with bilateral creditors including Japan, China and India needed to complete a $10 billion debt restructuring, Dissanayake said.
He won the presidency in September, and his leftist coalition won a record 159 seats in the 225-member parliament in a general election last week.