Abu Dhabi fund is interested in Uruguay and region

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On one side the Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou, the Minister of Industry Omar Paganini and the Minister of Economy Azucena Arbeleche. In front of them was a group of senior executives from Mubadala, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, including Waleed Al Mokarrab Al Muhairi, one of the leaders of the investment committee.

The meeting took place on February 22 within the framework of the official mission of the Executive Power to Dubai. It served as a letter of introduction to pave the way for a greater landing of the group in South America.

At the meeting, the Uruguayan government presented several key areas it seeks to develop, promised legal security for business, and pointed to Uruguay as a gateway to the region. Mubadala, one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds with assets of US$232 billion and direct investments in different areas, also expressed its interest in developing projects in various areas in Uruguay as part of a plan to expand its presence in Latin America.

Uruguayan government sources assured Bloomberg Línea that the exchange revolved around several lines of business. One of them was the renewable energy sector, which included the Emiratis’ interest in participating with their capital in waste treatment and water purification projects.

Another area, the sources said, was infrastructure. In this sense, the Mubadala group indicated an interest in developing projects related to the navigability of rivers in the region.

Mubadala is an investment fund with real assets whose characteristic is to operate in different countries through direct participation in the management of companies in different areas.

According to the organization’s website, the portfolio includes operations in more than 50 countries in aerospace, agribusiness, ICT, semiconductors, metals and mining, pharmaceutical and medical technology, renewable energy and utilities, and the management of various financial holdings.

The dynamics of the meeting with the Uruguayan government was one of exchange and a first approach. Without entering into concrete projects or numbers, while the Executive Branch representatives described areas of interest for Uruguay, the executives of the Mubadala fund also pointed out some of their investment purposes. At the end of the meeting, they agreed to create a working group to move forward on more concrete issues.

Another of the sectors they are looking to develop is large-scale real estate projects. But not at the level of a specific building, but they think of it as an opportunity to develop urbanizations at the scale of a neighborhood or a locality, where there are new centralities and services. They also said they are looking to expand their weight in the startup development business.

Lacalle Pou said in a press conference that he returned to Uruguay “in very good spirits”, although he pointed out that the concretion of investments takes time. “These countries that have done very well are looking to diversify their economy and want food security. And within the region, they see Uruguay as a place to stand and base themselves. We have to take advantage of that,” he said.

The Uruguayan government said that the participation of Emirati business people in food companies was another of the points of the tour. However, they pointed out that the meeting with the Mubadala fund was specifically related to infrastructure development projects, energy, and various technological innovation systems.

With information from Bloomberg