BlackRock obtains commercial licence in Abu Dhabi

The world’s biggest asset manager, BlackRock, has obtained a commercial licence in Abu Dhabi, weeks after the company announced its plans to set up its regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia.

BlackRock’s Middle East head, Charles Hatami, said in a statement to Bloomberg that the company will focus on private markets and artificial intelligence infrastructure.  

The company also plans to seek regulatory approval to operate in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the city’s financial centre, according to the statement.

Operating within ADGM will help BlackRock to “better serve our clients around the world on whose behalf we engage with sovereigns, wealth managers and specialist investment vehicles based in Abu Dhabi, operating in sectors such as infrastructure, renewable energy and technology”, Hatami said.

“Abu Dhabi has rapidly transformed into a global financial centre,” Hatami added. “Its strategic location, proactive government policies, and commitment to sustainable growth make it an ideal location for capital markets.”

The asset manager got approval to open its headquarters in Saudi Arabia last month, and earlier this year announced it would get as much as $5 billion from the Public Investment Fund to invest in the Middle East and build a Riyadh-based investments team.

BlackRock has already teamed up with Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan on one of the largest efforts to date to bankroll the build-out of data warehouses and energy infrastructure.

BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager with $11.48 trillion of assets under management (AUM), around a third larger than runner-up Vanguard with $8.7 trillion of AUM.