UAE: Body of director of world’s largest sovereign wealth fund found after 5 days
By APTuesday, March 30, 2010
Body of UAE fund director found
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The body of the director of the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund has been found in Morocco after a five day search, the United Arab Emirates State News Agency reported on Tuesday.
The agency declared Sheik Ahmed bin Zayed Al Nahyan dead and his body would be flown home and buried Wednesday. A three day mourning period was declared.
Al Nahyan was a brother of the UAE president and the managing director of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of world’s largest sovereign wealth funds.
The Moroccan state news agency reported that the body was fished out in late morning in the waters of the Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdallah hydroelectric dam. More than 100 divers had been deployed to find the body, including Moroccans, Emiratis, French, Spanish and Americans as well as four emergency doctors.
Two royal helicopters, night vision equipment, and a medical helicopter were used as well in the search.
Al Nahyan’s glider went down in an artificial Moroccan lake Friday. The pilot of the aircraft was rescued in good condition, but the search for Al Nahyan went on for five days in bad weather.
The family of Ahmed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is known to have numerous properties around this North African kingdom, which offers up ocean, mountains and desert.
Analysts believe ADIA is the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, with estimates of its size having ranged from less than $400 billion to $875 billion and beyond.
Its investments include a $7.5 billion cash injection into Citigroup Inc. in 2007. Stocks and other equities in the developed world make up the largest class of the fund’s assets, ranging from 35 to 45 percent of its holdings.
Between 35 and 50 percent of ADIA’s investments are typically in North America, and another 25 to 35 percent are in Europe.
The fund, like other investors, is believed to have lost considerable value during the market downturn before bouncing back somewhat over the past year.
