Bartamaha (Nairobi):- The boss of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund, has been found dead in Morocco.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, who directed ADIA’s recent acquisition of 15pc of Gatwick Airport, was found four days after his glider aircraft went missing. He was 40.
ADIA, which is thought to have assets worth $627bn (£420bn), declined to comment.

The Sheikh had no deputy director. However, sources close to the fund said that a succession plan is being worked on.
Ranked 27th on the Forbes list of the most powerful people in the world, Sheikh Ahmed was also a half-brother of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Abu Dhabi’s ruler and the president of the United Arab Emirates.
Sheikh Ahmed took control of ADIA in 1997 where he was described as “very hands on” in investment decisions. The sovereign wealth fund’s most high-profile investment was a stake of about 4pc in Citigroup.
It invested $7.5bn into the US investment bank in November 2007 at the beginning of the financial crisis, and as the economic situation worsened the relationship soured.
Last year ADIA filed an arbitration claim against Citi, alleging it was the victim of “fraudulent misrepresentations” at the time of the investment. ADIA alleges that the numbers Citi gave it were incorrect. Citi says the claims are without merit.
Although fiercely private, Sheikh Ahmed was considered an active proponent of improving the transparency of sovereign wealth funds. ADIA co-chaired a group of powerful funds that penned the so-called San Diego Principles, the first code of conduct for sovereign wealth funds.
This month, ADIA released its first annual review, in which it stated its 20-year and 30-year annualised rate of return to the end of 2009 was 6.5pc and 8pc, respectively.
Abu Dhabi’s Ministry of Presidential Affairs has announced three days for mourning during which the flags will be flown half mast with effect from tomorrow.

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Source:- telegraph.

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