 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| ADX: IHC | |
| Industry | Investments |
| Founded | 1998; 28 years ago (1998) |
| Headquarters | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates |
Key people | Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan (chairman) Syed Basar Shueb (CEO) |
| Revenue |  $16.4 billionUSD (2023)[1] |
| $7.5 billionUSD (2023)[1] | |
| Total assets | $455.043 billionUSD (2023)[1] |
| Owner | Royal Group (60%) |
| Website | www |
TheInternational Holding Company(IHC) is aholding company headquartered inAbu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, which manages a diversified portfolio of domestic and foreign investments.[2][3]Royal Group, owned by theAbu Dhabi ruling dynasty is the biggest shareholder at 61%.[4] IHC´s chairman is SheikhTahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan, who also serves as the country'sNational Security Advisor and manages twosovereign wealth funds.[5]
The company is listed on theAbu Dhabi stock exchange and as of 2024 had amarket capitalization of 240 billionUS dollar.[6][5][7][8] After the Royal Group transferred 40 companies worth US$4.7 billion to IHC, the company's share price grew by 42,000% between 2019 and 2024, making it the second most valuable company in theGulf States behindSaudi Aramco. This transformation coincides with Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan's time as Chairman.[7]
International Holding Company (IHC) was founded in 1998 as Asmak and was initially active in the fisheries sector. The company quickly developed into a regional market leader in the export of seafood. In 2005, the company went public on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange.[9]
In the years that followed, IHC expanded into various sectors, including real estate, with the acquisition of ESPL[further explanation needed] properties in 2008. By 2013, IHC had grown significantly.[9]
In 2020, three of its subsidiaries were listed on theAbu Dhabi Securities Exchange. The following year, IHC's growth continued as the company listed more subsidiaries, including Alpha Dhabi, ESG and Al Seer Marine, and became the most valuable company on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange.[9]
IHC continued its expansion in 2022, concluding a US$2 billion investment agreement with the IndianAdani Group and acquiring a significant stake in the renewable energy sector with the purchase of shares of TurkishKalyon Enerji.[9][10] In September 2023 the IHC sold stakes in the Adani Group, but increased its stake inAdani Enterprises.[11][12]
In November 2023, the Group acquired a majority stake in a copper mine inZambia for just under one billion US dollars.[13][5]
In 2023, IHC established an investment unit, Lunate, to manage Group 42’s China-focused fund, the42X Fund, which had stakes inJD.com andByteDance. Lunate formed a small team controlled by Tahnoun bin Zayed. The fund became questionable due to G42 and its CEO Peng Xiao’s promise to the US government to divest from China.[14][15][16]
In January 2024, IHC established a new holding company with $27 billion in assets called2PointZero.[17][18] It added to the opaqueness, as it was not published what price IHC had been paying to acquire these assets fromRoyal Group. IHC at that point represented 30% of the local stock market[4]
The Government of Pakistan divested its majority stake in the state-ownedFirst Women Bank Limited (FWBL) to Abu Dhabi-based International Holding Company (IHC) in October 2025. The transaction, reportedly valued at $14.6 million for the government's 82.64% shareholding. As part of the agreement, IHC committed to injecting an additional Rs. 6.8 billion to ensure the bank meets the State Bank of Pakistan's minimum capital requirement of Rs. 10 billion over a five-year period. IHC has announced plans to transform the bank into a modern, AI-enabled financial institution, including modernizing its core banking infrastructure, expanding its branch network from 42 to 200 in the medium term, and rebranding to reflect a broader mandate for financial inclusion across Pakistan. Pakistani officials, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, hailed the deal as a milestone that would strengthen economic ties and pave the way for further foreign direct investment from the UAE.[19][20][21]
IHC has drawn scrutiny for its rapid and largely unexplained growth. Between 2019 and 2022, IHC'smarket capitalization surged from about 700 millionAED to over 880 billion AED, an increase of more than 125,000%.[6] This exponential rise, coupled with limited trading activity—often just a few dozen shares exchanged daily—has led analysts to question the company'svaluation and transparency.[22]The Financial Times noted that IHC went from relative obscurity to becoming Abu Dhabi's most valuable company within three years, despite little public disclosure regarding its financials or corporate strategy.[22]The Wall Street Journal highlighted its stock’s nearly 400-fold increase, which puzzled market observers as it defied conventional market trends.[6]Bloomberg reported on IHC’s staggering 2,819% rally over a 12-month period, labeling it "mysterious" and leaving traders uncertain about the driving forces behind its stock movements.[23] Given its deep ties to Abu Dhabi’s ruling family, concerns persist about the company’s governance and the degree to which its valuation reflects actualmarket demand.[22]
IHC manages over 100 investments in the following sectors:[24]
In 2023, the Real Estate and Construction segment represented the largest share of the Group's revenue (33.9%), followed by Agriculture and Fisheries (29.6%) and Food and Beverages (6.9%).[24]