Health Waha Capital to expand UAE health business By Matt Smith February 19, 2025, 5:48 PM Unsplash+/Getty Waha Capital's holdings include Orchid, which provides fertility services in the UAE Waha Capital has $3.2bn AuM Owns two healthcare businesses Considering acquisitions Abu Dhabi’s Waha Capital, a listed company with $3.2 billion of assets under management, plans to expand its healthcare business in the UAE, and could make acquisitions to do so. The company aims to tap demand from the emirates’ expanding population and visitors from India, its chief financial officer said. Waha is part-owned by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala. It also owns and operates Orchid fertility clinic and Health Bay, delivering medical services in the UAE. Orchid’s profit margin ranges between 35 and 40 percent, James Finucane told AGBI. “Demand for healthcare services among the UAE’s resident population is growing significantly. Our clinics also attract a growing number of medical tourists especially from India,” Finucane said. “We are looking to see what we can do with that business (Orchid) in terms of expansion and, likewise, for Health Bay.” Waha may make acquisitions in the healthcare space, managing director Mohamed Hussain Al Nowais added, without giving further details. The company made a net profit of AED381.3 million ($104 million) last year. This down from AED440.1 million in 2023, largely as a result of a decline in financial investment income. 2023 was a record year for Waha, Al Nowais says. Number of hedge funds doubles at DIFC NMC confirms no buyers so far have matched valuation Mubadala buys stake in Germany’s Apleona Assets under management at Waha’s biggest division, Waha Investment, are spread across emerging market credit, Mena equity and Islamic income funds. In the UAE, it competes with the likes of Emirates NBD Asset Management, which has $6.5 billion in assets under management, and loss-making Shuaa Capital. Waha Investment generates about 80 percent of the group’s net operating income. “Because of the inflow of third party capital, a large portion of our income is generated through recurring fees,” Finucane says. Waha funds – in which one third is the company’s own money – received more investment from third party investors over the past two years than in the previous 10 years combined, said Al Nowais. Last year, it attracted about AED1.4 billion, most of which came from entities outside the UAE. “Our investors include some very big Gulf institutions, as well as others from Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States,” said Al Nowais. “The region is growing and becoming more popular with global financial institutions.” The company has proposed a dividend of AED0.1 per share for 2024, equating to a dividend yield of 6.25 percent, bourse data shows.
