EXCLUSIVE: Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala in talks to hire Dr. Doom

Abu Dhabi’s investment arm Mubadala in talks with Nouriel Roubini, a source close to the discussions reveals.

Mubadala Development Company, the Abu Dhabi government investment arm, is in high-level talks with the consultancy firm of Nouriel Roubini, the New York economist dubbed Dr. Doom, according to people close to the meeting.

The top brains at Roubini Global Economics are on a business tour of the Gulf this week and met with Mubadala yesterday, said the source.

“Mubadala are serious investors and would want advisory work that was very sophisticated,” he said, without going into detail.

Nouriel Roubini, or ‘Dr. Doom’ as he became known after predicting the looming financial crisis, set up the New York-based Roubini Global Economics in 2004, originally under the name RGE Monitor.

According to the firm’s website, under his leadership teams of economists and analysts identify “the most vital economic and geostrategic questions, surface the debate and provide the vital context that enables our clients to move with speed and deliberation.”

Key spokespeople from Roubini Global Economics were in Dubai speaking at the International Islamic Finance Forum on Tuesday.

Mubadala’s current investments include an US$8bn joint venture with General Electric in emerging markets, and a stake in AMD, the second-largest maker of personal-computer processors. It also invests in Carlyle Group and Ferrari SpA.

Mubadala’s mandate has been to invest for the long term locally and internationally to help accomplish economic aims laid out in Plan Abu Dhabi 2030, a comprehensive road map for the emirate’s development.