Middle East private market assets set to double by 2030
The latest Global Asset Monitor from Ocorian finds that private market assets have grown strongly in recent years, with little sign of slowing in the years ahead. Charlie Rix, a member of Ocorian’s team in Dubai, walks through the report’s main findings with a focus on the Middle East region.
In 2025, total global assets recorded their largest annual increase, rising by $38.6 trillion year-on-year (16%) to a record $283 trillion. The total is dominated by public assets – listed equities, sovereign bonds, corporate bonds, and municipal, agency and other bonds – which together amount to $268 trillion.
The remaining $14.9 trillion, just over 5% of the global asset total, is in ‘private hands’. The largest share of this segment is held by private equity funds around the world, which currently account for 71% ($10.6 trillion) of the total private market. The other $4.3 trillion is spread across real estate, infrastructure and private debt.
Middle East private market assets
While Middle East domiciled funds represent just a small dot on the global private asset landscape (~0.5%), its market grew strongly in 2025 – up by 14% from $64 billion in 2024 to a record $73 billion at the end of 2025. Despite their modest size, these funds actively invest both within the Middle East and internationally, highlighting the region’s integrated role in global capital flows.
The report shows that internationally domiciled private funds allocated $144 billion to Middle Eastern opportunities – reflecting sustained interest in infrastructure, real estate, venture growth, and private credit opportunities.
A comparison of the two figures highlights a clear gap between where capital is being deployed and where fund management is based. This imbalance points to strong momentum, but an ecosystem still in its early stages, with growing international investor confidence in the region’s opportunities, alongside substantial headroom for the development of locally domiciled private equity platforms.
Diversification away from hydrocarbons
Private assets are increasingly being used to build exposure to non-hydrocarbon sectors, supporting transformation agendas and strengthening the pipeline of companies preparing for future public listings in markets across the region – including within major GCC exchanges.
Regional wealth pools far exceed private funds assets
Notably, in the Middle East, sovereign wealth funds, institutional and family office capital pools far outweigh private fund assets under management, driving demand for advanced governance, structuring and fund servicing expertise as investors diversify their portfolios.
Strong growth up to 2030
The analysis forecasts that the Middle East is playing catch-up on the global private market assets stage and will continue to grow above the market average in the period up to 2030.
With continued policy evolution, deepening financial services ecosystems and expanding pools of investable capital, assets under management in the Middle East can comfortably double over the next five years across the four main asset classes.
The largest flow of institutional private capital will be attracted by conventional energy and midstream, followed by financial services and fintech, real estate and urban development, infrastructure and transport, and logistics.
Given the supportive policy environment, the rapidly expanding and increasingly sophisticated network of capital providers, intermediaries and supporting market structures, all coupled with a deep pool of regional riches and inflows of international wealth and talent, the Middle East is entering a pivotal stage in the development of its private markets. The region has the vision, capital strength and institutional maturity required to scale, and investors are clearly taking notice.
