International Holding Company (IHC), the Abu Dhabi–based conglomerate chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has rapidly become one of the most influential corporate players in the United Arab Emirates. Once a modest fisheries company, IHC is now a multi-sector giant whose expansion reflects and reinforces the UAE’s broader economic transformation.
A dominant force in Abu Dhabi’s markets
With a market capitalization oscillating around 870–880 billion AED, IHC is the largest company on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and, at times, has represented close to 30% of the entire market’s value. Its quarterly results now move the local index: in 2024 and 2025, the company consistently posted strong revenue growth, with profits in the tens of billions of dirhams.
This market dominance has made IHC a stabilizing anchor for ADX’s liquidity and a central reference point for global investors watching the UAE’s diversification strategy.
Aligned with the UAE’s non-oil strategy
IHC’s portfolio (more than 1,400 subsidiaries and associates) spans real estate, agriculture, food security, healthcare, technology, utilities, leisure, and logistics. These are precisely the sectors the UAE prioritizes as it shifts toward a post-hydrocarbon economic model.
In 2023, construction and real estate accounted for the largest share of revenue, followed by agriculture and food-related activities. This positioning has made IHC a natural vehicle for channeling capital into the UAE’s strategic non-oil industries.
A global expansion platform
Beyond the UAE, IHC has become an important actor in the country’s economic diplomacy:
India: multi-billion-dollar stakes in the Adani Group and a near $1 billion acquisition in the financial sector (Sammaan Capital).
Africa: through International Resources Holding, IHC acquired 51% of Mopani Copper Mines in Zambia and invested in lithium and critical minerals linked to the energy transition.
Europe: ongoing negotiations for major hospitality investments exceeding £1 billion.
These deals place IHC at the center of the UAE’s long-term strategy to expand its footprint in infrastructure, finance, green energy and global commodities.
A system-level player
IHC’s importance now goes far beyond its balance sheet. It acts simultaneously as:
a capital-markets heavyweight anchoring ADX,
a diversification engine funnelling investment into strategic non-oil sectors,
a global investor supporting the UAE’s international partnerships.
With plans to invest tens of billions of dollars every 18 months, while recycling non-strategic holdings into more focused assets, IHC is poised to remain one of the most consequential corporate forces shaping the UAE’s economic trajectory over the next decade.