In July 2008, Waha Capital joined with Mubadala Development Company; Dubai-based A.A. Al Moosa Enterprises, and Fullerton Financial Holdings Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of the Singapore Government’s Temasek Holdings, to launch Dunia Finance, a consumer finance company headquartered in Abu Dhabi. Waha Capital holds a 25% stake in the firm, which provides loans, credit cards and financial planning services, as well as deposits for non-individual customers, to retail and small-business customers in the UAE.
There is a strong business case for the company, given that the UAE has one of the fastest population growth rates in the world – more than 6% annually over the past two years and, at approximately 4.5 million people in 2008, nearly three times what its population was in 1990. In addition, the below-par customer service common among financial institutions in the UAE provides a market opportunity for Dunia and its world-class operations.