{"text":[[{"start":9.52,"text":"Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala has invested in China’s Luckin Coffee as part of a $1bn transaction, widening the sovereign wealth fund’s presence in the world’s second-largest consumer market."}],[{"start":20.54,"text":"The $385bn sovereign investor said on Thursday it will join Luckin’s controlling shareholder, the private equity firm Centurium Capital, in backing the coffee chain that operates about 36,000 stores globally."}],[{"start":35,"text":"Mubadala did not disclose the size of its minority investment, which puts Emirati capital in the company that became embroiled in an accounting scandal six years ago. That led to Luckin filing for bankruptcy in the US, being delisted from Nasdaq and a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission."}],[{"start":52,"text":"The Luckin transaction extends Mubadala’s run as one of the world’s most acquisitive sovereign wealth funds. It is one of Abu Dhabi’s most prolific vehicles helping to diversify the emirate’s economy that remains oil dependent."}],[{"start":64.86,"text":"The deal will broaden Mubadala’s exposure to China’s consumer sector at a time when investments in strategic sectors including semiconductors and AI have come under scrutiny as a result of the geopolitical rivalry between the US and Beijing. Abu Dhabi has been strengthening economic ties with China while simultaneously seeking access to advanced US technology."}],[{"start":85.52,"text":"Mubadala has been expanding in China since 2015 and has invested more than $20bn in the country, according to its website. The sovereign fund previously invested in ecommerce giant Shein and Dalian Wanda’s malls business and established an office in the Chinese capital four years ago."}],[{"start":102.98,"text":"With the Luckin deal, which is still subject to meeting certain conditions, Mubadala is betting on Chinese consumers’ healthy appetite for beverages such as matcha lattes and Apple Fizzy Americano."}],[{"start":114.5,"text":"“We continue to see compelling long-term opportunities in China’s consumer sector,” said Mohamed Albadr, Mubadala’s private equity Asia head."}],[{"start":124.44,"text":"As part of the transaction, the fund will be able to nominate a director to the coffee chain’s board. Gulf sovereign wealth funds have become increasingly assertive when investing, seeking a greater say in how companies are managed."}],[{"start":136.6,"text":"Luckin was founded in 2017 and rapidly expanded in the Chinese coffee market with its low prices before listing in New York in 2019. A year later, the company disclosed that employees had fabricated sales worth about $300mn and forced it to restructure the business."}],[{"start":156.66,"text":"More recently, with Centurium’s backing Luckin engineered a turnaround and overtook Starbucks as China’s biggest coffee chain by sales."}],[{"start":165.84,"text":"Luckin had nearly 31,000 stores in China and Hong Kong at the end of last year, according to its most recent annual report, with 81 outlets in Singapore, 70 in Malaysia and nine in the US."}],[{"start":179.04,"text":"Starbucks, meanwhile, has about 40,000 stores globally."}],[{"start":183.12,"text":"Earlier this year Nestlé said it had sold a majority stake in US chain Blue Bottle Coffee to Centurium Capital."}],[{"start":196.04,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1789030450_9756.mp3"}