(Yicai) Sept. 14 -- The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and the Kuwait Investment Authority, which are the two sovereign funds with the most assets under management in the Middle East, rank among the 10 biggest stakeholders of 61 companies listed on the Chinese mainland, according to Yicai research.

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority was among the top 10 shareholders of 26 companies listed on the mainland as of June 30, and the Kuwait Investment Authority was among the 10 biggest stakeholders in 36 such firms. Their portfolios are almost completely separate, and only hydraulic gear firm Hengli Hydraulic is jointly held by both of them as top 10 shareholders.

Both sovereign funds invested heavily in the second quarter and showed a particular preference for the consumer electronics, biomedicine and non-ferrous metal stocks. They snapped up shares in firms such as white goods giant Hisense Home Appliances, gold and copper producer Zijin Mining and electrical machinery manufacturer XJ Electric. Some of these stocks were bought as early as the first quarter.

They are less keen on stocks in fields such as alcohol, semiconductor chips, new energy and artificial intelligence, which Chinese public funds are eager to invest in.

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority tends to plump for nonferrous metals and energy stocks. It holds more than 10 million shares each in Yunnan Aluminum, China Jushi and Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group. It also owns 149 million shares of Longyan, southeastern Fujian province-based Zijin Mining, with a market value of about CNY1.9 billion (USD261.3 million).

It also seems to believe that demand for consumer electronics will soon pick up, and was the tenth largest shareholder in electronic equipment manufacturer Lens Technology with 14.6 million shares, as of June 30.

The Kuwait Investment Authority prefers growth stocks of small and medium-sized companies in sectors such as cosmetics, manufacturing, games, solar and non-ferrous metals. The firms with the biggest capitalization in which it held equity as of the end of the second quarter, were car parts maker Sanhua Intelligent Controls, stationery firm M&G Stationery, cosmetics giant Botanee Group and non-ferrous metal miner Zhongjin Gold.

Editor: Kim Taylor