Chinese coffee chain Luckin Coffee is actively reviewing an entry into the Gulf consumer market following fresh capital backing from Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund, Mubadala Investment Company. Centurium Capital, Luckin's controlling shareholder, partnered with Mubadala in early September on a $1 billion investment that made the Abu Dhabi fund a direct shareholder, though the exact size of the stake was not disclosed.
Luckin Chairman David Li and CEO Jinyi Guo confirmed in an interview with CNBC that management is actively assessing the Gulf region. Guo stated that the region is attractive due to steady, repeat coffee consumption and an increasing consumer preference for low-sugar, health-focused beverages, which aligns with Luckin's product offerings in China.
Mubadala oversees approximately $385 billion in global assets and has deployed over $20 billion into Chinese enterprise and retail growth investments. Centurium Capital, co-founded and led by Li, previously guided Luckin through restructuring following its accounting scandal and delisting from Nasdaq, during which it surpassed Starbucks by sales to become China's largest coffee chain.
According to reported company data, Luckin operates more than 36,000 stores across mainland China and Hong Kong, alongside 150 locations in Malaysia, 100 in Singapore, and 23 in New York City. In its second quarter, the company reported a 28.5% year-on-year revenue increase to 15.9 billion yuan ($2.34 billion) and an average of 112.7 million monthly transacting customers.
Sources
- Briefs Finance · 2026-09-28
