Luckin Coffee eyes Gulf expansion after $1 billion Mubadala investment
Luckin Coffee is exploring expansion into Gulf countries following a $1 billion investment from Abu Dhabi's Mubadala sovereign wealth fund. The company aims to leverage its recent turnaround in China to capture high-frequency coffee demand in the Middle East.
Why it matters
This move signals Luckin's recovery from past accounting scandals and its ambition to become a major international coffee chain.
SINGAPORE — Luckin Coffee is once again weighing an entry into Persian Gulf markets after securing backing from Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund Mubadala.
Luckin's senior management is considering expanding into the Gulf countries, Chairman David Li told CNBC in an exclusive interview on Monday. Li is the co-founder and CEO of private equity firm Centurium Capital, the controlling shareholder of China-based Luckin.
"There are other markets we are currently looking at [and] potentially entering into regions like Gulf countries," Li said.
Mubadala has become a direct investor in Luckin after a $1 billion joint investment with Centurium in early September, with neither side disclosing the respective stake size. The $385 billion sovereign fund has invested more than $20 billion in China, including into e-commerce giant Shein and real estate developer Dalian Wanda's shopping malls business.
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