The two investors will contribute $4bn each in equity to the joint venture over the next three years and expect to build assets up to $40bn over the next 12 to 18 months.

The commercial finance business will be based in Abu Dhabi and aims to invest in sectors including infrastructure assets and real estate.

In addition, Mubadala says it aims to become one of the top ten shareholders in GE through buying shares on the open market. Currently Bank of America, the tenth biggest shareholder in GE, owns 1.2 per cent of the company, which is worth about $3.3bn.

Khaldoon al-Mubarak, chief executive officer of Mubadala, says it does not have a specific timeline for building its stake in GE. “We are excited about becoming a long-term shareholder in this business," he says. "But this investment is an independent exercise to the joint ventures we have announced, because we see a lot of potential for GE, especially given the current valuation and our long-term mindset.”

The two announcements were part of a raft of joint ventures between the two companies, which also includes a clean energy research centre at the UAE’s zero-carbon Masdar city development and a clean energy investment fund, as well as initiatives in the oil and gas, aviation and corporate learning sectors.