Abu Dhabi’s investment fund Mubadala Development Company has denied any plans to sell US contract chipmaker Globalfoundries or UAE satellites operator Yahsat.

“We are not in a distressed situation… we will keep those businesses,” Khaldoon Khalifa al-Mubarak, CEO of Mubadala, told UK news agency Reuters.

US news agency Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources, reported in February that Mubadala was considering the sale of Yahsat and had held early talks with potential buyers for Globalfoundries in line with the emirate’s review of its assets due to the decline in oil revenues.

It is understood, however, that the fund is considering options to sell stakes in Swiss aircraft maintenance business SR Technics and to hold an initial public offering (IPO) of Yahsat.

Abu Dhabi is expected to register a 14 per cent budget deficit in 2016, which is equivalent to $26bn-$31bn.

Some economists, like Monica Malik, chief economist at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), are confident of the emirate’s long-term fiscal performance.

“The fact that Abu Dhabi has started progressing with reforms, including reducing subsidies on fuel and utilities, is positive for fiscal sustainability,” Malik told MEED in January.