The UAE-owned sovereign wealth fund reported a net loss of $5.1 billion over the last year, illustrating the devastating effects of the Coronavirus outbreak on the company's vast holdings and the uncertainties surrounding the UAE's recovery.

The Investment Corporation of Dubai, the mammoth holding company that controls many of the UAE's industrial giants, forecasted sales of $37 billion in 2020, down more than 40% from the previous year.

It is the first loss in years for Dubai's investments, which include the Middle East's largest airline, Emirates Airlines, the profitable Dubai Duty-Free, and master developer Emaar Properties, which erected the world's tallest tower, the Burj Khalifa. In 2019, the corporation had a profit of $4.9 billion.

The conglomerate noted the devastating effects of the Coronavirus on travel, hospitality, retail, and real estate, all industries supported by Dubai. With its malls and luxury hotels, and 40 major assets, the corporation is generally considered as a gauge of the city's service-intensive economy's health.

Any profits made last year were mostly due to the fund's investments in financial institutions, such as Emirates NBD, one of the UAE's top banks, which remained profitable despite the pandemic's turbulence.

Although Dubai is not as oil-rich as the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, whose economy is supported by oil income, the company characterized the headwinds of 2020 in its statement, ranging from ground flights to decreased oil prices.