The 21st century brought along a number of changes, changes in perception, changes in attitude and changes in positioning. Earlier
this year we saw a change in attitude from OPEC. This time it openly confirmed what most knew, that the price rises in oil had no
relation to the actual supply and demand situation. The current oil price level is hinged to speculation and the ‘mis-managed’
US economy.
Another interesting change has been the emergence of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) as principal players in
global M&A.1 SWFs are attracting attention not only from those in need of financial assistance but from the
governments of those countries in which they invest. But SWFs are not unique to the Middle East, a large number
of SWFs are being established in Asian export countries as well as in Russia and other countries with a strong
reserve of natural resources. However with United Arab Emirates (UAE) sovereign wealth funds, and Bahrain’s
quest for being the financial capital of the Middle East, the Middle East is flying high.
