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London-based investment firm MerchantBridge launched the Mesopotamia Equity Fund (MEF) at the end of February to invest solely in the Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX), which despite Iraq’s political crises has been the best performing bourse in the region of late. MerchantBridge’s Dr Buddy Soubra, who is one of three MEF investment committee members, told GSN “it will concentrate on listed securities in three main sectors, including banking, tourism, and industry.”

The Dubai government has invested $200m in four sharia-compliant hedge funds in the hope of tapping the $800bn Islamic finance industry, expected to grow by 15% this year. But the concept has its risks, and many investors remain sceptical about the viability of Islamic hedge funds.

The Gulfi crowd were not particularly present, or even the subject of formal discussion, at the 24 February Sovereign Wealth Funds Forum in London. Much of the focus was on Asian institutions, including the Singapore

Central Bank of Kuwait governor Sheikh Salem Abdelaziz Al-Sabah was very bullish, going so far as to say that the “crisis has not hit it that much.”

International supporters of Iraq’s reconstruction are again seeking to address the major economic and social problems that tended to fall from view – at least outside Iraq – during the peak period of the insurgency.

it is not immune to the impacts of the global financial crisis, but scholars and financiers argue that this is a ‘golden opportunity’ to promote the Islamic finance industry as a more responsible alternative to conventional banking.

Central Bank of the UAE’s initial $10bn investment in Dubai’s $20bn five-year refinancing package confirms that Abu Dhabi has no intention of cutting adrift the commercial emirate; the senior emirate will gain from maintaining stability in the federation

The extent of Dubai’s economic downturn is preoccupying many GSN readers. Here are some short attempts at answers to some deep, difficult questions: How deep is the crisis? – Dubai’s economic survival rests on its ability to refinance debt, but the extent of that debt is unknown.

ADCB Macquarie Infrastructure Fund (AMIF) has announced a $188m investment that will give it exposure to government-commissioned projects in Abu Dhabi. The investment – AMIF’s first since its launch and $630m capital raising last December – will support industrial infrastructure developments commissioned

GCC-based bankers are piecing together simpler project finance structures to work their way around the decimation of international debt capacity in the past few months. Market players canvassed by GSN agreed that the Saudi market had emerged in far better shape than other regional economies.

Saudi Arabia has an estimated $500bn “stashed away in US treasuries” (bonds), as one expert puts it. And the view being ordered from above – from King Abdullah Bin Abdelaziz down – is that “more of this will be invested at home, as was signalled by lifting the limits on the amount the PIF [Public Investment Fund, chaired by Finance Minister

Kingdom Holding Company posted a $8.26bn net loss in Q4 08, compared with a gain of $68.2m in Q4 07.

Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency governor Hamad Saud Al-Sayari has said the Kingdom’s economy is not in recession and that the central bank will do what is necessary for the domestic economy.

With unsubstantiated rumours of a potential bid for Liverpool FC splashed across the UK newspapers, and a new deal to work with Gazprom, Kuwait’s prominent Al-Kharafi family is receiving more attention than usual.

A joint investment fund between State Bank of India (SBI) and the government will be launched formally in March.