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The ever hungry QIA plans to take advantage of the global property slump in its bid to diversify its asset base.

For long a significant player in project finance and emerging markets, BNP Paribas (BNPP) has become a bigger force still on the Africa and Middle East energy scene with the acquisition, announced on 6 October, of Belgian/Dutch giant Fortis Bank NV/SA and some of its affiliates.

While the Abu Dhabi economy diversifies, with an expanded private sector role, the traditionally critical role of government remains centre stage when it comes to development strategy and the senior emirate’s undisguised ambition to present itself as a model for environmentally aware development in the Middle East. The Urban Structure Framework Plan – called Plan Abu Dhabi 2030 – is spectacularly ambitious, and also a significant turning point in its attempt to shift the balance of development away from the present coastal waterfront.

Finance Minister Mustapha Al-Shamali and Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) managing director Bader Al-Saad have reportedly been asked by Kuwaiti investment companies to set up a fund worth KD300m ($1.1bn) to help settle their debt in the wake of the global financial crisis.

Recent data from the Abu Dhabi-based Arab Monetary Fund shows that Arab stock markets lost some $158bn in September, with the GCC’s bourses taking the brunt of the loss. A new Standard & Poor’s (S&P) report argues that the tightening in liquidity conditions in the UAE is only tangentially related to the global credit crunch and is being driven mainly by a host of country-specific factors.

Turbulent times push everyone to buck up their thinking – and in this respect, Gulf Co-operation Council governments are no different from their international counterparts. Soaring oil revenues may provide Arabian states with a wealth cushion against global volatility; but an economic storm

Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas investment arm is talking tough as it seeks to exponentially increase its already substantial portfolio with acquisitions at home and abroad. International Petroleum Investment Company is showing itself to be a tough negotiator in its talks with Spain’s Banco Santander

Following on plans to establish an investment fund with Indonesia (GSN 835/15), Qatar and Vietnam have announced a $1bn fund to invest in various sectors including agriculture. According to Vietnamese ambassador Phung The Long, Qatar Investment Authority will provide 90% of the fund’s equity. “We have exchanged

Dubai Group (DG), which is owned by UAE government investment vehicle Dubai Holding, has been on a spending spree this summer. It has purchased a 5.24% stake in one of Egypt’s largest banks, Commercial International Bank, for Dh580m ($157.9m). Egypt has attracted a number of investors from the Gulf looking to tap the potential of its largely underdeveloped financial sector. With the government not issuing new licenses, Gulf investors are left with no choice but to buy stakes in banks. DG chief executive Thomas Volpe said the group planned another four acquisitions before the year’s end.