As oil prices breach $84 a barrel, the financial muscle and global ambition of the oil-rich Gulf states is plain to see.
On one day in a complex series of deals, Borse Dubai grabbed 28% of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and 20% of New York’s Nasdaq while the Qatar Investment Authority took hold of 20% of the LSE and 10% of Sweden’s OMX. Dubai and Qatar between them hold almost 50% of the LSE and the way is now clear for Nasdaq to take control of the Nordic exchange and a small stake in the Dubai International Financial Exchange as well.
Globalisation is well and truly taking place in the world’s financial exchanges and the Gulf is unlikely to stop there. The Gulf has the money and in this new oil boom it is determined to use its financial strength to the full. The world’s financial infrastructure is shifting to where the money is and the Gulf, China, India and others will rightly continue to make their mark on the global financial system.
Will some object? Yes, the key worry is the US taking a protectionist and obstructionist approach as it did in last year’s Dubai Ports World bid for five US port terminals. But globalisation can be a win-win for all, as Nasdaq buying into the Dubai International Financial Exchange shows.
This is a new era of diverse wealth distribution and global financial institutions must reflect the change.
