Posted on 12/23/2008 8:56:41 AM PST by TigerLikesRooster
Losses by Gulf Funds may Reach $450b: Deutsche Bank
Issac John
23 December 2008
DUBAI - Losses by Gulf sovereign funds in the global financial turmoil is expected to reach to $450 billion, which is equivalent to the region’s oil income for a whole year, a top executive of Deutsche Bank in the Middle East said.
Henry Azzam, Deutsche Bank CEO for the MENA region, said the region’s sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) may not perform well in 2009 after poor 2008 results.
According to recent estimates, the size of the combined GCC sovereign funds stood at well over $1.3 trillion, of which UAE accounts for $875 billion.
Rachel Ziemba of RGE Monitor estimated that the investment losses made by UAE sovereign funds in 2008 totalled more than $155 billion. While Saudi Arabian funds recorded limited losses, Kuwait Investment Authority suffered over $100 billion in losses in 2008. Qatar Investment Authority, which accounts for $60 billion in investments, lost almost half of it on equities and heavy portfolios including UK real estate investments.
Ziemba predicted that funds available to the SWFs would be reduced as a result of diversion of capital from other government sources to offset the withdrawal of private capital at home or abroad.
“The combination of losses on existing portfolios by the more diversified funds along with greater demands for domestic investment either to support current spending or to assume the debts of the private sector, should continue to boost demand for liquidity and the safest assets.”
(Excerpt) Read more at khaleejtimes.com ...
Ping!
It come out of our pockets, but now has gone up in smoke and they have a lot less to show for it.
Seriously, when they start selling their gold reserves we will know it is serious...
Heads will roll...literally.
So solly.
Answer: more sharia financing!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.