Gulf in world financial spotlight

A fundamental shift in global finance has thrown the GCC countries into full glare of the world spotlight amid a surge of GCC sovereign funds.

The rise in importance of Gulf's Sovereign Wealth Funds has been ongoing for some months, but yesterday at the International Financial Forum in Paris staged by Paris Europlace, the organisation promoting Paris as a financial market, the evidence of the region's influence was stronger than ever.

Attendees included more than 1,200 representatives of investors, banks and financial institutions, French and international issuers, as well as a large delegation of the GCC member countries and top representatives of the European Commission and the Parliament.

The topic of the forum – the contribution of the Paris Financial Centre to the global economy – included three GCC-focused panel discussions showcasing the growing importance of the GCC in finance and the positioning of Paris as a welcoming and responsive financial centre for global funds.

The large GCC delegation led by Dr Nasser Al Saidi, Chief Economist at Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC), Jean Paul Villain, Head of Strategy Unit of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia), Arif Sherani, Director of Investment Strategy of Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and Tom Healy, CEO of ADX (Abu Dhabi Exchange), was on a mission to explain the opportunities offered by the Gulf areas and succeeded in attracting European investors, bankers and media.

Dr Saidi said: "The region is growing fast at 11 per cent a year. At this rate the GCC will be the fifth biggest economy by 2020 and its single currency will emerge as a global currency alongside the euro and the dollar."