GF
Football, financials and film – where next for the Gulf’s petrodollars?
10 September 2008
For organisations which supposedly shy away from publicity, the Gulf government funds have been making some high-profile investments of late. Football club takeovers, bank bailouts and film financing – where will they pop up next?
For those in the dark, Abu Dhabi United Group recently made a swoop for Manchester City for the princely sum of £210m (perhaps they targeted the wrong Manchester team). This follows on from Dubai International Capital’s courting of Liverpool FC earlier this year.
The Abu Dhabi government is also venturing into Hollywood (and, indeed, Bollywood), which could see it financing up to seven films a year.
And let’s not forget the sovereign wealth funds’ stakes in some of the bigger US banks, such as Citi and Merrill Lynch.
So, are we likely to see increasingly quirky investments from governments flush with cash? And what, in your considered opinion, are they likely to be? Your thoughts please…
The real question is what calibre of films are they going to finance? Godzilla 2? Star Wars Seven? Or, god forbid, another Jaws...
James 11 Sep 2008
RECOMMEND Recommended 0 times | Alert Moderator