While major markets around the world show signs of
intense anxiety over the prospect of a US-led attack on Iraq,
across most of the Middle East it is business as
usual.
Gold has reached new heights as investors look for safe havens
and Brent crude futures have climbed on fears that a war would
raise the price of oil still further.
Meanwhile, in the Gulf, a region not famed for vast amounts of
capital market activity, record deals are getting done. Kuwaiti
mobile phone company MTC acquired Jordanian mobile operator
Fastlink from Egypt's Orascom in the largest-ever deal of its kind
in the region, Saudi Arabia saw its first IPO in nearly 20 years,
and Bahrain made a success of its $500 million debut bond
issue....
