Middle East: Hedge funds lead growth

The number of Middle East-based hedge funds is set to increase. In January, Abu Dhabi headquartered First Gulf Bank launched the first hedge fund of significance in the region. The fund, Al Saqer (“the Falcon”), is a macro-strategy hedge fund and has a capitalization of Dh3 billion ($817 million).

Kevin Pilarski, president and CEO of Falcon Global, an alternatives investment company with experience in the Gulf states, believes that many more hedge fund managers will follow suit in Gulf Cooperation Council states.

“The GCC has agreed to a common currency by 2010, so we’ll see developments mimicking what happened when the euro was introduced,” he says. “I think we’ll see not only an emergence of Middle East-based hedge funds but a much wider understanding of derivatives in the region.

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