What happened to the Sovereign Wealth Funds?

A couple of months ago, Mubadala this, Qatar Investment Authority, that. You couldn't hear enough of the Sovereign wealth funds. Now they've become yesterday's news. I'm going to see what they've been up to now that the "spotlight" appears off them again.

On a side note, did anyone read the article in Businessweek a couple of weeks back about buyout firm Abraaj Capital. They're the top buyout firm in the Middle East, with an AUM of $4.9 billion. This is the kind of company to follow, along with their founder, Arif Naqvi. Some of the deals under his name are the buyouts of logistics company Aramex, Egyptian Fertilizers and Saudi Airline National Air Services. He's since tripled his investment in Aramex through an IPO, made $800 million selling Egyptian Fertilizers to Orascom Construction and plans an IPO of National Air Services.

Most of the major US and EU private equity firms have approached Abraaj to acquire them but Naqvi refuses, understandably so. Abraaj has what they covet, a strong footing in the region. Mr. Naqvi's and Abraaj should be followed by anyone interested in Middle East finance.