A Political Economy of Sovereign Wealth Funds in the Middle East and Asia

"There has been a good deal of ink spilled about Asian ties with the Middle East, but there is no better source than this book to understand the important role that huge sovereign wealth funds play in those ties." - Dr. Jon B. Alterman, Senior Vice President, Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy and Director, Middle East Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies, USA “Mogielnicki has brought together a top-notch group of contributors to help us understand the financial influence of these funds and to explain their role in linking two dynamic regions.” - Dr. Jonathan Fulton, Associate Professor, Zayed University, UAE “A revealing analytical map of political economy developments in two vast and vibrant regions that is highly relevant for policy practitioners.” - Dr. Amr Hamzawy, Director, Middle East Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, USA This book on sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) in the Middle East and Asia brings together leading scholars and practitioners focusing on investment trends in two prominent and influential regions of the globe. The resulting political economy mapping of these investment vehicles breaks new ground in elucidating prominent geographic contours of the global SWF sector. The interregional framing likewise reveals the strategic economic significance of SWF-facilitated linkages between the Middle East and Asia. The work probes three cross-cutting themes. The initial chapters explore the dynamics of competition and collaboration amongst Middle Eastern and Asian SWFs. This book then turns to the energy, environmental, and sustainability issues shaping SWF investment behavior. Finally, country-specific chapters examine how and why SWF investments materialize within key markets. These interregional connections enabled by sovereign wealth represent an expanding economic frontier with long-term implications for the Middle East, Asia, and the global economy. Dr. Robert Mogielnicki is Senior Resident Scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute, Adjunct Assistant Professor at Georgetown University, and Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, USA.