Gulf funds may rescue the West - The National Newspaper

The deep pockets of Gulf sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) could be an increasingly important source of funding for western economies facing spending cuts in the new era of austerity.

Projects in Europe may become more financially attractive for the region’s government investment vehicles as austerity measures by EU governments depress market valuations, said Dr Alexander Mirtchev, the founder and chairman of the US economic consultancy Krull.

“These SWFs are starting to look increasingly as the premier source of available financing for a cash-starved international financial system,” said Dr Mirtchev, who is also an independent director of the Kazakhstan SWF Samruk-Kazyna.