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In focus
- Are Dubai’s days as a global wealth hub numbered?
- A look into our archives: Family offices calling SEA home
- We want to put your startup in the spotlight
Hello reader,
“Follow the money.”
Ever since the iconic line was immortalized in All the President’s Men, the 1976 film on the Watergate scandal, it’s been a key mantra in journalism.
While often used to mean uncovering corruption, this famous line can also apply in other contexts, like how the world’s richest investors think when uncertainty hits.
Today, we look at how investors in the Middle East are reassessing where they store their capital as the war sparked by US-Israeli strikes on Iran drags on. Places like Dubai have long positioned themselves as safe havens for global wealth, particularly for family offices, but that assumption is now under scrutiny.
While the sources my colleagues at The Business Times and I spoke to weren’t ready to say things had changed for good, Philip Bahoshy, CEO of Dubai-based startup data platform Magnitt, told me that April could be the real test: Will capital continue to sit on the sidelines or start to move?
So far, the signals are mixed. Capital that’s already been committed is still being deployed, but fundraising is getting harder. Much will depend on whether investors return to the Gulf after the Ramadan and Eid break and whether a wave of postponed events dampens momentum.
Peter Cowan, engagement editor
Top Story
Investors jitter as Dubai faces geopolitical strain
Dubai, United Arab Emirates / Photo credit: Shutterstock
Could Singapore benefit from family offices fleeing places like Dubai?
It’s not a flood – yet. But advisers say inquiries are rising as wealthy families rethink how much exposure they want to the Gulf. For many, the shift isn’t about leaving entirely, but adding a second base.
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