Soaring commodity prices and falling incomes have hit many Italian companies but for Finmeccanica – the defence-aeronautics-rail-power-plants conglomerate – oil-rich states offer expanding markets while the US remains a constant in big weapons spending.

The Gulf states, looking at a $500bn trade surplus this year, are splurging on defence systems to match the perceived threat from Iran, and urban infrastructure. Even Iraq, profitable in war, offers opportunities in reconstruction. In Russia, Finmeccanica is launching into aircraft, trains and postal automation.