At one point last year, nearly half of the London Stock Exchange was in the hands of two rival Gulf states.
In September, Borse Dubai secured 28 per cent of the LSE – or most of the US-based Nasdaq’s 31 per cent stake – in a complex series of deals involving OMX, the Stockholm-based Nordic exchanges and technology operator, while Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) – which failed to capture the Nasdaq stake – bought a nearly 20 per cent holding from two hedge funds. The deals, which happened within hours of each other, put the acquisitive state-backed groups into a race for investments into European stock exchanges and illustrated the fierceness of their competition to become the Gulf’s dominant financial centre.
