Middle East private equity funds to invest $2-$3b in coming years

Encouraged by the Middle East's rapid economic growth, some $2-$3 billion could be invested by private equity funds in new deals over the next two or three years, said industry officials on Sunday. 

"The Middle East has been the home of the entrepreneur. For over 2,000 years, the region has been the centre of trade and spawned entrepreneurship," said Chief Executive of Abraaj Capital,Arif Naqvi, a private equity firm, according to <i>Gulf News</i>.

Private equity funds in the Middle East currently manage some $6 billion in assets, though the industry contributed only 1.2 percent of the global fund raising.

Some foreign institutions, including Credit Suisse, have expressed interest in establishing private equity funds investing in the region, and that a large private equity industry survey had showed that institutional investors planned to increase allocations to emerging markets in the future.