It’s kind of ironic, but good news: As the world suffers from rising fuel costs and weighs the consequences of global warming, investors and oil barons in Dubai may play a pivotal role in a swift move towards green technology and alternative energy, reports Zawya.com.
Swati Taneja, a director from the Private Equity Forum which recently concluded in Dubai, said that people in Dubai have amassed new fortunes from the rising price of oil and gas around the world. They now see massive opportunities in green investing.
“Green investing is emerging as the new theme for the region,” said Taneja. “It is not hard to discover why. The recent World Wealth Report by Merrill Lynch estimated that about 20 per cent of wealthy investors in the Middle East had already allocated part of their portfolios to green technologies and alternative energy — the highest proportion of any region in the world.”
Nicholas Parker, co-founder and chairman of the Cleantech Group, and a participant in the Private Equity Forum said that the move is a reflection of a global trend to invest in the clean technology sector.
“Private equity and venture capital is clearly becoming increasingly important in the process of diversification away from oil and gas,” Taneja said and noted, “The wealth report also found that while half of those in the west who had invested in green technologies had done so out of a sense of social responsibility, in the Middle East two-thirds said it was because of the potential high returns. Regional investors have identified a new source of income.”
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::Zawya
