This writer is a qualified and trained accountant; and he has been working on a ‘going concern’ assumption for valuation of assets. This assumption means that the business will continue in the foreseeable future in the present form. In the following paragraphs a different set of approaches and hypotheses based on facts and circumstances has been discussed. The result of this effort is that for the cash-rich Middle Eastern countries their assets held in the West are not useful and realizable as is generally conceived in traditional and prevalent accounting frameworks.

International accounting firms, financial analysts and media will never look at this side of the picture as that contradicts and conflicts with their economic interests. However, after working in different spheres of finance and politics the author is almost sure that whatever is happening and whatever is expected to happen in future irrespective of the result of the war which the USA started on February 28, 2026.

Even the remote possibility of the complete devastation of Iran and a change of regime will not change the ‘course of events’.

The following four (4) arguments are relevant to the conclusion made in the end:

a. Oil-rich Middle Eastern countries — primarily Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait — have invested roughly USD3.7 trillion to over USD5 trillion in foreign assets through their sovereign wealth funds (SWFs).

These funds invest globally in tech, sports, banking, and infrastructure to diversify revenue away from oil. Sovereign wealth funds from Gulf countries manage about one-third of global state fund assets, often acting as “white knights” for companies in the West.

Investments are heavily focused on Western companies (e.g., Uber, Boeing, Nintendo) and large-scale projects.

Key players, which include the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), which are actively expanding their global portfolios.

b. Qatar holds extensive ownership of luxury London hotels, primarily through state-backed entities like the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and Katara Hospitality, holding over £100 billion in British assets.

Top holdings include The Ritz (£800m), Savoy, Connaught, Grosvenor House, and the upcoming Chancery Rosewood, plus iconic assets like Harrods.

The details and value are: The Ritz London: sold to a Qatari investor for approximately £800 million in 2020.

The Chancery Rosewood: part of a huge redevelopment of the former US Embassy in Mayfair, acquired by Qatari Diar for ~£500m in 2009.

c. Following the start of the conflict on February 28, 2026, the UAE faced significant financial pressure, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi stock markets losing a combined USD120 billion in value within the first month.

While there were reports of increased wealth movement toward Switzerland — with cash held by UAE-based individuals in Swiss banks rising by 40 per cent — and some investors moving assets to Singapore/Hong Kong, specific figures for capital transferred from Dubai to London are not explicitly quantified in the provided search results.

Key financial impacts and capital movements identified following February 28, 2026, include:

i. The Dubai Financial Market General Index dropped by about 16 per cent in the month following the war’s start.

ii. Wealthy individuals began re-evaluating their positions in the Gulf, shifting focus to safe-haven jurisdictions, with a noted 40 per cent increase in funds linked to UAE-based individuals moving to Swiss banks.

iii. While some investors were re-evaluating risks, some analysts indicated this was a “recalibration of risk” rather than a massive, immediate capital flight.

iv. Banks in the Gulf faced a potential USD307 billion deposit flight risk if the conflict continued to worsen, according to S&P reports from mid-March 2026.

v. In response to the economic disruption, Dubai announced a USD270 million relief package on March 30, 2026, to support businesses and residents.

d. BlackRock announced that it was restricting withdrawals from its flagship $26 billion HPS Corporate Lending Fund (HLEND) on March 6, 2026. Investors sought to withdraw 9.3 per cent of their holdings (roughly USD1.2 billion) in the first quarter of 2026, which exceeded the fund’s 5 per cent quarterly limit.

BlackRock enforced the 5 per cent cap, paying out approximately USD620 million but locking the remaining withdrawal requests.

This was done to protect the fund from having to sell illiquid, long-term private credit loans at a loss during a period of market volatility.

The concept the author intends to present would be easier to describe with reference to cases (a) and (b) above. Qatar owns a USD 1 billion Hotel in London by the name of The Ritz.

(To be continued tomorrow)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026

This article first appeared in the daily Business Recorder on April 5, 2026