Investments

A recent article in the New York Times spotlights the business fortunes of Emirates Airline. The main thrust of the piece is a celebration of the airline's success and profitability in the generally lackluster category of aviation. In discussing how Emirates is the largest purchaser of the new Airbus 380, the author inserts a curious fact:

"Dubai’s ruling family further cemented its ties to Airbus with the announcement Thursday that it was investing $836 million to take a 3.12 percent stake in EADS, the parent of Airbus."

As the holdings of the various investment arms of Dubai government continue to flourish abroad, it will be interesting to track how Dubai government asserts influence as a shareholder, especially in cases like Airbus where another Dubai government entity (ie. Emirates) is such a large and important customer.