June 07, 2007	Thursday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 21, 1428

RIYADH, June 6: The foreign exchange reserves of oil exporting Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries has reached $1,600 billion, surpassing even China's mammoth $1,100 billion of foreign reserves, a report from the Institute of International Finance (IIF) said.

With oil prices on a coaster ride, major Gulf oil exporters, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are currently accounting for the bulk of the GCC's $1,600bn of foreign asset holdings, the IIF said.

A considerable chunk of this money is being recycled into Asia. Pakistan has been identified as one of the beneficiaries of this regional boom, local analysts concede.

Regional financial experts say GCC total reserves are likely to soar to the astronomical $3 trillion, larger than all of Asia, by the end of the decade.

The IIF report noted an "extraordinary deficiency of information on the capital flows and foreign asset holdings of the GCC's members, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

About traditional dollar investments, the IIF said evidence also suggested the six countries had a strong interest in investments in emerging markets, particularly in the Middle East region and East Asia."

The overall holdings represented 225 per cent of the GCC's gross domestic product while China's foreign reserves represented 42 per cent of GDP.