“While western consumers have been dancing the night away, China
has been working round the clock, accumulating a vast stockpile of foreign
currency reserves, mainly greenbacks. Asian countries now have enough
dollar assets to buy a controlling interest in every company in the
Dow Jones index.”
—
“Asian Tigers can afford to prowl the world in search of industrial
and financial prey. So, too, Middle East oil producers, who recognise
that they squandered their riches from the energy boom of the 1970s
and are determined not to make the same mistake again. Their game plan
appears simple: buy blue-chip assets, be patient, collect rewards.”