The Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) may be forced to abandon its takeover of Rohm & Haas Co. (ROH) now that a $17.4 billion joint venture with Kuwait’s state-run oil company has been scrapped. Kuwait’s Petrochemical Industries Co. earlier this week cancelled plans to take a 50% stake in Dow’s plastics unit amid pressure from government officials alarmed by plunging oil prices. The venture would have created the world’s largest maker of polyethylene - a chemical used in wide array of plastic products, such as bottles and compact discs. It also would have provided Dow with a $7.5 billion cash infusion that the company had earmarked for its pending takeover of Rohm & Haas. The Philadelphia-based Rohm & Haas on July 10 agreed to a $78 a share takeover offer from Dow Chemical. Dow planned to finance the takeover with a $13 ...

ETF provider Van Eck Global filed with the SEC to launch two funds tracking Kuwait and Egypt.  The firm already has an ETF in its Market Vectors family that covers the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (including Kuwait, but not Egypt).  Though three other ETFs launched in 2008 cover the Middle East, the Van Eck filings will be the first ETFs to cover those two markets exclusively. You can find the prospectus for the two funds here.

By Jason Simpkins Associate Editor The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), the oil-rich nation’s sovereign wealth fund, is planning to triple its investment in Japan to $48 billion, highlighting a global investment shift away from U.S. assets. The Kuwait sovereign wealth fund already has $15 billion to $16 billion invested in Japan, but Kuna, the nation’s state news agency, quoted Finance Minister Mustapha al-Shamali, as saying that the “KIA has an intention to double or triple its investment in the Japanese market.” That investment boost would follow Japan’s recent agreement with Kuwait to reduce - or end - double taxation on interest, dividends, and capital gains. Japan has similar agreements with about 60 countries, but the deal with Kuwait is the Asian nation’s first with a Middle-Eastern state, according to the Financial Times. KIA is currently invested in Japanese stocks and bonds, Shamali ...

We've discussed this many times in the past [Jan 21: A Tour Through the Middle East] and as I wrote in January While we wring our collective hands about how the infrastructure companies are going to lose all their business as crude drops from $100 to $75, and projects will be cancelled due to their rich customers actually giving a rat's behind if crude is $100 or $75 let's take a look at reality. I noticed a story in the NY Times this weekend on Saudi Arabia - so I'd like to overlay that with just a snapshot of what is going on in some of the other countries in this part of the world - the Kuwaits, the Oman's, the Abu Dhabi's, the Qatar's.... ... because perhaps I think most of us still are very inward looking as Americans and do not realize ...

By Jennifer Yousfi Managing Editor The Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) yesterday (Thursday) announced its plans to buy rival Rohm and Haas Co. (ROH) in an $18.8 billion deal, $3 billion of which will come from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A, BRK.B). News of the Dow buyout sent Rohm and Haas shares soaring over 60% by midday in New York. “The transaction delivers on the promises we have made to our shareholders about transforming our earnings profile to one of high-growth and less cyclicality,” Dow Chief Executive Officer Andrew Liveris told a conference call regarding the Rohm and Haas offer, Reuters reported. Some analysts felt the $78 per share bid - a 74% premium to Wednesday’s closing price of $44.83 - for Rohm and Haas shares was too steep a price for Dow to pay....