The Ang Mos know very well that these guys want to rub shoulders and basically vain and thus offered them silly deals. The did the same to the vain Saudi Arabian Billionaire Prince Taleel. Pinkerton complex.
Prince Waleel Bin Talal is many things but not dumb nor gullible - this is one aspect of doing business in the Gulf that most outsiders are ignorant about - they think that the Gulf is full of dumb oil rich sheikhs who make stupid decisions. There are always a few of those but the very wealthy are also the ones that can afford to pay for the best personal advisers who do their bidding. I've met singkies who don't even know why such and such is a Sheikh and what it means in the Gulf context. And they are suppose to represent Singapore interest in that part of the world.
Prince Talal has an amazing collection of extremely smart and well-paid advisers around him - the public persona is just like that of Hollywood actors - you do not get a true sense of what they are about as all difficult and painful negotiations are fronted by his people - typically they are the puppet masters.
Think of what happened in Dubai - international, regional and local banks fell over backwards to fund the growth of that emirate - when the credit crisis bit, the Dubai government turned around and said it would not honour the commitments of some "state" entities - the scramble is still ongoing for debt restructuring like Dubai World but if you were to visit Dubai today, its on track as a regional business hub where even if business is conducted regionally, most MNCs would rather be based there than elsewhere because the infrastructure and the free-trade zones have made it conducive for business.
And the banks still have not got their money back nor have they been able to effectively enforce their security.
There is a famous quotation from Sheikh Zayed when he was criticised by tribesmen for letting in so many foreigners - he responded:
"Do you think these foreigners will be carrying these buildings on their backs when they leave?"
Its the Gulf mindset and often unfathomable to most.
