The Irish writer Oscar Wilde summed it up perfectly. "The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about," he said, referring to the double-edged nature of rumour and publicity.
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The region's stock exchanges, particularly in the UAE and Qatar, might agree with that sentiment in the run-up to an event that many investors believe is crucial to the future financial health of the region.
In June, Morgan Stanley Capital International, part of the giant US investment bank, will decide on whether to include the two Gulf markets in its MSCI Emerging Markets index.
In Doha, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, they are fervently hoping they will be talked about as members of the emerging markets (EM) club, rather than remaining on the fringes of global investment as "frontier" markets.
If they make the jump to EM status, those exchanges will be included alongside such powerhouses as the Bric countries (Brazil, Russia, China and India) as well as economic giants such as Turkey, Mexico and Indonesia.
This kind of investment categorisation is never entirely satisfactory. For Qatar to be grouped with China as an EM seems wholly artificial. For China still to be regarded as "emerging" at all seems increasingly silly; maybe when its economy overtakes the US in size in a few years time it will stop emerging and become just plain "dominant".
But Qatar and the UAE will not want to argue about the semantics. Inclusion in the MSCI EM index will bring with it exposure to the estimated US$450 billion (Dh1.65 trillion) of finance currently managed by EM funds, and put both country's markets firmly on the investment map.
At the moment, both are included in the MSCI Frontier Markets (FM) index, which covers such minnows of the investment world as Bangladesh, Mauritius and Trinidad and Tobago. With the greatest respect, any self-respecting stock market would not want to be talked about in the same breath as those three.
Qatar and the UAE have been in this situation before. Last year, the MSCI deliberators were similarly considering whether to promote them, and decided against, mainly because their settlement systems were regarded as not quite up to scratch. (I wonder, though, how they compare with settlement in, say, Colombia, which is a member of the EM club.)
Since that disappointment, both countries have taken corrective measures. The UAE will introduce a "delivery versus payment" (DVP) settlement system by the end of this month, it has promised.
The MSCI authorities also had concerns about foreign ownership rules, regarded as a hindrance to investment in both countries but especially in Qatar, where foreigners cannot own more than 25 per cent of quoted companies. There is still time for Doha to lift that limit, probably by royal decree, which would more or less guarantee EM status for Doha.
Apart from the DVP factor, there was another problem in the minds of MSCI when it looked at the UAE last year: the Emirates was not then (and still is not) a unified market as Doha is. There were three stock exchanges, one in Abu Dhabi and two in Dubai, which was regarded as excessively confusing for a country of only 5 million people.
Since then the introduction of a common platform between the two Dubai exchanges has gone some way to addressing the issue, and Morgan Stanley is said to be working on a plan to merge the Abu Dhabi and Dubai markets. But whether that will come to fruition in time for the MSCI verdict is unclear.
In the Dubai financial community, the subject is a hot topic, and two separate rumours are doing the rounds in the Gate complex.
One is that MSCI was initially minded to block UAE promotion to the big league but has come under pressure from international investors keen to see the Emirates included and will now announce a six-month extension to the judging process. An announcement will be deferred until next January, it is whispered.
The other rumour, which could just be a different version of rumour number one, is that MSCI will announce next month that Qatar is in but that the UAE is not. That would be a blow to the UAE markets for sure.
I think, on the whole, that MSCI will not take such a drastic step; after falling out with Saudi Arabia (still not in the EM index) in 2009, it would not want to make another enemy in the Gulf.
fkane@thenational.ae
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
T20 World Cup Qualifier fixtures
Tuesday, October 29
Qualifier one, 2.10pm – Netherlands v UAE
Qualifier two, 7.30pm – Namibia v Oman
Wednesday, October 30
Qualifier three, 2.10pm – Scotland v loser of qualifier one
Qualifier four, 7.30pm – Hong Kong v loser of qualifier two
Thursday, October 31
Fifth-place playoff, 2.10pm – winner of qualifier three v winner of qualifier four
Friday, November 1
Semi-final one, 2.10pm – Ireland v winner of qualifier one
Semi-final two, 7.30pm – PNG v winner of qualifier two
Saturday, November 2
Third-place playoff, 2.10pm
Final, 7.30pm
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now
Jewel of the Expo 2020
252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome
13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas
550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome
724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses
Stands taller than the leaning tower of Pisa
Steel trellis dome is one of the largest single structures on site
The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants
Al Wasl means connection in Arabic
World’s largest 360-degree projection surface
Hotel Data Cloud profile
Date started: June 2016
Founders: Gregor Amon and Kevin Czok
Based: Dubai
Sector: Travel Tech
Size: 10 employees
Funding: $350,000 (Dh1.3 million)
Investors: five angel investors (undisclosed except for Amar Shubar)
Company%20profile
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
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BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
How to donate
Text the following numbers:
2289 - Dh10
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*numbers work for both Etisalat and du
The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre, V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: seven-speed PDK dual clutch automatic
Power: 375bhp
Torque: 520Nm
Price: Dh332,800
On sale: now
Recipe
Garlicky shrimp in olive oil
Gambas Al Ajillo
Preparation time: 5 to 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
180ml extra virgin olive oil; 4 to 5 large cloves of garlic, minced or pureed (or 3 to 4 garlic scapes, roughly chopped); 1 or 2 small hot red chillies, dried (or ¼ teaspoon dried red chilli flakes); 400g raw prawns, deveined, heads removed and tails left intact; a generous splash of sweet chilli vinegar; sea salt flakes for seasoning; a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Method
▶ Heat the oil in a terracotta dish or frying pan. Once the oil is sizzling hot, add the garlic and chilli, stirring continuously for about 10 seconds until golden and aromatic.
▶ Add a splash of sweet chilli vinegar and as it vigorously simmers, releasing perfumed aromas, add the prawns and cook, stirring a few times.
▶ Once the prawns turn pink, after 1 or 2 minutes of cooking, remove from the heat and season with sea salt flakes.
▶ Once the prawns are cool enough to eat, scatter with parsley and serve with small forks or toothpicks as the perfect sharing starter. Finish off with crusty bread to soak up all that flavour-infused olive oil.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 480hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 570Nm from 2,300-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 10.4L/100km
Price: from Dh547,600
On sale: now
Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
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Company%20Profile
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Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance: the specs
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 plus rear-mounted electric motor
Power: 843hp at N/A rpm
Torque: 1470Nm N/A rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.6L/100km
On sale: October to December
Price: From Dh875,000 (estimate)
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now