Had an interesting roundtable today with the folks at in the DIFC. <b>Vivek Kudva</b> , FT's (Central Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa), was there, as were <b>Dhiraj Rai</b> , the sales director for the region, and <b>Michael Jadalla</b> , the marketing director. Kudva didn't reveal all that much about Franklin Templeton's plans in the Gulf. But the mammoth American fund firm (it still has $391bn in assets under management as of the end of March) does appear to have something in the oven. They've certainly devoted a good amount of resources to the region, having moved their institutional head from London to Dubai in April and recently increased their stake in , one of Dubai's super-rare independent fund managers. Interestingly, Kudva also said FT had the right (but not the obligation) to build on its 40 per cent stake in Algebra and take a controlling interest in the company. He wouldn't say what the timeframe was for any potential further stake-increases, but indicated that the plan for now was to maintain the status quo. "Algebra has a great team that has worked together for 10 years," he said. "They're a very strong team, and we would like to maintain that." Kudva said Templeton would focus on "opportunities" in Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE on the institional side, and look towards the UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain on the retail side. They're also keen to get into the world of Islamic finance, perhaps launching a fund with Algebra as manager by the end of the year. "We will look at Shariah and sukuk opportunities with Algebra," Kudva said. "It's a function of what investors want." Templeton may also use Algebra to help set up a private equity fund in cooperation with Darby, the firm's private equity subsidiary. (Image above: Vivek Kudva of Franklin Templeton; supplied.)