Merger arbitrage has been one of the top-performing strategies of 2006. Paulson & Company is a leading light in merger arbitrage, with well-honed skills in both long and short strategic approaches to deals. Helen Avery reports.

The Saudi Arabian banking sector is waking up from its regulation-induced slumber.

In many ways Temasek, the investment arm of the Singapore government, looks very much like the US and European private equity powerhouses it competes with for Asian assets. Its business strategy, as defined on its website, is “to invest in companies with high regional or global potential and build them into successful enterprises.” It calls itself a “proactive, long-term shareholder”, which “drives performance and acts as a catalyst for wealth creation and delivery of value”. Spoken like a KKR or Carlyle. But there’s a big difference: