Governments in West Asia on Thursday announced a series of billion-dollar deals that put them in the heart of the investment world in the West.

The government of Dubai would acquire a 19.9 per cent stake in the Nasdaq Stock Market through the stock exchange owned by it, reports the Washington Post. Dubai would thus become the first government in West Asia to own a substantial stake in an American stock exchange.

The Nasdaq deal also enables the Dubai exchange to take a 28 per cent stake in the London Stock Exchange, while Nasdaq will get to control the OMX, a stock exchange based in Stockholm.

In another development, private equity giant Carlyle Group of the District of Columbia said it was selling a 7.5 per cent share of its general ownership to an investment group owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, which like Dubai is part of the oil-rich United Arab Emirates.

Simultaneously, the Qatar Investment Authority said it bought a 20 per cent stake in the London Stock Exchange. The QIA is a government investement fund.

The investments have generated a share of unease in Washington, DC, and lawmakers have voiced concern over sensitive foreign investment.

Last year, Dubai Ports World attempted to take operating control of several US seaport terminals, but had to abandon the plan after it set off a storm of protests over border security falling into the hands of an Arab government.

Heeding the alarm bells, in July President George Bush brought in a law to ensure severe scrutiny of foreign direct investment in critical American assets.