Their names are Haier, CITIC, Temasek Holdings, Infosys, Dubai International Capital and Mubadala Development.

Many may not have heard of all these companies, but they are spearheading a revolution in competitiveness, according to the International Institute for Management Development's World Competitiveness Centre (WCC), publisher of the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook since 1989.

In a statement from its Lausanne headquarters IMD said successful nations like China, Singapore and Dubai were on a buying spree for overseas companies.

These nations have skills, connections and, more than anything, money - huge amounts of it.

This phenomenon will be addressed in the 2007 edition of the World Competitiveness Yearbook. The WCC publication is reputed to be the most comprehensive database of the competitiveness of nations.

The statement said China had exceeded US$1 trillion (Bt35.58 trillion) in foreign-currency reserves, the biggest in the world. Russia, Taiwan, South Korea, India, Hong Kong and the Persian Gulf countries are also earning money at an impressive rate.

"What will they do with it?" the statement asks.

Traditionally, they have invested in United States Treasury bonds or North American and European real estate.

This was good news for the US and several European countries plagued by deficits and debt. The money always came back home and financed their standards of living. Not any more, the IMD asserts.

China is now putting her money elsewhere and buying industrial assets. It failed to take over Unocal, the US oil giant because of US sensitivities. So it is turning to Africa and Asia, the statement explains.

More than 700 Chinese companies are now operating in Asia, and China is buying up all the energy assets it can lay its hands on.

India is playing the information-technology card, and its software and service companies are competitive.

Dubai is diversifying, from shipping to finance.

Prince al-Waleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia is taking stakes in banks, computer companies and hotels.

South Africa's telecommunications giant MTN is expanding all over Asia and advancing into the Arab world.

The Singapore State investment company Temasek Holdings bought Thailand's Shin Corp in Thailand.

Mubadala of Abu Dhabi is looking at German companies, among others.

But it is not all about buying. It is also about investing locally. The IMD statement estimates more than $700 billion in projects are under way in the Gulf, financed mostly buy oil and gas profits.

Fewer and fewer dollars earned in the industrialised world are returning there.

As a consequence a new world of competitors, essentially from Asia, Russia and the Gulf, is learning to stand on its own and operating within its borders.

Why should only Western companies exploit business opportunities in the developing world? It is not a cosy world any more, says the IMB.

Competition is tougher. Europe and US will suffer if they do not put their financial houses in order. Individual households cannot continue to build up debt if the sources of wealth are generated abroad. Governments cannot ignore deficits if lenders turn to better opportunities.

It will be a year of increased tensions in 2007.

Investing in Western industry is a sensitive matter and creates political anxiety. China, Russia, Singapore, India and the Gulf are all experiencing a new kind of "protectionism" against their investment.

But the buying frenzy will not stop in 2007. On the contrary, the IMD asserts.

Geopolitical consequences will be formidable. Large competitive superpowers will want to use economic muscle on the political scene, it said. China is doing it in Africa, and Russia is using energy

supply as a lever in Europe, the IMD says.