Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) capital markets are likely to see growth of 15% to 20% in the year 2012 with region’s overall outlook remain positive, according to an expert.
“The market outlook for the GCC region is believed to be positive with expected growth of 10%-15%,” Mohammed Al Shammasi, Head of Equities at NCBCapital, told the Investors Conference opened in Manama on Wednesday.
“Saudi is the key player with huge financial resources whereas liquidity is tighter in Kuwait and Bahrain. Dubai is the least valued and therefore has potential upside. Abu Dhabi and Qatar will continue to be the safest play especially after the huge support by the government in bailing out the real estate and the financial sector to the benefit of the shareholder. Egypt is set for recovery, but the question is when, but when it starts it will have a high growth potential.”
Arindon, the Bahrain based Investor Relations Company, held its annual capital markets and investors’ Conference at the Ritz Carlton in Manama.
With an audience of 150 senior decision makers from listed and non-listed institutions and investors from across the GCC region, the successful panel style conference consisted of four themed interactive panel sessions: The Market Outlook in the MENA region as impacted by the ramifications of the Arab Spring; How alternative investment shave fared and others that have filled the gap of non-performance of traditional investment vehicles: The re-emergence of debt capital markets in the region; Emphasis on new and focused investment preferences; and the delivery of the guest lecture by Professor Ian Angell of the London School of Economics on the future of money.
“Today’s market is facing a new set of challenges that we have not experienced before, hence, in the discussions here today, you will hear views that you may haven’t heard before,” Anthea Ameer, MD at ARINDON, said.
The caliber of panellists and participants at the conference was remarkable and many ideas on debt capital market strategies and business experiences of the panellists were openly discussed and closely followed by active audience participation in the question and answer sessions held after every panel.
As for the Hedge Fund alternatives, despite a shrinking number of players in the field compared to 2008, the assets under management by hedge funds is higher than ever before at over $2 trillion. The General Manager of Notz, Stucki and Cie, Maria-Sofia Kourti stated that in 2012, the hedge fund strategies that are likely to perform are the macro alternative and managers who stand to benefit from Credit yields.
“We are delighted with the success of our fifth conference and proud to have hosted international and regional executives in Bahrain to discuss and exchange views on what are the germane issues and emerging approaches in the GCC. Our conference is being held at a particularly uncertain but interesting time and we’d like to thank all participants for the great turnout and for making the conference a great success. Particularly we would like to thank Mumtalakat for their platinum sponsorship and Batelco, Securities & Investment Company (SICO), Al Baraka Banking Group and Design Grafix for their continued support. Also our appreciation goes to the Bahrain Bourse, ALBA, Addax Bank, JP Morgan, Notz Stucki & Cie and the Bahrain Financial Exchange all of whom have contributed towards the delivery of this successful event,” Tijjay Majiyagbe, Director at ARINDON, in his opening speech, said.