White papers and surveys covering issues relating to Middle East Investors. Private wealth in the Middle East region is unusually concentrated and some of the most frequently viewed research on Middle East issues covers family offices and private wealth management. Reports on trends in the sovereign wealth fund landscape have been popular, with SWFs such as ADIA... and SAMA featuring prominently. Retirement attitudes and approaches to savings and retirement in the MENA region are also given coverage. Amongst the most popular articles in this section are those examining future trends in the Gulf, the investment outlook for Middle East markets and white papers on geopolitical issues in the MENA region.
Islamic finance and sustainable, responsible, and impact (SRI) investing may appear to be completely unrelated approaches. Islamic finance prohibits riba (lending at risk) and excessive gharar (sale of risk). SRI investing has environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations at its core, but it still depends on…
In Robeco's latest podcast, Jeroen Blokland, head of Multi Asset, talks coronavirus and oil price war. “I do not think we are going to see a V-shaped recovery, but a U-shaped recovery is still possible.” Blokland still feels comfortable being underweight in risky assets. For now, the real safe haven seems to be US Treasuries…
The global sukuk market has enjoyed tremendous growth since 2013. As measured by the Dow Jones Sukuk Total Return Index and the S&P Global High Yield Sukuk Index, the U.S. dollar-denominated sukuk market experienced a compound annualized growth rate of nearly 18%, driven by increased issuance from sovereigns and…
Saudi Aramco’s IPO showed why single-country index providers may sometimes need to include companies (especially larger ones) outside of scheduled reviews, as they work to bridge gaps between a country’s equity index exposure and economic drivers.
Wellington Management's Geopolitical Strategist Thomas Mucha discusses the top five risks he's tracking for the remainder of this year, why he thinks they matter, and what the market or macro impacts might be going forward.
This paper studies SABIC’s importance to energy and chemical businesses worldwide, and it raises questions about whether the merger with Aramco will require a substantial reorganization of SABIC—along with accompanying concerns about both the workforce and jobs. Finally, it analyses the relationship between Aramco and SABIC…
OPEC is faced with a wide range of uncertainties, which are perhaps best reflected in the gulf in narratives between the bulls and the bears. For the bulls, OPEC is in a strong position: the declines in non-OPEC supply are structural while the slowdown in global economic growth is temporary. Based on this view, a mini super-…
This 46-page report by the OECD provides unique comparative data about who owns the 41,000 listed companies around the world. These companies have a combined market value of more than USD 80 trillion, equivalent to the global GDP. Today, more than half of this amount is held by institutional investors and the public sector.…
In my post from a couple of days ago, I valued Aramco at about $1.65 trillion, but I qualified that valuation by noting that this was the value before adjusting for regime change concerns. That comment seems to have been lost in the reading, and it is perhaps because (a) I made it at the end of the valuation and (b) because…
In this blog post, Aswath Damodaran examines the imminent listing of Aramco, the Saudi Arabian oil colossus. In a year full of interesting initial public offerings, Damodaran says that it is fitting that the last IPO he values this year will be the most unique, a company that after its offering is likely to be the most…
The Gulf producers are the world’s largest crude oil exporters,with most of their crude – sold via long-term contracts – flowing eastward. But oil market dynamics are shifting, reinforcing certain existing trends and creating new ones: East of Suez crude balances over the next decade highlight Asia’s growing crude import…
Over the past week, a decrease in anticipated supply offset adecline in demand expectations, resulting in higher oil prices. In2019:Q4, oil prices rose owing to an increase in demand.
Counsel Jack Hardman and Senior Associate Rafe Khokhar are in conversation with Dimitrios Vourakis, Chief Product Officer at Wethaq, and Ron Akram, Head of Advisory Board (Markets & Regulatory Structuring) at Wethaq about their work on a groundbreaking digital sukuk pilot using blockchain technology.
