The Emerging Middle East Financial Markets

The book aims to unravel the potentials of Middle East financial markets, which are spread over a large and wealthy part of the world. These markets are gradually being opened for international investors seeking diversification and rewarding risk adjusted returns. However, opening up to international investors is a necessary but not a sufficient condition to attract institutional money needed to provide depth and professionalism to these markets. Without a cultural shift towards more transparency, better regulations and governance, and the availability of custody, clearance and equity research, up to international best practice, not much institutional money will be forthcoming to the region. Funding sources in the Middle East and North Africa Region are still predominantly channeled through the banking system, with equity and fixed income markets playing a marginal role. While the world’s financial markets show on average a balanced structure of bank assets, stock market capitalization and debt securities, the capital mix in the region is heavily skewed towards bank assets with a share of 58.8%, equities around 34% and debt securities (bonds and Sukuk) 7.2%. Stock markets of the UAE and Qatar have recently been upgraded to emerging market status, which together with Egypt are the only three Arab countries that have selected listed companies featuring in the Morgan Stanley Capital Index for Emerging Markets (MSCI EM). Saudi Arabia has opened its stock market to direct investment by foreign financial institutions in the second half of 2015. The opening of the Saudi stock market is a major positive development for the region’s capital markets. The path ahead for MENA finance has become now clearer. The relative weight of commercial banks in the financial system will diminish gradually, and a wider range of financial services will be provided by deeper and increasingly more sophisticated debt and equity capital markets, in line with worldwide trends. Sharia compliant products, such as Sukuk, are expected to continue to grow at double-digit rate to meet the strong demand generated regionally and internationally.

Within a broad framework for analyzing portfolio capital flows to developing countries, the paper undertakes a comparative analysis of equity markets in six Middle Eastern countries. The analysis, based primarily on a range of quantitative indicators, identifies the principal characteristics of these markets, including relative to international comparators, and examines associated structural features. This, along with an analysis of the informational efficiency of selected markets in the region, provides a basis for the subsequent review of policies for enhancing the role of equity markets in the macroeconomy of Middle Eastern countries.

First Published in 1997. Economic adjustment programs that combine macroeconomic stability and structural reforms are being implemented in several Arab countries. Policy-makers also are devoting more attention to improving the operation of domestic capital markets. To invest in this region now would be a far-sighted move by entering at a stage when the process is still under way. This book is one of very few readily available sources of reference on the region's stock and bond markets, presented in a concise and accessible form. It provides investors, policy-makers, analysts, bankers and other market participants with comprehensive information covering the top 10 Arab stock markets of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia. For each market, a historical background is given together with structure, listing and trading procedures, performance trends, financial indicators, sectoral analysis and underlying strengths and weaknesses.

The Middle East economies and their respective capital markets are a unique combination of extremes—from the vibrant, trade-based United Arab Emirates and resource rich Kuwait and Qatar to ones that are currently experiencing challenging times, such as Iraq and Lebanon. This brief covers the history, current characteristics, and challenges and opportunities of 10 capital markets from the Middle East. Each chapter is written by local authors familiar with the corresponding market: Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Handbook of Frontier Markets: Evidence from Asia and International Comparative Studies provides novel insights from academic perspectives about the behavior of investors and prices in several frontier markets. It explores finance issues usually reserved for developed and emerging markets in order to gauge whether these issues are relevant and how they manifest themselves in frontier markets. Frontier markets have now become a popular investment class among institutional investors internationally, with major financial services providers establishing index-benchmarks for this market-category. The anticipation for frontier markets is optimistic uncertainty, and many people believe that, given their growth rates, these markets will be economic success stories. Irrespective of their degrees of success, The Handbook of Frontier Markets can help ensure that the increasing international investment diverted to them will aid in their greater integration within the global financial system. Presents topics in the contexts of frontier markets and uses tests based on established methodologies from finance research Features contributing authors who are established university academics Emphasizes financial institutions and applications of financial risk models Explores finance issues usually reserved for developed and emerging markets in order to gauge whether these issues are relevant and how they manifest themselves in frontier markets

Economists have come to acknowledge that finance matters for development more, and in more ways than had been recognized for a long time. Changes in the financial services industry are providing immense possibilities for economic development. Grais and Kantur present a framework to help understand the changes occurring in the financial landscape. They also attempt to lay out the opportunities and the challenges the Middle East and Northern Africa region faces in light of these changes. The framework views financial development as a two-way, continuous, and dynamic interaction between, on the one hand, three driving forces shaping the industry and, on the other hand, four stylized dimensions of financial services. These driving forces jointly modify the financial landscape and are at the same time influenced by the effects of these changes. The three driving forces are financial liberalization, technological changes, and market innovation in response to demands for financial services. The four dimensions of financial services that are altered by the forces at play are disintermediation, institutionalization, modernization, and globalization. The authors provide a strategic perspective on the opportunities and challenges the profound changes in the financial industry bring to the Middle East and North Africa region, its policymakers, and market participants.

Over the next decade, the economies of the Middle East will continue to be characterized by rapid growth, political turmoil, and increasing competitive intensity. International investors have the choice either to ignore the region all together and bypass business opportunities with great potential or to make a careful assessment of which countries to enter and how to enter them successfully. This book is the first of its kind to include the information, insights, and frameworks that are required to develop entry and growth strategies for the Middle East in the new turbulent environment following the global economic crisis and the Arab Spring. The first part of this book provides an in-depth analysis of the major developments that determine the business environment of different countries in the region, including a discussion of major social and economic developments, the impact of the rise in multinational companies from the Middle East, and the role played by institutions and political risk. The second part deals with each of the major decisions that a company planning to grow in the region needs to make: Which countries to enter? What is the right entry mode and ownership structure? How to choose between a greenfield operation and an acquisition? This book concludes with valuable and practical advice on the process of setting up operations in the Middle East.