Mideast still seen as 'attractive' for Western investors

MIDEAST OPPORTUNITIES: The National Investor has said that the region is still attractive to investors despite the Dubai debt crisis.

The Middle East remains one of the “most attractive regions” for Western investors despite Dubai’s recent debt crisis, according to The National Investor (TNI).

Next week, the asset management arm of the Abu Dhabi-based investment bank will launch a fund raising roadshow in London, aimed at targeting Western investors to the MENA and Levant countries.

“It [the Middle East] looks like one of the most attractive regions in the world at this point in time,” Walid Hayeck, director and head of Asset Management at The National Investor, told Arabian Business.

Dubai shocked global markets when it sought a debt delay on $26bn in November. Concerns over the crisis have hurt investor sentiment, according to a report published by Shuaa Capital on Tuesday.

Investor confidence in the GCC economies dropped 2.4 points in January with the UAE leading the declines, the investment bank said.

Despite the decline, Hayeck said the region’s fundamentals remain strong. “This region is going to be more and more attractive for institutional investors abroad. The macros of the region are still attractive [and] the fundamentals are still strong,” he said.

“This region has very strong demographics and it has shown high growth of GDP per capita throughout the last decade and this is going to continue,” he added.

“Governments are loaded with cash to fund infrastructure projects and from the consumption side the demographics are portraying high growth and enrichment of individuals so the drivers of the domestic demand are there.”

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