Middle East corporations will press ahead with regional and internationalexpansiondespite the escalating global financial crisis, according to a survey by KPMG published on Monday.
The professional services giant said the survey of 50 senior corporate investment strategists found the crisis would see corporations being more cautious, but was unlikely to significantly impact investment plans.
KPMG said only 13 percent of respondents thought the crisis would be a problem for the foreseeable future, with most saying it would affect investment plans for no more than two or three years.
“The worldwide problems with credit do not seem to worry these people very much,” Abdelhamid Attallah, partner in KPMG’s Egypt member firm, said in a statement.
Corporations would focus on regional expansion in 2009, but that in five years time the focus would have shifted more towards Asia, according to the survey.
The survey found 26 percent of respondents plan to invest in the UAE to invest in next year, followed by Qatar and India (22 percent) and Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and China (14 percent).
In five years time, the survey shows India will be the investment destination of choice (34 percent), followed by the UAE (22 percent) and China (16 percent).
“These responses suggest that large Middle Eastern corporations are set on becoming more international in their operations, but are taking a cautious, step-by-step approach to investment outside the region,” Attallah said.
Follow us on
