Outsourcing has historically not been a major pillar in Middle East public and private sector organisation’s strategic architecture. While the benefits of outsourcing are understood and recognised, organisations have sought to engage with major outsourced service providers through managed service agreements and joint ventures. This approach has generally worked well. It has enabled local organisations to maintain control of their infrastructure, environments, people and third-party contracts and, in the case of joint ventures, provided organisations with the potential opportunity to
Financing the Middle East’s Shopping Spree
The continuing strong economic conditions of the UAE and other GCC economies has led to an upsurge in consumer spending in recent years. With retail sales in the region expected to reach US$284.5 billion by 2018, the need to meet the growing demand for consumer goods has led to a boom in planned shopping mall developments in the Middle East.
Dubai might be the world’s most visited retail destination thanks to The Dubai Mall, which attracted nearly
How Oil and Gas Companies can Optimize Technology Performance and Costs During Oil Price Volatility
An unexpected surge in production coupled with weakened global demand has resulted in a 50 percent drop in the price of crude oil since June 2014 and currently averaging US$50 a barrel. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced it would leave market forces to determine crude oil price and would not cut oil output. The current oil price is the lowest it has been since Spring 2009. As oil and gas companies begin to
Is Green Sukuk a Viable Option for Clean Energy Initiatives in the GCC?
A number of GCC governments, including those in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, have set ambitious clean energy and energy efficiency targets. As the fastest growing region in the world, the GCC’s population is expected to grow more than 53 million by 2020. Substantial amounts of investments will be required to finance the clean energy and energy efficient projects necessary to meet the needs of the future population.
Capital markets allow investors a low-cost alternative
Green bonds, which tie
Why International Investors are Watching the Tadawul
The MSCI upgrade of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to “emerging market’ status marked the beginning of increasingly liberalised GCC stock exchanges.
Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange, the Tadawul, is by far the largest securities exchange in the GCC by market capitalisation. It is also the most liquid in terms of daily trading volumes and the most diversified in terms of issuers.
Most recently, The National Commercial Bank (NCB), Saudi Arabia’s largest bank, issued 25 percent of its
5 Ways to Protect your Business from a Cyber Attack
Global cyber-attack threats stand at the highest ever recorded level, jumping 14 percent from 2012 to 2013 (Cisco 2014 Annual Security Report). Furthermore, a recent Microsoft Security Intelligence Report found that operating system infection rates in the GCC countries were almost twice the worldwide average, with up to 13 computers out of every 1,000 being infected.
The general lack of cybercrime disclosure has made measuring the financial impact of cyber breaches challenging. Reporting of cyber attacks remain
Saudi Capital Market Authority Publishes Draft Rules for Qualified Foreign Financial Institutions Investment in Listed Shares
Following last month’s announcement by the Saudi Arabian Capital Market Authority (the CMA) of its proposal to permit participation by qualified financial institutions directly on the Kingdom’s stock exchange (the Tadawul), the CMA has now published its Draft Rules for public consultation.
The Draft Rules include detailed provisions relating to qualified foreign investor (QFI) eligibility, assessment and approval process of investment applications by QFIs, investment limits on shares and the procedure for applications. The Draft Rules represent a significant
Saudi Opens Market to Foreign Financial Institutions
In a long anticipated measure, the Saudi Council of Ministers (which is the highest authority in the Kingdom) issued a resolution on 21 July, 2014 authorizing foreign financial institutions to directly buy and sell stocks listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul). The resolution also authorized the Saudi Capital Market Authority (the “CMA”) to set the timing and rules for such participation. On July 22, 2014, the CMA announced that it will publish draft rules for foreign
Top 4 Innovations Driving Growth in the Global Sukuk Market
The Sukuk Opportunity
Total Sukuk issuances for 2013 stood at approximately US$120 billion and the Sukuk market is likely to sustain double-digit growth in the coming two to three years with assets in Islamic finance expected to reach US$2.8 trillion by 2015.
The growth of the Sukuk market has allowed investors to diversify their portfolio and invest in credit that they would not otherwise have access to, such as Islamic institutions, which only raise funds in a Shari’ah-compliant manner. The
How the GCC Can Boost Confidence in its Local Exchanges
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries accounted for IPO issuances valued at US$1.1 billion in 2013, according to Bloomberg. Notably, Qatar Exchange bounced back this year with the successful IPO and listing of Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding company Q.S.C. (a Qatar Petroleum Subsidiary), the first IPO in Qatar since 2010 and the first under the current listing rules of the Qatar Financial Markets Authority.
With momentum returning to local exchanges combined with increasingly favourable market conditions, the GCC IPO