UAE, Egypt equities seen returning best returns

Top global institutional investors and leading Mena companies see best three-year returns in the UAE and Egypt, according to a report from EFG Hermes, a leading investment bank in the region.

They are also evenly split on whether Mena equities will outperform their emerging market peers over the coming three years, added the first EFG Hermes One on One Mena Consensus: Taking the Pulse of Mena.

The first annual EFG Hermes Mena Consensus, a unique real-time survey of 455 institutional investors from around the world and senior executives from 117 major listed Mena companies who gathered recently in Dubai for day one of the 12th Annual EFG Hermes One On One.

The live survey was a feature of a headline debate on whether “Mena can escape the boom and bust cycle of oil.” The debate featured Hedi Ben Mlouka (CEO of Duet Mena) and Bishoy Azmi (CEO, Al-Shafar General Contracting) arguing in the affirmative, while Ashraf El Ansary (CIO, Exante) and Catherine Bolgar (former managing editor of Wall Street Journal Europe) argued an escape was unlikely.

“This year will be testing for global and Mena markets,” said Simon Kitchen, head of Macro Strategy at EFG Hermes. “Liquidity is tightening; volatility is rising across asset classes. Commodity prices are collapsing, China is rebalancing and energy markets are undergoing a fundamental change. Meanwhile, populists are gaining ground in both the US and Europe.