EFG Hermes: Beyond the horizon
Amr Seif is head of asset management at EFG Hermes, a firm that has traditionally focused its expertise on the Middle East and North Africa, but is now expanding into other territories.
Saudi Arabia
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Saudi Arabia unveils reform plan to cut dependence on oil
The government of Saudi Arabia approved a new economic plan on Monday which will see the kingdom emerge as a major global investor and introduce a new visa system to allow expatriates to live in the country for extended periods.
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Saudi Arabia borrows $10bn from global banks
Saudi Arabia is poised to tap the international loan market for the first time to raise $10bn (£7bn, €8.8bn) to help fill a huge budget deficit caused by the dramatic fall in oil prices, and may also issue a debut global bond, according to bankers cited in several media reports.
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Moody’s cuts Saudi growth outlook amid ratings slide
The impact of lower oil prices has caused ratings agency Moody’s to revise down its economic outlook for Saudi Arabia, in a week which saw rival agency Standard and Poor’s announce a two-notch downgrade of the country’s sovereign ratings.
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Is Saudi Arabia finally winning the global oil war?
Sometimes in global financial markets, change can be brutal as the market adjusts to a completely new reality. The second half of 2014 was one of these periods and witnessed the beginning of what would become one of the largest declines in global oil prices on record.
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Saudi Arabia aims to introduce VAT, privatise key sectors
Saudi Arabia’s deputy crown prince has said the kingdom rules out introducing income and wealth taxes but aims to go live with VAT by the end of 2016.
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Healthcare, education to escape planned new Gulf VAT
Healthcare and education will be excluded from a planned Gulf-wide value added tax (VAT) scheme, which the Middle East region’s finance ministers have agreed on to shore up revenues in the wake of the recent sharp fall in oil prices.
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Oil price fall sees S&P cut ratings on main Saudi banks
The sharp fall in oil prices and the impact it will have on Saudi Arabia’s government finances led ratings agency Standard and Poor’s to cut its credit rankings for eight of the country’s major banks on Friday.
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Saudi Arabia seen cutting funds held with asset managers
Saudi Arabia has reportedly withdrawn tens of billions of dollars from global asset management firms in response to the ongoing slump in oil price and the recent volatility in world equity markets.
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Oil price slide fails to deter MENA stocks growth path
The collapse in oil prices and volatility in the emerging markets induced by China’s slowdown has hurt stocks in the Middle East but has not knocked the region’s major equity markets off their positive trajectory, said Amundi fund manager Remy Marcel.
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Fund manager Yong Wei Lee sees MENA pick up by year end
With Saudi Arabia now open to foreign investment, fund manager Yong Wei Lee, who runs the Emirates MENA Top Companies Fund, is looking to capitalise on the region’s strong potential.
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Saudi Arabian stock exchange opens to foreign investors
Saudi Arabia has today opened its $570bn Tadawul stock exchange to direct foreign investments for the first time, which is widely seen as a crucial stepping stone to the kingdom’s entry into the MSCI Emerging Markets index.