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CNBC Arabia interview with MR Raghu – August 2018
Aftermath of oil crisis: Where does GCC banking industry stand? Could evolving trends instigate a paradigm shift in banking sector? Is a recovery in sight for credit growth?
Introduction on Fintech What are the avenues for Fintech adoption in the GCC? Growth drivers and Challenges for Fintech in the GCC
Key Learning Points: Key economic themes that would shape up the outlook for GCC countries in 2018 Review of capital market performance during 2017 Outlook for GCC stock & debt market in 2018
State owned enterprises (SOEs) form an integral part of the GCC economies. However, unlike the family and private businesses that are more prominent in the region, these entities have managed to stay out of the limelight. There is very little research, which has focused on this key institutional investor. SOE’s play an important role in the process of state formation in the Middle East, having been charged with supporting industrial and social development.
Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) are state owned investment vehicles for managing national wealth. Gulf SWFs rose in prominence in the global stage following the dramatic rise of oil prices since 2003 spurred by globalization and increased trade with the onset of World Trade Organization. GCC economies, which are endowed with finite pool of hydrocarbon resources accumulated ample foreign reserves and realized the need to convert them into diversified assets. The rationale behind the initiation of SWFs in the region was that these diversified assets could provide with them a steady and stable source of income, which could last for generations.
Watch now to know: How Blockchain is disrupting traditional payment systems Global banks’s interest in the technology Scope of Blockchain applications in the GCC context
The Investment banking space in GCC comprise of a plethora of services such as Equity Capital markets, Debt Capital markets, Loans, Mergers and Acquisitions, Private Equity, Brokerage and others. The GCC investment banking market after peaking in 2007, began to shrink and by 2009, the GCC investment banking market had shrunk to USD 4.2Bn in 2009 from USD 5.5Bn in 2007. While the traditional banks within the GCC remained profitable during the global financial crisis, GCC investment banks experienced challenging times. The focus to diversify away from predominantly oil based economies, GCC countries have started to focus on infrastructure development. GCC allocation to infrastructure-spending is estimated to cross USD 1 trillion by 2030, liberalization of the GCC capital markets and lower oil prices are some of the factors that are likely to impact positively on the investment banking sector.
The year 2015 marked one of the worst years for oil prices and resulting government revenues; the backbone on which most of the GCC economies ride.
2015 has seen oil prices drop to a new low amid a glut of supply in the region. But how will this affect the GCC and MENA economies? Will there be an end to the current situation? And will the prices stabilise before the end of the year or do they have further to drop? Peter Duke of Fidelity WorldWide Investment sat down with oil expert M.R. Raghu, Head of Research at the Kuwait Financial Centre, to discuss the current state of oil prices and what the future holds for oil prices in the region.
