SHUAA sees overwhelming investor interest during GCC Investor Conference in London
31 May 2009
Dubai - 31 May 2009: SHUAA Capital (ticker symbol: SHUA.DU), the GCC's leading financial services institution, saw significant interest and renewed optimism towards the Gulf region during its two day GCC Investor Conference in London.
Mr Majid Al Ghurair, Chairman, SHUAA Capital commented:
"The conference was a great success and we saw real optimism amongst international investors towards the GCC. This demonstrates the widespread belief amongst investors that regional markets are likely to recover more quickly from the global crisis than many in the developed world. The strength of the GCC economies lies in the vast hydrocarbon reserves and the initiatives governments have taken to modernise, liberalise and regulate their markets and in the programmes to educate their growing populations. As the hosts of this conference, we are proud to be continuing our longstanding tradition of attracting foreign capital to the GCC."
Conference participants included the senior management of 17 leading GCC companies and over 150 international investors who together discussed each company's investment case and equity story during a series of one on one meetings.
H.H. Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman, Bin Zayed Group commented:
"As Dubai 1.0 witnessed a strong focus on developing its hardware, I believe that we now have in place the financial and economic infrastructure to enable Dubai to develop its software, or knowledge infrastructure, that will help it rebound more quickly than other economies. Dubai 2.0 will symbolise an economic model that can compete globally with its state-of-the-art soft and hard infrastructure, cutting edge technology and an entrepreneurial environment that supports creativity and unrestrained flow of capital. Dubai's solid achievements over the last few years enable it to now consolidate its position as it moves ahead with its recovery."
Sanjay Uppal, Chief Financial Officer, Emirates NBD commented:
"The uncertainties posed by the current global economic downturn have necessitated continued, if not increased, engagement with the market and Emirates NBD have maintained an active dialogue with the regional and international investor community throughout the crisis. The SHUAA Capital GCC Investor Conference in London provided an excellent opportunity to continue this dialogue at a time when sentiment is showing signs of improvement and the outlook is starting to become clearer."
Zeina Al Tabari, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Drake & Scull International PJSC said:
"We are very pleased to have been given the opportunity by SHUAA Capital to explain our investment case to such a wide range of leading international investors. Importantly, our discussions also focused on the strong fundamentals supporting GCC economies and equity markets which make the region a very attractive destination for foreign investment.'
The conference also saw keynote speeches and panel sessions with regional business leaders and experts including H.H. Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman, Bin Zayed Group, UAE; H.H. Sheikha Hanadi Al Thani, Chairperson, Amwal Investment Co., Qatar; Mr. Abdulrahman Alsufiyani, VP SAGIA Funds Initiative, Regional Development, Saudi Arabia; Mr. Husam Hourani, Managing Partner, Tamimi & Company; Mr. Tom Healy, Chief Executive Officer, Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange; Mr. Abdullah Bin Saleh Al Suweilmi, Chief Executive Officer, Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul); and; Mr. Kito de Boer, Director, Middle East North Africa, McKinsey & Company.
-Ends-
About SHUAA Capital psc:
Since 1979, SHUAA Capital has played a prominent role in shaping the financial services landscape of the GCC and will continue to be at the vanguard of regional integration into global financial markets. www.shuaacapital.com
SHUAA Capital psc maintains a leadership position in Investment Banking, Asset Management, Brokerage, Private Equity, Finance, and Research. Headquartered in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, SHUAA Capital has a regional presence with offices in Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Doha, Cairo, Beirut and Istanbul.
Embedded in the dynamic economic environment of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), SHUAA Capital provides a broad range of financial services to corporations, governments, institutional clients, and high net worth individuals.
31.5.09
27.5.09
Euromoney Conference discusses future of financial sector in Saudi Arabia
Euromoney Conference discusses future of financial sector in Saudi Arabia
The Euromoney Conference has completed two days of discussions at the Faisaliah Hotel, Riyadh on the current global financial situation and the effects it is having on different industries in the Saudi Arabian market.
Saudi Arabia: Thursday, May 21 - 2009
The conference was addressed by H.E. Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf, Minister of Finance, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, who said:
'Saudi Arabia has continued to follow an expansionary fiscal policy. The 2009 budget includes a 36% increase in investment spending.'
He added, 'The current expansion of investment expenditure, which covers infrastructure, public services, education and health sectors, will provide great trade and investment opportunities for the private sector both at home and abroad. We expect contracting firms and suppliers to take full advantage of these opportunities.'
The second keynote speech was delivered by H.E. Abdullah Alireza, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In it he spoke about the future vision of the Saudi economy until 2025, focusing on diversification of the sources led by the private sector to provide well-paying job opportunities, high quality education and excellent health care.
'Saudi Arabia has carried out many steps to achieve this goal including increasing sustainable economic and industrial growth, developing the business environment and infrastructure, continuing high rates of spending and supporting the national private sector,' he added.
'This vision sends a clear message to the world that Saudi Arabia will not accept being or being looked at as a fuel station but rather as a laboratory of distinction and as an incubator of innovation and invention. There is no room for reversing this policy,' he stated.
H.E. Dr Mohammed Al-Jasser, Governor, Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), explained the fiscal policy in the Kingdom, 'The Saudi Arabian economy is still exposed to the vagaries of the oil market so that our growth is much more volatile than in the advanced economies which are highly diversified. The result is that we have always used fiscal policy as a powerful counter-cyclical tool to stabilize the growth path.'
Mubarak Al-Khafrah, Chairman, National Industrialisation Company (Tasnee), gave an insight into the view of the global economic crisis from a private sector perspective, 'The Saudi economy has faired better than most economies in the world coping with the financial crisis. We still need a lot of work through co-operation between the public and private sectors to withstand the impact of this crisis while at the same time pushing for our economic growth which is critical for our prosperity.'
Day two was opened with an address from H.E. Dr. Jobarah Al-Suraisry, Minister of Transport, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia who commented, 'Saudi Arabia has not postponed or cancelled any public sector projects. At the beginning of the crisis it was announced that none of the Government’s projects would be affected and the largest ever budget in the Kingdom’s history was immediately put in place. The North-South Rail Project connecting Jordan and Riyadh is on track and will be completed next year. The express train connecting Jeddah to Mecca and Medina has already started and is due for completion in 2012.'
The conference included a series of discussion panels on topics on the global economy, Saudi Arabian macroeconomy and Government finance, the private sector response, equity markets, infrastructure investment, real estate and power and water. Panelists included representatives from both the public and private sector.
Delegates were also able to attend a series of focused workshops during the course of the conference discussing GCC capital markets, strategic alternatives for capital raising, domestic consolidation in the Kingdom, the future of economic diversification and financing regional economic growth through Sukuk.
The Euromoney conference was attended by 1,200 delegates over the course of the two day event.
'The conference has been a great success with many different view points on the current global financial situation and how new models should be created to free the restrictions in the financial markets and improve the availability of finance in the future. We would like to thank all the speakers, delegates and our sponsors for helping to create a very informative and interesting conference,'
concluded Richad Banks, Director, Middle East, Euromoney Conferences.
The Euromoney Conference has completed two days of discussions at the Faisaliah Hotel, Riyadh on the current global financial situation and the effects it is having on different industries in the Saudi Arabian market.
Saudi Arabia: Thursday, May 21 - 2009
The conference was addressed by H.E. Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf, Minister of Finance, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, who said:
'Saudi Arabia has continued to follow an expansionary fiscal policy. The 2009 budget includes a 36% increase in investment spending.'
He added, 'The current expansion of investment expenditure, which covers infrastructure, public services, education and health sectors, will provide great trade and investment opportunities for the private sector both at home and abroad. We expect contracting firms and suppliers to take full advantage of these opportunities.'
The second keynote speech was delivered by H.E. Abdullah Alireza, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In it he spoke about the future vision of the Saudi economy until 2025, focusing on diversification of the sources led by the private sector to provide well-paying job opportunities, high quality education and excellent health care.
'Saudi Arabia has carried out many steps to achieve this goal including increasing sustainable economic and industrial growth, developing the business environment and infrastructure, continuing high rates of spending and supporting the national private sector,' he added.
'This vision sends a clear message to the world that Saudi Arabia will not accept being or being looked at as a fuel station but rather as a laboratory of distinction and as an incubator of innovation and invention. There is no room for reversing this policy,' he stated.
H.E. Dr Mohammed Al-Jasser, Governor, Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), explained the fiscal policy in the Kingdom, 'The Saudi Arabian economy is still exposed to the vagaries of the oil market so that our growth is much more volatile than in the advanced economies which are highly diversified. The result is that we have always used fiscal policy as a powerful counter-cyclical tool to stabilize the growth path.'
Mubarak Al-Khafrah, Chairman, National Industrialisation Company (Tasnee), gave an insight into the view of the global economic crisis from a private sector perspective, 'The Saudi economy has faired better than most economies in the world coping with the financial crisis. We still need a lot of work through co-operation between the public and private sectors to withstand the impact of this crisis while at the same time pushing for our economic growth which is critical for our prosperity.'
Day two was opened with an address from H.E. Dr. Jobarah Al-Suraisry, Minister of Transport, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia who commented, 'Saudi Arabia has not postponed or cancelled any public sector projects. At the beginning of the crisis it was announced that none of the Government’s projects would be affected and the largest ever budget in the Kingdom’s history was immediately put in place. The North-South Rail Project connecting Jordan and Riyadh is on track and will be completed next year. The express train connecting Jeddah to Mecca and Medina has already started and is due for completion in 2012.'
The conference included a series of discussion panels on topics on the global economy, Saudi Arabian macroeconomy and Government finance, the private sector response, equity markets, infrastructure investment, real estate and power and water. Panelists included representatives from both the public and private sector.
Delegates were also able to attend a series of focused workshops during the course of the conference discussing GCC capital markets, strategic alternatives for capital raising, domestic consolidation in the Kingdom, the future of economic diversification and financing regional economic growth through Sukuk.
The Euromoney conference was attended by 1,200 delegates over the course of the two day event.
'The conference has been a great success with many different view points on the current global financial situation and how new models should be created to free the restrictions in the financial markets and improve the availability of finance in the future. We would like to thank all the speakers, delegates and our sponsors for helping to create a very informative and interesting conference,'
concluded Richad Banks, Director, Middle East, Euromoney Conferences.
Kuwait's Noor to launch $175m real-estate fund
Kuwait's Noor to launch $175m real-estate fund
Kuwait's Noor Financial Investment is set to launch a $175 million real estate fund in the second quarter of 2009 looking to tap on to growing opportunities in the sector, sources close to the company said on Sunday. Noor has already applied for the proper licensing from the Kuwaiti authorities and the fund is expected to be launched in the near future, the source told Kuwait's Al-Qabas daily. The fund will invest in the commercial real estate properties across the region despite the downturn in the real estate sector in the GCC.
The source pointed out that Noor has identified many opportunities in the real sector and wanted to invest now and capitalize later.
The GCC's real estate sector has been hit hard by the global economic downturn, with hundreds of projects being delayed or closed down in 2008. But experts say these properties offer good value as they are now undevalued.
The source said the creation of the fund is timely due to a number of good valuations available in the market, and the region's economies positive growth outlook.
Noor Financial Investment is the financial arm of National Industries Group (Holding) with interests in several sectors including telecommunications, infrastructure and oil, gas and private equity investments. - RPN
Kuwait's Noor Financial Investment is set to launch a $175 million real estate fund in the second quarter of 2009 looking to tap on to growing opportunities in the sector, sources close to the company said on Sunday. Noor has already applied for the proper licensing from the Kuwaiti authorities and the fund is expected to be launched in the near future, the source told Kuwait's Al-Qabas daily. The fund will invest in the commercial real estate properties across the region despite the downturn in the real estate sector in the GCC.
The source pointed out that Noor has identified many opportunities in the real sector and wanted to invest now and capitalize later.
The GCC's real estate sector has been hit hard by the global economic downturn, with hundreds of projects being delayed or closed down in 2008. But experts say these properties offer good value as they are now undevalued.
The source said the creation of the fund is timely due to a number of good valuations available in the market, and the region's economies positive growth outlook.
Noor Financial Investment is the financial arm of National Industries Group (Holding) with interests in several sectors including telecommunications, infrastructure and oil, gas and private equity investments. - RPN
Abonohu te:
Postimet (Atom)