Business | Markets
UAE and Qatar 'to benefit from market recovery'
Trading on GCC bourses picks up with exodus of foreign investors
- By Gaurav Ghose, Financial Features Editor
- Published: 00:01 September 15, 2008
Dubai: The unabated exodus of foreign investors across the GCC has left the markets in the Gulf region trading at attractive levels, according to a strategy note issued by investment bank EFG-Hermes yesterday.
With fundamentals remaining strong and the third-quarter earnings expected to be robust, it is timely to strongly accumulate positions, it said.
"We expect the UAE and Qatar as mostly likely to be the primary beneficiaries from a pick-up in the market," according to the GCC Strategy Note titled Global Turmoil Creates Regional Opportunities.
"We expect much the same for Saudi Arabia, though given its significantly higher volatility the market could well see the strongest and sharpest pick up of its peers." Oman, the note pointed out, will see a slow performance since it is likely that investors will focus on blue chips in the UAE and Qatar before turning to it. Oman is currently the cheapest market in the GCC on a trailing basis. The foreign sell-offs have continued unabated since the end of June leaving valuations at compelling levels making analysts looking at the stocks as great buying opportunity.
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