Fund managers warm to Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but, unsurprisingly, fund managers can’t help but love a country that sits on top of the world’s largest pool of oil.

According to a report today by Kuwait Financial Centre - an investment bank popularly known as Markaz - interest in most other Gulf markets has waned but allocations to the conservative kingdom have increased over the past six months.

Country	Mar-09	Jun-09	Sep-09	Dec-09	Mar-10
Saudi Arabia	39%	36%	37%	44%	43%
Kuwait	18%	20%	13%	12%	13%
UAE	14%	15%	17%	10%	11%
Qatar	16%	17%	17%	17%	16%
Oman	4%	3%	5%	5%	5%
Bahrain	3%	3%	2%	2%	1%
Other Mena	6%	6%	9%	10%	10%

The larger allocations to Saudi Arabia, as shown in the table, are mainly a natural reflection of the fact that it is the largest Arab economy, and the Saudi Tadawul exchange is the biggest stock market by some distance.