Gulf fund managers upbeat on markets

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Gulf fund managers are likely to find a reduced appetite among foreign institutional investors as they assess the impact of the Dubai World debt restructuring on regional markets, a top ratings agency said yesterday.

But despite these concerns, most fund managers surveyed by Standard & Poor’s remained upbeat about the fundamentals of the regional companies in which they have invested.

“The news [about Dubai World] came as a surprise to just about everyone,” said Roberto Demartini, the lead analyst at S&P Fund Services, which rates 14 regional funds in the region. He said most analysts perceived the investor mood as a “crisis of confidence”.