Guest post: What Price Risk? Investing in the Middle East – beyondbrics - Blogs - FT.com

Guest post: What Price Risk? Investing in the Middle East – beyondbrics - Blogs - FT.com:



"By Julie Dickson, Ashmore



There was no shortage of concerns about Emerging Markets (EM) last year. Investors fretted about US Fed tapering, China’s growth, tension escalating in Syria, and Turkey and Egypt facing social and often violent unrest. Global Emerging Markets investors reacted and diverted funds to the developed markets, leaving EM stocks to post a dismal -2.6% return for the year. But investors in Middle East equities saw things differently and enjoyed returns of 30.6% (MSCI GCC US$ Net), outpacing Developed and Emerging Markets by a wide margin. 




Why? How?



Middle Eastern equity markets, defined here as markets covering the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Levant regions, account for US$1,138bn, or roughly 1.8% of total global equity market cap. The oldest stock exchange, the Kuwait exchange, formally opened in 1983. Its predecessor, the Souk Al-Manakh (now closed) was, in 1982, the third largest stock market in the world by market cap. In total, there are over 1,000 listed companies in the GCC and Levant."



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