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May 25, 2021
UAE’s 100% foreign ownership will boost investor confidence, cut cost of operations
The UAE’s announcement of 100 per cent foreign ownership across the board effective June 1, is touted as game changing and a master stroke. This was the biggest demand from various business councils for decades. The current system requires 51 per cent local sponsorship along with majority representation in the board with the Chair being Emirati. In a country where more than 80 per cent of the population are expats and where the economy is fairly better diversified than their...
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May 4, 2021
How can GCC Banks reset for growth beyond COVID-19?
Interview with Mr. M.R.Raghu, CEO, Marmore MENA Intelligence How GCC banks reset for growth beyond the COVID-19 crisis? The performance of the GCC banking sector had already started to get impacted before the coronavirus pandemic on account of global economic issues, however, the whole situation got exacerbated rapidly on account of the pandemic. For instance, UAE listed banks’ cumulative net income in 2020 witnessed the first negative growth in over 5 years, falling by 42% over 2019 on account of...
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December 24, 2020
Islamic Retail Asset Management
This article was first published in Islamic Finance News dated the 22nd December 2020 We live in times where consumers are increasingly aware of their choices and demand that values and purpose are embedded into products that they consume. In financial context, today’s generation seem less driven by the narrow definition of investing to generate returns and consider social and environmental impact of the companies they invest in to be an important part of investment decision-making. Millennials view their investments...
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October 14, 2020
COVID-19 derails traditional Kuwait retailers
Kuwait’s retail sector is small in absolute terms when compared to regional peers like the UAE or Saudi Arabia. However, Kuwait has one of the highest concentrations of international retailers in the GCC, with luxury segment proving to be a major draw. The value of Kuwait’s retail market was KD 3.5bn or 9.1% of non-oil GDP, as of February 2018 (Oxford Business Group). Consumer preference towards international brands and better retail shopping experiences were exhibiting an upward trend until COVID-19...
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October 5, 2020
Saudi Arabia Banking Sector – The worst might not be over yet
COVID-19 pandemic has pressurized banking asset quality and increased the demand for credit. As signs of normalcy returns, banks face the challenging task of managing the asset quality while expanding balance sheets. The strength of a country’s banking sector is often reliant on its underlying economic conditions. As is the case for Saudi Arabia, which has the second largest banking industry in the GCC by total assets, with roughly 29% of the region’s total banking assets. According to estimates from...
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July 26, 2020
Online Education for School Children in the GCC
As children and parents in the GCC get a taste of remote schooling due to the impact of COVID-19, there are multiple themes emerging. It is a given that learner cohorts are very different, which means that felicity with computers vary significantly. Remote learning, especially for young children, is a complex affair due to the influx of technologies,various software, and communication capabilities of stakeholders involved. The GCC education sector’s response to COVID-19 quarantine needs to be judged objectively. It is...
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June 10, 2020
Will COVID-19 reduce the appetite for renewable energy projects in the GCC?
The outbreak of COVID-19 has deeply impacted global economies, pushing them into a recession. As health and economic concerns continue to mount, the near-term outlook for renewable energy projects look weak. GCC countries have taken a strong hit in the revenue side of their books due to the sharp fall in oil prices during 2020. The shortfall in revenue and rise in deficits are expected to have a strong near-term impact on project awards in the renewable energy space. GCC...
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May 11, 2020
COVID-19’s direct and indirect impact on GCC banking sector
The Current economic crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to impact many sectors, none more so than Banking. The Banking sector will be directly impacted by lower profitability, increased non-performing loans (NPLs), deterioration in capital adequacy, etc. and also indirectly impacted by the effect of the various lockdowns and restrictions on the other sectors to which GCC banks are exposed which would impact their operations and profitability in the long run. Direct Impact due to COVID-19 The operations...
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February 23, 2020
3 reasons why GCC automotive market is facing slump
Automobile is an essential part of the lifestyle of middle east citizens and hence forms an important component of GCC’s annual imports. The region enjoys higher ownership of automobiles primarily attributable to per capita income above the world average. Middle East imports, often fluctuates with oil prices and so is the case with automobile imports too. But what is noteworthy is the sharp decline in imports of automobiles by value and more particularly by number of vehicles during 2016 and...
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September 30, 2019
GCC Ridesharing and its long road!
Digital ride sharing platforms are placed within the wider framework of an emerging disruptive model that is referred to as the sharing economy. Sharing Economy refers to the business model that operates through an online platform that facilitates consumer to consumer transactions, panning across sectors including transport, warehousing, tourism and hospitality and finance among others. GCC has a thriving sharing economy primarily due to factors such as a consistent labor force, high levels of urbanization, high technology adoption rates, national...