Page 197 - SALIK PR REPORT ENGLISH AUGUST 2024

There’s a realisation among the policymakers that sound, mature capital markets are a fundamental piece
of the puzzle “if you want to grow your economy sustainably”, he adds.

Who is investing?

On the retail side, local and regional investors account for the bulk of investments as the regional markets
are not very easy to access for offshore retail investors, according to Mr Masood.

This is not unique to the region, it’s quite common across emerging markets, he says.

“It’s mostly regional investors, particularly Arab, Indian, Pakistani and other investors. We also see foreign
investment from Chinese, Russian as well as some British and European investors,” according to Ms
Dabeet.

Mr Halawi says more foreign institutions are demonstrating higher investment appetite in the region.

Institutional investors accounted for 66 per cent of trading value at DFM in the first half of this year.

Interest for emerging markets, the oil story and the fact that the region, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE at
the forefront, is working to attract foreign capital are attracting investors

Amer Halawi, head of research, Al Ramz Capital

The market fabric is changing as the markets in UAE have “historically been construed as 80:20 retail to
institutional” investment, Mr Halawi says.

The market is now changing structurally to become more institutional investment heavy, which is reliable
for the long term, he adds.

Sectors attracting interest

It’s a mix of banks, real estate, oil and gas, construction and manufacturing as well as some of the state
enterprises that have listed shares through IPOs, Ms Dabeet points out.

Investors in this region always look for yield and most recent opportunities for investors were the IPOs
and secondary market offerings, particularly by Adnoc Drilling and Saudi Aramco, Mr Halawi says.

“If you look at the make-up of IPOs, for example, in Dubai, it's been more utility-like sectors, such as Salik,
Dewa, Empower and Parkin. These are stable businesses with high dividend yields,” he says.

“In Abu Dhabi, we've seen interest in technology companies (Phoenix, Bayanat, Presight), smaller
companies with AI, perhaps cryptocurrency as a backdrop, and also the oil ecosystem, where Adnoc has
been very active.”

https://www.msn.com/en-ae/news/other/the-stock-lure-ipos-and-dividend-payouts-are-magnets-
for-yield-hungry-investors-in-gcc/ar-AA1oWt2m?ocid=BingNewsSerp