Welcoming The World

Invest. Learn. Live. In The Middle East

www.forbesmiddleeast.com
info@forbesmiddleeast.com

The buzzing metropolises that have sprung from the deserts of the Gulf in a matter of decades have today become global hubs of innovation and investment. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the U.A.E. and Qatar now count among the richest countries in the world in terms of GDP per capita. And as governments and private sector players continue to plough money into the startups, infrastructure and new technologies that are set to further boost economies and change the world, the Middle East is determined to be a leader, not a follower, when it comes to the future of business and finance.

As youthful populations continue to grow, so does business for the wise investor and enterprising entrepreneur. Looking at recent data, the countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) remain poised for growth in the coming years. MENA bagged foreign direct investment (FDI) of about US$32 billion in 2018, with the U.A.E. attracting the largest amount of FDI at US$10.4 billion, followed by Egypt at US$6.8 billion, and Oman at US$6.3 billion.

Real GDP in the region is expected to grow at 2.6% in 2020 and 2.9% in 2021, according to the World Bank, with the projected pickup largely driven by increasing infrastructure investment. But where exactly should global investors be looking in this fertile ground?

It’s a place of great change at the moment. Governments in the region have carried out a record number of reforms to improve the ease of doing business for domestic small and midsize firms, and the fruits of this are evident as four Arab countries now sit among the world’s top 10 business climate improvers, according to the World Bank’s Doing Business 2020 study. Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait account for almost half of the region’s reforms. Meanwhile, the U.A.E. remains the strongest performer overall in the World Bank’s ranking.

With MENA home to millions of long- and short-term working expats, a couple of the Gulf countries have also started to offer new residency visa options for the first time to encourage and reward long-term investment in their countries. Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia announced a new system that offers two types of visas: a permanent (premium) residency with a one-time fee of US$213,000 and a renewable one-year residency for an annual fee of US$26,700. The U.A.E. also made major changes to its visa system in May, including a new “Golden Card” system to grant permanent residency to investors and doctors, engineers, scientists and artists, as well as a long-term visa of up to 10 years and five-year retirement visas for residents that fulfil certain financial security criteria. This sends a powerful message in economies that have long been thought of as transient for workers.

The U.A.E. and Saudi Arabia are also preparing to host two major global events next year: Expo 2020 in Dubai and the G20 summit in Riyadh.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

According to a report by PwC, the Expo—which opens on October 20 and runs for nearly six months—will have a significant economic impact for Dubai, which is expected to be the second-most visited city in the world in 2020 and 2021. The emirate is already the fourth most-visited city globally, according to Mastercard’s Global Destination Cities Index, hosting 15.9 million tourists in 2018.

In November 2020, Saudi Arabia will hold the G20 Summit, with participant countries accounting for more than 80% of global GDP. The kingdom also has its own mega-investments in the works, with the planned smart city of NEOM in northwestern Saudi Arabia at the forefront. The project stretches over three countries with territory from Egypt and Jordan comprising a total area of 26,500 kilometers. NEOM will be backed by more than US$500 billion from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia as well as from local and international investors. Its contribution to the kingdom’s GDP is projected to reach at least US$100 billion by 2030.

This is just a snapshot of the business and infrastructure development currently underway in MENA. And as money continues to flow, the region has witnessed a sizeable improvement in IPO activity, both in terms of volume and value, in the second half of 2019. Six IPOs raised proceeds of US$2.8 billion, compared with a single IPO that raised US$57.6 million in the first half of the year, according to EY.

With net proceeds reaching about US$1 billion, Saudi Arabia led the IPO activity in the region, which was fueled by three listings on the main market, including the Arabian Centres Company that raised US$658.7 million. The Gulf country is also preparing to kick off what is expected to be the world’s largest-ever IPO for Saudi Aramco, the world’s leading producer of crude oil and condensate, which generated US$163.9 billion in revenue in the first half of 2019.

Looking to North Africa, Egypt also is working on an IPO program that will see multiple state-owned companies listed on stock exchanges locally and potentially abroad. This year, the country launched its first sovereign wealth fund. The US$12.4 billion fund aims to ensure the best use of Egypt’s wealth and natural resources.

Despite a big drive in the region to diversify economies, the oil and gas sector continues to grab significant investments, with new discoveries coming to light. Recently, BlackRock and KKR acquired a 40% stake in Abu Dhabi National Oil Company oil pipelines for US$4 billion, while the Carlyle Group acquired a 30% to 40% stake in Cepsa, which is wholly owned by the U.A.E.’s Mubadala Investment Company, for US$3.4 billion. Italian multinational oil and gas company Eni recently announced new discoveries in Egypt, including new resources in the Abu Rudeis Sidri development lease in the Gulf of Suez. In August, it also announced production from the Zohr field—the largest gas discovery ever made in Egypt and in the Mediterranean Sea—had reached more than 2.7 billion cubic feet per day.

Aside from the established big names, MENA economies are also getting a boost from widespread entrepreneurial activity. The startup scene is consistently gaining traction, with US$517 million invested in 354 deals during the first nine months of 2019, according to a report from startup data platform MAGNiTT. The U.A.E. continues to be the main hub for startups, grabbing 62% of the total funding, while Egypt accounted for 27% of deals during the same period. The region witnessed its largest-ever technology transaction in March 2019, when Uber acquired its Middle Eastern rival Careem for US$3.1 billion.

Investors are racing to fuel growth, and countries have welcomed new funds. Last February, Dubai-based Middle East Venture Partners raised an additional US$65 million for its third regional fund, the Middle East Venture Fund III. BECO Capital also closed its second fund with US$100 million in October. And most recently, Mubadala Capital—the financial investment arm of Mubadala—announced new tech funds with assets of about $250 million for MENA.

Overall, despite global headwinds and regional challenges, the Middle East’s economies are looking strong for the future, and investors should keep their eyes on this resilient and visionary meeting point between East and West.

Ghassan Aboud Group

www.gagroup.net

Building Prospects for Prosperity

Jyotsna Hegde, President of Sobha Realty, speaks about investment opportunities in the real estate market in the Middle East, and how she intends to stand out.

There has been a lot of discussion recently about real estate challenges in the Middle East. What are your thoughts about the market currently and how do you plan to face issues in supply and demand?

Like any global market, Dubai faces challenges emanating from the cyclical nature of the real estate business. What is important to understand is how we are working towards improving the fundamentals of the business and boost the demand drivers, which restores long-term investor confidence in the market. In the recent past, the government has undertaken a slew of measures that have improved positivity in 2019. In new businesses it’s important to be agile with the portfolio mix and be able to understand emerging consumer needs, which help to mitigate short-term supply shocks.

In your opinion, how secure is an investment in Middle East real estate and where do you think are the key opportunities?

Among global cities, Dubai arguably offers the best value for quality real estate investment today. Supported by strong investor and end-user protection policies and a generally conducive socioeconomic environment, Dubai should feature in any real estate investment portfolio—whether you are a veteran or looking for your first acquisition.

You were promoted into a new role last year. What are your new goals?

In my capacity as the President of Sobha Group, my continued focus remains on building centers of excellence and leadership capabilities within the organization as we embark on a high-velocity growth trajectory aided both by organic and inorganic developments. Our global outreach in 2019 in London and Shanghai has contributed immensely to our brand growth, and the company is well poised to breach the US$1 billion mark in revenue in the coming years.

With so many luxury developers in the Middle East market, how does Sobha Realty face competition and distinguish its projects?

Sobha Realty is a backward integrated real estate company, and there are certain standards that go with the brand. Intuitive design, unparalleled craftsmanship and timely deliveries are all pillars that boost our brand equity and establish us as a premium player in the segment. Another factor that sets us apart is the legacy of 40 years that is courtesy of the passion and vision of our Founder and Chairman, PNC Menon. Also, in a market where projects are sometimes delayed, we at Sobha Realty prioritize deadlines and treat them with extreme seriousness.

What are your expansion plans for the coming year?

Sobha Realty is on a high-velocity growth trajectory to become a US$1 billion company in the coming years and towards this we are actively exploring organic and inorganic growth opportunities in Dubai and the rest of the GCC, several of which will be unveiled in 2020.

www.sobharealty.com

Danube Properties

www.danubeproperties.ae

E-Commerce Fit for A Kingdom

When the scion and CEO of Saudi retail giant BinDawood Group, Ahmad AR. BinDawood, met Saudi entrepreneur Majed M. Al Tahan in 2014, it marked the beginning of a partnership that would redefine how people shop for groceries in the kingdom. A new Bain & Company report found 45% of shoppers in Saudi Arabia have bought groceries online at least once. That number is expected to surge in line with anticipated growth in the kingdom’s retail market to $119 billion by 2023, according to the latest data from Euromonitor.

When Majed M. Al Tahan met Ahmad AR. BinDawood in 2014, Ahmad had recently taken over the Danube supermarket chain and had begun to explore bringing the brand online. At the time, e-commerce in the Middle East, and specifically Saudi Arabia, was ripe for dynamic change but was still in its infancy, plagued by logistical challenges and in need of an innovative spark.

Ahmad had been approached by several companies pitching to partner with BinDawood Holding’s retail brands—the BinDawood and Danube supermarket chains—to bring the brands online. None had the zeal he was looking for and all lacked an understanding of Danube’s brand DNA and what makes customers happy regardless of the shopping format, which includes quality, value for money and customer experience. That changed on meeting Majed. Ahmad recognized the young entrepreneur shared a vision aligned with the group’s online mission and values. “The BinDawood Group’s success was built around a deep understanding of our customer base, driven by a clear vision to build the number one retail business in the region,” he says.

Majed knew there was enormous potential for disruptive change in the Middle East e-commerce grocery space and he understood that Saudi Arabia was on the verge of a consumer revolution. While studying in London, he had become used to grocery shopping online and saw an opportunity in the Saudi retail market.

“I realized there was a gap in the market for online home delivery of fresh food and groceries when I lived in London as a student and used [U.K. online grocer] Ocado a lot,” he says. “When I got back to the Middle East, I saw nobody really doing it in the region. I also saw the big Saudi market, which had a number of challenges. I couldn’t get the idea out of my head, so I approached the BinDawood Group, pitching an idea to build an e-commerce platform that combined scale, breakthrough innovation and superlative customer experience, highlighting that this was the missing element in Saudi Arabia’s retail landscape.”

He had the idea to establish a startup to act as a “growth partner” for brands by building digital and online technologies that expand businesses and shape the future of key industries. “I founded AYM Commerce in 2016; the genesis of this business was to bring the Danube brand online. I knew it was going to take time, the right talent and the right partners, but when the partnership with BinDawood Group was established, I knew it was the moment I’d been waiting for.”

Majed became Founder and CEO of AYM Commerce and Danube Online. With Ahmad at the helm of Danube, the two CEOs worked alongside each other to launch an e-commerce platform to grow the online grocery space in Saudi Arabia.

The two began testing beta versions of the app to evaluate the appetite of Danube customers for shopping online. It was a lengthy process, especially in finalizing a working operations model, but eventually Danube Online and the Danube App was launched in 2017 simultaneously across three Saudi cities. The platform amassed two million users in the first year—it proved particularly popular with the kingdom’s millennials— and won multiple awards for retail technology and digital innovation. By the end of 2019, the CEOs are on target to hit three million users online. With the second BinDawood retail brand soft-launched online earlier this year, their domination of the kingdom’s e-commerce grocery space shows no signs of slowing down.

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