MENA fund managers to hold on Egypt, raise Saudi investments
MENA fund managers seen leaving Egypt allocations unchanged for now: “Most” of the nine MENA fund managers polled this week by Reuters said they were keeping their allocations to Egypt, the UAE, Qatar, Turkey, and Kuwait unchanged. Fund managers polled in October and August had said they plan to increase their exposure to Egypt, citing a solid equities market and improved economic indicators.
Aramco IPO, relaxed regs spur bullish view on Saudi: Five of those polled said they plan to increase their investment in Saudi Arabia, anticipating favorite policy reforms. Last year, Saudi Arabia relaxed a 49% limit for foreign strategic investors in shares of listed companies, which the fund managers also cited as a key attraction for their investments. Social reforms and greater spending on infrastructure projects and homebuilding are also expected to spur gains in Saudi stocks in 2020, particularly following the successful IPO of Saudi Aramco.