Egypt is “fantastic” but overcrowded, says Mashreq Capital: The asset management arm of UAE-based Mashreq Bank prefers the current investment climate in Oman and Bahrain over Egypt and Turkey, head of Fixed Income and Global Portfolios Oliver Kettlewell told Bloomberg Daybreak (watch, runtime: 8:23). “We’d rather invest in the two GCC countries [Oman and Bahrain] sovereigns than Egypt and Turkey right now,” he said.

The rationale: Kettlewell says that while others are right to say Egypt is “fantastic,” the market is overcrowded, “so if we’re getting more capital … we won’t be putting it to work in Egypt.” The case against Turkey is obvious because of the high risk from “all of the shenanigans with misfiring central bankers,” Kettlewell said. Oman and Bahrain, meanwhile, have solid-looking fiscal balances and have also made decent strides in terms of fiscal reforms. He said Bahrain could potentially double its VAT, while Oman’s government is discussing introducing income taxes.