FROM LEFT: Gwyn Roberts, QFC Authority Chief Strategic Development Officer, Yousuf Mohammed Al Jaida, QFC Authority CEO and Board Member Shashank Srivastava and Yusuf Jehangir during the press conference at the launch of the Mena Asset Management Barometer yesterday. Abdul Basit
BY MOHAMMAD SHOEB
DOHA: The Qatar Financial Centre Authority (QFC Authority) yesterday released the first edition of its ‘Mena Asset Management Barometer’, offering a comprehensive portrait of current market sentiment to be tracked over time.
The releasing ceremony to announce the findings of the 120-page annual market survey report for the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region was held on the sidelines of the ongoing two-day ‘Bloomberg Doha Conference’.
The QFC Authority is partnering with Bloomberg Link to host the conference that is exploring the challenges and opportunities for asset managers in the GCC and Mena regions.
Present were QFC Authority CEO and Board Member Shashank Srivastava, Chief Strategic Development Officer at QFC Authority Yousuf Mohammed Al Jaida, Gwyn Roberts and Yusuf Jehangir.
The report predicts high note for GCC equity markets in 2013, and shows particular strength in Qatar as infrastructure spending programmes pay off.
According to the findings of the survey, nearly 70 percent of asset managers are confident about future Asset under Management (AuM) growth across the Mena region, and over 47 percent of asset managers are expected to add equity strategy funds in 2013 followed by Shariah compliant with 42.1 percent.
A majority 77 percent of the respondents (asset managers) believed that the biggest area of cost beyond salaries was regulation and compliance, according to the report. The Barometer, which is intended to be published annually, found that asset managers are showing an increasingly “risk-on” attitude towards the growth potential in local equity markets. Additionally, asset managers are united by the need for clearer regulation and better distribution opportunities.
Shashank said: “The QFC Authority is proud to launch its inaugural Mena Asset Management Barometer, providing industry practitioners with detailed insight into the regional asset management industry. The Barometer is a ground-breaking piece of research which exemplifies the QFC Authority’s commitment to thought leadership serving the financial services industry in the MENA region as well as in Qatar.”
Commenting on the Barometer’s findings, Yousuf Al Jaida, added: “The Barometer paints an optimistic yet realistic picture. It reveals confidence in the continued expansion of GCC and Mena markets in 2013. Fund managers expect more weighting towards equities and away from fixed income, encouraged by government investment and progress in developing financial centres around the region. They would also like to see more regulatory convergence. Regulation is seen as having the biggest impact on the conduct of business and as the major cost. There is strong support for Shariah-compliant finance, but again fragmented regulation is a hindrance.”
The Peninsula
