Top 10 investment ideas in Arab world revealed at Arab Strategy Forum

Led by Maureen Miskovic, Chairman of Eurasia Group, this session featured Jeffery Culpepper, Managing Director of Merrill Lynch International, and Iyad Duwaji, CEO of Shua'a Capital as key note speakers.

Kicking off the meeting, Maureen Miscovik tackled the subject of risk management within financial institutions. She then highlighted the four functions that this exercise should fulfill: identifying, measuring, managing and minimizing risk.

Miscovik then identified the two types of risks: market and operational - the first governed by the way stocks and portfolios react to market crisis, and the latter - a complex and broader area, needing more evaluation methodologies on how risk impacts businesses.

Iyad Duwaji followed by stressing how political instability could influence risk, which is especially evident in the Middle Eastern markets. He then pointed out that Gulf markets have managed to achieve stability in the face of these political fluctuations that govern the region.

"Gulf markets make up 70 per cent of emerging markets and 3 per cent of global markets," stated Duwaji.

Duwaji predicted the energy sector and its associated industries as top areas for investment in the Arab world, citing aluminum manufacturers as an example.

Duwaji also pointed out that logistics, transportation and tourism had excellent investment potential in this region.

Frontier markets were also on his list of top investment ideas, including Syria, Algeria, Libya and Sudan - defining them as emerging markets with a high-risk, high-gain investment potential.

Jeffery Culpepper also reiterated the importance of risk management when making investment choices. He went on to explain the difference between commercial and investment banks, with the latter consciously seeking higher risks with the right risk management tools.

Pointing out the top 10 areas of investment, Culpepper mentioned insurance, power suppliers, construction, leisure, telecom, media, green energy, healthcare, education and the hospitality sector.

Stressing the potential of green energy investments in the Middle East, Culpepper said: "Given its position as the leader of the hydrocarbon market in the world, the Gulf region should lead the revolution of using green energy as an alternate source of fuel."

This session was concluded with an open discussion on issues such as financial liquidity, government intervention, emerging markets and more.

The ASF, has attracted more than 600 distinguished participants and 115 worldwide speakers, is a vehicle for change and a key driver in the reform and policy shaping of governmental and business organisations throughout the Arab world.

Through a powerful network, facilitated working sessions, state-of-the-art technology, exclusive knowledge and informal platforms, the ASF provides participants with the resources needed to create opportunities for change in their own environments.

Among those participating in this year's event are influential personalities from the region's business, government and civil society sectors, and internationally-renowned politicians and business leaders.

Developed under the theme, 'Creating Opportunity from Change', this year's sessions are underpinned by bespoke knowledge and research on the Arab world, providing a unique information platform for the continued strategic development of the Middle East and North Africa on the global stage.

Focusing on four distinct tracks - Governance, the CEO Agenda, Arab Society and Socio-Economic - the ASF is earmarked as the leading Arab platform for strategic thinking and the main launch pad for regional programmes and initiatives.