Middle East offers outstanding growth potential in hedge fund investment

To date, only a fraction of this, approximately 1% has been invested in hedge funds.

The establishment of the Dubai International Financial Centre has given further premise to the importance of this region to the rest of the world. Naser Nabulsi, CEO, Dubai International Financial Centre will present his review and predictions for the Middle Eastern hedge funds market at the 5th annual Hedge Funds World Middle East conference in Dubai in February 2004. Given that Shari'ah prohibits the popular hedge fund strategy of short selling, he will put forward his view of the most attractive strategies for Middle East investors.

Ahmed Farid, Treasurer for the National Commercial Bank, the largest bank in the Middle East with total assets of US$ 30 Billion, will take the viewpoint of a Middle Eastern institution investor. He will present the major concerns for institutional portfolio construction and offer an insight into whether Middle Eastern institutional investors are changing their expectations of hedge fund investing and whether their demands for the necessary transparency and liquidity can be achieved.

Hedge Funds World Middle East 2004 will bring together regional investors with the international hedge fund community to discuss the critical issues of performance measurement, risk management, achieving transparency and liquidity and new developments in hedge fund strategies.

Hedge Funds World Middle East continues to attract leading international players within the hedge fund industry to this region. The 2004 conference is no exception, being sponsored by Man Investments, Credit Lyonnais, Crédit Agricole, Bright Capital, Union Bancaire Privée, Drake Management, Mellon Global Investments, Aspect Capital, American Express, Asset Alliance, Bank of Bermuda, Wedge Alternatives and EIM.