| 03 Mar 2010 |
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Blogs air views on stifled Gulf finance
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Local media coverage of financial affairs can be anodyne in the Gulf, largely thanks to stifling press laws, corporate meddling and a culture of self-censorship. But financial blogs are starting to proliferate and can offer a valuable, alternative, take on events.
Many local newspapers, with a few exceptions, print newswire stories or press releases verbatim and often steer away from contentious, politically sensitive stories. Blogs, meanwhile, have given many locals and expatriates an outlet for venting their views on the stories of the day.
"Blogs are definitely useful in the region, but are only coming of age now," says a senior analyst in Dubai. "I always look at blogs to get a sense of grassroot sentiment and hear the views of other people."
Most regional financial and economic blogs and forums are in Arabic but several English-language sites have emerged. One of the first was Sharewadi, which is mainly devoted to financial talk and data in the United Arab Emirates, and is in many ways the prototype of similar websites that have sprung up across the region.
"Sharewadi started in 2004-05 because I'd bought some local shares but needed more information, and most of the sites and forums I found were in Arabic," says Rob Beishuizen, a former teacher who founded the site. "There are a lot more financial blogs and forums now than there were just two to three years ago."
While the site has only about 700 registered posters, of whom about 50 are regular contributors, it has several thousand unique page views a day, mostly expatriate day traders. It has also become an important site for financial professionals.
"That guy at Sharewadi deserves a medal," says Ken Monahan, a former senior banker in the Gulf. "There has been some really insightful stuff on there over the years."
Mr Monahan, now based in the US, writes the WallStWTF blog, which is garnering an enthusiastic readership following barbed, well-written posts on Dubai and its financial upheaval.
The blog usually attracts between 250 and 500 unique visitors a day, mostly bankers and lawyers, and gets 625-1,500 page views, but readership leapt into the thousands at various points during Dubai's debt saga.
"I only started writing about Dubai last November when their problems emerged, and then just continued," says Mr Monahan. "The material is just so great, and there seems to be a lot of interest in it. I'd like to get back to general finance but I have a pretty loyal following in the Middle East now who I don't want to disappoint."
The Gulf Curve is written by Saad Mahmoud of Arqaam CapitalArqaam Capital
, a Dubai-based investment bank. While it is aimed at the bank's institutional clients, anyone can read it.
There is, however, a dark side to the anonymous chat rooms and blogs in the Gulf. Many have become sites for rumour-peddling and insider trading, particularly some Arabic sites. Saudi Arabia's Capital Markets AuthorityCapital Markets Authority has been particularly active in clamping down on websites that encourage market abuses.
"People have tried to use the forum and the chat room to pump up or knock down share prices, but I don't think it has enough influence to do that, to be honest," says Mr Beishuizen.
He adds: "I try to find a balance between letting people post their thoughts or views, and getting shut down, which wouldn't help anyone. There is a need for more robust discussion of company financials in the region."
By Robin Wigglesworth in Abu Dhabi
© Financial Times 2010
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