25 June 2015
Based on a survey of global investors, the industry's most prestigious ranking sees EFG Hermes Research as the top provider of MENA equity strategy, while EFG Hermes' Consumer / Nondiscretionary vaults into runner-up slot

Cairo - EFG Hermes is the only research house in the Arab world to have ranked on Institutional Investor's Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Research Team for 2015. The finish on the leaderboard is the best-ever performance by a MENA research house on the industry's most-followed ranking of sell-side analysts.

Simon Kitchen and colleagues were the top-ranked MENA Equity Strategy team (up from third place last year), while Wafaa Baddour and her Consumer / Non discretionary team made their debut on the team list in the runner-up positionfor the wider EMEA region.

Their performances vaulted EFG Hermes into twelfth place overall in EMEA, edging out all other regional players and several global institutions.

"Institutional Investor is not just one of the oldest sell-side rankings, it is also by far the most prestigious and is followed closely by most of the institutional investors community," noted EFG Hermes Head of Research Wael Ziada. "What is particularly remarkable, in my view, is that the twelfth-place finish that saw us edge out global majors is a ranking over the entire EMEA region despite our coverage being limited only for MENA, which means that we scored higher than all of our peers on our MENA coverage."

The rankings are based on survey responses from more than 500 global portfolio managers and buy-side analysts at 343 leading asset management firms around the world.

"We're seeing increasing demand from investors in emerging markets for the type of insightful regional research we offer," noted Simon Kitchen EFG Hermes Head of MENA Strategies, "This has lately been driven largely by two factors: The Saudi market opening to qualified foreign investors has raised the profile of the region as a whole -- people for whom MENA was previously off the map are now considering MENA opportunities because the size and liquidity of KSA have put the region on the map for them for the first time. And, secondly, it's been nearly a year now since the UAE and Qatar helped trigger new interest when they came into the emerging markets benchmark."

Speaking of the Saudi market, which opened to qualified foreign investors with AUM of at least US$ 5 billion on 15 June, Head of Consumer& General IndustriesResearch  Wafaa Baddour noted, "I am very delighted with this ranking, which confirms the value we offer to investors through our coverage of some of the most prominent 20 consumer stocks in the region".

Added Hatem Alaa, lead analyst on the EFG Hermes Research consumer team: "We have seen new listings drive interest in both Saudi Arabia and Egypt in the past two years. Consumer and retail plays are both defensive and growth sectors in the MENA region, and has been one of the key sectors attracting foreign institutional investors. We have worked very hard to bring the best ideas to our clients, so it is exceptionally gratifying to receive their vote of confidence."

Concluded Ziada: "We're honored to be the top-ranked MENA research house on the Institutional Investor list -- and we're well-aware that rising global interest in our region with continued competition, particularly from global institutions. Our track record, the excellence of our core product, our on-the-ground presence across the region, and our unrivalled access events will see us remain the provider of choice for sophisticated institutions who demand unbiased, quality insights."

EFG Hermes' access events includes the largest MENA-focused investor conference globally in Dubai and the largest held annually in London.

-Ends-

About EFG Hermes Research
EFG Hermes Research is the leading research house in the Arab world, providing more coverage and products than any of its regional peers. The fully independent division offers unrivalled, in-depth coverage of 133 regional equities spread across eight key industries -- the broadest sampling of Middle East and North African stocks available -- and its diverse product offering includes equity research, strategy and macro notes, sector overviews, and country specific reports. The team benefits from its direct presence in major regional financial centres including Cairo, Dubai, Riyadh and Muscat from which it successfully provides bilingual coverage of 11 economies, including Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

About EFG Hermes
Established in 1984, EFG Hermes is the leading investment bank in the Arab world, draws on 30 years of experience to serve as the preeminent investment bank in the region to provide a comprehensive spectrum of financial services including Investment Banking, Asset Management, Securities Brokerage, Research and Private Equity. Additionally, EFG Hermes owns a 63.7% majority stake in the Lebanese commercial bank Crédit Libanais.

Through its operations in Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and with more than 800 employees of 25 nationalities, EFG Hermes serves a considerable and diversified client base from the Middle East and North Africa to Europe, Africa and the United States. Our clients include governments, corporations, financial institutions, high net worth clients and individual customers among others.

In 2015, the firm announced the start of operations for EFG Hermes Leasing, a wholly-owned subsidiary offering leasing services and highly sought-after value-added advisory to large corporations and SMEs across Egypt.

For further information about EFG Hermes, please visitwww.efghermes.comand stay connected with us:  

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EFG Hermes Media
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May El Gammal
Head of Marketing
melgammal@efg-hermes.com

Note on Forward-Looking Statements
In this press release, EFG Hermes may make forward looking statements, including, for example, statements about management's expectations, strategic objectives, growth opportunities and business prospects. These forward-looking statements are not historical facts but instead represent only EFG Hermes' belief regarding future events, many of which, by their nature are inherently uncertain and are beyond management's control and include among others, financial market volatility; actions and initiatives taken by current and potential competitors; general economic conditions and the effect of current, pending and future legislation, regulations and regulatory actions. Accordingly, the readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made.

© Press Release 2015