New annual survey will be a feature of the largest MENA investor conference, which grew in size once more in 2016

Dubai, 10 March 2016


More than 455 international fund managers and institutional investors from 221 institutions with aggregate assets under management in excess of USD 10 trillion held approximately 8,000 face-to-face and small group meetings with 117 presenting companies in Dubai during the twelfth annual EFG Hermes One on One Conference.

The three-day event -- hosted by leading regional investment bank EFG Hermes and held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and President of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) -- came to a close yesterday afternoon.

"Investors from around the world explored a range of regional investment opportunities including defensive plays, dividend payers, and companies with strong cash flows, robust balance sheets and outstanding management teams that could offer more predictability amid volatile global markets as MENA looks to a future less-dependent on oil," said Mohamed Ebeid, Co-Head of EFG Hermes Securities Brokerage.

Senior executives from presenting companies were drawn from 14 industries -- including consumer staples, consumer discretionary, real estate, energy, healthcare, banks and financial services -- and gave global investors first-hand insights into how they are growing businesses in MENA.

MENA Consensus 2016, a unique, newly introduced, and real-time poll of attending investors and companies served as an exploratory research into the investment mind-set of international institutional investors and fund managers. Participants stated that the UAE (43% of respondents) and Egypt (31% of respondents) would offer the greatest returns over the coming three years. Meanwhile, respondents majorly perceived that healthcare & consumer staples will offer the best stock performance over the course of 2016 in the MENA region.

On currency issues, over a third of respondents expected that GCC currency pegs are not likely to change before 2018 and that the Egyptian Pound will officially changes hands at EGP 10 (36% of respondents) while 34% expected a rate of USD = 9 EGP.

Looking to equity capital markets in 2016, Ebeid noted that EFG Hermes has a "very healthy" pipeline of IPOs, the execution of which will be a function of market conditions. "Transactions above USD 500-600 million will be challenging in the coming months, but mid-sized IPOs are and will come to market," he said, noting that the firm is presently serving as sole global coordinator and book-runner for the initial public offering of shares by Arabian Food Industries Company Domty S.A.E., Egypt's leading cheese-manufacturer.

Ebeid also sees room for growth in merger and acquisition activity across the region, coming off a year in which regional activity lagged growth in the global M&A market.

"A year from now, we will be back in Dubai for our thirteenth One on One, having helped our clients capture opportunities amid continued regional and global volatility, fulfilling our role as the leading investment bank in the Arab World, and having taken the next steps in our five-year strategy to capitalize on our clear first-mover advantage and become one of the pre-eminent investment banks not just of emerging markets, but in frontier markets, too," Ebeid concluded.

--Ends--

About EFG Hermes Conferences
EFG Hermes Conferences are the leading investor conferences focusing on MENA. Our two flagship conferences are the EFG Hermes One on One (launched in 2001 and held annually in late winter) and the EFG Hermes London MENA (launched in 2011 held every fall). Since inception, the two gatherings have become staples for the regional investment community and catalysts for foreign investment in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) equities. Both conferences are built around a one-on-one format that sees leading international institutional investors and fund managers meet face-to-face with top listed companies from across the MENA region. More than 450 investors from over 200 institutions attended the 2015 EFG Hermes One on One in Dubai, UAE, where they held more than 7,000 meetings with over 100 leading regional companies.

About EFG Hermes
With a footprint spanning seven countries in the Middle East and North Africa, EFG Hermes started in Egypt and has grown over 30 years to become the region's leading investment bank. We have a proven track record of providing a wide spectrum of financial services including investment banking, asset management, securities brokerage, research and private equity to clients across the region and beyond. EFG Hermes also owns a 63.7% majority stake in the Lebanese commercial bank Crédit Libanais. 

Through our on-the-ground operations in Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and with more than 800 talented employees of 25 nationalities, we serve a considerable and diversified client base from the Middle East and North Africa to Europe, Africa and the United States. Our clients include corporations, financial institutions, governments, high net worth clients and individual customers.

In 2015, we launched 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 visit www.efghermes.com and stay connected with us:         

For further information, please contact:
EFG Hermes Media
media@efg-hermes.com

May El Gammal
Head of Marketing and Communications
melgammal@efg-hermes.com

© Press Release 2016