Middle East Equity Markets ‘Overweight’ - 11/2/2007

Morgan Stanley (MS) has initiated coverage of the Middle Eastern equity markets with a clear “overweight” recommendation on the region, with the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar as the firm’s preferred country exposure.

Morgan Stanley estimates that GDP for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) plus Egypt and Jordan will reach $957 billion in 2007 and $1,045 billion in 2008, more than twice the 2002 figure of $484 billion. In the report, “Middle Eastern Equity Markets: Clear Overweight,” Jonathan Garner, global emerging market strategist at Morgan Stanley, said that the equity markets are likely to perform well in 2008. Arab News