Executive Summary
- GCC markets have garnered global investor attention ever since their inclusion in the MSCI emerging market indices in 2014 and the landmark IPO of Saudi Aramco.
- The prominence of GCC countries in emerging markets has increased in recent years, with their weightage improving from 4.1% in Dec 2019 to 7.3% in April 2023.
- The list of companies eligible for inclusion has also widened in recent times, with nearly 70 companies currently being part of the MSCI Emerging Market Index.
- GCC markets offer investors and fund managers an interesting untapped island of opportunities due to their inherent differences compared to other emerging markets, making GCC an attractive emerging market allocation play for generating alpha.
