Modest 2021 recovery forecasts for the GCC have increased the focus on diversification from the hydrocarbon sector, potentially opening up some less traditional growth opportunities, according to Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI).
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and S&P Global Ratings, among others, expect to see a gradual recovery across the region, with real GDP growth to be around 2.5% this year after the contraction of about 6% in 2020.
Many GCC governments, ASI noted, are now pursuing reforms largely based on diversifying revenue away from the volatile hydrocarbon sector and improving the efficiency of state spending.
Investment experts at ASI believe this is fostering increased investment in areas such as financial and educational technology, which could offer new investment options.
Edris Alrafi, head (Middle East and Africa) for ASI, said, “Following the crash in oil prices in 2020, we are seeing a far-reaching transition among national oil companies in the GCC. This activity ranges from new strategies to diversify and decarbonise their activities and digitalisation of operations and services, through to automation of cybersecurity as part of a focus on asset integrity within the region’s oil and gas sector.”
Investment experts at ASI are positive about the potential for tech-led growth across the region, based on investments in and the effective deployment of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, smart sensors, robotics and advanced material.
The expanding fintech influence across the region is also continuing to gather momentum.
The most likely areas expected to benefit from this flurry of activity are remittances, banking penetration and the security of transactions.
Another example of the positive impact of digital transformation is the GCC education sector. ‘EdTech’ is offering new investment avenues across the globe and that is now the case in the region, according to a report by Alpen Capital, which highlighted high levels of adaptability and scalability in education solutions powered by new technological tools, it said.
“There are definitely untapped areas of opportunity, but investors must be patient. Lockdowns coupled with lower public capital spending due to the pandemic, plus the associated impact on travel and tourism, have also weighed on the non-oil sector. The levels of growth we saw in 2019 are not likely to return until at least next year,” Edris noted.
Elsewhere in the GCC economy, despite a relatively cautious outlook for infrastructure in 2021, companies within this sector have accessed the capital markets over the past 12 months – and expect to achieve long-term borrowings at competitive pricing via this route.
Declining long-term liquidity from the banking sector combined with low interest rates have driven many companies in the power industry, as well as the oil and gas sector, to refinance their debt obligations by accessing the large pool of institutional investors seeking stable and long-term yields.
“There is additional potential coming from an increasing number of asset-backed transactions involving large infrastructure assets to attract low-cost capital,” ASI said.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and S&P Global Ratings, among others, expect to see a gradual recovery across the region, with real GDP growth to be around 2.5% this year after the contraction of about 6% in 2020.
Many GCC governments, ASI noted, are now pursuing reforms largely based on diversifying revenue away from the volatile hydrocarbon sector and improving the efficiency of state spending.
Investment experts at ASI believe this is fostering increased investment in areas such as financial and educational technology, which could offer new investment options.
Edris Alrafi, head (Middle East and Africa) for ASI, said, “Following the crash in oil prices in 2020, we are seeing a far-reaching transition among national oil companies in the GCC. This activity ranges from new strategies to diversify and decarbonise their activities and digitalisation of operations and services, through to automation of cybersecurity as part of a focus on asset integrity within the region’s oil and gas sector.”
Investment experts at ASI are positive about the potential for tech-led growth across the region, based on investments in and the effective deployment of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, smart sensors, robotics and advanced material.
The expanding fintech influence across the region is also continuing to gather momentum.
The most likely areas expected to benefit from this flurry of activity are remittances, banking penetration and the security of transactions.
Another example of the positive impact of digital transformation is the GCC education sector. ‘EdTech’ is offering new investment avenues across the globe and that is now the case in the region, according to a report by Alpen Capital, which highlighted high levels of adaptability and scalability in education solutions powered by new technological tools, it said.
“There are definitely untapped areas of opportunity, but investors must be patient. Lockdowns coupled with lower public capital spending due to the pandemic, plus the associated impact on travel and tourism, have also weighed on the non-oil sector. The levels of growth we saw in 2019 are not likely to return until at least next year,” Edris noted.
Elsewhere in the GCC economy, despite a relatively cautious outlook for infrastructure in 2021, companies within this sector have accessed the capital markets over the past 12 months – and expect to achieve long-term borrowings at competitive pricing via this route.
Declining long-term liquidity from the banking sector combined with low interest rates have driven many companies in the power industry, as well as the oil and gas sector, to refinance their debt obligations by accessing the large pool of institutional investors seeking stable and long-term yields.
“There is additional potential coming from an increasing number of asset-backed transactions involving large infrastructure assets to attract low-cost capital,” ASI said.