The net foreign inflows into Middle East and North Africa (Mena) stocks soared to $1bn (Dh3.67bn) in January, the highest level of investments into listed equities since April 2015 as regional economies pick up and the earnings improve. Saudi Arabia, the top Arab economy and the home to the region’s biggest bourse, was the hotspot of investmentwith net inflows of $703m including swaps and transactions by qualified foreign investors. GCC investors were net sellers with $5m in aggregate despite being net buyers of $57m in Saudi Arabia as they net sold Qatar ($47m) and Dubai ($18m). The lender, the biggest bank in the kingdom in terms of market capitalisation, received $297m and was on EFG’s most-bought Mena stocks list. In the UAE, foreign investors bought $177m of stocks including Emaar properties, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Etisalat, and Emaar Malls, according to the EFG-Hermes report.

Source: The North Africa Journal February 11, 2018 11:15 UTC