00:00Jennifer was just walking us through some of the takeaways from the G20 summit, but also the fact that despite all of the challenges and the verbal attacks that President Ramaphosa was getting from President Trump, the G20 is being deemed to be a success and it also has put South Africa on the global map.
00:16You could say that there are actually a lot of macro tailwinds going in South Africa's favor right now with their most recent ratings upgrades coming through for the economy.
00:27That's absolutely correct. We're very, very excited about the economy as well as the capital markets in South Africa.
00:34I'm actually headed to South Africa this weekend for a whole week.
00:38And that is because under the new government, we have seen a really welcoming tone for private investment in the country.
00:45Business sentiment is up and the S&P upgrade that you just mentioned is the first one in 20 years.
00:52So there is a real change and the stock market is very, very attractive.
00:58Yeah. We spoke about the Johannesburg Stock Exchange about a year ago now, and certainly there seems to be more activity going on there.
01:04Let me ask you perhaps a broader question about some of the other countries that you cover in your remit vis-a-vis specifically opening up to capital markets and the measures that are being taken to attract international investors like yourself.
01:18I mean, it's incredible. The change is just uniform across the board.
01:23We're seeing a real intent to open up the capital markets and to actually move the stock prices up, whether it's here in the region.
01:33The DFM was in New York last week with Jeffries for two days, promoting all the positive change here in the UAE with the top corporates and the number of IPOs and continuously pushing forward with growing the stock exchange.
01:50I was in Saudi Arabia yesterday. Similar story.
01:54In Europe, we're seeing a tremendous structural change under the Draghi plan.
01:59And there's a real push to move liquidity from bank deposits to the stock markets.
02:06Absolutely.
02:07So excitement all around on that front.
02:10Yeah. Let me just ask you, because you were in Saudi Arabia over the course of the weekend, a couple of questions there.
02:14One on specifically Tadawal. Bloomberg had been reporting that they were looking to raise some of the foreign ownership limits.
02:22The timeline has been pushed back a little bit, but would that be welcome in your view as a foreign investor looking to get involved in that space?
02:30Absolutely. I mean, certainly to the extent that we're removing hurdles for investment, improving accessibility, that is definitely a positive.
02:38And yes, the time frame may be delayed, but it's happening. It's one directional.
02:42And what I sensed on the ground, and I've been traveling there for the past eight years, there is a real sense of urgency to bring foreign investment and to put Saudi on the map for its internal investment opportunities.
02:55What are the biggest investment opportunities you see in the kingdom right now?
03:00So we're very excited about Saudi National Bank, and that's because the majority of the business is banking financials.
03:08So it's a proxy to the economy. But a part of the business is also exposed to the capital markets, and they're the number two player in terms of asset management in brokerage.
03:19And so when you look at their recent numbers, revenues or profitability was up close to 20%, and that to us indicates that there is a lot of resilience in the economy.
03:30And from this valuation levels, which are quite attractive, we could foresee good returns going forward.
03:37Yeah. The other big development the last couple of months is the fact that the UAE and the kingdom that we're waiting to get full details have been able to get access to some of the high-end chips that they need to power and bolster the AI ambitions.
03:51How does that accelerate the timeline of what these two major Gulf countries are looking to achieve?
03:59I mean, this is just such a powerful and meaningful development, and it's so undercover in the Western press.
04:06I'm going to be visiting with G42 this Wednesday, so I'm super excited to hear the story firsthand.
04:13But what's taking place in Abu Dhabi is very meaningful for the UAE economy.
04:19I think the IMF has predicted that AI will provide a massive boost to the economy at something like 35% to activity over the next few years.
04:31So that is definitely a theme that we're excited about.
04:34What is the best way to play that theme?
04:37So at this time, there are very few opportunities, although there are more newer companies that will be coming to market, both here in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, as well as Saudi.
04:46But the one opportunity that is currently there is Precite, is the largest data analytics company.
04:54They're doing quite well.
04:55Their latest revenue numbers were up 49%, and it's really a direct play on the AI development in the region.
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