GCC investors optimistic over bright Saudi outlook

GCC investors optimistic over bright Saudi outlook

Investors across the GCC expect cash deposit returns of above 3 per cent this year as against less than 3pc in 2021, a new survey has found.

Conducted by Bahrain-based SICO, the second annual investor return assessment survey however found that inflation remains the key concern for the next 12 months.

The regional asset manager, broker, market maker, and investment bank has published the results in the GCC Report, Mapping Investor Expectations and Regional Outlook which concluded that investors are generally optimistic about the economic outlook of Saudi Arabia and the UAE while being broadly neutral on other countries such as Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman.

Respondents picked private equity as the asset class requiring the highest returns, at 14pc, reflecting its significance to investors, despite the higher risk associated with it compared to other asset classes.

With regards to 10-year USD government bonds, required returns in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait, stood between 3-5pc annually. While the majority of respondents maintained their annual return expectations in their 2022 responses at a similar level to 2021 for Oman and Bahrain between 6-8pc, a considerable number of investors this year also expect higher returns of between 9-11% for this asset class.

Within income-generating real estate, investors