Gulf Business November 2010 | Top 100 Companies

COVER STORY TOP 100 COMPANIES

The Top

companies

in The Gcc ... and how they performed

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This year saw a quieter ride for the region’s companies after the cataclysmic roller coaster of 2009. As equities across the GCC begin a sheepish ascent and markets offer signs of life, MOHAMMAD HAWA looks at where the dust has settled

iStock

as the recession recedes.

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T

here is one overarching difference between this year and the last for the region’s companies: drama, or the lack of it.

The news flows on significant corporate or sovereign defaults in the region have been quiet.

In fact, if anything, we have seen positive news from the Dubai World debt restructuring. If 2009 was a year of turbulence, 2010 was a period of watchfulness and cautious optimism.

The wounds of the last two years are dying hard as sentiment remains sheepish and liquidity remains thin, but signs of life point to renewed buoyancy of the markets in the medium-term.

Stocking up Equities have had a rather mild 2010.

After having outperformed global emerging markets in H1 2010, GCC equities have lagged behind in H2 so far. On a year to date (YTD) basis, Qatar has generated the highest returns (12.4 per cent), followed by three per cent for Saudi stocks. Abu Dhabi and Kuwaiti stocks have been flat while Dubai’s stocks have declined by 3.2 per cent. On a regional basis, the MSCI EMEA has been the best performing at 15.8 per cent while global emerging markets have returned 13 per cent. The GCC region’s new benchmark – the S&P Pan Arab Index has returned just 7.4 per cent YTD.

hit Dubai-based brokerage houses particularly hard with 13 of the 90-odd DFM registered brokers requesting suspension of their licenses for a year.

while financials (ex-real estate) are likely to gain at the expense of telecoms and chemicals.

Primary market recovers

GCC equities are not trading cheap visà-vis emerging markets. On a fwd P/E basis, they are currently trading onpar with their emerging market peers, at 11.4x P/E (2011). The valuation gap has been closed from the six per cent discount that they were trading at six months ago. The GCC valuation premium has also stretched against the EMEA region to 17 per cent from the 4 per cent levels six months ago.

However, the region is attractive on a dividend yield perspective, with 2010 and 2011 dividend yields estimated at 3.5 per cent and 4.2 per cent respectively. This is significantly higher than the respective 2.5 per cent and 2.9 per cent yields that we expect from emerging markets on aggregate.

Within the GCC, we expect Qatar and Saudi Arabia to generate the highest dividend yields of 5.3 per cent and 4.3 per cent respectively in 2011.

Large cap banks and Q-Tel are likely to prop up dividends in Qatar while in Saudi we expect the same from SAFCO (no major capex plans), telecoms (cashcows) and large cap banks.

The UAE has not had an IPO since March 2009 but now that looks set to change with Axiom Telecom planning to offer shares in the market. There are also further signs of a pick up with companies such as Aluminium Bahrain BSC and Nawras due to raise equity. The debt markets improved following the Dubai World debt restructuring. Just recently, there were a slew of debt offerings from companies such as Qatar Telecom ($1.5 billion), Dubai government $1.25 billion), Qatar Islamic Bank ($750 million) and Emaar ($500 million).

new benchmark MSCI and the Saudi Tadawul exchange were unable to resolve their differences and the former eventually decided to discontinue the indices, which included Saudi stocks, effective September 31 2010.

Due to this, the region’s historical benchmark – the MSCI GCC will no longer be available to fund managers. Our discussions with fund

Just as in 2010, we expect Saudi Arabia to remain the fastest growing market, with earnings estimated to grow at 24 per cent.

Secondary market falls As many international investors have stayed away from the region and local investors are unable to liquidate portfolios (unwilling to book losses), we are seeing thin liquidity in the equity markets. Trading volumes have fallen significantly, with the 2010 YTD average going down 38 per cent, 40 per cent and 57 per cent in the three largest markets – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Dubai respectively. The volumes were particularly bad in July and August but have rebounded a bit in September. The declines have

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Valuations

managers revealed that they are now looking to switch to either S&P Pan Arab Composite or S&P Pan Arab Composite LargeMidCap index. In a recent research note, we analysed the difference in weights between MSCI GCC and the two S&P indices mentioned above. We highlighted that the stocks likely to gain the most on account of this switch are Samba and Riyad Bank, while SABIC would be the biggest loser. At a country level, Saudi Arabia is likely to lose a bit of ground in favour of Morocco

Profitability Just as in 2010, we expect Saudi Arabia to remain the fastest growing market, with earnings estimated to grow at 24 per cent. The 34 per cent earnings growth for Saudi Arabia in 2010 was mainly due to an estimated 100 per cent earnings growth from heavy-weight SABIC, which was rebounding from a steep decline in 2009. Earnings growth in Kuwait and UAE is pegged at 23 per cent and 20 per cent respectively. The high economic growth in Qatar isn’t fully

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COVER STORY TOP 100 COMPANIES

trickling down to equities due to the limited number of listed stocks and we peg 2011 earnings growth at 15.6 per cent. On 2011 ROE terms, we peg Qatar to remain the most profitable at 18 per cent (same as in 2010) followed

by Saudi Arabia at 14 per cent.

Medium-term promise We are of the view that GCC is a reflationary trade. Given that banks dominate the market cap in the region (ranging from 53 per cent in Saudi Arabia to 35 per cent in Qatar), the sector is the most important driver of stock-market performance. Given the current high credit costs and low margins (arising out of low interest rates), we refrain from being bullish on GCC equities. Overseas investors are likely to wait until late next year when credit costs ease and interest rates rise on signals from the US fed.

KSA – State spends The Saudi government continues to focus on economic diversification and in August it announced a $385 billion development plan. Real GDP growth is estimated to rebound from 0.6 per cent

shying away from corporate lending.

It is worth noting that most of the defaults in Saudi Arabia came from the corporate sector. Monthly ATM cash withdrawals and POS transactions (the best indicator of retail spending) have rebounded to their 2008 peak levels. In the first nine months of 2010, consumer plays Almarai and Jarir Marketing reported revenue growth of 19 per cent and 20 per cent respectively. Almarai and Mobily are our preferred plays in the country.

Kuwait – liquidity issues Kuwait is the only major GCC market to see its loan growth decline this year. Liquidity shortage among local investors was a reason for the market overhang this year. Many investors that we met said that they were looking to raise liquidity by borrowing against assets, which were typically real estate assets or illiquid domestic equities.

However, we think the recently unveiled $104 billion economic development plan might act as a catalyst for loan growth and improved liquidity. In late 2009 and early 2010, there was a lot of talk about the possibility of the Kharafi group

We remain highly selective on UAE stocks, with our top picks being First Gulf Bank, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Union National Bank. in 2009 to 3.2 per cent in 2010E and further to 4.5 per cent in 2011E. We are not worried about inflation creeping in through government spending as food and beverages account for 26 per cent of the weight and this is unlikely to shoot up unless we have global food inflation.

Moreover, a portion of the corpus will also be allocated towards housing development and should help check real estate prices from sky-rocketing. For the first time since 2006 (when SAMA tightened consumer lending norms), consumer lending in Saudi Arabia has been growing at a relatively higher rate than corporate lending. Banks are beginning to gain confidence in the consumer play story while they are still

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turning insolvent. However, the disposal of Zain’s (in which Kharafi group holds a significant stake) African assets was followed by a special dividend which allayed the market’s fears.

UAE – crunch time In May, Dubai World announced its restructuring proposals to creditors, postponing repayment in two tranches – five and eight years. According to our calculations, the new proposals would amount to a haircut of 40 per cent for the creditors. The proposals were followed later on by an announcement that 99 per cent of the creditors have agreed to the

terms and this helped calm the credit markets. However, liquidity remains a major worry in the market, with M2 growth being at low single-digit levels. Real estate prices continue to remain under pressure. According to data from Better Homes, rents in Burj Khalifa are currently quoting 40 per cent below the levels prevailing at the launch 10 months ago, with current occupation levels being just 80 per cent. The banking sector continues to report high levels of provisioning. We remain highly selective on UAE stocks, with our top picks being National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), First Gulf Bank (FGB) and Union National Bank (UNB), these banks have high capitalisation, asset quality and adequate coverage.

Qatar – Safe haven In recent times, Qatar has been the most resilient economy in the GCC. Qatari stocks are trading 38 per cent below their pre-crisis peak levels, which is the least in the GCC. Through 2010, inflation has been virtually non-existent in Qatar with consumer prices having actually declined by two per cent year on year (yoy) as of August. This is mainly due to a 14 per cent decline in housing costs. However, liquidity has been strong with M2 money supply growing in excess of 20 per cent and bank lending and deposits growing at double digits this year.

In Qatar, our preferred plays are the banks – Qatar National Bank, Commercial Bank of Qatar and Doha (due to their high growth, dividend yields and asset quality), along with IQ (attractively valued and diversified global economic play) and Q-tel.

Banks The operating environment for the GCC banking sector is largely unchanged from the previous year as balance sheet growth continues to be sluggish and provisions remain high.

Qatar is the only banking sector to witness meaningful loan growth this year. In the first eight months of 2010, Qatar’s loan book grew by 13

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per cent while that of Saudi Arabia (3.7 per cent) and UAE (2.3 per cent) saw very low growth and Kuwait actually witnessed a decline (-0.5 per cent). Qatar’s deposit base has also grown at 17 per cent this year in sharp contrast to the one per cent to two per cent growth in UAE and Kuwait and a decline of 1.6 per cent in Saudi Arabia.

During H1 2010, the total income of Saudi and UAE banks fell by 1.6 per cent yoy and 11.5 per cent yoy, respectively, while in Qatar, it grew by 11.1 per cent yoy. This is a reflection of sluggish loan growth in the UAE and Saudi coupled with relatively lower margins. Due to the dollar pegging of the GCC currencies, it is unlikely that interest rates in the region will rise before the US Fed raises rates and our view is that this is unlikely to happen before the end of 2011. The cost of funds in the Saudi

The definitive moments for Gulf stocks in 2010 1. The contagion effect of Europe’s sovereign debt worries 2. The Dubai World debt restructuring proposal being accepted by 99 per cent of creditors 3. Dubai brokerage houses shutting down due to low trading volumes 4. MSCI’s exclusion of Saudi stocks in its indices

banking sector fell to a low of 0.41 per cent, which is largely due to a sharp increase in the demand deposit ratio from 44.4 per cent in August 2009 to 53.1 per cent in August 2010.

Credit costs have remained high during H1 for Saudi and UAE banks.

In our estimate, credit costs of Saudi banks are estimated to decline by 45bps yoy to 84bps in 2010E and further

down to 60 basis points (bps) by 2011E. However, we estimate it to remain above 100 bps for the UAE banks in 2011E. As of H1 2010, barring SABB and Arab National Bank, the other five Saudi banks under our coverage reached non-performing loans (NPL) coverage levels of 100 per cent and above. Credit costs fears in the UAE have receded among investors following favourable news flows on the Dubai World debt restructuring proposals.

Qatar banks remain our most preferred in the sector due to their reasonable valuations and high profitability. In the UAE, we remain positive on NBAD, FGB and UNB due to their high capitalisation (tier 1 ratio more than 15 per cent), high asset quality (Q2 2010 NPL ratios of 1.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent) with provisioning over 100 per cent levels and, finally, attractive valuations.

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We also remain long-term buyers of Saudi banks as we acknowledge that provisioning levels are now at all-time highs, brokerage activity is at all-time lows and interest rates are at all-time lows.

Al Rajhi and Samba are our top picks among Saudi banks due to their high profitability and adequate provisioning coverage.

Telecoms Saudi Arabia is one of the most attractive telecom markets in the EMEA region because its market structure is not oversupplied and this is likely to remain the case in the near term. The country also maintains stable regulation.

Mobily is our top pick in the sector due to consistent market share gains, continued infrastructure expansion

and strength in the rapidly growing mobile data segment. Moreover, its major competitors – Saudi Telecom and Zain KSA are hampered by legacy product and cost structures; and balance sheet leverage respectively.

GCC telecoms are currently cheaper than their emerging market peers on a 2009E P/E basis and should also generate a higher dividend yield in 2009E in our estimate. Our top pick in the sector is Q-Tel as it not only trades at the lowest 2009E P/E (7.8x) but should also generate the highest 2009E dividend yield (6.7 per cent), according to our estimates.

Chemicals We are negative on the chemicals sector globally since we expect the gap between supply and demand to widen.

The chemical sector has the highest correlation with the global economy and we remain cautious on demand recovery, especially in Europe. Given the uncertain pricing outlook, we think it makes more sense to get exposure to value stocks, which look attractive relative to their global peers (SABIC and IQ are trading at a discount currently), and to those that look fairly valued in a negative scenario. We suggest that investors gain exposure to Sipchem, IQ, and SABIC. We have a cautious view on companies that are yet to report operating incomes while trading at rich valuations (Rabigh, Kayan, and Yansab).

Mohamad Hawa is the head of MENA equity strategy and financials research, Credit Suisse

Gulf Business Top 100 companies In The GCC 2010 Ranking

2009 Ranking

1

1

SAUDI BASIC INDUSTRIES CORP

72.6

Saudi Arabia

2

2

AL RAJHI BANK

30.4

Saudi Arabia

3

4

ETISALAT

23.2

United Arab Emirates

4

15

EZDAN REAL ESTATE CO

23.0

Qatar

5

5

ZAIN

21.0

Kuwait

6

3

SAUDI TELECOM CO

20.5

Saudi Arabia

7

7

NATIONAL BANK OF KUWAIT

17.8

Kuwait

8

9

QATAR NATIONAL BANK SAQ

17.4

Qatar

50

Company

Market Cap ($ m)

Country

9

11

SAUDI ELECTRICITY CO

16.7

Saudi Arabia

10

6

INDUSTRIES QATAR

16.3

Qatar

11

8

SAMBA FINANCIAL GROUP

14.6

Saudi Arabia

12

10

RIYAD BANK

11.0

Saudi Arabia

13

12

KUWAIT FINANCE HOUSE

10.7

Kuwait

14

22

ETIHAD ETISALAT CO

10.4

Saudi Arabia

15

18

SAUDI ARABIAN FERTILIZER CO

9.8

Saudi Arabia

16

14

DP WORLD LTD

9.1

United Arab Emirates

17

17

BANQUE SAUDI FRANSI

9.1

Saudi Arabia

18

13

SAUDI BRITISH BANK

8.7

Saudi Arabia

19

20

KINGDOM HOLDING CO

7.8

Saudi Arabia

20

21

NATIONAL BANK OF ABU DHABI

7.7

United Arab Emirates

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COVER STORY TOP 100 COMPANIES

Gulf Business Top 100 companies In The GCC 2010 Ranking

2009 Ranking

21

26

SAUDI KAYAN PETROCHEMICAL CO

7.2

Saudi Arabia

22

27

QATAR TELECOM (QTEL) Q.S.C

7.0

Qatar

23

19

ARAB NATIONAL BANK

6.9

Saudi Arabia

52

Company

Market Cap ($ m)

Country

24

23

EMAAR PROPERTIES PJSC

6.6

United Arab Emirates

25

31

ALMARAI CO LTD

6.3

Saudi Arabia

26

32

YANBU NATIONAL PETROCHEMICAL

6.2

Saudi Arabia

27

24

FIRST GULF BANK

5.8

United Arab Emirates

28

38

SAUDI ARABIAN MINING CO

5.7

Saudi Arabia

29

16

RABIGH REFINING AND PETROCHEMICALS

5.7

Saudi Arabia

30

33

COMMERCIAL BANK OF QATAR

5.3

Qatar

31

30

QATAR ISLAMIC BANK

5.0

Qatar

32

46

GULF BANK

4.6

Kuwait

33

41

SAVOLA

4.6

Saudi Arabia

34

25

EMIRATES NBD PJSC

4.5

United Arab Emirates

35

55

NATIONAL INDUSTRIALIZATION CO

4.4

Saudi Arabia

36

29

ALINMA BANK

4.3

Saudi Arabia

37

50

AHLI UNITED BANK B.S.C

4.1

Bahrain

38

37

COMMERCIAL BANK OF KUWAIT

4.1

Kuwait

39

28

DUBAI FINANCIAL MARKET

4.0

United Arab Emirates

40

66

BOUBYAN BANK K.S.C

3.9

Kuwait

41

58

BARWA REAL ESTATE CO

3.5

Qatar

42

42

du

3.4

United Arab Emirates

43

53

WATANIYA

3.3

Kuwait

44

47

ABU DHABI COMMERCIAL BANK

3.3

United Arab Emirates

45

59

MASRAF AL RAYAN

3.3

Qatar

46

43

JABAL OMAR DEVELOPMENT CO

3.1

Saudi Arabia

47

51

QATAR ELECTRICITY & WATER CO

3.1

Qatar

48

70

AL AHLI BANK OF KUWAIT

3.1

Kuwait

49

61

BANK MUSCAT SAOG

3.0

Oman

50

39

ZAIN KSA

3.0

Saudi Arabia

51

40

QATAR GAS TRANSPORT(NAKILAT)

3.0

Qatar

52

56

DOHA BANK QSC

2.9

Qatar

53

48

SAUDI HOLLANDI BANK

2.9

Saudi Arabia

54

35

DAR AL ARKAN REAL ESTATE DEVEL

2.7

Saudi Arabia

55

68

SAUDI INVESTMENT BANK

2.6

Saudi Arabia

56

44

AAMAL CO

2.6

Qatar

57

49

ABU DHABI NATIONAL ENERGY CO

2.5

United Arab Emirates

58

-

QATAR NAVIGATION

2.5

Qatar

59

45

DUBAI ISLAMIC BANK

2.5

United Arab Emirates

60

62

SOUTHERN PROVINCE CEMENT CO

2.4

Saudi Arabia

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COVER STORY TOP 100 COMPANIES

Gulf Business Top 100 companies In The GCC 2010 Ranking

2009 Ranking

Company

Market Cap ($ m)

Country

61

98

BURGAN BANK

2.4

Kuwait

62

74

SAUDI NATIONAL PETROCHEMICAL

2.4

Saudi Arabia

63

54

OMAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS CO

2.3

Oman

64

57

SAUDI INDUSTRIAL INVESTMENT GROUP

2.3

Saudi Arabia

65

50

AHLI UNITED BANK (ALMUTAHED)

2.3

Kuwait

66

74

SAUDI INT. PETROCHEMICALS

2.3

Saudi Arabia

67

60

KUWAIT FOODS (AMERICANA)

2.3

Kuwait

68

65

UNION NATIONAL BANK

2.2

United Arab Emirates

69

63

BAHRAIN TELECOM CO

2.1

Bahrain

70

72

KUWAIT PROJECTS CO HOLDINGS

2.1

Kuwait

71

78

ABU DHABI ISLAMIC BANK

2.0

United Arab Emirates

72

34

AGILITY

2.0

Kuwait

73

67

VODAFONE QATAR

1.8

Qatar

74

85

UNITED ARAB BANK

1.8

United Arab Emirates

75

81

YAMAMAH SAUDI CEMENT CO. LTD

1.8

Saudi Arabia

76

77

SAUDI CEMENT

1.8

Saudi Arabia

77

-

SAHARA PETROCHEMICAL CO

1.8

Saudi Arabia

78

36

ALDAR PROPERTIES PJSC

1.8

United Arab Emirates

79

71

NATIONAL INDUSTRIES GRP HOLDING

1.8

Kuwait

80

79

QATAR INT. ISLAMIC BANK

1.8

Qatar

81

64

EMAAR ECONOMIC CITY

1.7

Saudi Arabia

82

99

QATAR FUEL CO

1.7

Qatar

83

96

QATAR INSURANCE CO

1.7

Qatar

84

91

JARIR MARKETING CO

1.7

Saudi Arabia

85

-

BANK DHOFAR SAOG

1.6

Oman

86

73

COMMERCIAL BANK OF DUBAI

1.6

United Arab Emirates

87

100

ARAB BANKING CORPORATION

1.6

Bahrain

88

76

NATIONAL INVESTMENTS CO

1.5

Kuwait

89

-

KUWAIT CEMENT CO

1.5

Kuwait

90

87

AL KHALIJI BANK

1.5

Qatar

91

95

GULF CABLE & ELECTRICAL IND

1.5

Kuwait

92

83

BANK ALBILAD

1.5

Saudi Arabia

93

69

DANA GAS

1.5

United Arab Emirates

94

-

MABANEE CO SAKC

1.4

Kuwait

95

82

QASSIM CEMENT

1.4

Saudi Arabia

96

-

NATIONAL BANK OF RAK

1.4

United Arab Emirates

97

92

NATIONAL SHIPPING CO

1.4

Saudi Arabia

98

-

MAKKAH CONSTRUCTION

1.3

Saudi Arabia

99

84

BANK AL-JAZIRA

1.3

Saudi Arabia

100

93

NATIONAL BANK OF BAHRAIN

1.3

Bahrain Source: BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL™

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COVER STORY TOP 100 COMPANIES

TOP TENS Large cap companies The list of large-cap stocks remains relatively unchanged from last year. SABIC remains the largest company in the GCC, with a market cap of $72 billion. Along with SABIC, Industries Qatar and Saudi Electricity are the only companies in the top 10 list that otherwise remains dominated by banks and telecoms.

At a country level, Saudi Arabia continues to dominate the list with five companies among the top 10 and 15 companies in the top 25 companies by market cap. In the top 25, UAE has four companies while Kuwait and Qatar have just three companies each.

The aggregate market cap of the top 10 companies has increased by 18.2 per cent YTD to $262 billion. The composition of the top 10 stocks has largely remained the same from last year, with the only exception being Industries Qatar, which replaced Riyad Bank. The major change at the top of the table was Emirates Telecom, which jumped from number four to number three, while Saudi Telecom dropped from number three last year to number five this year.

Largest companies by revenues The list of largest companies by revenues is dominated by chemical and telecom companies. The only bank to make it to the top 10 is Emirates NBD, which reported revenues of $4.7 billion in 2009. Sabic and Saudi Telecom are the largest revenue-makers, at $27.5 billion and $13.5 billion in 2009 respectively.

Largest companies by profitability In 2009, Saudi Telecom dethroned SABIC to become the largest profit-making listed company in the GCC. However, we think this was due to a steep decline in global petrochemical product demand and in 2010, SABIC’s net income is estimated to rebound (by 106 per cent) to $5.6 billion. On a sector level, banks dominate the top 10 list with six slots, with Al Rajhi Bank leading the pack with a 2009 net income of $1.8 billion.

Best-performing large cap stocks Among the large cap stocks (market cap above $5 billion), Commercial Bank of Qatar was the best performer so far this year, returning 58 per cent followed closely by National Bank of Kuwait and Zain at 55.7 per cent and 54.9 per cent respectively. The worst performers among the large cap stocks were Petro Rabigh (-31.7 per cent) and Arab National Bank (-7.9 per cent).

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Top 10 GCC companies by market cap Company Mkt Cap ($ billion) Country Saudi Basic Industries Corp 72.6 Saudi Arabia Al Rajhi Bank 30.4 Saudi Arabia Etisalat 23.2 UAE ZAIN 21.0 Kuwait Saudi Telecom Co 20.5 Saudi Arabia National Bank of Kuwait 17.8 Kuwait Qatar National Bank 17.4 Qatar Saudi Electricity 16.7 Saudi Arabia Industries Qatar 16.3 Qatar Samba Financial Group 14.6 Saudi Arabia

Sector Chemicals Banks Telecoms Telecoms Telecoms Banks Banks Utilities Chemicals Banks

Source: BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL™

Top 10 GCC companies by revenues (2009) Company Revenues ($ billion) Country Saudi Basic Industries Corp 27.5 Saudi Arabia Saudi Telecom Co 13.5 Saudi Arabia Etisalat 8.4 UAE ZAIN 8.0 Kuwait Rabigh Refining Co 7.8 Saudi Arabia Qatar Telecom 6.6 Qatar Saudi Electricity 6.4 Saudi Arabia Agility 5.9 Kuwait Savola 4.8 Saudi Arabia Emirates NBD 4.7 UAE

Sector Chemicals Telecoms Telecoms Telecoms Chemicals Telecoms Utilities Warehousing Consumers Banks

Source: BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL™

Top 10 GCC companies by net income (2009) Company Net income ($ billion) Country Saudi Telecom Co 2.9 Saudi Arabia Saudi Basic Industries Corp 2.4 Saudi Arabia Etisalat 2.4 UAE Al Rajhi Bank 1.8 UAE Industries Qatar 1.3 Qatar Samba Financial Group 1.2 Saudi Arabia Qatar National Bank 1.2 Qatar National Bank of Kuwait 0.9 Kuwait Emirates NBD 0.9 UAE First Gulf Bank 0.9 UAE

Sector Telecoms Chemicals Telecoms Banks Chemicals Banks Banks Banks Banks Banks

Source: BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL™

Top 10 GCC companies by YTD share price performance (stocks above market cap of $5 billion) Company YTD returns Country Sector Commercial Bank of Qatar 58.0 per cent Qatar Banks National Bank of Kuwait 55.7 per cent Kuwait Banks ZAIN 54.9 per cent Kuwait Telecoms Qatar National Bank 44.6 per cent Qatar Banks Saudi Electricity 41.3 per cent Saudi Arabia Telecoms MAADEN 34.7 per cent Saudi Arabia Mining Safco 33.5 per cent Saudi Arabia Fertilizers Mobily 31.3 per cent Saudi Arabia Telecoms DP World 30.0 per cent UAE Harbour transport Almarai 26.4 per cent Saudi Arabia Consumers Source: BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL™

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