2 minutes to read by  RBC Emerging Markets Equity team, V.Erb Oct 23, 2024

Gleaming skyscrapers, luxury developments, and beautiful resorts are being built at a record pace in the Middle East, while the overarching message is that the region is open for business.

A visit to Saudi Arabia, a country undergoing notable reforms under the Crown Prince, and a stopover in the more developed Emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, made for an intriguing recent trip. Company visits ranged from dairy farming to gym and supermarket operators, to banks and the Saudi stock exchange.

In our full piece, we discuss the region’s opportunities and challenges, including:

• Vision 2030: the building of various giga and mega projects is aimed at transforming Saudi Arabia into a tech-savvy, eco-friendly haven of services and jobs, with climate-related considerations at the forefront.

• The Saudi stock exchange: it is clear that the IPO pipeline remains very strong. The kingdom has been privatising its government businesses, and many private companies have also listed in recent years. Moreover, diversification from oil is underway.

• A top-down perspective: while the Crown Prince is passionate about creating a multi-cultural society in Saudi Arabia, based on international norms, the country still ranks poorly for both political and civil rights. Significant progress has been made on the social front in recent years, but we hope to see more.

• ‘District cooling’: as the more efficient, eco-friendly version of central heating, district cooling is used for all newly-created buildings in the region. In Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, we see the first geothermal-powered system…a vision of the future.

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