Middle East business papers

Breaking New ground in the Downstream Petrochemicals Sector
Petrochemical companies in the GCC region are in an enviable position. With the necessary technical knowledge and capital already in place, these players are ideally positioned to integrate into the high value added downstream chain, while at the same time support governmental industry development policies. There is a new wave of development on the immediate horizon, waiting to carry savvy players toward developing long-term wealth, if they are willing to enhance existing value chains. In association with the GPCA, A. T. Kearney has identified a four-step framework to guide petrochemical companies to the next industry development opportunity, to build on advantages inherent within existing value chains and achieve profitable growth for the long-term.
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Cautious Investors Feed a Tentative Recovery
The 2012 A.T. Kearney FDI Confidence Index®
The 2012 A.T. Kearney FDI Confidence Index® examines future prospects for FDI flows as the world seeks to recover from the global recession and continued economic uncertainty in Europe and the United States. The Index, which first appeared in 1998, assesses the impact of political, economic, and regulatory changes on the FDI intentions and preferences of the leaders of top companies around the world. It’s little surprise, considering the economic turbulence in the developed world, that emerging markets fare well in the rankings. China, India, and Brazil take the top three positions, and several countries in Southeast Asia, with its large and growing consumer base, hold high rankings.
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Next Generation Economic Clusters
Incubating and driving economic development
Around the world, in emerging and mature markets, Economic Clusters have been used development to jump-start industries and accelerate the economic development journey by creating ripe economic environements for business, academia and innovation to flourish. In response to global power shifts, Next Generation Economic Clusters are emerging. These clusters will transcend old practices and truly differentiate themselves in order to meet the new economic requirements under increasing capital, talent and environmental demands.
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Demystifying Corporate Culture
Why people do what they do
A strong organizational culture is a business advantage that helps generate and maintain top-level performance. This is an obvious, intuitive statement that all business leaders understand and discuss. Yet, while many try to create a high-performing culture, few succeed. Why? Is it that difficult? Not really. The key to culture is understanding that the perceptions of the workforce are as significant in shaping behaviors as the formal mechanisms.
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Challenging the Integrated Oil and Gas Model
In O&G, do specialist companies create more shareholder value than integrated companies?
Today's oil and gas industry is at a tipping point created by a unique mix of factors: supply—the scarcity of "easy, cheap" oil and gas has spurred a rapid shift to unconventional sources such as oil sands and shale gas; skyrocketing demand for energy in developing economies; volatile prices; and multinationalism as in the massive movement of national oil companies beyond their national borders. In the face of such change—and with the strong likelihood of more change ahead—will the traditional integrated oil and gas company business model hold up? Or, will it be replaced by new, more innovative models?
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M&A in Islamic Banking: Time to Act
Islamic banks—financial institutions based on Islamic law—in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have made impressive gains against the region’s conventional banks in recent years. However, the need for consolidation in this industry is increasing as the economic crisis continues to hamper growth and the market becomes more crowded. Despite low asset prices, merger and acquisition (M&A) activity has been limited. In this paper we examine the factors that have limited M&As in Islamic banking and outline a way forward for the sector.
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A New Frontier for GCC Financial Institutions
GCC banks weathered the economic crisis relatively well, thanks to prompt actions by governments and central banks, recovering crude oil prices and productivity improvements. Still, growth has slowed and profitability has fallen, and GCC banks must now look beyond Gulf borders for new growth opportunities. Increasingly, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) are becoming attractive markets, and one way for GCC banks to seek further growth. CIS countries could be the next growth frontier.
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Kuwait and Saudi Arabia Rank High in Global Retail Development Index
This year’s GRDI reflects the dramatic changes in the global economy and their very different impact on different developing markets—some developing giants kept roaring ahead, some small jewels dodged the bullet, some succumbed to the political upheaval that economic distress brings, others “muscled through” the recession. Today, as leading international retailers are rewarded for their flexibility and long-term outlook in the face of short-term uncertainty, it is time to focus on a portfolio of countries—with different levels of risk, at different stages of maturity and with distince consumer profiles—to balance short- and long-term opportunities.
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Home-Grown CEO
A study of S&P 500 non-financial companies over 20 years (1988-2007) shows that businesses that exclusively promote CEOs from within the organization outperform companies that recruit CEOs from outside the organization. In the international study 36 companies outperformed others across seven measurable metrics: return on assets, equity and investment, revenue and earnings growth, earnings per share (EPS) growth and stock-price appreciation according to A.T. Kearney, a global management consultancy
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Middle East Banking Market: 2011 Outlook
The Middle East banks continue on the path of recovery. Although the outlook for 2011 is positive, most analysts expect growth to be more subdued than in the past years. It is therefore essential for GCC banks to identify new strategies for growth and prosperity requiring a clear view on how to improve productivity and services while addressing new opportunities in retail banking, investment banking and new geographic regions. (Download PDF)

Chimea Petrochemicals
The shores that border the Indian Ocean form one of the world's most significant trading blocks. Encompasisng the global growth engines of China and India, the wealth of the Middle East and the emerging potential of Africa, this region is called CHIMEA (China, India, Middle East and Africa.) Fueled by higher than average growth in the Middle East and Africa and supported by India, its future potential economic power cannot be denied. (Download PDF)

  Family Business
Family businesses in the Gulf Coopeeration Council (GCC) region must "put their houses in order." The current business cycle has exposed both strategic and operational deficiences within family businesses. Evolving markets and expanding participation are posing fundamental challenges as well. If you are the leader of a GCC family business, you can more than double your profitability if you govern better, plan leadership succession better, improve your operations, and determine what your core capabilities really are.
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Affordable Housing
During the boom years, real estate developers in the Middle East catered to people with high-end tastes. But as the elite market has reached a saturation point, developers have shifted their focus to the affordable housing segment, which is aligned to what the low and middle-income consumers can afford. with massive housing shortages throughout the region, it is no wonder that most developers are keen to tap into this market.
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Insurance in the GCC
The insurance industry in Gulf Cooperation Council countries has weathered the global economic crisis, and the potential for future growth remains intact. However, GCC insurers cannot afford to rest on their laurels; they will have to undergo a transformation to succeed in a maturing, more competitive market. Success will require differentiating to take advantage of significant changes in four areas—automation, claims management, distribution and asset management. (Download PDF)

Reinventing investment banking in the GCC - Time to diversify beyond private equity
There is an opportunity for GCC investment banks to revisit their current business models and redesign their long-term strategies, as the GCC’s market for investment banking offers significant long-term potential.This report argues that it is time to diversify beyong private equity.
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Deal Making— Now Is as Good a Time as Any - M&A opportunities for MENA real estate players
When the economy takes a tumble and asset prices are at historic lows, companies look inward and go into defensive mode. Yet companies that look outward—understanding this is a buyer’s market—are best positioned to emerge as winners when the upswing arrives. For MENA real estate players, acquisitions are the lever out of this crisis.
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Investing in the Rebound – The 2010 A.T. Kearney FDI Confidence Index®
The Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index is a regular survey of global executives conducted by A.T. Kearney looking at the future prospects for international investment flows. Companies participating in the survey account for more than $2 trillion in annual global revenue. According to the 2010 A.T. Kearney Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index FDI flows will remain disappointing through 2011. UAE and other Gulf countries rated among top 15 most attractive global FDI destinations.
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GCC banks: On The road to Maturity
Banks in the GCC countries—Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar—are breathing a sigh of relief as the worst of the global economic crisis appears to be over and the factors that fueled their initial growth are still intact. Yet there are several new pressures on the GCC banks that are exposing them to some intrinsic weaknesses. Indeed, as the laissez-faire approach of the past will no longer work, the crisis has provided GCC banks with the impetus needed to take a big step on the road to maturity.
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Recovering Markets, Revised Ambitions A.T. Kearney’s 2010 Real Estate Global Opportunity Index
When A.T. Kearney issued its last Real Estate Global Opportunity Index in 2008, the real estate crisis was in its early stages. Since then, prices have plummeted worldwide, creating a downward spiral that has devastated economies. Promising projects have been cancelled or downscaled, and developers are coping with previously unseen financial difficulties. Today, however, the market is gearing up for a comeback, what is the next move?.
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Middle East Media on the Move
Across much of the developed world and many developing economies, the media sector is facing challenges on an unprecedented scale. While the media and entertainment industry struggles worldwide, the MIddle East is providing a bright spot. The pan-Arab media industry is growing faster that the economy in general at about 19 percent per year, with both online and offline channels expanding and even feeding off one another.
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More Than Just Lip Service
Banks in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are flush from the effects of the regional economic boom. Yet while GCC banks are remarkably profitable compared to global peers, there is a serious gap in the quality of their customer service. Why should this matter? Because satisfaction in the teller line—and on the phone and online—can have a direct impact on the bottom line. A midsized GCC bank with world-class customer service could increase profits anywhere from $50 million to $150 million a year.
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Balancing the Global Property Development Equation
Globally real estate has been making headlines for the wrong reasons. Even casual followers of current events are familiar with a new vocabulary: subprime disaster, liquidity crisis and foreclosure. The media provide constant coverage of the damage to leading economies and financial institutions from collapsing real estate values. But the global real estate industry offers far more than negative headline stories.
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Tapping the Sun
Like the rest of the world, the Middle East region is not immune to the negative impact of fluctuating oil prices, particularly as it consumes the “black gold” for its own air-conditioning, electricity and drinking water. There is an alternative energy solution, however, and it is directly overhead—the sun.
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Dubai and the Global Cities Index
Presentation given by Robert Ziegler, Vice President A.T. Kearney Middle East at Meed Conference “Dubai Project” on 16th March 2009. The results of the Global Cities index are presented alongside the specific score, characteristics and considerations of Dubai. The Global Cities study was developed by A.T. Kearney, Foreign Policy magazine, and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
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(See the complete 2008 Global Cities Index on the Foreign Policy website)

Managing Complexity in Plant Maintenance 

Getting a handle on complexity in plant maintenance is vital for reducing costs and downtime, and improving financial returns. In a case study from the process industries, this A.T. Kearney client not only eliminated its unnecessary complexity but also earned $2 million in additional revenues.
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