Domestic focused growth economies offer best opportunities for investors says Injaz Mena

Domestic focused growth economies offer best opportunities for investors says Injaz Mena
Investors wanting to avoid the ongoing problems associated with the US subprime fallout in the credit markets and the weakness of the US dollar should be looking to countries with strong growth driven by domestic demand.
That was the opinion expressed by Injaz Mena Investment Co PSC Director-General Shariq Azhar when he took part in a panel discussion just held at the prestigious UAE Global Economy Forum organised by Institutional Investor magazine at Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi.
Based on what investors should be looking for at the broad macro-economic level, he said the best place to invest over the next two years was in markets whose growth comes largely from domestic demand.
Changing trade patterns resulting from a weakened US economy were likely to have a substantial impact on export-driven economies over this period and, for this reason, Injaz Mena currently had more confidence in the continued growth potential of economies where the story is principally a domestic one.
But regardless of where investments were made, investors still needed to make sure that their money was going into companies that had strong growth potential, with good management and a high unfilled demand for their products.
He told the audience that some of Injaz Mena’s best investments had been niche opportunities in Europe, but there was a lot of competition in developed markets and emerging markets offered a lot more opportunities.
The Forum was held under the patronage of His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and was supported by the Department of Planning and Economy and co-hosted by Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) and Sorouh Real Estate.
Lead Sponsors include: Abu Dhabi Investment Company (ADIC) and Peachtree Capital Markets. Co-Sponsors include: Abu Dhabi Securities Market, Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP, Injaz Mena Investment Company PSC and The National Investor (TNI). Airline Partner: Etihad Airways.
Nearly 400 delegates from 32 countries attended the invitation-only forum which had former New Zealand Prime Minister and World Trade Organisation Director-General Mike Moore as its keynote speaker.
Photo caption:
Panellists discussing the topic Investing Globally: Analysing Risk and Reward listen intently as panel chairman Ernest McCrary (Editor and Publisher Special Projects Institutional Investor), left, makes a point. Also pictured, from left, are Shariq Azhar (Director-General Injaz Mena Investment Co), Dr Mark Mobius (President, Templeton Emerging Markets Fund), Alkesh Gianchandani (Senior Managing Director Monsoon Capital), Hasham Malik (Chief Capital Markets Officer, Peachtree Settlement Funding) and Patrick Daniels (Partner, Business Development, Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman and Robbins).