RIYADH: Saudi banks and building materials are among the top regional recovery play stocks picked by Daman Investments.
The Dubai-based asset manager sees such companies as Yanbu Cement and Saudi Ceramics as benefiting from a pickup in construction activity.
The Shareek privatization program is expected to drive lending growth for some of the Kingdom’s biggest banks, Ali El Adou, head of asset management at Daman Investments, told Bloomberg TV on Sunday.
The recovering economy may also benefit fuel retailers Aldrees and bookstore Jarir as the reopening of schools mean more books sales and fuel being consumed from schools runs.
Petrochemical firms such as Sahara and SABIC also stand to benefit from a broader cyclical recovery in consumption globally.
Among its top investor picks for the UAE are developer Emaar, food company Agthia, budget carrier Air Arabia and the country’s two biggest banks, Dubai’s Emirates NBD and Abu Dhabi’s FAB.
“The UAE government has been very proactive in terms of inoculations. This is helping the reopening theme from an investment case perspective,” he said.
Saudi banks and building materials favored by Daman Investments
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Saudi banks and building materials favored by Daman Investments
- Cyclical stocks favored in Saudi Arabia and UAE
- Kingdom's big banks to tap privatization lending growth
Kuwait to boost Islamic finance with sukuk regulation
- The move supports sustainable financing and is part of Kuwait’s efforts to diversify its oil-dependent economy
RIYADH: Kuwait is planning to introduce legislation to regulate the issuance of sukuk, or Islamic bonds, both domestically and internationally, as part of efforts to support more sustainable financing for the oil-rich Gulf nation, Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah said on Wednesday.
Speaking at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, Al-Sabah highlighted that Kuwait is exploring a variety of debt instruments to diversify its economy. The country has been implementing fiscal reforms aimed at stimulating growth and controlling its budget deficit amid persistently low oil prices. Hydrocarbons continue to dominate Kuwait’s revenue stream, accounting for nearly 90 percent of government income in 2024.
The Gulf Cooperation Council’s debt capital market is projected to exceed $1.25 trillion by 2026, driven by project funding and government initiatives, representing a 13.6 percent expansion, according to Fitch Ratings.
The region is expected to remain one of the largest sources of US dollar-denominated debt and sukuk issuance among emerging markets. Fitch also noted that cross-sector economic diversification, refinancing needs, and deficit funding are key factors behind this growth.
“We are about to approve the first legislation regulating issuance of government sukuk locally and internationally, in accordance with Islamic laws,” Al-Sabah said.
“This enables us to deal with financial challenges flexibly and responsibly, and to plan for medium and long-term finances.”
Kuwait returned to global debt markets last year with strong results, raising $11.25 billion through a three-part bond sale — the country’s first US dollar issuance since 2017 — drawing substantial investor demand. In March, a new public debt law raised the borrowing ceiling to 30 billion dinars ($98 billion) from 10 billion dinars, enabling longer-term borrowing.
The Gulf’s debt capital markets, which totaled $1.1 trillion at the end of the third quarter of 2025, have evolved from primarily sovereign funding tools into increasingly sophisticated instruments serving governments, banks, and corporates alike. As diversification efforts accelerate and refinancing cycles intensify, regional issuers have become regular participants in global debt markets, reinforcing the GCC’s role in emerging-market capital flows.
In 2025, GCC countries accounted for 35 percent of all emerging-market US dollar debt issuance, excluding China, with growth in US dollar sukuk issuance notably outpacing conventional bonds. The region’s total outstanding debt capital markets grew more than 14 percent year on year, reaching $1.1 trillion.
