Author: Omar Khattaly

By: Omar Khattaly Researcher & Consultant on MENA Political Economy and Sovereign Wealth Funds September 2014 Should governments in the U.S and Europe be concerned with the presence and the growth of these government owned investment funds? In recent years, many in the U.S. Capital and within the EU countries have expressed concern and have…

By: Omar Khattaly Researcher & Consultant on MENA Political Economy and Sovereign Wealth Funds Even though the first thoughts that come to many when hearing the words “state-owned” next to “economic recovery” are socialism, government control and bureaucracy, according to accounting firm PwC, the proportion of State-owned Enterprises (SOEs) among the Fortune Global 500 grew from 9% in…

By: Omar Khattaly Researcher & Consultant on MENA Political Economy and Sovereign Wealth Funds February 2018 Norway’s Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), Government Pension Fund Global (GPF-Global) started in 1990 as a future generation financial cushion and as the population’s pension fund. A fund that receives its financing from the country’s oil revenue and not from…

By: Omar Khattaly Researcher & Consultant on MENA Political Economy and Sovereign Wealth Funds January 2018 The Egyptian tourism sector, one of the country’s main sources of foreign currency reserves and national income, expected to grow after the Russian decision to lift the travel ban to Egypt. On December 15, 2017, Russia and Egypt signed…

By: Omar Khattaly Researcher & Consultant on MENA Political Economy and Sovereign Wealth Funds January 2016 The drop in oil prices in the last 12 months has taken markets and investors by surprise. State institutions such as Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF) have been affected and state budgets have suffered. SWF will grow slowly and in…

By: Omar Khattaly Researcher & Consultant on MENA Political Economy and Sovereign Wealth Funds March 2014  Despite the focus on stocks and bonds, real estate is still a major part of the institutional investment portfolio. Investing in the real estate market is achieved by either direct (physical) and indirect (securitized). Direct real estate investment involves…

By: Omar Khattaly Researcher & Consultant on MENA Political Economy and Sovereign Wealth Funds March 2014 How will the global CRE market expected to perform in the short term? According to Jones Lang LaSalle, 2014 will create new records. The overall investment picture is appealing with a rise in investor confidence and an increase in…