In an era of transition: Chinese Business Opportunities in MENAT

If you missed our webinar, you can still watch our event recording in both English and Chinese language.

You can find below some of the key highlights from our speakers as well as outside experts, who explored substantial growth opportunities that we see for Chinese companies in the MENAT region, which showed a remarkable resilience to a double shock of COVID-19 and falling oil prices.

The rapidly evolving region is more open than ever to inward investment thanks to sweeping economic reforms, which aim to promote diversification beyond the traditional hydrocarbon and construction sectors into technology, healthcare, and renewables.

Key webinar takeaways for your business

Massive project pipeline

HSBC’s tracker shows the total value of projects pledged in the MENAT region is an enormous U.S.$4.3 trillion. Diversification away from hydrocarbons, building for the future economy and sustainability are the main focus.

Sweeping reforms

The pace of economic reforms in the MENAT region is faster than ever. An amendment to the UAE’s Commercial Companies Law will scrap restrictions for firms outside of free zones requiring a majority ownership by UAE nationals or their companies, allowing 100% foreign shareholding from March 30 among a raft of other investor-positive changes.

Opportunities abound

 A combination of the MENAT region's economic needs and its fast moving reform programme means that there will be a growing variety and scale of capital opportunities available to Chinese firms alongside capital flows and trade. There is a great opportunity for Chinese banks to support Chinese equity and Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractors.

Remarkable resilience

 Facing a double adversity of COVID-19 pandemic and plunge in oil prices, the MENAT region showed a remarkable resilience as accumulated sovereign wealth buffers helped offset the shock. It also managed the pandemic better than some other parts of the world, avoiding so far an exponential rise in cases seen in the United States and Europe.

Recovery underway

 The high-frequency data is starting to look quite encouraging, showing that economic recovery in the MENAT region is already underway, and pointing to a likely growth of 2.5% to 3.0% in 2021, according to HSBC Global Research. Growth is likely to start building further momentum into 2022 thanks to region’s success in managing the impact of COVID-19.

Should you wish to discuss how HSBC may assist you or your business in respect of any of the matters discussed in the webinar, or anything else, please contact us by clicking on the “Get In Touch” button below.