The next stage of capital markets development across the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (MENAT) will likely be driven by environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing as well as emerging digital trends, according to institutional investors, regulators and exchange managers attending the HSBC Markets & Securities Services: MENAT Virtual Forum 2021.
“The region’s capital markets have made great strides in recent years, becoming integral components of benchmark emerging market indices for global investors, and they are poised to develop further still as the region actively pursues both the ESG and digital agendas,” Antoine Maurel, HSBC’s Regional Head of Markets & Securities Services, CEEMEA, said at the close of two days of discussions and presentations.
With markets across the region attracting increasing volumes from international investors by introducing new infrastructures and products such as transformational post-trade features and derivatives, speakers and delegates at the HSBC forum focused on what lies ahead for markets that are pursuing ‘developed market’ status.
Antoine Maurel added: “Events like the HSBC Markets and Securities Services MENAT Forum play an important role in bringing together the full spectrum of market participates to increase focus on the issues that matter the most for investors. We all need to work together to make the global securities services industry less complex and more efficient, and more focused on emerging investment trends such as sustainable investing and digital assets.”
A panel of regulators featuring His Excellency Dr. Obaid Al Zaabi, CEO of The Securities and Commodities Authority (UAE), and senior representatives from Kuwait’s Capital Markets Authority, Saudi Arabia’s Capital Markets Authority and Qatar Financial Markets Authority stressed the importance of ESG investing, saying it has a key role to play in promoting sustainable growth in the region.
“Society is demanding greater transparency from businesses on environmental and social issues, and investors are taking action to make a positive contribution to the world around them, underlining the importance of proper engagement and disclosure on ESG issues,” added Robert Ansari, Managing Director and Head of the Middle East at MSCI.
On digital, panelists over the course of the two days discussed how digital assets and emerging technologies could shape the future of market infrastructure and securities services in MENAT. HSBC has said that tokenisation, where real assets are converted into digital assets using Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), could provide billions of people with more affordable access to investment opportunities, reducing global wealth disparities.
Discussing DLT, Brad Douglas, Director – Markets, Dubai Financial Services Authority, said: “Our objective would be to ensure that the same regulatory safeguards and standards present in our traditional financial markets equally apply to DLT-based systems and networks with a view to protect investors and financial consumers.”
Bilateral meetings are now being held between delegates to discuss in more detail how to accelerate the development of capital markets across the region.
-Ends-
Media enquiries to:
Edward Moore
+971 4 423 6610
edward.j.moore@hsbc.com
HSBC in the MENAT region
HSBC is the largest and most widely represented international banking organisation in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (MENAT), with a presence in nine countries across the region: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. In Saudi Arabia, HSBC is a 31% shareholder of Saudi British Bank (SABB), and a 51% shareholder of HSBC Saudi Arabia for investment banking in the Kingdom. Across MENAT, HSBC had assets of US$68.9bn as at 31 December 2020.
© Press Release 2021
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