A large number of banks and other financial institutions in the region benefit significantly from ValuStrat’s consulting services, especially for valuation of real estate, industrial and transport assets as well as business valuations, market research, feasibility studies, project monitoring, client due diligence, technical due diligence and collateral verification / mandoob services. These services are integral for corporate, consumer, retail, business and investment banking divisions.
The GCC states have been reaping the fruits of a regional diversification movement in which non-oil growth industries such as property and construction enjoyed a meteoric rise. Fuelled further by rocketing oil prices, the GCC emerged as the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region’s fastest-growing economic bloc. The Gulf’s banking sector played a huge part in facilitating the surge and handling the region’s teeming wealth.
Although the early phases of the downturn slowed economic activity, overall the crisis has had a minimal effect on the region’s finances. Banks still continue to benefit from the Gulf’s economic resilience. Islamic banks have grown in recent years to become a prominent source of financial intermediation in the Gulf countries, controlling on average 24 percent of the region’s banking system assets. The GCC region has witnessed in recent years rapid credit growth to the private sector.
Over the period 2003–08, Qatar and the U.A.E. experienced significant private sector credit growth at around 45 and 35 percent, respectively in view of this growth, the ratio of private sector credit to GDP compares favorably to other emerging countries. When measured in relation to non-oil GDP, credit to the private sector in the GCC registers the highest rates among emerging countries.
