"Thank you for supporting us in developing our Market Intelligence function on an EMEA level. Your sophisticated platform and insightful deliverables have proven invaluable in helping us understand our competitors and markets better. I will highly recommend GIA to anyone looking to improve their competitiveness in global markets!"


Marketing Division Manager
NACCO Materials Handling Group



Benefit from our experience in the Middle East
The Middle East is a diversified region, comprising rich oil-exporting countries and more populated, less affluent countries. Strong fiscal and economic policies among governments in the Middle East, including ongoing heavy investment in local projects, have enabled the region to better weather the current global economic storm than many Western and other emerging markets. In addition, the Middle Eastern economies benefit from sizable accumulated currency reserves, lower use of leverage and limited integration with global financial institutions.

At 315 million inhabitants, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have the third-largest population on the planet. With over $1.4 trillion in aggregate GDP, the region is the world's tenth-largest economic bloc, and continues to grow, leveraging access to an untapped burgeoning market representing the world’s 5th largest economy in absolute GDP. MENASA region is projected to overtake the US as the world’s second largest economy by 2050, and will be the world’s second fastest growing region over the next 5 years.

The main opportunities in the Middle East for foreign direct investors and private equity investors are infrastructure assets, including greenfield projects, privatizations, private companies, health care, education, leisure & tourism and real estate.

A number of crossroads have been reached in the Middle East that foreign direct investors and private equity investors will find attractive. First, real GDP growth in many Middle Eastern countries is exceeding 5% and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC) economies are among the fastest-growing in the world. Second, Middle Eastern countries, including the GCC, have undertaken to liberalize their economies and are starting to deregulate a growing number of industries. Third, there are a growing number of mid-market owners willing to embrace external expertise and accept private capital in order to expand their businesses while family groups are wishing to exit and cash in on their lifetime's work. Fourth, Middle Eastern businesses are slowly becoming accustomed to transparency and due diligence requests and are adopting more transparent corporate structures (although they still need to improve their management information systems and corporate governance practices). Finally, exit strategies are increasing. A public market listing is now viable in the Middle East due to the creation of the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX)  which should create regional capital markets with enough depth and liquidity in the forthcoming years for successful exits. There is also a growing segment of readily available buyers such as trade buyers and secondary buyers; for example other private equity buyers such as deep-pocketed local sovereign wealth funds, local and international private equity funds.

Due to the enormous differences within the Middle East in economy, business practices and opportunities, it is of utmost importance to get a clear understanding of the market the company will be operating in. For a new entrant, it can be difficult to get an accurate overview and the result of trial and error in a new market can be a serious hindrance to the prospect of future success. For a company already operating in the region, it can be strategically important to get an independent entity to assess a market situation and current strategies.

GIA can assist with carefully assessing market focus and investment strategies when entering this region, as well as assisting with assessment of current strategies based on accurate and timely market information.


Access our network of experts
Contact GIA and gain reliable insights and advice through our network of local experts. Leverage in-depth local knowledge through GIA's partner offices in Dubai and a network covering UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Yemen, Iran, and Turkey, for your strategic market intelligence needs, from market entry to addressing business risks and competitive threats.


Understand, compete and grow in the Middle East
As your strategic market intelligence and advisory partner, we can provide:

  • Business War gaming
  • Competitive Intelligence
  • Due diligence
  • Merger & acquisition support
  • Tailor-made reports, assessment of projects and partners
  • Primary & secondary research
  • A highly functional and integrated intelligence software as your window to the competitive environment, customized for your business architecture
  • Training, consultation and advisory services that help you take your intelligence operations to the next level


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