About @ A Glance:

This report is intended to shed light on general macroeconomic trends of four economies in the

MENA region that could impact investors’ decisions and the financial performance of businesses.

2

About @ A Glance:

This report is intended to shed light on

general macroeconomic trends of four

economies in the MENA region “Arab

Republic of Egypt, Kingdom of Saudi

Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Kingdom

of Qatar” that could impact investors’

decisions and the financial performance of

businesses. @ A Glance constitutes an

essential guide as it helps assess the overall

performance of these countries’ economies,

which in turn aids firms with their business

development strategy.

About Multiples:

Multiples Group is a regional investment

management firm focusing on building long

term business partnerships while offering a

full range of investment banking services

covering medium and large scale projects

across the MENA region through its

headquarters in DIFC, Dubai and regional

offices in Doha and Cairo.

3

EGYPT in Review

* In January, the Supreme Electoral

Committee (SEC) announced that the

newly drafted national charter was

approved by 98.1% of voters.

* The number of tourists visiting Egypt

in the first two months of 2014 has

dropped 28% to 1.3 MM in

comparison to January and February

2013.

* Egypt's budget deficit reached 8% of

its gross domestic product (GDP). The

deficit totaled some 163.3 BN EGP

(22.8 BN USD) for the period of July

2013 to April 2014, compared to

around 184.8 BN EGP (25.8 BN USD)

in the same months of the preceding

fiscal year.

* Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi won a crushing

victory in the presidential election on

May 2014. However, the turnout was

low, and his win will only harden the

rift between the authorities and the

Muslim Brotherhood.

Egypt Main Economic Indicators:

In H1 2014, the real GDP growth rate has

significantly increased in Q2-14 scoring

2.5% which is 1% higher than the growth

rate for the same period last year.

On the other hand, the unemployment rate

has remained high in the first quarter of

2014 while it slightly went down by 0.1% in

the second quarter scoring 13.3%.

-0.8%

3.4% 2.2%

1.5% 1.0% 0.9% 1.4%

2.5%

-2.0%

0.0%

2.0%

4.0%

6.0%

8.0%

10.0%

12.0%

14.0%

16.0%

201

1

201

2

Q1

-13

Q2

-13

Q3

-13

Q4

-13

Q1

-14

Q2

-14

Macro Economic Indicators

Real GDP Growth Unemployment Rate

4

Headline

CPI

Core

CPI

Headline

CPI Core CPI

Regulated

Items

Fruits &

Vegetables

Regulated

Items

Fruits &

Vegetables

(m/m percentage

change) (y/y percentage change) (m/m percentage change) (y/y percentage change)

Jan-14 1.420 1.110 11.362 11.691 -0.786 7.537 3.400 24.467

Feb-14 1.028 1.019 9.765 9.697 2.904 -1.959 5.239 19.010

Mar-14 0.684 0.697 9.816 9.903 0.000 1.763 5.239 17.758

Apr-14 0.599 0.248 8.871 9.113 0.000 4.023 4.712 14.515

May-14 -0.734 -0.232 8.242 8.860 1.287 -7.328 6.060 7.776

Jun-14 0.838 0.677 8.200 8.763 0.000 3.465 7.005 6.390

Inflation Rate:

In Egypt, the headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the change in the cost of a

fixed basket of goods and services that are purchased by a representative sample of

households from urban areas, which include Cairo, Alexandria, urban Lower Egypt, urban

Upper Egypt, Canal cities and Frontier governorates.

The most important categories in the headline CPI are Food and Beverages (40% of total

weight); Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and other Fuels 18.4% ; Medical Care 6.3% and

Transportation 5.7%. Clothing and Footwear account for 5.4% of total index and Education

for 4.6%. Hotels, Cafes and Restaurants represent 4.4% of total weight and Furnishings,

Household Equipment and Routine Maintenance of the Dwelling for 3.8%. Miscellaneous

Goods and Services account for 3.7%, Communications 3.1%, Recreation and Culture 2.4%

and Tobacco and Related Products 2.2%.

10.1%

7.6% 7.3% 8.6%

10.0% 11.7%

10.9% 9.0%

2011 2012 Q1-13 Q2-13 Q3-13 Q4-13 Q1-14 Q2-14

Inflation Rate

5

-20%-10% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Financial Services excl. Banks

Personal and Household Products

Travel &Leisure

Construction and Materials

Real Estate

Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals

Industrial…

Basic Resources

Chemicals

Banks

Telecommunications

Food and Beverages

Sector Indices Performance Q1-14

6500

7000

7500

8000

8500

9000

2-J

an-1

4

9-J

an-1

4

16-J

an-1

4

23-J

an-1

4

30-J

an-1

4

6-F

eb-1

4

13-F

eb-1

4

20-F

eb-1

4

27-F

eb-1

4

6-M

ar-1

4

13-M

ar-1

4

20-M

ar-1

4

27-M

ar-1

4

3-A

pr-

14

10-A

pr-

14

17-A

pr-

14

24-A

pr-

14

1-M

ay-1

4

8-M

ay-1

4

15-M

ay-1

4

22-M

ay-1

4

29-M

ay-1

4

5-J

un-1

4

12-J

un

-14

19-J

un

-14

26-J

un

-14

Egyptian Stock Market "EGX 30"

Stock Exchange:

In the first quarter of 2014, the total value traded recorded 78.2 BN EGP, while the total

volume traded reached 18,562 MM securities executed over 2,338 thousand transactions this

quarter. Stocks trading accounted for 78.5% of the total value traded of the main market,

while the remaining 21.5% were captured by bonds over the quarter.

While in the second quarter of 2014, the total value traded recorded 90.9 BN EGP, while the

total volume traded reached 15,892 MM securities executed over 1,729 thousand transactions

this quarter. Stocks trading accounted for 70.35% of the total value traded of the main

market, while the remaining 29.65% were captured by bonds over the quarter.

-10% -5% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20%

Real Estate

Financial Services excl. Banks

Construction and Materials

Telecommunications

Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals

Basic Resources

Banks

Travel &Leisure

Industrial…

Personal and Household…

Food and Beverages

Chemicals

Sector Indices Performance Q2-14

6

6.85

6.9

6.95

7

7.05

7.1

7.15

7.2

USD/EGP Exchange Rate Exchange Rate:

Dollar exchange rate has increased in the

Egyptian official market throughout the

first half of 2014 from 6.96 EGP to 7.15

EGP. It’s worth mentioning that the

central bank has stopped defending the

Egyptian pound against the US dollar due

the great fall in international reserves

after 25th

January revolution.

Egypt References:

* Central Bank of Egypt (CBE)

* Ministry of Finance (MOF)

* Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAC)

* Tradingeconomics.com

* Investing.com

* Egyptian Exchange (EGX)

7

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Review

* Investment in small and medium

enterprises in Saudi Arabia is

expected to grow to more than 70 BN

USD by the end of 2015, with the

government and banks providing

much-needed funding.

* As part of moves to boost inward

investment, the Council of Ministers

has agreed to ease the extremely

bureaucratic rules for foreign

companies wishing to bid for

government procurement projects.

* The Saudi market is potentially the

largest for solar energy in the GCC,

and has previously expressed its

desire to add up to 50GW of

renewables to its energy sector by

2030. They have talked about a 120

BN USD program, but haven't rolled

out any plans yet.

KSA Main Economic Indicators:

* In the first half of year 2014, the real GDP

growth rate has increased in Q1-14 scoring

5% which is 1% higher than the growth rate

of last quarter of 2013. This increase

continued in the second quarter to reach

5.1%.

* On the other hand, the unemployment rate

has remained constant throughout the first

half of 2014 at 5.5%.

8.6%

5.1% 4.4%

3.8% 3.8% 4.0%

5.0% 5.1%

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

7%

8%

9%

10%

Macro Economic Indicators

GDP real Growth Unemployment Rate

8

Inflation Rate:

The annual cost of living index in KSA went up by 2.7 percent in June 2014 compared to

the same month in the preceding year, whereas the annual inflation rate for all the months

of the second quarter in 2014 stood at 2.7 percent. The cost of living index also registered

monthly increases of 0.3 percent and 0.1 percent in April and May respectively.

The effect of major groups were in variable degrees on the general cost of living index. In

terms of its influence on the cost of living index, housing, water, electricity, gas and other

fuels group ranked first with 37.7% in the second quarter of 2014 compared to 20.6% in

the same quarter of the previous year; followed by miscellaneous goods and services with

an influence rate of 17.3% compared to 7.2% in the same quarter of the previous year; next

was transport group with an influence rate of 13.8% compared to 7.1% for the

corresponding quarter of the preceding year. In contrast, the effect of food and beverages

group on the annual change rate of the general index went down significantly from

33.4% in the second quarter of 2013 to 5.9% in the second quarter of 2014.

0

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

0.3

0.35

2.45

2.5

2.55

2.6

2.65

2.7

2.75

2.8

2.85

2.9

2.95

1-Jan 1-Feb 1-Mar 1-Apr 1-May 1-Jun

Inflation Rate of the General Cost of Living Index 2014

Annual Inflation Rate Monthly Inflation Rate

Y/Y % M/M %

9

Stock Exchange:

The TASI continued to show upward momentum in May as high levels of liquidity in the

economy sustained growth. The TASI has showed nine straight months of positive growth.

This growth has been underpinned by high oil prices and solid domestic fundamentals in the

Saudi economy.

Average daily turnover grew for the fifth month in a row and reached 11.5 BN SR in May.

Turnover by sector was dominated by the larger sectors, with the exception of insurance

which saw rises in activity prompted by investor speculation.

Larger sectors, such as petrochemicals, agriculture & food and real estate saw the biggest

average daily turnover, with the insurance sector being the exception

7500

8000

8500

9000

9500

10000

10500

1-Jan-14 1-Feb-14 1-Mar-14 1-Apr-14 1-May-14 1-Jun-14

Tadawul (TASI)

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

Turn Over by Sector "BN SR"

10

Exchange Rate:

The Saudi riyal's exchange rate has been

constant to the US dollar, which has been

in place since 1986, is almost certain to

remain unchanged at an average of

3.75SR:1USD in the first half of 2014.

Additionally, it’s not expected that the

long proposed single GCC currency will

set up until after 2018. As a result, the

riyal will track movements in the US

currency, which is expected to strengthen

steadily over the coming years as the

Federal Reserve (the US central bank)

tightens its monetary stance.

3.7499

3.75

3.7501

3.7502

3.7503

3.7504

3.7505

3.7506

3.7507

3.7508

3.7509

USD/SAR - Exchange Rate

KSA References:

* Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA)

* Jadwa.com

* Investing.com

* Trading Economics.com

11

Qatar in Review

* State spending overshot budgeted

spending in 2013/14 by 10%, while

the fiscal surplus soared by 45.9%,

according to preliminary data from

the Ministry of Finance.

* The real-estate price index of the

Qatar Central Bank (QCB) surged by

29.97% year on year in June, driven

by population growth and a surge in

public spending on infrastructure

projects related to the 2022 football

World Cup.

* Bank credit expanded by 12.8% year

on year to 613.5BN QR (168.54BN

USD) in June, according to the QCB,

on the back of increased activity in

the real estate and contracting sectors.

* The government's external debt fell

by 17% year on year to 74.3 BN QR

(20.4 BN USD) in 2013/14, according

to the QCB.

* The QCB has begun to sell seven-

year bonds as part of efforts to

develop the yield curve and widen the

scope for local companies to raise

capital by issuing debt.

Qatar Main Economic

Indicators:

According to Qatar’s Ministry of

Development Planning and Statistics,

Real GDP growth accelerated to 6.5% in

2013 on strong investments in the non-

hydrocarbon sector while growth in the

hydrocarbon sector slowed. The

implementation of major projects created

an estimated 120k jobs in 2013 alone. In

H1 2014, the economy grew on average

by 6% as accelerating non-hydrocarbon

growth (particularly in construction)

offset a temporary decline in

hydrocarbon production. Financial

services and trade, restaurants and hotels

were the other main contributors to Q1

growth, benefitting from the expanding

population.

16.7%

13.0%

6.1% 6.5% 6.2% 5.7%

0.0%

2.0%

4.0%

6.0%

8.0%

10.0%

12.0%

14.0%

16.0%

18.0%

2010 2011 2012 2013 Q1-2014 Q2-2014

Macro Economic Indicators

GDP Real Growth Unemployment rate

12

Consumer Price Index

Base Year = 2007 2013 2014

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2

Household Consumption (CPI) 113.5 114.1 114.6 115.5 116.4 117.6

Food, beverages & Tobacco 136 137.4 137.2 138.7 138 137.4

Clothing & footwear 116.2 116 116.9 117.5 119.3 119.5

Rent, utilities & related housing service 88.3 89 89.5 91.1 93.1 95.1

Furniture, Textiles & Home Appliances 121.7 121.4 122.3 124 126.5 127.6

Medical Care & health Services 116 116.9 117.1 117.5 117.6 117.6

Transport & Communication 116.7 118.5 119.2 118.7 118.7 120.6

Entertainment, Recreation and Culture 127.5 128.5 130.8 131.1 130.9 131.5

Miscellaneous Goods & services 139.9 136.6 134.2 134.7 135.3 135.6

Inflation Rate:

Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation averaged 2.8% in the first half of 2014, compared with

3.1% in 2013. Following the sharp fall in 2009-2010, rents have begun picking up. This has

been driven by the rapid population growth, which increases demand for housing.

As rents (together with fuel and energy) account for 32.2% of the CPI basket, domestic inflation

has been on an upward trajectory, progressively rising from -6.2% in 2009 to 3.5% in 2013. On

the other hand, falling global food prices have partially offset rising domestic inflationary

pressures, leading to a moderation in foreign inflation to 2.1%. As a result, overall CPI inflation

registered 3.1% in 2013 and moderated to 2.8% in the first half of 2014.

-4.9%

-2.4%

1.9% 1.9%

3.1% 2.8%

-8.0%

-6.0%

-4.0%

-2.0%

0.0%

2.0%

4.0%

6.0%

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 H1 2014

CPI Inflation

Domestic Foreign CPI

13

Stock Exchange:

The Banks and Financial Services sector, led trading volume during June 2014 accounting

for 32.46% of the total trading volume, followed by Real Estate sector, which accounted for

23.49%, the Telecoms sector which accounted for 15.33%, the Consumer Goods and

Services sector, which accounted for 12.65%, the Industrials sector which accounted for

8.93%, the Transportation sector which accounted for 3.98%, and finally followed by

Insurance sector which accounted for 3.15%.

The Banks and Financial Services sector, led trading value during June 2014 accounting for

43.26% of the total trading value, followed by Industrials sector, which accounted for

17.09%. In addition to the Real Estate sector that accounted for 14.62%, the Telecoms sector

accounted for 10.26%, the Consumer Goods and Services sector which accounted for 8.31%,

the Insurance sector ranked third, accounting for 3.67%, and finally followed by

Transportation sector which accounted for 2.79%.

10000

10500

11000

11500

12000

12500

13000

13500

14000

5-Jan-14 5-Feb-14 5-Mar-14 5-Apr-14 5-May-14 5-Jun-14

Qatar Stock Exchange "QE"

0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0%

Banking

Real Estate

Telecom

Services

Industrial

Transportation

Insurance

Trading Volume By Sector

0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0%

Banking

Industrial

Real Estate

Telecom

Services

Insurance

Transportation

Trading Value By Sector

14

Exchange Rate:

The riyal is pegged to the dollar at an

average rate of 3.64 QR: 1 USD during

the first half. The authorities seem

committed to maintaining the current

exchange-rate regime, arguing not only

that Qatar's gas and oil exports are

denominated in the US currency but also

that this offers stability and reassurance

to investors. Pressure for revaluation is

unlikely to return unless the dollar

weakens substantially.

3.639

3.6395

3.64

3.6405

3.641

3.6415

3.642

USD/QAR Exchange Rate

Qatar References:

* Ministry of Planning and Statistics (QSA)

* Qatar National Bank Reports (QNB)

* Qatar Exchange (QE)

* Investing.com

* Trading Economics.com

15

United Arab Emirates in Review

* According to data published by the

UAE National Bureau of Statistics

(NBS) the country’s economy

expanded by 5.2% (yoy) in real terms.

This is higher than the most recent

IMF forecast of 4.8% published in

April 2014.

* The number of new residency visas

issued in Dubai during the first half of

2014 rose by 30%, according to new

figures. However, the government did

not release figures on how many

residency visas were cancelled during

this time.

* Banks have reported a generally

positive set of financial results for the

second quarter, reflecting stronger

lending and fee revenue and the fading

impact of the debt woes of 2009.

* The UAE occupied the first position in

the general Edelman credit index of

trust in 2014 with 79 points, ahead of

China in second place, Singapore,

Indonesia and India in the following

places.

UAE Main Economic Indicators:

* UAE’s GDP is expected to grow 4.2% in 2014

while the country's exports are expected to

grow 6% in 2014 from 379 BN USD in 2013.

* UAE’s unemployment rate in 2013 and 2014 is

fixed at 4.2%. Employment rate among

expatriate workers is 79% while only about

45% of UAE nationals are employed.

-4.80%

1.70%

3.90%

5.20% 4.20%

-6.00%

-4.00%

-2.00%

0.00%

2.00%

4.00%

6.00%

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014E

Macro Economic Indicators

Real GDP Growth Unemployment

16

Dubai Consumer Price Index H1

Base Year = 2007 Weight

Relative

change %

Food and beverages 11.08 3.36

Alcoholic beverages and tobacco 0.24 2.35

Clothing and footwear 5.52 -2.89

Housing, water, electricity, gas and other

fuels 43.7 4.58

Furnishings, household equipment and

routine household maintenance 3.34 2.53

Health 1.08 2.16

Transport 9.08 0.79

Communication 6 0.7

Recreation and culture 4.24 0.11

Education 4.09 4.43

Restaurants and hotels 5.48 2.19

Miscellaneous goods and services 6.15 1.79

Abu Dhabi Consumer Price Index

Base Year = 2007

Q1 Q2

Weight

Relative

change %

Relative

change %

Food and beverages 16.1 2.9 2.6

Alcoholic beverages and tobacco 0.3 0 1.1

Clothing and footwear 9.8 3.7 3.1

Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels 37.9 1.9 2.6

Furnishings, household equipment 4.8 4.1 8.3

Health 0.8 -0.3 -0.5

Transport 9.7 0.8 0.4

Communication 7.7 -0.2 -0.2

Recreation and culture 2.4 0.5 0.9

Education 2.6 3.9 3.9

Restaurants and hotels 3.4 5.6 5.7

Miscellaneous goods and services 4.6 3.4 4.6

Inflation Rate:

* UAE inflation rate in H1 2014 recorded 2.21%. On a month-by-month basis, the rate of

inflation recorded a monthly increase by 0.41% while goods and services costs increased

by 5.17%.

* Abu Dhabi inflation rate in H1 2014 was 2.7%, shown by the increase in the CPI to 126.9

points during the first half of 2014, up from 123.5 points during the same period of 2013.

* In Dubai, the inflation rate in consumer prices for the first half of 2014 increased by

2.74% compared with 2013, and that’s due to the increase in water, electricity, gas, and

fuel prices by 4.58%.

1.73%

-0.09%

0.50%

1.11%

2.21%

-0.50%

0.00%

0.50%

1.00%

1.50%

2.00%

2.50%

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014E

Inflation

17

Stock Exchange:

* According to the sectors’ contribution to trading value in Dubai Stock exchange

throughout H1 2014, the Real Estate and Construction sector ranked first in terms of

the traded value, while the Banking sector ranked second. In the third place came the

financial and Investment services sector.

* By the end of H1 in Abu Dhabi, according to the sectors’ contribution to trading value,

the Real Estate and Construction sector ranked first in terms of the traded value, to

reach 58.76% of the total traded value in the market. The Banking sector ranked second

at 27.45%.

3000

3500

4000

4500

5000

5500

UAE Stock Exchange

ADI DFMGI

58.76% 27.45%

6.97%

2.59%

2.33%

1.50% 0.22%

0.16%

0.03%

H1 value traded by sector in Abu Dhabi

Real Estate and Construction

Banks

Telecommunication

Financial and Investment

ServicesEnergy

Industrial

Insurance

Services

Consumer Staples

49.94%

22.78%

16.75%

4.97%

2.61%

1.58% 1.36%

0.01%

0.01%

Q1 value traded by sector in Dubai

Real Estate and Construction

Banks

Financial and Investment Services

Transportation

Insurance

Services

Telecommunication

Consumer Staples

Industrial

65.66%

14.08%

13.83%

3.40%

1.36%

0.93%

0.73%

0.01%

0.00%

Q2 value traded by sector in Dubai

Real Estate and Construction

Banks

Financial and Investment Services

Transportation

Services

Insurance

Telecommunication

Consumer Staples

Industrial

18

Exchange Rate:

* The Emirati Central Bank remains

committed to the existing peg of the UAE

dirham to the US dollar. The peg has

provided stability for decades and having

ridden out the problems associated with a

fixed currency (including a lack of

monetary flexibility), the authorities seem

committed to the system.

* The UAE dirham has been fixed at a rate

of 3.6725 to 1 USD since 1997.

3.67

3.67

3.67

3.67

3.67

3.67

3.67

3.67

3.67

3.67

3.67

USD/EGP Exchange Rate

Visit our website: www.multiplesgroup.com

Contact us: info@multiplesgroup.com

Cairo Office: Capstone Office

Building, Building S5-6

Area 5, District 1, 5th

Settlement, New Cairo.

Dubai Office: Office no. N 415, North

Tower,Emirates

Financial Towers, DIFC,

P.O Box 506726, Dubai,

UAE.

Tel: +97143518187

UAE References:

* Dubai Financial Market (DFM)

* Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX)

* Gulfbusiness.com

* Zawya.com

* khaleejtimes.com

* Investing.com