MENA Equities Positioning amidst persisting geopolitical uncertainty and emerging opportunities

Research evidence excerpt

MENA Equities Positioning amidst persisting geopolitical uncertainty and emerging opportunities

ronment since the start of the

conflict, and we would expect infrastructure and mining names (AD Ports and Ma’aden,

which have lagged due to lingering associated logistics challenges) to outperform should

SoH re-open. The sector has generally delivered better-than-expected Q1 results, and

most management commentary highlighted heightened vigilance, supply chain

disruptions and inflationary pressures, but relatively manageable impacts (so far). The

near-term reconstruction opportunity is seen as a major growth driver for OEM

manufacturers, OFS companies and EPC contractors, with some companies expecting a

post-conflict rebuilding wave with highly margin accretive emergency reconstruction

contracts. Looking longer term, we expect to see a structural redesign towards a more

integrated and technologically advanced Gulf logistics ecosystem. The proactive shift

toward alternative export corridors and new industrial zones will require (among other

things) significant port capacity expansion across the region and enhanced air cargo hubs,

which will likely drive a multi-year infrastructure investment cycle.

• In TMT, Telecoms screen the most defensive, but population growth is still a key swing

factor for net adds. 1Q26 results have been solid with most prints coming in ahead of

expectations, supported by solid Jan/Feb trends, but visibility remains low with limited

management commentary on March exit-rates and April run-rates, especially for the

UAE names. We see more earnings downside for N-rated du. In IT services, Presight

AI looks resilient to us given its positioning around mission-critical platforms and

sovereign-aligned AI priorities.