Building beyond Hormuz: GEMs Equity Strategy

Research evidence excerpt

Building beyond Hormuz: GEMs Equity Strategy

23 July 2026

Building beyond Hormuz EquityEmergingStrategyMarkets

GEMs Equity Strategy

◆ We expect GCC countries to prioritize the buildout out of Alastair Pinder, CFA

energy infrastructure to bypass the Strait of Hormuz Head EM and Global Equity Strategist HSBC Securities (USA) Inc.

alastair.pinder@us.hsbc.com

◆ Recent announcements from Saudi Arabia and the UAE +1 212 525 5972

highlight how this could be a structural theme within the GCC Pankaj Agarwala*, CFA

EM and Global Equity Strategist

HSBC Securities and Capital Markets (India) Private

◆ We highlight a screen of 18 stocks that could benefit Limited

pankajagarwala@hsbc.co.in

+91 0 80 30013716

The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz in late February 2026 exposed a Allison Buck

structural weakness at the heart of the GCC’s energy export system. Roughly 20% of EM Equity Strategist

HSBC Securities (USA) Inc.

globally traded crude oil and around 20% of global LNG supply were disrupted, allison.buck@us.hsbc.com

revealing how much regional and global energy security still relies on a single +1 212 525 4119

chokepoint. Saudi Arabia and the UAE had functioning bypass routes and were able

to redirect a portion of volumes overland. Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain had no viable * Employed by a non-US affiliate of HSBC Securities (USA) Inc, and is not registered/ qualified pursuant to FINRA regulations

alternatives and saw exports effectively halted.

In response, we expect GCC countries to prioritize the buildout of energy “insurance”

infrastructure. HSBC’s Oil & Gas team believe Gulf bypass pipeline infrastructure is

likely to become structural and expanded (see Oil markets: Hormuz traffic falls as

US-Iran ceasefire frays, Kim Fustier, 22 July 2026). According to data from MEED,