Middle East Investing

Firstly let me preface this article by saying – this is NOT a political blog. We target investment decisions regardless of political value. So before I hear of some bigot response to investing in the Middle East – let’s make this loud and clear. The Middle East can provide great returns, far beter than a slumping United States.

The Middle East economies on a whole are not directly tied in to the US economy. Now is the time when we need to focus on investments that are not expected to go down along with the whole economy. Second – the reinvestment into the region surpasses any other region in the world (don’t quote me). Real estate is booming – particularly the large landscape-changing real estate. These large offices are being filled with jobs. People from Europe, Asia, and Australia all flock to the broader Middle East region for jobs. Third – while the US economy is slowing and losing steam – the Middle Eastern GDP overall is forecasted to grow at 6% for 2008, up from 5.5% in 2007. Fourth – let’s be real here – oil prices are set by several Middle Eastern countries (we’ll call them OPEC). The floor they set is always set high enough so they can maintain their growth at their desired state. With oil prices above $60 a barrel – we’re in good long term shape. And the last factor in my decision – emerging markets and Middle Eastern markets have taken a beating the last few weeks. We’re now in line to buy at a significant discount.What can derail this? Declining demand for oil. I polled six billion Earth residents in the last few days and the demand for oil will be here for QUITE a while.

My take: T. Rowe Price Africa & Middle East Fund. The manager Chris Alderson is no stranger to emerging market investing, and he led to 30% plus gains in Latin America and other regions throughout 2000 onwards. Click here for more info.

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