Frontiers

About this issue

Exploring new frontiers isn’t just about entering new markets or expanding geographic boundaries—it’s about embracing a bold vision and stepping into the future. Today, companies and individuals are venturing into uncharted territories where technology and creativity converge to push the limits of what’s possible.

As the Middle East continues to evolve, the opportunities for growth, transformation, and innovation are expanding across various sectors, from finance to healthcare, real estate, and beyond. In New money in the GCC: An attractive risk-return tradeoff ?, Thomas Bullock and Vuk Prelevic explore the potential for debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing as an attractive risk-return tradeoff in the GCC, driven by recent bankruptcy law reforms and the need for companies facing liquidity challenges to secure new funding for recovery.

In Boosting growth in the GCC: The power of public-private partnerships to bridge financial gaps, Sean Benghiat highlights the critical role of these partnerships in realizing the region’s potential. As governments look to diversify their economies away from oil dependency, public-private partnerships (PPPs) are emerging as a strategic tool to “finance and deliver large-scale projects, shifting the focus from short-term spending to long-term economic benefit.”

Arif Zaman’s The surge of private credit in the Middle East: A new financial era explores the growing appeal of private credit as an alternative to traditional bank lending. As businesses and governments in the GCC seek new ways to fund development, private credit providers are stepping in to fill the gaps.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) remain a critical strategy for growth in the Middle East, yet uncovering the hidden value within these deals requires a keen eye and expertise. In Buyer beware: The key to unlocking hidden value in M&A, Saima Jalal and Hisham Saadat offer invaluable guidance and mention how: “While traditional financial performance metrics remain a key focus, M&A practitioners are increasingly seeking a broader understanding of a target’s operations through operational due diligence (ODD) and synergy assessments to achieve sustainable value creation.”

The healthcare sector in the Middle East is undergoing a transformative shift, driven by the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. Sachin Bhandari and Avilash Singh's Transforming healthcare in the Middle East: The impact of AI and robotics explores how these technologies are not only enhancing patient care but improving operational efficiency. The future of real estate in the GCC is also poised for a technological revolution, and GenAI is playing a pivotal role. In Building the future: The role of GenAI in real estate evolution, Samina Rangoonwala explores how Generative AI is transforming property development, urban planning, and real estate investment.

In The United Arab Emirates: A global hub for future industries, Alexios Zachariadis, Farida Gamal, and Marwan Kamel highlight the UAE’s ambitious strategy to position itself as a global leader in emerging industries. They state how “the UAE remains an attractive location for many, with its dynamic business ecosystem appealing to international players looking to tap into one of the world’s fastest-growing regions—a region with ambitious plans to transform and lead across several sectors.”

In The physics of lending to multinational corporations, Paul Leggett and Vuk Prelevic emphasize the importance of incorporating distance, time, and velocity into credit risk analysis for multinational corporations, particularly in distressed scenarios. They discuss how “lenders need to be adequately compensated for the complexity they are importing into their portfolio of risks” and how “this is especially true when venturing across borders, where factors such as supply chain disruptions and geopolitical dynamics can shape the range of possible outcomes.”

While there will inevitably be challenges along the way, the Middle East is on the brink of exciting new frontiers, where innovation, strategic collaboration, and forward-thinking financial solutions are shaping its future. We hope you enjoy reading this Fall issue of the Middle East Point of View.

The ME PoV editorial team