10March 2014 (Dubai, UAE)— Amid slower growth and heightened volatility in recent months, emerging markets have found themselves in an uncomfortable spotlight as investors redefine their strategies and seek safe harbours from an on-going global storm. That search for opportunities will be the topic of the day as international investors controlling some USD 7 trillion in AUMmeet today in Dubai for the 10th Annual EFG Hermes One-on-One conference. Many equity markets in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), they will find, could represent safe havens despite having outperformed emerging markets over the past twelve months. The 10th Annual EFG Hermes One-on-One, scheduled to take place from 9-12 March 2014under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and President of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), will see 410 investors from more than 220 institutions meeting with senior management from 96companies spanning 14 nations.   “There’s no doubt that bothsov​ereign and corporate balance sheets are under more scrutiny today as emerging markets growth slows,” said Karim Awad, Co-CEO of EFG Hermes Holding, the Arab world’s leading investment bank. “Institutions attending the One-on-One will learn first-hand how regional markets with USD-pegged exchange rates are backed by strong sovereign balance sheets. These markets are liquid and feature well-managed companies and banks with high dividend yields. What’s more, two GCC countries — the UAE and Qatar — will be upgraded to MSCI Emerging Markets status this coming June,” Awad noted.   “The One-on-One started life a decade ago as a small gathering in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt and has since grown to become the largest MENA-focused investment conference held regionally. We are delighted to be hosting this year’s gathering in the UAE, a nation with an increasingly diverse economy that is home to well-managed companies with global reach — and where upgrade to MSCI emerging market status, spending on Expo 2020 and continued development of the pension and financial sector will drive growth going forward,”added Mohamed Ebeid, Co-Head of EFG Hermes Securities Brokerage Participating companies are drawn from a broad list of sectors including financial services, energy, consumer discretionary, consumer staples, telecommunications services, health care, industrials, utilities, materials, and real estate and hospitality.   The conference’s main session will kick off with a welcome note from Karim Awad followed by a keynote speech by Dr. Nassim Nicholas Taleb, professor of risk engineering at New York University and author of the best-sellers “The Black Swan,” “Fooled by Randomness” and “Antifragile.” The gathering will also include focused panel discussions on the UAE (“The Road Ahead”) and Egypt (“Egypt and the Challenges Ahead”), both moderated by EFG Hermes Head of Research Wael Ziada.More than 6,500 investor meetings will be conducted over the three days of the conference. “Egypt will still be among the most interesting stories to watch this year,” said Ziada. “The country has significant room to grow after several years of uncertainty, and we see Egypt’s large consumer market, diverse economy and wide base of well-managed companies as being catalysts for growth as the roadmap continues to unfold. Later in the year,after both presidential and parliamentary elections, all MENA investors will have their eyes on Egypt. The executive and legislative branches of the government will have big challenges ahead of them chief among which are the rationalization of the nation’s subsidies system, creating job opportunities and putting the country on a sustainable economic path.”