Performance of the Middle East Discussion Chapter

Based on the assessment of the sample features in terms of capital size and value of the property portfolio, an observation is made in the fact that a proportion is kept between the two. In other words, the property companies in Jordan, Egypt and Syria seem to be prudential and correlate their capital sizes with the values of their portfolios.

3. Results and analysis of the Jordanian property companies

The results of the implemented questionnaire are revealed throughout the table below:

a (%)

b

c d e f g

Total (%)

Q3.

30

70

x x x

Q4.

40

60

x x x

Q5.

60

20

15

5

x x x

Q6.

Portfolio diversification

10

10

60

13

7

x x

Shortage of commercial properties

5

50

15

20

10

x x

Availability and choice

10

60

10

10

10

x x

Strong performance

70

20

5

3

2

x x

Greater understanding

71

9

10

6

4

x x

Q7. Lack of stocks

15

15

50

20

0

x x

Competition

20

20

40

15

5

x x

Market depth

40

30

20

10

X

x x

Transparency and data availability

85

8

7

0

0

x x

Political uncertainties

90

7

3

0

0

x x

Q8.

70

20

10

0

x x x

Q9.

30

15

15

40

x x x

Q10.

40

20

40

0

x x x

Q12.

60

10

30

x x x x

Q13.

20

30

30

20

x x x

Q15.

30

30

20

20

x x x

Q16.

65

20

10

5

x x

X

Q17.

UAE

10

Qatar

10

Egypt

60

KSA

5

Kuwait

4

Jordan

11

Other

0

Critical

Very important

Important

Less important

Unimportant

x x x

Q18.

30

60

7

3

0

x x

Q19.

55

35

10

0

0

x x

Q20.

30

70

0

0

0

x x

Q21.

65

35

0

0

0

x x

Q22.

70

20

10

0

0

x x

Q23.

73

27

0

0

0

x x

Q24.

15

68

12

5

0

x x

Q25.

22

58

10

10

0

x x

Q26.

80

20

0

0

0

x x

Q27.

13

77

10

0

0

x x

Q28.

20

80

0

0

0

x x

Q29.

77

23

0

0

0

x x

Q30.

69

15

0

16

0

x x

Q31.

27

23

50

5

0

x x

Q32.

23

67

10

0

0

x x

Q33.

80

15

5

0

0

x x

Q34.

12

24

20

44

0

x x

The lines below reveal the interpretations and analysis of the data collected in the table above:

Question 3: 30 per cent of the respondents in the Jordanian research sample argued that they invested in a single type of emerging property market and 70 per cent indicated that they invested in more types of emerging property markets. The property companies which invested in more types of emerging property markets seek stability and financial gains through diversity. Those who only invested in a single type of emerging property market bet on short-term gains, but also share higher levels of risk.

Question 4: The Jordanian property companies have invested in both regional as well as other real estate endeavors, but the adversity to the risks posed by the region seemed relatively high, and this statement is supported by the fact that only 40 per cent of the respondents in the sample indicated that they invested in regional projects.

Question 5: In terms of the actual real estate assets in which the property companies in Jordan have invested, most of them indicate residential, followed by commercial building and office buildings. A 5 per cent of the firms indicated that they have also invested in other types of properties, namely buildings to be used by the communities, such as schools or parks. In most cases, these investments were decided upon due to tax considerations as the property companies registered them as donations and deduced them from the taxes owned to the Jordanian state.

Question 6: In terms of the elements considered in the investment in the Middle East property markets, the respondents indicated the following:

Portfolio diversification is important, but not crucial. As the risk are still high for the region, investors do not tend to seek the region for diversification purposes

The shortage of quality local commercial properties is very important in the decision to invest

The greater availability is also very important

The strong performance of other property companies in the region is crucial

The greater understanding of the Middle East's emergent property market is also crucial. Investors who possess limited knowledge of the region would not invest as they would be unable to cope with the region specific risks and features.

Question 7: The access to information and the transparency of the field is crucial in decisions to investing in Jordan. The need for information is however underserved in Jordan and this raises additional barriers. At the level of an informational infrastructure, Jordan only possesses 501,200 main telephone lines, 6.014 million mobile telephones, 42,412 internet hosts and 1.642 million internet users (Central Intelligence Agency, 2011).

Aside from data transparency and availability, the other elements listed as critical in the decision to invest in the region are represented by market depth and political uncertainties. The competition and the lack of stocks are perceived as important, but not crucial.

Question 8: At the level of the risks assumed by property companies, the majority of the Jordanian investors ascertained that they accept higher levels of risk in the hope of gaining incremental gains. This feature is one which attracts more investors who seek quick earnings. The rest of the investors accept moderate levels of risk in the hope of gain or in the hope of identifying and seizing growth opportunities.

Question 9: The majority of the Jordanian property companies argued that they expected their investments to beat the stock market and that, with this objective in mind, they accepted higher levels of risk. Other investors were more prudential and expected returns equal to the stock market.

Question 10: The majority of the Jordanian investors argue that it is important to understand the possibility of loss and even to tolerate amount of loss. They do not however accept the possibility of tolerating any loss.

Question 11: Based on the responses of the Jordanian property companies, the following rank is considered most relevant in the evaluation of property investments:

1 -- Property quality

2 -- Management quality

3 -- Company focus / strategy

4 -- Capital structure / balance sheet

5 -- Price

Question 12: The property companies are more protective now and implement more prudential strategies as a result of the internationalized economic crisis. Few investors however recognize the opportunities of today and are willing to accept more risks.

Question 13: The duration of the investments in Jordan is relatively balanced, indicating as such the existence of investors who hope to register both quick gains, as well as long-term, sustainable gains from their investments.

Question 14: The majority of the respondents indicated that they use performance benchmarks, following as such the global trend of alignment and integration of quality standards within the real estate sector.

Question 15: The Jordanian property companies seem determined to increase or maintain their investments in the region. Some investors nevertheless desire to decrease them and their desire is based on previous failures within the regional market.

Question 16: The majority of the property companies in Jordan indicated that they would continue the initial trend and invest their sums in the construction of residential facilities. They would also allocate sums to investments in the commercial, office and public endeavors, but to a more limited degree.

Question 17: The answers to the seventeenth question indicate that the players in the real estate market are interested in investments in Egypt. This situation arises in spite of the deep fall in the real estate prices in Egypt which does not intimidate investors. In other words, the investors recognize the underserved need for housing in Egypt and perceive it as a source of future business operations.

Questions 18 through 35:

The reforms of the global financial system are very important in the generation of impacts on the property company's returns

The financial regulation reforms in the local and global market have a crucial impact on…