“This is a particularly interesting period in our region’s recent history. The prospect of stability in Egypt and resolution of the crisis in Turkey should provide the necessary confidence boost for the investor community. These are sizable economies with close ties to the GCC and their stability and continued prosperity is a shared objective,” Professor Bulent Gultekin, Advisory Board Member of Lagoon Capital, former Governor of the Central Bank of Turkey and Advisor to the former Prime Minister of Turkey told a roundtable meeting of investors.
Addressing the roundtable hosted by Lagoon Capital titled navigating change in MENA markets for 2014, the speakers highlighted the salient features of promising outlook for regional stability, ongoing growth and opportunities.
Lagoon Capital Partners Limited (Lagoon Capital), a private equity and advisory firm based in the Dubai International Financial Center and regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority.
The event was attended by a group of some 50 institutional investors from Qatar, the GCC and Europe at a round table forum in Doha to discuss current developments and investment opportunities in the MENA region for 2014.
Also discussed were prospects for private equity during 2014 in the MENA countries and the need for the further development of the regional secondary private equity market. Lagoon Capital, together with its strategic partner, HarbourVest, one of the premier global institutions focused on secondary private equity investing, are focused on providing liquidity solutions to regional investors on their existing private equity investment portfolios via secondary transactions.
“We are delighted to be able to engage with this high level group of investors from across the region and global markets in order to assess the economic and investment landscape across the MENA region for 2014,” Anuj Khanna, CEO of Lagoon Capital, added.
“With a promising outlook, we see continued opportunity for growth in regional private equity and, in particular, secondary transactions. These are an efficient way for investors to reposition their portfolios, a focus for many today, and an opportunity to reallocate capital towards new priorities in the year ahead.”
Other Advisory Board members of the firm also participated in the event including former US Ambassador to Qatar, Joseph LeBaron, Tarek Kanoo of the Kanoo Group, Tracy Blackwell Board member, Pension Corporation and Sunil Talwar, Deputy CEO, Qatar Insurance Company, which is among Lagoon Capital’s founding shareholders.