Deutsche Bank names Qatar chief country officer

DUBAI (Reuters) - Bank of America Merrill Lynch has hired Arshad Ghafur, previously with Nomura Holdings , as the country executive for its Middle East and North Africa unit, the U.S. bank said in a statement on Thursday. Ghafur, who will start the new role in March 2013, will replace Phil Southwell who left the bank recently following an overhaul of the lender's regional banking operations. At Nomura, Ghafur was the chief executive for Qatar and the investment banking head the MENA region, responsible for the bank's capital market activities. ...

Arjun Rudra submits:Equity markets throughout the Middle East and North Africa – a group that has been labeled ‘MENA’ – have been outpacing global equity markets in recent months, despite low volumes.

GLOBAL: The Qatar Financial Centre Authority (QFCA)'S annual survey on the Middle East and North Africa market, the 'MENA Asset Management Barometer', predicts 2013 to be a bullish year for equities in the GCC market; particularly in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE. According to the survey, equities are set to return between 10-15% this year, boosted by strong internal investment and consumption dynamics; outperforming the rest of the region...

Article written by Prieur du Plessis, editor of the Investment Postcards from Cape Town blog.The paragraphs below come courtesy of Mark Mobius, emerging markets guru and executive chairman of Templeton Asset Management.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank said on Sunday that its Middle East, North Africa (MENA) Chairman Henry Azzam, a veteran in the region, has stepped down from his position at the German lender.

By Nuqudy:The Middle East region is home to immense oil and gas reserves and to hundreds of millions of people, but also – very importantly – to growing economies whose performance is uncorrelated with the troubled economies of Europe and the USA. ETFs should be a key instrument to allow investors to enjoy this market’s potential as a safe harbor from Western turmoil, yet - surprisingly – there are currently less than a handful which cover the region, and even these are not very representative.

CFA Institute submits: By Ed Bace