We recently published a list of the 12 Best Middle East and Africa Stocks To Buy Right Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ:VEON) stands against other best Middle East and Africa stocks to buy right now.
Global financial giants are increasingly turning their attention to the Middle East and are establishing operations in cities such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Riyadh. With attractive incentives such as low taxes, and robust regulatory frameworks, the region has become a magnet for investment banks, hedge funds, asset managers, family offices, and law firms. Major players like JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley have strengthened their presence across the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Asset management firms are also joining the trend. BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has maintained a strong foothold in Saudi Arabia since opening its Riyadh office in 2019. Meanwhile, Wellington Management and Fiera Capital made their regional debuts in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, respectively, underscoring the region’s growing appeal for global asset managers. These firms are drawn by opportunities in the Gulf’s booming financial sector and the region’s commitment to diversifying beyond oil revenues.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is set to remain the world’s top destination for wealthy individuals for the third consecutive year, with a projected net inflow of 6,700 millionaires by the end of 2024, according to the Henley Private Wealth Migration Report. This figure significantly surpasses the United States, which ranks second with an expected net inflow of 3,800 millionaires. The UAE’s appeal lies in its favorable tax policies, strategic geographic location, world-class infrastructure, and attractive long-term residency programs such as the “golden visa.”
Africa: A New Era of Economic Growth
Africa is also an attractive place for investments, as demonstrated by the resounding success of the Africa Investment Forum 2024, which concluded on December 6 in Rabat, Morocco. The event secured an impressive $29.2 billion in new investor commitments after three days of intensive boardroom discussions. This year’s Forum witnessed a record attendance of 2,300 investors and delegates from 83 countries, marking a 60% increase from the previous year. Across 41 investment boardrooms, participants engaged in discussions spanning sectors such as transport, power, energy, agribusiness, industry, mining, pharmaceuticals, private equity, tourism, urban infrastructure, and water management.
One standout success from the Forum was Nigeria’s Special Agro-Processing Zone project, which aimed to raise $975 million but secured $4.8 billion in investor interest. Similarly, projects from Morocco and the Democratic Republic of the Congo attracted investments surpassing initial targets. The Forum’s founding partners, including Africa50, Afreximbank, the Development Bank of Southern Africa, the Africa Finance Corporation, and the Islamic Development Bank, reaffirmed their dedication to strengthening collaboration and driving transformative investments across the continent.
As global financial powerhouses continue to deepen their roots in the Middle East and investors increasingly turn their focus to Africa’s vast potential, both regions are emerging as pivotal hubs in the evolving global economic landscape.
A businessperson in the boardroom discussing mobile internet plans.
Our Methodology
To compile our list of the 12 best Middle East and Africa stocks to buy right now, we used Finviz and Yahoo stock screeners to compile an initial list of the 30 largest companies in the Middle East and Africa. We then used Insider Monkey’s Hedge Fund database to rank 12 stocks according to the largest number of hedge fund holders, as of Q3 2024. The list is sorted in ascending order of hedge fund sentiment.
Why do we care about what hedge funds do? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ:VEON)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 7
VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ:VEON) is a multinational telecommunication services provider headquartered in Dubai. The company operates in several emerging markets, including Ukraine, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Bangladesh. VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ:VEON) provides a range of telecommunications services, including mobile and fixed-line communications, digital financial services, and entertainment platforms.
VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ:VEON) is focused on expanding its digital services to drive growth and increase revenue. The company’s digital services, including mobile financial services, entertainment platforms, and healthcare services, have shown significant growth, with direct digital revenues reaching $334 million in the first nine months of 2024, making up 11% of total revenues. VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ:VEON) is also investing in multiple digital verticals, including AdTech, cloud services, and software development, to serve unmet market demand and expand its customer base. The company’s mobile financial services, such as JazzCash in Pakistan, Beepul in Uzbekistan, and Simply in Kazakhstan, have seen significant adoption, with a total customer base of almost 23 million and a 39% year-on-year increase in transactions.
VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ:VEON) is also focused on growing its multiplay customer base, which has shown significant growth, with a 31% year-on-year increase in revenue. The company’s multiplay customers, who use both 4G connectivity and digital products, drive higher revenue generation. VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ:VEON) is expanding its multiplay offerings, including its super apps, which offer a wide variety of services, including healthcare, education, entertainment, and e-commerce. As of Q3, the company’s super apps are serving almost 38 million customers, growing 12% year-on-year.
Overall, VEON ranks 9th on our list of best Middle East and Africa stocks to buy right now. While we acknowledge the potential of VEON to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than VEON but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.