As soon as it became clear that political protests in Tunisia and Egypt were spreading around the Middle East, investors started casting a nervous glance towards Saudi Arabia.
"The biggest risk to the market is the possibility of political unrest reaching Saudi Arabia," says Joe Kawkabani, chief investment officer for MENA equity at Franklin Templeton Investments in Dubai. But his fears – from the perspective of investor stability – haven’t been realized. Pro-democracy campaigners announced intentions to protest on social media such as Facebook, attracting thousands of followers, but far fewer turned up for protests on the ground. Subsequent attempts have attracted fewer and fewer people. The...
