This first-ever Mena wide ESG Index, which was developed by Hawkamah in cooperation with Standard & Poor’s with the support of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), said on Saturday that it underwent its first rebalancing in December 2011.
The Index is unique in that it uses a company’s ESG score to determine its weight in the Index, ensuring performance is based on ESG factors rather than sheer market size.
Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, known as du, ranked first by weight in the Index. At the launch time in February last year du was ranked fifth with 2.77 per cent weight, which increased to 3.85 per cent. Another Dubai-based firm DP World ranked second with 3.14 per cent weight in the Index.
Earlier, its weight was 2.96 per cent at No.4. Abu Dhabi-based National Bank of Abu Dhabi also improved it’s ranking from No.8 to 6 with current weight of 2.66 per cent. In February last it had 2.57 per cent weight in the index.
Other top ten stocks by weight in the index are Saudi Arabia’s Savola Group, Jordan’s Arab Bank, Egypt’s MobiNil and Orascom Construction Industries; Qatar’ Al Khaliji Commercial Bank and Qatar Telecom; and Morocco’s Maroc Telecom.
The latest rebalancing reveals that financial stocks continue to dominate the index making up 45.67 per cent.
However, this is indicative of the region’s equity market, as financials, likewise, represent nearly half of the benchmark S&P Pan Arab Composite. Saudi Arabia (28.49 per cent), Qatar (22.87 per cent) and the UAE (22.77 per cent) were the top three largest countries in the index.
The Index ranks Mena firms on nearly 200 ESG issues including carbon emissions, water and energy consumption, employee health and safety, community investment, charitable giving, financial reporting and auditing, board independence and executive remuneration.
Dr Nasser Saidi, executive director of Hawkamah, said: “For the past two years Hawkamah has been assessing and monitoring the growing interest of businesses, government, policy makers and investors in environment for social responsibility and corporate governance in the Arab region. Recent political developments have heightened the focus on governance, accountability, transparency and disclosure.”
The data shows that there have been overall improvements in the ESG scores of regional companies. This is partly due to the increasing emphasis the region’s regulators have placed on corporate governance, Dr Saidi said.
The recent issuances of corporate governance codes in the UAE and Qatar, for example, have had a positive effect on the rankings of their companies, he said, adding that but companies themselves have started to see the value of better disclosure and many have gone beyond the minimum requirements.
Kirsty Knight, Director, Index Operations at S&P Indices, said: “Following the rebalance, the index, which is unique in being weighted by ESG scores, is dominated by financial stocks, with this sector comprising 45 per cent of the index. Telecommunications services is the next largest sector with 18 per cent. This sector also contributes the index’s largest constituent.”
Notícia de 08-01-2011, retirada de http://www.khaleejtimes.com/biz/inside.asp?xfile=/data/business/2012/January/business_January116.xml§ion=business
Postado por Filipa Lelé
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