The combined market capitalisation of banking and finance companies in the GCC reached $369 billion as of August 5, 2008, according to a study.

The figure meant banking and finance companies accounted for more than 40 per cent of the $916 billion combined market capitalisation registered by the top 150 listed companies in the region, said the research by Shuaa Capital for the annual Gulf Business Top 150 listed Companies in the GCC study.

Of this, the market cap of the 48 banks alone that made it to the Top 150  stood at more than $320 billion.

The research, rated as the most definitive ranking of the listed companies in the region, also revealed that the number of banks and finance companies in the Top 150 stood at 63, or 42 per cent of the Top 150.

Overall third-ranked Al-Rajhi Bank topped the sectoral listings with a market cap of more than $32 billion.

Kuwait Finance House (overall rank: 7), with a market cap of $21.68 billion, came second in sectoral honours, followed by National Bank of Kuwait ($18.7 billion).

The other banks and financial companies that made up the Top 10 include Samba Financial Group ($16.26 billion), Emirates NBD ($16.23 billion), SABB ($14.22 billion), Qatar National bank ($13.96 billion), Riyad bank ($13.1 billion), Saudi French Bank ($11.66 billion) and National Bank of Abu Dhabi ($10.72 billion).

The Dubai-based market index, Dubai Financial Market, or DFM, was the topmost financial firm (other than banks) with a market cap of $9.84 billion.

Unlike the overall rankings, where Saudi companies dominated, the banking and finance firms’ listings was dominated by UAE-based companies, with 18 banks and finance companies making the cut, closely followed by Kuwait (16 banks and finance firms in the Top 150), Saudi Arabia (11), Bahrain (9), Qatar (7) and Oman (2).

According to the survey, the combined value of the top 150 listed companies in the GCC went up by $213 billion in the past one year and, at $916 billion, is inching toward the $1 trillion-mark. - TradeArabia News Service