What Upheaval in the Middle East Means for Business

The events in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are bringing historical political and social changes. But what do they mean for business? To gain some perspective, Knowledge at Wharton spoke with Wharton finance professor Bulent Gultekin and Fadi Arbid, CEO of Amwal AlKhaleej, a leading private equity firm in the region. In the podcast below, Gultekin says expects short-term “volatility and uncertainty, but in the long run I think things will settle down and probably there will be economic reforms … provided that political reforms go smoothly….” Arbid suggests that the current upheavals will speed up economic reforms already underway. One concrete change: Dubai is likely to gain as a center for banking and expatriots at the expense of Bahrain.