Trader profile: Winning bets scripted with TV content

Jawad Abbassi is the chief executive of Arab Advisors Group, based in Amman, and has been trading for 13 years.

Jawad Abbassi, chief executive of Arab Advisors Group, says the safest investments in the region continue to be real estate and utilities. Pawan Singh / The National

What is the asset class and geography you are focused on?

Arab Advisors Group is a private shareholding company registered in Jordan. It is currently owned by the Arab Jordan Investment Bank (Ajib) with 55 per cent and myself with 45 per cent.

Arab Advisors is focused on research and consulting in the Arab world and Africa. Our clients are regional and global vendors, and companies and regulators.

We cover 19 countries for the telecommunications, media and technology sectors. We also offer knowledge and business process outsourcing, financial and investment advisory services to our clients across the region. We have a team of 37 people and it grows by around 15 per cent annually.

On September 14, 2005, Ajib and Arab Advisors Group concluded an agreement in which Ajib bought a 55 per cent stake in Arab Advisors Group. The cash transaction allowed Ajib and the Arab Advisors Group to leverage strategic synergies to enhance the quality and scope of services of Arab Advisors Group.

What is the outlook for the month ahead in your opinion?

I’m always positive. Any competitive market with multiple players competing with each other and vendors needs research. Accurate and reliable research, primary and secondary research means we are well positioned to leverage future growth.

The region is also ripe for more knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) and business process outsourcing (BPO) business as global companies focus on on streamlining costs and leveraging synergies.

The [industry] outlook for the region is fewer monopolistic segments and more competition. There is increasing focus on having online channels alongside the broadcast channel. One theme content owners and broadcasters always have is that they have good content but only broadcast it once. They might repeat it, but then it sits in the archive. But now it is being made available online on demand, which generates advertising revenues alongside the focus on social media to make sure that smaller screens are being integrated with the TV in the living room. Research shows that those who fiddle with their smartphones when they watch TV are less inclined to switch channels during commercials.

What are the main risks (either upside or downside) to the outlook?

The best investment has potential for massive returns but could be higher-risk like IT services and mobile apps. The safest investments in the region continue to be real estate and utilities. The media sector is always vibrant and there are plenty of good stories with quite a few failures as well.

What is the best investment at the moment in your opinion?

Producing content for the many channels like drama series and programmes destined to be sold to multiple television stations. Well-studied e-commerce ventures as part of existing brick-and-mortar companies could result in excellent returns.

What was the best investment you were involved in?

That would certainly be Arab Advisors Group itself. I started the company with US$10,000. The rest is history.

What was the worst?

The worst investment was the dotcom bust in the US stock market.