Investors turned off by poor GCC corporate websites

Arabian Business

GCC companies are losing out on international investment due to the poor performance of their websites, a new study has found.

The report, which analysed the performance of 85 publicly listed Gulf firms, warns that the region’s corporate websites rank significantly lower than their peers in Europe and elsewhere in terms of providing essential information.

The report, by Hallvarsson & Hallvarsson (H&H), found that while European corporate websites scored an average of 50.3 points, those of their Gulf counterparts scored just 18.5. “This indicates that the level of website performance differs substantially, with some companies performing poorly,” said the report.


“A corporate website, rich with information in English, is now one of the most single most important ways to attract international investors,” said Staffan Lindgren, executive partner of H&H.

“Many GCC companies are failing to use their corporate websites as their principle communication channel to the same degree as companies in other international markets,” he added.

“In order to communicate effectively to the key audiences in the capital markets, they need to adapt to international norms and standards of corporate communication.”

The findings are based on H&H Webranking GCC Survey, which ranked the region’s websites based on an annual survey of business journalists, analysts and investors who identified what information and functionality they valued most from listed companies’ corporate websites.


Hallvarsson & Hallvarsson: Press Release
Hallvarsson & Hallvarsson: GCC Webranking

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