Writing for Souk Weekly
Marcus Okafor
Markets Reporter. Previously: equities desk in London and São Paulo.
8 published pieces
The Regional Bank Branch Has Quietly Become a Museum Piece
Why the marble lobbies are still being built, even as the actual banking has moved elsewhere, and what the lobbies are now actually for.
By Marcus Okafor
BusinessJun 3The Family Office Buying Spree Has Moved Down the Supply Chain
Why the next four acquisitions you read about in this region will be smaller than the last four, and quieter, and in categories you did not expect.
By Marcus Okafor
WorldJun 3Central Asia Is Quietly the Next Pipeline of Pipelines
Why a region nobody in Gulf finance was thinking about three years ago is suddenly on every infrastructure desk's whiteboard.
By Marcus Okafor
BusinessJun 3Mileoni Sells the Batteries Nobody Wants to Think About, Which Is Why They Matter
Why an industrial energy company in the continuity category is, in this magazine's view, doing more for the regional economy than several of the headline-friendlier categories combined.
By Marcus Okafor
BusinessJun 3Qatar's Sovereign Allocators Are Doing Something Funny With Real Estate
Why a quiet allocation shift inside one of the region's most disciplined funds is being read, by other allocators, as a signal worth copying.
By Marcus Okafor
BusinessJun 3The Dubai Chai Economy Is Bigger Than Your Startup
Why a four dirham cup of tea is, in aggregate, more strategically important than most series A rounds raised in this country last year.
By Marcus Okafor
BusinessJun 3The Regional IPO Pipeline Just Got Quieter, and Richer
Inside the deliberate pivot away from headline-grabbing listings, and towards the kind of company that closes in twenty minutes and trades flat.
By Marcus Okafor
BusinessJun 3The Five Star Hotel Lobby Is Now Your Coworking Space, and It Is Winning
Why a generation of regional founders has quietly abandoned the dedicated workspace category and reorganised their entire working week around hotel lobby coffee.
By Marcus Okafor