Which corporate site is the best in the Middle East?

By leah schothorst

Phil Marchant, Managing Director of Comprend UK, recently announced the Middle East Webranking results at the Middle East IR Society (MEIRS) Awards in Dubai. The results show that Middle Eastern corporate websites typically fail to meet stakeholder needs in three key areas.

1. Mobile friendly sites

According to this year’s Webranking, as many as two thirds of the Middle East’s top 25 companies do not have a website suitable for mobile devices. This is noteworthy as responsive sites are highly important to corporate stakeholders. In the 2015 Comprend Capital Market Report, 65% of business analysts rated responsive design as very important. That said, the respondents from the capital market in the Middle East were even more likely than the rest of the world to request a responsive website.

2. Share information

When it comes to share information, the Middle Eastern corporate sites can improve their performance by increasing the information in the share section. To improve the share section, companies could add mobile friendly share tools, links to press releases, a share price history in Excel and market capitalisation.

By adding additional information in the share section, companies can ensure that visitors and easily able to find the information they need, while also increasing its corporate transparency.

3. Corporate Responsibility

According to the Comprend Capital Market Report, 75% of investors expect to find information about anti-corruption and responsible tax policies. That said, over 90% of the top 25 ME corporate sites do not include this information on the corporate website.

Stakeholders want to know how companies are actively distancing themselves and managing the risk associated with corruption and aggressive tax planning. Being open on the corporate website about this data is a positive step towards building trust and showing that your company is on the forefront of this important CSR issue.

Winners of the 2015-2016 Webranking Middle East

#1 SHUAA

SHUAA has won first place for the best corporate website in Webranking by Comprend 2015-2016 with a score of 47.9. This is SHUAA’s third consecutive year of receiving the top position. The company provides a good depth of IR content including an investment case, future targets and debt data; it implements responsive design; and clearly communicates its share price.

#2 DP World

DP World came in a close second place in Webranking by Comprend 2015-2016 with a score of 47.8. The site offers a good use of interactive features and has comprehensive content showing the size and structure of the business.

#3 Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB)

ADCB received third place with a score of 41 points. The ADCB corporate site provides a comprehensive investment case and about us section; offers a responsive site for mobile users; and has interactive features such as share price and key figure graphs.

See the full 2015-2016 Middle East Webranking results here.

Want to know more about Webranking by Comprend?
Feel free to contact Helena Wennergren, Head of Research at helena.wennergren@comprend.com or +46 70 971 12 10