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Host to francophone West Africa’s regional stock exchange, the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM), Côte d’Ivoire has a more sophisticated financial services industry than most of its peers in the region. The sixth-largest of Africa’s 29 exchanges by capitalisation, the BRVM has seen the market value of its listed equities grow over five-fold from CFA1.02trn (€1.53bn) at its inception in 1998 to CFA6.32trn (€9.48bn) at the end of 2014. Although still marginal to broader economic growth, accounting for 12% of the GDP of the West African Economic and Monetary Union and 38.5% of domestic GDP, the BRVM plans to break into the continent’s top-five exchanges by 2015. Indeed, 2015 will prove dynamic both in terms of initial public offerings (IPOs) and developing secondary trading in bonds – a linchpin of sovereign financing in the region. This chapter contains an viewpoint from Kadi Fadika-Coulibaly, Managing Director, Hudson & Cie.

As the established banking centre of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (Union Economique et Monétaire Ouest-Africaine, UEMOA), Côte d’Ivoire’s financial services industry has sustained double-digit growth since emerging from the national crisis in 2011. The market still faces legacy issues, such as high aggregate non-performing loans and under-performing public lenders, but authorities are steering a course of ambitious restructuring and privatisation that should help sanitise the sector. As in many emerging markets, lending is still skewed towards the high-end corporate segment. Yet growing competition among regional and international banks is driving efforts to attract both consumers and small and medium-sized enterprises. With banking penetration still low, there is considerable scope for the sector to further support economic growth. This chapter contains interviews Tiémoko Meyliet Koné, Governor, Central Bank of West African States; and Mohamed El Kettani, CEO, Attijariwafa Bank.

Driven by rising government spending and public-private partnerships (PPPs) in infrastructure, economic growth has rebounded to high single-digits in the years since 2012. While substantial debt relief and support from development finance institutions is underwriting fast-rising public investment, attracting both foreign and domestic private investment will be crucial to attaining the government’s goal of becoming an emerging economy by 2020 – an area where the government has seen some early successes, with a six-times oversubscribed eurobond and a rise in PPPs. Eager to regain its position as the unrivalled economic hub for the region, the authorities are aggressively reforming the business climate to support private sector development. With substantial public investment in infrastructure driving the country’s rapid economic rebound, Côte d’Ivoire looks set for at least high single-digit growth in 2015 and 2016. This chapter contains interviews with Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan; Donald Kaberuka, President, African Development Bank; Emmanuel Esmel Essis, Director-General, Investment Promotion Agency of Côte d’Ivoire.

Dubai’s transport, communications and storage sector is a leading contributor to the economy, accounting for 14.8% of GDP in 2013. Dubai’s reputation as a transport and logistics hub was bolstered in 2010 with the launch of a logistics corridor connecting Jebel Ali Port, Jebel Ali Free Zone and the new Al Maktoum International Airport. The corridor will be supported by the development of Etihad Rail, a new nationwide rail network whose 628-km second phase will connect Mussafah Port in Abu Dhabi with major ports in Dubai. Plans announced in 2014 for the expansion Al Maktoum International Airport will increase its yearly passenger capacity to more than 200m, making it the biggest airport in the world upon completion. The Roads and Transport Authority is planning to launch up to 35 mega-projects to meet the demands of Dubai Expo 2020, with infrastructure development set to be allocated up to $4bn. This chapter contains an interview with Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman and Executive Director, Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

This chapter contains an outline of the legal framework in which local and foreign investors operate in Dubai. It includes a look at how the emirate is positioning itself as a leading Islamic financial centre, a breakdown of regulations on foreign ownership and an overview of the smart city initiatives. This chapter contains a viewpoint from Michael Kerr, Regional Managing Partner, Dentons.