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Education is at the heart of an ambitious agenda to diversify Saudi Arabia away from reliance on hydrocarbons and transform it into a knowledge-based economy by 2025. With this in mind, the Kingdom has stepped up investment in the education sector and in the young people who will be expected to drive that new economy, but policymakers face the challenge of rapid population growth. However, considerable efforts are being made to ensure that training and education focuses on equipping young Saudis with the necessary skills to fill gaps in the job market. This chapter contains an interview with Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Shoaibi, 
Director-General, Institute of Public Administration.

The development of Peru’s capital markets continues apace, driven by the growing number of increasingly sophisticated local institutional investors. Though the Lima Stock Exchange (Bolsa de Valores de Lima, BVL) started 2014 off poorly, with stock prices falling significantly on the gradual withdrawal of monetary stimulus by the US Federal Reserve and the effect of geopolitical tensions surrounding the conflict in the Ukraine, it began showing signs of recovery in the second quarter. The Federal Reserve’s decision to postpone interest rate hikes, along with a further cut to interest rates by the European Central Bank and the announcement of economic stimulus measures by the Peruvian Ministry of Finance, helped produce a rally in the market. Mining, banking and utilities were the strongest performers on the BVL in the first nine months of 2014. The long-awaited IPO of state oil firm Petroperú, expected in 2015, is the big prize financiers are looking for to accelerate the development of the equities market. This chapter contains interviews with Christian Laub, President, Lima Stock Exchange (BVL) and José Antonio Blanco, CEO, BTG Pactual.

With a record of consistent profitability and credit growth, the banking sector has ridden the wave of Peru’s economic expansion during the past decade. As of June 2014, direct lending by the banking sector stood at PEN211.7bn ($75.58bn), having increased by 16% over the previous year. A firm regulatory environment is credited with having ensured that the country’s banks made it through the 2008 global financial crisis relatively unscathed. However, in 2014, the proposed end of the commodities supercycle, an economic slowdown and the prospect of rising international interest rates presented the banks with a new set of challenges. Even so, recent developments, including accelerating de-dollarisation and the consolidation of microfinance providers, suggest that the maturing industry is already dealing with these issues. The sector is set to see continued growth going into 2015. This chapter contains interviews with Julio Velarde, Governor, Central Reserve Bank of Peru (BCRP); Carlos González-Taboada, CEO, Scotiabank Peru; and Daniel Schydlowsky, Superintendent for Banks, Insurance and Pension Funds.

Following the end of the commodities supercycle that sustained Peru’s economic growth at an average rate of 6.4% per annum since the mid-2000s, the country saw growth fall sharply over the course of 2014. However, this slowdown is widely seen as a temporary lull, attributable in part to delays in some major mining developments, and the government has sought to counteract the current situation by introducing a range of measures that are designed to stimulate both private and public investment. In 2015 growth is expected to pick up again, ensuring Peru retains its place among the fastest-growing economies both within the region and globally. Nevertheless, certain long-standing structural challenges, such as the poor quality of education and the inefficiency of regional governments, will need to be tackled soon in order to boost growth potential and sustain the remarkable development the country has witnessed over the past two decades.

This chapter contains interviews with Alonso Segura, Minister of Economy and Finance; Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC); and Carlos Herrera, Executive Director, ProInversión. It also includes a viewpoint from Fernando D’Alessio Ipinza, Director-General, CENTRUM Católica.

With the Peruvian government intent on diversifying the economy away from mineral resources, the tourism sector is slowly becoming a strategic economic contributor. The sector has experienced unprecedented development in the past decade. According to the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism in 2013 international arrivals increased 11% to 3.16m, a growth rate above the regional (5.1%) and world averages (4.6%) as measured by the World Travel and Tourism Council. Peru hopes to reach 3.5m foreign visitors in 2014. Sector revenues also rose by an impressive 28% in 2013, from just over $3bn in 2012 to $3.9bn, making tourism the third-most-important source of revenue to the national economy. Government efforts to bridge the transport infrastructure gap are set to improve connectivity significantly, while rising demand for accommodation and services, in large part fuelled by a growing meetings, incentives, conferences and events segment, is driving investment in the hotel industry. This chapter contains an interview with María del Carmen de Reparaz, Vice-Minister of Tourism.