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Financial services, industrial manufacturing and a business-friendly environment have traditionally differentiated the island Kingdom from other GCC states. Lacking the hydrocarbons of its neighbours, Bahrain has spent years diversifying its economy to meet future challenges. This made it one of the first GCC states to move its economy beyond a traditional reliance on hydrocarbons exports, and Bahrain has always been a good base from which to build a business targeting regional opportunities. The need to make wide-ranging infrastructure upgrades to improve the economy in areas such as housing, health care and education will be used by the government to provide public works contracts for local private firms. Planned infrastructure improvements are important for putting the economy on a stronger footing with its regional competitors, but the wider aim of the spending drive is to increase the level of activity and participation of the private sector in the economy overall. This chapter includes interviews with Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Chairman, Supreme Council for Youth and Sports; Mahmood Hashem Al Kooheji, CEO, Tamkeen; and Surapong Tovichakchaikul, Thailand’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Economic growth in the Philippines slowed from 7.6% in 2010 to 3.7% in 2011, and public-private partnerships (PPPs) that would have boosted public spending were delayed. The Aquino administration says that the wait is due to strict anti-corruption measures, and promises that 2012 will see these projects move forward. In the meantime, in late 2011 Aquino unveiled a spending package worth $1.6bn to bolster sagging demand. Local manufacturing plays a smaller role in the Philippines than it does in several of its ASEAN rivals, while the service sector, and in particular business-process outsourcing, has a bigger role. The economy also has a unique dependence on remittances from Filipinos who work overseas. This chapter features interviews with Cesar Purisima, Secretary, Department of Finance; Ramon R del Rosario Jr, Chairman, Makati Business Club; Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Chairman and CEO, Ayala Corporation; Karel De Gucht, EU Trade Commissioner; Helen Dee, Chairperson, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation; and Washington SyCip, Founder, SyCip, Gorres, Velayo & Co.

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