The Middle East Economy

In a sign that the country has performed well in the face of debt crisis affecting its neighbours in the EU, the Turkish government announced in January that the economy expanded 8% in 2011, with the construction, manufacturing, and retail sectors leading the way. Fears of a hard landing still remain, given Turkey’s chronic current account deficit and its recent struggles with inflation, but a burgeoning domestic economy, combined with political stability and a healthy fiscal position, have enabled the country to post decent macroeconomic data.

In 2011 Abu Dhabi made significant progress towards its long-term goal of economic diversification, with major developments in the fields of industry, transport and tourism. While these are significant accomplishments, the government announced in late 2011 that it was reprioritising certain projects.

Kuwait can look back on 2011 as a year characterised by higher than expected oil revenues and developmental progress despite domestic political wrangling and turmoil in the global market.

Looking to better times in 2012 after a challenging 12 months that saw Bahrain’s economy lose some of its momentum, the Kingdom is seeing signs that several key sectors are moving quickly to recover lost ground in the New Year.

With forecasts predicting solid economic growth in 2011 and a political system that remained stable in spite of unrest rocking much of the Middle East, Oman looks set to see increased investor interest in the coming years.

Having ended 2011 on a high, with its economy growing at break-neck speed, inflation under control and a stepped-up programme of infrastructure investments being rolled out, Qatar is well placed to continue similar growth this year. Yet with the spectre of recession hanging heavy in the air in Europe, and a scaling back of expectations in some major Asian economies, the country may find that in 2012 many of its achievements are consolidated rather than eclipsed.