The Middle East

Reforms to property laws, years of solid economic growth and political stability have combined to produce a real estate boom in Turkey. Buoyed by growing investor interest, which is particularly high in top-end developments, property prices in Turkey are rising rapidly, with luxury flats in Istanbul estimated to have more than doubled in value during the past eight years, surpassing $4500 per sq metre.

With the latest economic figures showing that 2012 will ultimately end up being part of a longer slowdown than originally thought, officials in the kingdom are now looking at ways to use foreign investment to ensure the country is primed for a rebound and long-term economic growth.

Having issued two highly anticipated Islamic bonds (sukuk) recently and boasting continuing expansion in the conventional banking segment, Turkey looks set to maintain its current growth trend in financial services. However, there is still some cause for concern, with one sukuk not performing as well as expected and the economy likely to miss its target of 4% growth for 2012.

In recent weeks, the Ministry of Communications (MoC) has ordered Kuwait’s internet service providers (ISPs) to reduce their pricing by at least 40%. While this move could boost the number of users, some industry participants say that it is the ageing, government-owned, fixed-line communications infrastructure and lack of a clear regulatory framework – and not elevated pricing – that is limiting market expansion.

Some of the heat seems to be going out of the Qatari economy, as the rate of expansion is expected to ease back to single figures over the next few years. However, the more modest growth forecast by analysts will still place the country among the global leaders.

With food security becoming an increasingly important issue globally, and in the arid Middle East in particular, Dubai appears to have positioned itself to play an important role in meeting the most basic needs of the region, having emerged as a major processing and food re-exporting centre.