The Middle East

When the UAE officially transitioned from “frontier” to “emerging” on a key market index in June 2013, a new era of both greater opportunity and closer scrutiny for the financial markets in Dubai was ushered in. The results are already coming to the fore: stocks across the UAE are up 41% in 2014 and 89% over the last year as of June, while capital markets in Dubai are starting to draw more attention from foreign investors.

The Ankara government has played down forecasts by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and decisions of some ratings agencies to lower their expectations for the Turkish economy this year, saying recent reports did not take into account a number of favourable factors that will fuel growth.

Jordan’s economy appears to be back on track following multiple external shocks since late 2008, and, while growth remained relatively sluggish at 2.8% in 2013, many analysts predict an average of 4% or higher in the coming years.

Rising demand for electricity has prompted Kuwait to sign three multi-billion-dollar deals aimed at significantly boosting the country’s gas imports.

The deep pre-Khuff formation off Qatar’s coast has become the focus of major test drilling and survey work, as energy firms step up their gas exploration efforts.

A two-pronged drive to tackle the rise of lifestyle diseases in Oman and broaden the range of medical facilities available locally has put the country’s health care services on course for rapid growth.