The Middle East

A regional cable network (RCN) earmarked for completion later this year, together with a new, national five-year strategy for the information and communications technology (ICT) sector, will act as the key drivers in Jordan’s efforts to reinvigorate growth levels in the industry.

Plans for a major new refinery and record exports to Asia have led to heady estimates of Kuwait’s oil revenues for 2012 and the sector is looking to innovative techniques to extract huge reserves of heavy oil.

Looking to boost information and communications technology (ICT) usage across the board, but particularly in education, Dubai has committed to embracing ICT in all facets of the teaching and learning process.

The Kingdom is launching a massive health care sector spending programme, a priority in a country where population growth, increasing numbers of religious tourists and a rise in lifestyle-associated illnesses are putting pressure on existing medical infrastructure.

The Sultanate’s health sector continues to develop, with more hospitals being recognised for providing high quality of care and plans for a new health endowment programme under discussion.

The emirate’s retail sector is looking ahead to busier times, with solid sales growth expected and a swathe of new shopping developments set to be rolled out over the next 12 months. Such optimism is largely due to rising demand, which is currently fuelled by a young and increasingly affluent population, as well as the steadily growing number of overseas visitors.