Economy

With its recently passed budget for the 2011-12 fiscal year, Egypt has established a revised set of ambitious targets for tackling its public expenditures. Having rebuffed aid offers from several international organisations and countries, the move is a sign that the country will steer clear of a rising budget deficit on its own accord.

Although the Philippines economy looks set to grow in 2011, it seems likely that the rate of expansion will be less than that recorded over the past year or so, with both international and domestic factors weighing on growth momentum.

South Africa’s economy is regaining momentum after a challenging few years that saw the country fall into recession in 2009 before slowly working its way back towards steady growth, though some underlying weaknesses will need to be addressed if expansion is to continue.

Dubai’s economy is maintaining a steady pace of recovery, with confidence returning to the marketplace, investor appetite again being whetted and some of the longer-term development schemes starting to repay the faith and capital placed in them, though the need for care in managing the emirate’s debt burden remains key.

A recent wave of investment in manufacturing in Indonesia could herald the country’s rise as an international industrial player. A rapidly growing domestic market of more than 230m people, as well as the potential for exports both regional and across the globe, are major draws for companies from around the world.