Economy

While overall growth in Brunei Darussalam’s economy slowed in 2012, expansion in the non-oil and gas sector suggested that some of the Sultanate’s diversification efforts are gaining traction and should pave the way for government plans to target value-added production.

A bid by Qatar’s government to consolidate several years of economic expansion, while channelling a budgetary surplus towards large-scale capital works projects, helped the country achieve its aim of more moderate growth for 2012.

The Saudi Arabian economy recorded another solid year of expansion in 2012, sustained by its energy sector and a steady rise in state spending. While growth may moderate in 2013, a number of sectors, including construction and banking, look set to continue expanding.

President Goodluck Jonathan and his economic team began 2012 with a renewed focus on their Agenda for National Transformation (ANT), targeting wholesale reform across a range of economic sectors.

The emirate’s economy continued its recovery in 2012, with a number of key sectors posting high growth over the past 12 months. However, there are some concerns that the rebound could happen too quickly, resulting in further difficulties in the future.

The country’s first full post-revolutionary year has seen the first free presidential elections in Egypt’s long history, and signs of a recovery in GDP growth, but also the teething problems of a young democracy with serious economic challenges ahead. As a large and growing market, strategically located, with some important natural resources, and a tradition of economic liberalisation stretching back several decades, Egypt is an enticing prospect for many investors.