The accession of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in January 2015 was the start of a new chapter for the Kingdom, and with the fall in global oil prices and continued regional turbulence there are undoubtedly challenges to be met. However, domestic stability, combined with the government’s commitment to major development projects and sustained focus on economic diversification, indicate a positive overall outlook for the country moving forward.
After a slowdown in recent years, Morocco’s construction industry saw a return to growth in 2014 and continues to be driven by strong demand for housing, public spending on infrastructure and investor incentives from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Policy – though constraints on credit access are restricting the volume of new developments. A unified construction code designed to raise...
Benefitting from strong ties to both Europe and the Arab world, Morocco has the right ingredients for future growth: low inflation, political stability, an industrial base and a favourable climate. With the outlook improving for Morocco’s trade partners and the lower price of oil – of which the country is a net importer – most observers expect growth to be even stronger in 2015, with estimates ranging from 4.4% to 5.0%.
Following successful completion of the Papua New Guinea liquefied natural gas project, the country is experiencing a surge of optimism about foreign investment and overall economic growth. PNG remains favoured by its traditional investors such as Australia, but it is increasingly a target for new players, including China and Japan.
Although Papua New Guinea’s construction sector contracted in 2014 after a four-year boom from the massive PNG liquefied natural gas project, industry growth is expected to pick up again in 2015. New petroleum revenues are set to support the government’s sizeable infrastructure investment programme, which is seeing major improvements to roads, ports and airports in preparation for the 2015...
While ongoing infrastructure projects are providing a steady supply of work for construction firms, fiscal constraints have led to a reduction in public investment. Access to land remains a key obstacle for real estate development. To address this, the government has introduced reforms to reduce wait times for land titles from as much as 10 years down to 180 days.
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