All Countries and All Sectors

A rising tide of investments in infrastructure development, combined with higher spending by the private sector, is set to drive the robust expansion of the construction sector, and in particular, the cement production segment. However, prices could be pushed up by rising demand as a number of large new infrastructure projects are rolled out.

Railway developments are moving forward in Abu Dhabi, with the first phase of an expansive national project expected to be completed this year. A national network will decrease the emirate’s dependence on increasingly busy highways, and could be a boon to GDP growth. However, delays in scheduled passenger services will keep commuters on the highways for the next several years.

Si une demande en baisse en provenance d’Europe et une production agricole inférieure à la moyenne ont entraîné un ralentissement de la croissance du PIB en 2012, les banques marocaines continuent d’afficher une solide croissance, annonçant une poursuite de cette tendance pour 2013. L’arrivée prévue pour cette année de la première banque islamique du Maroc devrait également présenter des opportunités pour les banques étrangères.

Efforts to open up new avenues for investment in family owned firms in Oman are gathering momentum as the authorities step up a bid to steer more local firms towards listing on the sultanate’s stock exchange.

Basking in an environment of rising demand for credit in a growing economy, Indonesia’s banks have become some of the most profitable in the world. In recent weeks, two of the big three global ratings agencies have given the banking system a strong vote of confidence. However, there is also a downside. The sector could be hit by rising non-performing loans (NPLs) and changes in government policy that could affect the rupiah.

As Africa’s most populous country, its second-biggest economy and a major hydrocarbons producer, Nigeria has often drawn sizable capital inflows but only in recent years have real estate investors taken a studious look at the sector. Supply shortages in some segments, including high-end office space, have pushed prices and rents to highs in some cases above those of developed countries. With more developments coming onto the market in all segments, bottlenecks may ease, but demand looks set to continue its upward trajectory, underpinned by sound economic fundamentals.