All Countries and All Sectors

With the presidential elections largely concluded, save a few outstanding legal challenges, 2012 proved to be a year in which Ghana gave a comparatively strong economic performance, bolstered by stable commodity prices, continued oil production and a sizable capital campaign in both the gas and electricity sectors. However, structural weaknesses will need to be addressed for the country to maintain its upward trajectory.

After 12 years of consecutive growth, Papua New Guinea (PNG) started the new year by focusing its attention on facilitating a broader and more inclusive model for driving the economy forward. While PNG’s recent fortunes have been fuelled by the $19bn Exxon Mobil-led liquefied national gas (LNG) project, completion of the construction phase is set to change the economic dynamic this year by halving annual growth to an anticipated 4%.

El impacto que el retraso de la infraestructura de transporte colombiana podría tener sobre el futuro crecimiento económico del país fue señalado en dos ocasiones durante el último año en informes publicados por el Banco Mundial y Fedesarrollo, un centro de análisis colombiano de carácter independiente, respectivamente.

A focus to attract more tourists from growing regional markets will spearhead Malaysia’s efforts to boost visitor numbers in 2013. However, efforts to increase arrivals from certain key segments may not be enough to drive visitor figures up across the board.

Mongolia is bracing itself for a colder-than-average winter following a harvest that, while strong, failed to meet agricultural targets. Severe weather conditions are raising fears of a dzud, otherwise known as a summer drought and severe winter, which in previous years decimated Mongolia’s herds and sent agricultural output spiralling.

The government is working hard to keep telecoms investment from leaving the country and expand the sector’s role in domestic employment, particularly as the short-term economic outlook looks set to remain strained. As a result the Kingdom is considering the possibility of allowing a new provider to enter the mobile telephony segment.