All Countries and All Sectors

Facing a slowdown in both international and domestic demand, combined with rising oil prices and airport fees and tariffs, carriers in South Africa are feeling the squeeze. With economies booming elsewhere in Africa, there is some optimism that new profitable routes could be established, but governments throughout the continent will need to further liberalise their skies to make this happen.

The potential of mobile phone banking in Papua New Guinea (PNG) has been evident ever since a local telecoms company launched a service in 2009 allowing subscribers to purchase electricity by using pre-paid airtime credit. For PNG’s banks, it presents the easiest route to tapping into the nation’s 87.5% rural population.

The local real estate sector continues to send out mixed messages. While Kuwait’s residential segment is clearly on the rise, other components of the market are struggling to rebound from the downturn in the property market in 2009 and, more recently, domestic political concerns.

While Brunei Darussalam’s Energy Department is pushing for full localisation of human resources in the oil and gas sector, firms say the transient nature of the industry and a lack of experienced locals makes this a challenge.

With mobile penetration already well above 100%, the increasing popularity of high-speed mobile and fixed broadband is proving to be the key to growth in the Omani telecoms sector. Increasing operating costs and declining text usage are cutting into profits, however.

As the latest step in the country’s long march to encourage diversification, the Nigerian government has been facing a growing chorus of calls to step up efforts to support the manufacturing sector and reverse the decline the labour-intensive industry has been experiencing for some 20 years. However, any turnaround will require high levels of investment from both the public and private sectors.