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The value of real estate transactions in the sultanate increased by nearly 60% year-on-year in the first five months of 2012, hitting $2.1bn in that period, with the market displaying significant demand for industry- and logistics-related facilities as well as luxury residences.

Foreign institutions are to be targeted to help fill major gaps in Indonesia’s skill base as a result of a weak and undersupplied education system. A recent bill opens tertiary education to overseas interests but the challenge will lie in balancing the goals of social equality with the mandate to promote high-quality education at a low cost.

An independence anniversary address by President Goodluck Jonathan on October 1 highlighted some of the encouraging trends in Nigeria’s recent economic performance, although there are still a number of fiscal and structural issues that will continue to constrain growth in the years to come.

Plans to boost high-tech farming initiatives and enter into agribusiness deals with neighbours bode well for Brunei Darussalam’s long-term food security ambitions. However, challenges such as limited land and human resources will prove hard to overcome.

The emirate’s education system is in the midst of a major overhaul, one aimed at making the school system more responsive to the needs of students in a changing community. The new system will reflect evolving social, economic and cultural trends, with English coming to share the platform with Arabic as the language of learning.

Despite global uncertainty, Malaysia looks set to achieve its GDP growth target this year, thanks to a benign domestic climate, rising investment and fiscal stimulus.