All Countries and All Sectors

While Qatar's real estate and construction boom continues at breakneck pace, the perennial problem of shortages in building materials was given another airing this week, as building-sector leaders and the government tried to deal with a dwindling amount of cement, steel and gravel. At the same time though, analysts were generally unanimous in predicting a rosy future for real estate in the country, despite complaints from many residents over rocketing rents and prices.

While most Bulgarian insurance companies are waiting to see if the 2005 budget will include some much-awaited legislative change on taxation, the spotlight recently has been on Bulstrad, the country's leading general insurer. Some 13% of Bulstrad's shares were being sold on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) last week, a welcome piece of news for the bourse, which is suffering from a lack of liquidity and limited capitalisation.

Brussels has fixed a spotlight on Ankara this week, as the Turkish parliament looked to amend the country's 78-year-old penal code. Attention was drawn by a rancorous debate over a controversial government-sponsored amendment to the code which would have criminalised adultery. The debate provided opponents of Turkish European Union accession with further ammunition to question Turkey's Western and secular credentials and drew sharp criticism from EU officials. With the pressure on, the government backed down at the last minute, withdrawing the controversial amendment.

A new report released this week shows some healthy times ahead for Qatar's construction sector, which seems to have left far behind its former, darker days. The building boom looks set to continue after the Asian Games in 2006, with this Doha-based event already turning large parts of the country into a building site.

While the deputy prime minister and senior members of the Bulgarian Investment Agency are touring Scandinavia this week to promote the country's IT and communications industry, back in Sofia many are awaiting a final decision on Bulgaria's third GSM license - most likely to be awarded at the end of this month to the newly privatised Bulgarian Telecoms Company (BTC).

The release of data last week by the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) concerning the size of Turkey's current account deficit produced widespread jitters in Turkey's financial community. With the figures showing year-end targets for the deficit already surpassed, the rosy picture of ever decreasing inflation and consistent growth presented by the government in recent months has begun to look a lot more questionable.