Looking to the future

Infrastructure is the hot topic on CEOs’ lips this month. With the stabilising of the regional stock markets following last year’s fluctuations, and the return of investor confidence, the future opportunities for businesses wanting to invest in the region are looking brighter.

The utilities, water, healthcare, education, transport, oil and gas, petrochemicals, industrial and mining sectors’ potential for investment is set to exceed US$360bn in the coming years, according to a report by finance house Abraaj Capital – and the pace of development will only quicken, as governments invest more heavily in the future of their countries’ prosperity.

The current, and future, crop of regional leaders, coming as they are from media and economically-savvy backgrounds, are also helping to boost the region’s image as a politically stable haven and are putting out an attractive picture to overseas companies looking for investment opportunities.

The continued inflow of foreign capital is nowhere more evident than in the number of corporations relocating to the burgeoning regional Free Zones to take advantage of the financial and geographical incentives offered.

CEO Paul Forsyth this month talks us through the reasoning behind the relocation of his company’s corporate headquarters from the UK to Dubai International Financial Centre.

And it is not just the potential dividends from future projects, or tax breaks, that are attracting foreign capital governments are reaping the returns of the privatisation of state enterprises.

A prime example is Egypt, one of last year’s success stories, where the sale of 80% of the Bank of Alexandria for US$1.6bn to Italian group Sao Paolo IMI, helped cement the soundness of the Nazif administration’s fiscal policies.

It remains to be seen how widespread the trend becomes but the rewards are clear for all to see.

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