LATEST ECONOMIC BRIEFINGS
EMIRATES: DUBAI | 30.07.2010
Dubai’s capital markets appear to be in for significant change with plans unveiled to establish a second-tier stock exchange coming hot on the heels of Dubai Financial Market (DFM) – the government-administered domestic bourse – and the DIFC-based NASDAQ Dubai’s move to formally link their trading platforms. All of this is happening as speculation of a merger between the bourses of Dubai and Abu Dhabi mounts.
ALGERIE | 30.07.2010
Les efforts importants déployés par l’Algérie pour augmenter la production céréalière commencent à porter leurs fruits, dans la mesure où les récoltes record de l’année dernière et les rendements importants de 2010 aideront à réduire les coûts d’importation et à créer des emplois sûrs dans les zones rurales. Cependant, l’objectif de l’autonomie alimentaire fixé par le pays reste encore bien éloigné.
SENEGAL | 30.07.2010
Le Sénégal est en train de devenir un leader en matière de développement de l’énergie solaire comme énergie de l’avenir, et ce, à la fois à l’échelle nationale et continentale. Pour y parvenir, le pays veut augmenter l’utilisation des énergies renouvelables afin de surmonter ses propres manques et promouvoir un grand programme international ayant pour but de mettre fin à la dépendance de l’Afrique de l’Ouest à l’égard des combustibles fossiles.
BULGARIA | 30.07.2010
Though Bulgaria’s economy is likely to remain in the slow lane for the rest of this year, the country’s banking sector continues to show resilience in the face of global economic contraction. There are concerns, however, that increasing levels of bad loans carried by some lenders could add to pressures on the sector.
OMAN | 28.07.2010
A raft of new agreements recently signed by the Ministry of Transport and Communications will see a significant round of investment in Oman’s transport infrastructure. The 15 agreements, signed earlier in July, cover projects in land, sea and air infrastructure and are worth a total of OR136.9m ($355.9m).
COUNTRY COVERAGE
Aiming High
Saudi Arabia, Volume 75
10.10.2008
10.10.2008
Saudi Arabia's economy has been ranked 16th in the world and best in its region in regards to ease of doing business, moving up eight places from its ranking last year.
The "Doing Business 2009" report, which was released by the IFC and the World Bank in mid-September, evaluated 181 economies on overall ease of doing business, covering the period from April 2007 to June 2008. The report's index averages the country's percentile rankings on 10 indicators of business regulation, though it does not reflect such areas as macroeconomic policy, quality of infrastructure, currency volatility, investor perceptions or crime rates.
Saudi Arabia was ranked as the most competitive economy in the Middle East and North Africa region, followed by Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE. Similarly, the country was rated one of the region's leaders in terms of reforming regulations, alongside Egypt and Tunisia. Saudi Arabia's high score coincides with its stated goal to become one of the world's ten most competitive economies by 2010.
"Economies worldwide are increasingly committed to regulatory reforms, and this is evident in the Middle East and North Africa, the region with the second-largest share of economies that made it easier to do business," said Dahlia Khalifa, a co-author of the report. "Many economies, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia, are consistently making improvements and are advancing in the global rankings. Across the region, countries are making it easier to do business by looking to early pacesetters for ideas on how to reform," she wrote in a statement that accompanied the report.
In the category of registering property, Saudi Arabia was ranked first in the world, moving up two places from last year. In particular, speed of registration benefited from a new comprehensive electronic system for registering title deeds; it now takes an average of just two days to register property, compared to 37.4 for the region.
Saudi Arabia's score also improved significantly in the categories of protecting investors and closing a business, moving up 25 places overall in each. In fact, Saudi Arabia was the only reformer in the region in regards to ease of closing a business, the category that evaluates the time and cost required to resolve bankruptcies. Saudi Arabia was able to reduce the time to go through the insolvency process from 2.8 years last year to 1.5 years, as well as increase the stakeholder recovery rate from 29.3 cents on the dollar to 37.5.
In terms of investor protection, Saudi Arabia's higher score can be attributed in part to strengthened protections for minority shareholders, as new provisions prohibit interested parties from voting on the approval of related-party transactions as well as increase sanctions against directors for misconduct. In addition, auctions of debtors' assets are taking place more quickly than before.
In the area of starting a business, Saudi Arabia moved from being ranked 38th overall to 28th. The country continued to simplify formalities for commercial registration, reducing registration fees by 80%. Time to start a business fell by three days from last year to an average of 12, compared to 23.5 days for the region.
The Kingdom's rise on the World Bank's index goes hand-in-hand with the Kingdom's "10 x 10" project, in which Saudi Arabia has pledged to become one of the ten most competitive economies in the world by 2010.
Awwad Al Awwad, deputy governor for Investment Affairs at SAGIA and president of the NCC, told local media, "We monitor diligently our progress towards '10 x 10' using the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index along with the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Index and the Institute for Management Development's World Competitiveness Rankings."
Amr Al Dabbagh, governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) and chairman of the National Competitiveness Center (NCC), added, "Today, few obstacles remain for local and foreign investors in Saudi Arabia. We welcome all companies to take part in our growth, to take advantage of the wide range of investment opportunities in the Kingdom."
The "Doing Business 2009" report, which was released by the IFC and the World Bank in mid-September, evaluated 181 economies on overall ease of doing business, covering the period from April 2007 to June 2008. The report's index averages the country's percentile rankings on 10 indicators of business regulation, though it does not reflect such areas as macroeconomic policy, quality of infrastructure, currency volatility, investor perceptions or crime rates.
Saudi Arabia was ranked as the most competitive economy in the Middle East and North Africa region, followed by Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE. Similarly, the country was rated one of the region's leaders in terms of reforming regulations, alongside Egypt and Tunisia. Saudi Arabia's high score coincides with its stated goal to become one of the world's ten most competitive economies by 2010.
"Economies worldwide are increasingly committed to regulatory reforms, and this is evident in the Middle East and North Africa, the region with the second-largest share of economies that made it easier to do business," said Dahlia Khalifa, a co-author of the report. "Many economies, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia, are consistently making improvements and are advancing in the global rankings. Across the region, countries are making it easier to do business by looking to early pacesetters for ideas on how to reform," she wrote in a statement that accompanied the report.
In the category of registering property, Saudi Arabia was ranked first in the world, moving up two places from last year. In particular, speed of registration benefited from a new comprehensive electronic system for registering title deeds; it now takes an average of just two days to register property, compared to 37.4 for the region.
Saudi Arabia's score also improved significantly in the categories of protecting investors and closing a business, moving up 25 places overall in each. In fact, Saudi Arabia was the only reformer in the region in regards to ease of closing a business, the category that evaluates the time and cost required to resolve bankruptcies. Saudi Arabia was able to reduce the time to go through the insolvency process from 2.8 years last year to 1.5 years, as well as increase the stakeholder recovery rate from 29.3 cents on the dollar to 37.5.
In terms of investor protection, Saudi Arabia's higher score can be attributed in part to strengthened protections for minority shareholders, as new provisions prohibit interested parties from voting on the approval of related-party transactions as well as increase sanctions against directors for misconduct. In addition, auctions of debtors' assets are taking place more quickly than before.
In the area of starting a business, Saudi Arabia moved from being ranked 38th overall to 28th. The country continued to simplify formalities for commercial registration, reducing registration fees by 80%. Time to start a business fell by three days from last year to an average of 12, compared to 23.5 days for the region.
The Kingdom's rise on the World Bank's index goes hand-in-hand with the Kingdom's "10 x 10" project, in which Saudi Arabia has pledged to become one of the ten most competitive economies in the world by 2010.
Awwad Al Awwad, deputy governor for Investment Affairs at SAGIA and president of the NCC, told local media, "We monitor diligently our progress towards '10 x 10' using the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index along with the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Index and the Institute for Management Development's World Competitiveness Rankings."
Amr Al Dabbagh, governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) and chairman of the National Competitiveness Center (NCC), added, "Today, few obstacles remain for local and foreign investors in Saudi Arabia. We welcome all companies to take part in our growth, to take advantage of the wide range of investment opportunities in the Kingdom."
