Time for Big Investments in the Middle East

Extracted 15DEC2011 from http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/12/its_time_for_big_investments_i.html

Ahmet C. Bozer*

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is a rapidly diversifying, entrepreneurial, and globally connected business region. It saw 5% annual growth for nearly a decade before the global recession, and the International Monetary Fund reports that it's growing strongly again — about 5% in 2011. And this healthy growth is despite the uncertainty following the Arab Spring. More importantly, the IMF predicts strong 4% growth for the region in 2012 and Gulf Cooperation Council countries could set a torrid 7% pace...

It's also getting easier to do business across the region. According to the IFC/World Bank's 2011 Doing Business survey, Saudi Arabia is now the 12th easiest place on the planet to do business — one spot ahead of Canada. Moreover, it ranks first in ease of registering property. Five other countries — UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Tunisia - were in the top 50...

Of course, doing business in the Middle East is not without its challenges. The business climate is uneven — Jordan and Egypt both fell in this year's Doing Business survey, from already low rankings to the 98 and 110th spots respectively (out of 183)...

The ingredients for MENA tigers exist — growth is already robust, standards of living are rising, and populations are young and entrepreneurial. And today we are proving that multinationals see these trends and want to invest, grow local economies, and help the region diversify away from petroleum...

* Ahmet C. Bozer is President of the Eurasia and Africa Group of The Coca-Cola Company, leading the company's business activities in over 90 countries.