The push amongst GCC states to invest in Africa came about in earnest following the 2007-08 global food price crisis, and in those days targeted agricultural land and strategic commodity production. Agribusiness, sovereign wealth funds and other agri-investment vehicles were the main players at the time. Primarily state-led, the investments at that time centred on framework agreements with the host market, guaranteeing purchases and providing subsidised credit. Fast forward and in October 2014 Dubai’s Chamber of Commerce noted that Gulf entities had contributed more than $30bn to African infrastructure development over the previous 10 years, a substantial figure when one considers the region’s relatively recent

The drop in oil prices that began in the second half of 2014 has raised questions about how oil-dependent economies like Russia, Nigeria and Venezuela would cope. However, in the case of Saudi Arabia, large fiscal reserves and low levels of debt have enabled the Kingdom to avert the sort of crisis triggered by oil shocks in the past. The Saudi government has adopted a policy of resolutely defending its share of the oil market – an approach that, as of mid-2015, appeared to be yielding the desired results. Market Markers According to the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), global demand for oil

Trade relations between the GCC and Asian economies have been growing steadily for some time now. Recent developments suggest, moreover, that they are set to expand further over the next decade. While there are some risks associated with Asian markets, the GCC as a bloc is deepening its commitment to the region. This is signalled by a number of potential trade agreements, increased diplomatic engagement, and the possibility of new political and security arrangements. FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS: In September 2013 the free trade agreement (FTA) between the GCC and Singapore, the first between the bloc and a country outside the Middle East, became active. First

  Following a difficult period for the international shipping market, in 2012 the container route from Shanghai to the Gulf through Dubai saw the second-highest rate of freight growth in the entire Asian region. This was part of an emerging trend of the maturation of GCC-Asia trade. A relationship that was once just based on meeting demand for energy is diversifying and the GCC is seen as a viable market for Asian goods and investment, a key transit point – given its developed infrastructure – to the fast-growing markets of Africa, and a high-quality producer of goods and services in its own right. SHIFTING PATTERNS:

In the World Bank’s 2015 “Doing Business” rankings, Saudi Arabia placed 49th, second among GCC states (behind the UAE at 22nd) and ahead of other key emerging markets such as Turkey, China and Brazil. Despite having slipped five places since 2014, the Kingdom is still comparatively much stronger than other countries in the Middle East and North Africa region. Starting Up Saudi Arabia has strived to facilitate business start-ups by progressively cutting the number of days it takes to start a business from over 70 days in 2004 to 20.5 days in 2015, an improvement that is topped only by Indonesia and India over the

The changing nature of Saudi exports tells the story of the Kingdom’s efforts to diversify its economy. Encouragingly, non-oil exports have been growing more quickly than oil exports in recent years, though oil still makes up a significant majority of the country’s external sales, reflecting the size of the challenge facing the Kingdom with respect to economic diversification. To stimulate the growth of non-oil exports, the government created the Saudi Export Development Authority, which has assumed responsibility for promoting the Kingdom’s non-oil products abroad and assisting domestic companies in exporting their goods. Product Shift Exports of mineral products, which comprise mainly oil, reached SR1.07trn ($284.6bn)

Charting a course for government policy over the next five years, the Kingdom’s 10th Development Plan, which runs from 2015 to 2019, places renewed emphasis on education and private sector development as the keys to economic diversification. In this regard, the plan represents the next step towards achieving the government’s long-term vision for the country. As Osama Mansouri, advisor to the minister of economy and planning, told OBG, “The first five years of the 10th Development Plan mark the start of the 15-year transformation of the Saudi economy into a knowledge economy.” On a macroeconomic level, the government has declared its intention to pursue fiscal

The opening up of the GCC’s stock exchanges to foreign investment has been a salient feature of market commentary in recent years. The global economic crisis sent shockwaves through regional exchanges and, in the ensuing period of depressed trading, regulators around the Gulf embarked upon a market reform effort in a bid to attract scarce liquidity. The accession of both Qatar and the UAE to emerging market status by the influential indexer MSCI in May 2014 was a reward for this effort, but even as the decision was being put into effect, the attention of many global investors was already turning to Saudi Arabia. The