Featured by OBG
Bahrain has seen its economy expand through diversification efforts, with a focus on finance, industry and technology. Projects in infrastructure, digital transformation and tourism aim to drive growth and attract foreign investment. The kingdom is committed to sustainability, targeting a 30% reduction in carbon emissions by 2035. The financial sector is a key contributor with innovation in financial technology, and the insurance market is expected to benefit from the rollout of a mandatory health insurance scheme in early 2025. The government is also investing in renewable energy, aiming for 5% of energy to be sourced by renewables by 2025. Bahrain is also enhancing its transport sector with a $30bn expansion plan. With additional developments in the industrial sector, ICT, and education Bahrain continues to evolve as an attractive investment destination.
A heavyweight within the West African Economic and Monetary Union, accounting for 35% of the eight-member region’s GDP, Côte d’Ivoire’s growth is a bellwether for Francophone West Africa. An ambitious government spending programme and a range of pro-business reforms are set to boost economic activity going forward.
As the region faces up to the challenge of the recent drop in oil prices, Bahrain’s fundamentals indicate the kingdom is well positioned to weather the dip. The focus on diversification goals outlined in Economic Vision 2030 is helping establish a more competitive and sustainable economy in the kingdom. The financial sector, which represents Bahrain’s second-largest GDP contributor, has continued to recover robustly since the global economic downturn.
Over the past few years Myanmar has experienced a number of dramatic transitions that have restructured its economy, rapidly changing its unique landscape and gradually enriching the social welfare of its people. These changes have placed modern-day Myanmar back on the international investment radar and have seen the nation coined “the Last Frontier”.
Although the sultanate’s petroleum wealth has traditionally provided a backbone for growth, efforts are well under way to diversify away from hydrocarbons. Oman Vision 2020 has laid out plans to boost industrialisation within the sultanate and to encourage the private sector to take a more active role in the economy and in the provision of jobs, both of which are billed as key drivers for growth.
Though Peru’s economic growth registered a slowdown in 2014 - to an estimated 3.1% according to the central bank compared to rates of between 5% and 9% for much of the past decade - the mining-led economy is expected to regain momentum in 2015 as diversification efforts continue and government measures to stimulate investment take effect.
