GCC retail sales may hit $270bn
RETAIL sales in the GCC are expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.7 per cent between 2011 and 2016 to reach $270.3 billion by the end of the forecast period, a report said.
Food retail sales are anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 8.8 per cent during this period while non-food retail sales are likely to grow at an annual average growth rate of 6.6 per cent, according to Alpen Capital, a Bahrain-based leading provider of investment banking services.
Food sales growth will outperform non-food sales growth during the forecast period as high-value and healthier food products could find greater demand.
Sales of supermarkets and hypermarkets in the GCC are expected to grow at an annual average rate of 10.5 per cent between 2011 and 2016. The relatively under-penetrated markets in terms of modern grocery retail formats like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait are likely to outperform in this segment.
Dubai, Abu Dhabi ‘top in quality of living’
DUBAI and Abu Dhabi rank highest in the Middle East and Africa region for quality of living, according to a new study.
Dubai ranked 73rd for quality of living and 34 for infrastructure globally in the annual report prepared by Mercer, a leading global HR consultancy. Abu Dhabi ranked 78 and 72 respectively.
The annual report uses New York as a base city to compare and rank 221 cities around the world. The study looks at various elements that include political, social, economic and socio-cultural, along with medical and health considerations, schools and education, public services and transportation, recreation, consumer goods, housing and the natural environment, a statement said.
This year’s index also set out to uncover cities with the best infrastructure to find a correlation between the level of substructure and how it affects quality of living, it said.
Doha ranked 106, Manama 126, Kuwait City 119, Riyadh 157 and Muscat 103. Manama (126), Cairo (141) and Damascus (197) had the highest drops in the region (dropping 13, 6 and 18 places respectively). This downfall is due to unstable internal affairs and political unrest, the study said.
Globally, Vienna, retained the top spot again this year, followed by Zurich and Auckland.
US to boost trade with Mideast
THE United States is exploring ways to boost trade ties with the UAE and other Middle Eastern countries, a senior US Commerce Department official said.
Francisco Sanchez, under-secretary for international trade, declined to comment whether the US is working on new free trade agreements with Middle Eastern countries but said that the US government is introducing initiatives that reduce trade barriers between the two regions.
Total two-way trade between the US and GCC, which comprises Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the UAE, almost hit $100 billion in 2011, with the US running a trade deficit of about $24 billion.
“We had a 50 per cent increase in trade with the UAE just between 2010 and 2011. If you go back to 2009, it increased by 100 per cent. Two-way trade was $16 billion in 2011,” Sanchez said, adding that the figure is expected to increase in 2012.
“The Middle East will continue to be an important part of the world and is one of our targeted markets,” he said.
Qatar economy to expand 5pc
QATAR, the world’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas, expects the economy to grow around 5 per cent in coming years, the country’s finance minister said recently.
Qatar’s real gross domestic product jumped 14.1 per cent in 2011 but the growth rate is expected to more than halve in 2012 partly due to a self-imposed moratorium on further expansion of the gas sector.
“We expect in coming years that growth rates will be around 5 per cent,” Youssef Kamal said.
Qatar, which pegs its riyal currency to the US dollar, plans to spend over 10 per cent of GDP on average on infrastructure in the run-up to hosting the soccer World Cup tournament in 2022.
