Gulf’s recovery a little slower, but still on track

First, Asia emerged from the global recession, propelled by recovering growth in China. Now it appears that even Europe has managed to slog its way back to economic growth.

Yet even with oil prices back at about US$70 a barrel, the Gulf still suffers from the equivalent of a low-grade dose of flu, neither falling as ill as Asia and the West, nor seemingly able to spring back as quickly.

A year after the collapse of the US investment bank Lehman Brothers touched off a global financial firestorm, the region that many thought would sail through the crisis unscathed is instead mired in a building slump that has crippled its banks and exposed shortcomings in corporate governance, regulatory transparency, legal institutions and capital flows.