After two years of stagnation in 2008-09, retail sales returned to growth in key markets across the Middle East and Africa in 2010, according to new numbers from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
But for foreign retailers looking to get in on the action, the days of plunking down a store in a crowded mall in Dubai or Jeddah and watching the cash registers spin into overdrive are over. Two of the three fastest growing markets in the region are Iran and Algeria, both of which have fairly well documented issues with foreign investors.
Those looking for somewhere a little friendlier should keep an eye on South Africa, the region's second-best performer after Algeria, where retail sales grew 9.4 per cent last year. While sliding in the rankings, South Africa is still listed above emerging-market favourites like Brazil, Turkey and Russia in the WEF's 2010-11 Global Competitiveness Index, and the World Bank rates the country in the top four places to do business in Africa and the Middle East.
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