Hotel giant Millennium defers plans for Tunisia, Egypt and Syria - The National

The global hotel brand Millennium has suspended plans for hotels in Egypt, Syria and Tunisia, a sign that foreign investors are still avoiding Arab Spring countries as uncertainty persists.

Economic growth in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) slowed by more than half to 1.7 per cent last year as unrest spread across the region. Growth is forecast to recover modestly this year.

"We had to slow down on the fronts where we thought there were problems," said Ali Hamad Lakhraim, the president and chief executive of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels for the Middle East and Africa.

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