Dyala Sabbagh
Series Presenter

Egypt’s Mr Reform, Investing in the GCC & a Cosmetic Surgery Boom

August 2008

David Jackson, CEO of Istithmar World talks about the investment climate in the gulf and how it differs to the West.

Egypt pushes ahead with its reform plans, we hear from the man driving the changes, the country’s Minister of Trade Rachid Mohammed Rachid.

Plus, Lebanon is considered the cosmetic surgery hub of the Middle East but how much of an impact have a series of political crisis had on the industry? We travel to Beirut to find out.

Find out more

Producer's Notes

Episode 10 sees the team in Egypt, Dubai and Lebanon.

Read More

The UAE invests in pastures new: Kazakhstan

First we saw the record price of oil inflate GCC sovereign wealth funds. Then we witnessed SWFs invest in European assets, and lend a helping hand to US financial giants in distress. Today we see the UAE set its sights on a less predictable investment. The Gulf country is has its eye on Kazakhstan.

According to IMF statistics, Kazakhstan is the 54th largest economy in the world. It has a GDP of US $167,622 million, which has grown steadily at the rate of 9% a year over the past 5 years.

The main pillar of the Kazakh economy is energy. According to the Federation of International Trade Association (FITA) oil exports generate about 40% of the country's total revenue. Kazakhstan ranks at #9 in the world in terms of oil reserves with 39.8 billion proven barrels of crude.

Read more...

Sign up for our Newsletter

We'll keep you up to date on new content and community discussions.

Sign up now