French water management company targets industrial firms and local municipalities with opening in UAE capital.

Syria’s oil and mineral resources ministry has signed an agreement with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) to build a refinery in the country.

South Africa’s annual budget package addressed the fears of foreign investors in the wake of crippling power shortages and a sharp economic downturn.

Next July, France will take the rotating presidency of the EU and its president, Nicolas Sarkozy, will have the opportunity to push through his pet project: a Mediterranean Union, initiated last December in Rome by the leaders of France, Spain and Italy.

Jabulani Moleketi, deputy finance minister of South Africa, talks to Lara Williams about his budget plan for 2008, which is designed to address the recent economic downturn and the republic’s energy crisis.

Embattled by war and corruption but laden with large deposits of diamonds and copper, DR Congo is largely avoided by investors. Might that change? Michael Deibert reports.

Mozambique, whose history has been blighted by a long liberation struggle and years of civil war, is starting to reap the benefits of recent macroeconomic reforms with a new wave of projects in its virtually untouched biofuel and tourism sectors, writes Michael Deibert.

With $400bn-worth of projects announced, financial services bosses are salivating at the prospects posed by Saudi Arabia’s newly liberalised economy. Stephen Timewell reports.

Experts warn that blackouts could cripple South African economy as mining sector faces suspension and ‘crisis’.

Africa is the one regional exception to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) lowered forecast for global economic growth this year.

IMF economists say Africa’s continued growth, compared with sluggish growth in other continents, reflects high prices for commodities exported by African countries, improved economic polices and limited exposure to problems in international financial markets.

Professional services firm Ernst & Young has opened an office in Libya, where privatisation of government-owned enterprises is creating a better environment for private businesses.

Last year was another record year for FDI with a total of $1500bn, but it also showed, in light of Indian and sovereign funds acquisitions, that traditional patterns of FDI flow are changing. We may well be witnessing not only the end of the north-south divide, but its reversal.

Is the African renaissance for real? Or will the continent’s hopes for development again be dashed? Nigeria’s president gave his view at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

As the turmoil stemming from Kenya’s election crisis continues, investors are playing a waiting game, reports Harrison Mitchell.

Oil wealth is changing the spending patterns of governments, state-owned entities and private companies in the Gulf region. Stephen Timewell reports.

Far from solely relying on the hydro-carbons that have made the region so wealthy, some of the most innovative low-carbon initiatives are coming out of the Middle East through such projects as Masdar, says Gordon Feller.

Middle east sees $4.8bn raised in first half of 2007, as emerging markets propel global IPO issuance levels.

Aureos West Africa Fund (AWAF) has made its first investment in Senegal with a $2.86m commitment to Compagnie Sahelienne d’Industries, which trades as Matforce, a car dealership and energy equipment provider.

India’s largest aviation services company, Livewel Aviation Services, will invest $80m in the newly launched Dubai World Central Aviation City.

Africa, backed by an average 5.4% growth over the past decade, finally achieved a “healthy and steady growth rate”, says the World Bank. The effect of China’s exponential investment, aid and trade in the past 10 years is easy to see. China is set to become the continent’s largest investor and trading partner by 2010.

Ivohasina Razafimahefa, Madagascar’s minister of economy, commerce and industry, talks to Courtney Fingar about his priorities since taking up his post in October, which includes supporting small businesses.

Strong economic and trade relations between China and South Africa were among the factors influencing Chinese bank ICBC’s huge investment in Standard Bank, reports Stephen Timewell.

Ghana’s $750m 10-year Eurobond issue is another first from the republic, and may herald theblooming of Africa’s capital markets. Edward Russell-Walling reports.

Qatar’s economy took longer to take off than some of its neighbours but it is now racing ahead. Christian Henderson reports on plans to safeguard this new-found prosperity.

Qatar has traditionally rebuffed foreign investment, but liberalisation measures should herald a new era of openness and boost FDI. Christian Henderson explains.

Business council is swayed by Uganda’s literacy and skill levels in choosing site for high-tech park.

The latest addition to Dubai’s diverse cluster of free zones opened for business on September 6.

Staff shortages, coupled with inadequate equipment and rising costs, are hitting the Middle East’s hydrocarbons sector at a time when many of the region’s producer countries have laid out large-scale plans to ramp up production, the Financial Times has reported.

The Economist Intelligence Unit reports a record flow of FDI in 2007, with a whopping $1.474bn set to overshadow the 2000 record prior to the dot-com collapse. The bad news is that the emerging economies will attract a only third of that ($530bn), with north Africa and the Middle East accounting for less than 10%.

With FDI inflows into Egypt rising significantly, the country’s Minister of Investment talks to Silvia Pavoni about how hearing a few home truths about his country helped bring about this improvement.

Bahrain is continuing its drive to remain at the centre of the Gulf banking industry, while exploring other avenues to maintain the pace of growth, writes Eleanor Gillespie.

One of the big challenges for the Ethiopian Investment Agency is changing old views of a famine-ravaged country, its director-general tells Courtney Fingar.

With regional conflict relatively absent, west Africa is enjoying an FDI renaissance, with sportswear maker Puma leading the way, writes Michael Deibert.