Strong economic potential, good human resources and security, plus a high standard of living and a string of mega projects, have catapulted Bahrain’s capital city, Manama, to the top of fDi’s Middle East and North African Cities of the Future 2006/07 contest.

The judges were impressed both by the size and quality of the non-oil related projects, such as the Bahrain Financial Harbour development, Bahrain’s World Trade Centre, Bahrain Bay, Bahrain Investment Wharf, the Qatar causeway and the man-made island development projects.

Dubai ranked second, with other United Arab Emirates (UAE) cities Ras Al Khaimah and Abu Dhabi also in the top 10. Doha, Tunis and Sohar also scored well with the judges as lower-cost locations that have potential to become cities of the future.

fDi magazine’s judges noted that several large-scale developments across the region are now offering investors lower-cost alternatives to Dubai with equal or better investment incentives. Doha, Abu Dhabi, Aden and Tunis all scored well for incentives while Manama, Ras Al Khaimah and Tripoli scored well for recent foreign investment deals.

Multi-billion-dollar developments in cities like Manama, Dubai, Tunis, Abu Dhabi and Umm al-Qawain, plus some large projects in Sohar, Sharjah, Fujairah and Kuwait City, will change the investment landscape in these cities. The success of the projects will affect fDi’s City of the Future rankings for years to come.

Despite Dubai slipping off the top spot, the UAE’s overall economic strength is clear from fDi magazine’s first ranking of the region’s 50 special economic zones (see below).

Middle Eastern & North African Special Economic Zones of the Future 2006/07

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Methodology During the summer, fDi magazine invited cities across North Africa and the Middle East to answer 39 questions in the eight broad categories listed right. A total of 16 cities were considered by fDi’s panel of judges, which scored each city according to the criteria listed (below). Judges awarded three points for the top city in each criterion, two points for second and one point for third. The winners are the cities that scored the most points in that category and the overall winner is the city that scored the most points across all eight categories.

(Please note that the tables show scores re-based to a scale of one to 100.)

Votes were cast by members of fDi’s editorial team and by independent guest judges.

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THE JUDGING PANEL

	Torbjörn Fredriksson Head of policy issues, Investment, Technology and Enterprise Development, UNCTAD
	Andrew Seidler, Director, taxation services, Tenon
	John E Xefos, Legal adviser in association with Baker & McKenzie
	Tel Rashid, Regional manager, Middle East & Africa, SpenglerFox Executive Search & HR Consultancy

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TOP 10 MENA CITIES

Rank	City	Score
1	Manama, Bahrain	100
2	Dubai, UAE	94
3	Doha, Qatar	92
4=	Tunis, Tunisia	81
4=	Ras Al Khaimah, UAE	81
6	Abu Dhabi, UAE	61
7	Sohar, Oman	59
8	Aden, Yemen	50
9	Kuwait City, Kuwait	41
10	Tripoli, Libya	38

 

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JUDGING CRITERIA


Economic performance
    Economic potential
    GDP
    GDP growth
    GDP/capita
    FDI/capita
    Level of inward investment
    FDI deals

Human resources
    Universities
    Number of 2006 graduates
    Percentage of population with a degree
    Level of adult literacy

Cost effectiveness
    Out-of-town office rent
    Centrally located office rent
    Industrial rent
    Secretarial salaries
    Middle management salaries
    Manual labour rates

Quality of life for expatriates
    Housing
    Healthcare
    International schools
    Natural and cultural heritage

Most secure
    Reported incidents of crime per 1000 people (2005)
    AON political risk rating
    Government initiatives against organised crime and terrorism
    Intellectual property protection

Transport and telecommunications
    Transport
    Mobile phone ownership (% of population)
    Maximum broadband speed available
    Telecommunication charges

Most business friendly
    Number of days to register a company
    Level of corporate taxation
    Additional employment costs: for example, social security and other contributions
    World Bank ‘difficulty of hiring’ rating
    World Bank ‘difficulty of firing’ rating

Best FDI promotion strategy
    Promotion channels and strategy
    Targeted approach to attracting investment
    Three biggest attractions for FDI  incentives
    Infrastructure and urban planning projects

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Best Economic Performance

Best Human Resources


 





Best Transport Infrastructure & Telecommunications





Best Overall FDI Promotion