Read the September 2020 MEED Business Review

31 August 2020
Is Middle East PPP set to make a breakthrough?; UAE deals in domestic and diplomatic stimulus; Renewables and utility projects lead financing activity


The September 2020 issue of MEED Business Review offers readers a carefully curated selection of analysis on two key events that occurred during the past month: the deadly 4 August Beirut port blast and Abu Dhabi's 13 August announcement that it had agreed to ‘normalise’ diplomatic relations with Israel.

In terms of symbols of change, the UAE/Israel pact is about as big as it gets. But while unexpected, the move is the inevitable next step of a reality that has been building for years for Middle East politics. 

Moving away from current affairs, the fiscal legacy of Covid-19 is that the region can no longer afford to finance all of the infrastructure projects and public services required to meet the needs of its growing population and expanding industrial base.

A change in approach is required in the way that government projects are financed. And right at the top of the agenda are public-private partnerships (PPP).

The September 2020 issue of MEED Business Review takes an in-depth look at the region's renewed focus on partnerships. Our journalists also assess the challenges for PPP and progress made in 12 countries across the region (see links below).

Our project finance report, meanwhile, finds that the biggest blockage is the lack of project activity as government spending feels the pinch in an economic climate that is as challenging as the financial crisis 10 years ago.

This month's exclusive 18-page Market Focus offers a comprehensive look at the UAE, where domestic demand and output are beginning to recover – even so, the damage to many sectors will be long and lingering. 

Other must-read sections in the September 2020 edition of MEED Business Review include:

> BOARD REPORT: Monthly Mena news roundup

> ISRAEL: Region reacts to UAE normalising Israel relations

> LEBANON: Beirut Port blast exposes Lebanon's weaknesses

LEADERSHIP: Saudi firms struggle to maintain investor relations

LEGAL: Priority financing improves Abu Dhabi insolvency law

> EXPO: Montenegro's expo letter to the future

> GULF PROJECTS INDEX: UAE resists Gulf Projects Index decline

BUSINESS OUTLOOK: Finance, oil and gas, construction, power and water contracts

We hope you find the September issue of MEED Business Review informative.

To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here


 

> Algeria: PPP framework fails to modernise
> Bahrain: Manama ramps up its PPP plans
> Egypt: Mixed results for Egyptian PPPs
> Iraq: Crises and protests curb Iraq PPPs
> Jordan: Construction sector eyes PPP opportunities
> Kuwait: Corner turned on water and power schemes
> Lebanon: PPPs offer route to recovery
> Morocco: Rabat reforms legislation to spur PPPs
> Oman: Muscat risks PPP confidence loss
> Saudi Arabia: Riyadh refocuses PPP plans
> Tunisia: PPP plans draw broad support
> UAE: PPPs expected to take off in UAE
> Other GCC: Gulf state bolsters legislation to drive PPPs

 

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