Favourable outlook for MENA's plastics industry

Source：Ringier Release Date：2012-11-17 117

The prospects for the global economy may not be risk-free but the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is expected to ride through the many challenges as its industrial sector spearheads growth in 2013. This has been the consensus of analysts and industry players, whose confidence in the region's resiliency has not waned despite the global economic slowdown.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects the global economy to expand by 3.3% in 2013, with slower growth anticipated for advanced economies. The institution considers political transition in some countries in the region as one factor likely to affect overall economic performance. But 2013 is a bright year for MENA as its projected 3.5% growth will outpace that of the global economy. The pace of overall growth amongst oil exporters is expected to reach 3.75% in 2013 as they continue to boost oil production and stimulate domestic demand.

Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, Bahrain and Qatar are expected to lead the region. These countries have been figuring prominently in the global arena for their innovation and competitiveness. Qatar and the UAE has been leading the Middle East in overall innovation performance according to the Global Innovation Index 2012 (GII) and the next few years will see them getting stronger. According to the Global Competitiveness Report of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain and Egypt are amongst those in the top 100 of highly competitive countries of the world. For 2013, these countries are expected to retain their competitiveness with support from a robust industrial sector which will benefit from capital inflows, rising infrastructure spending, technology transfer and abundant raw materials supply.

In particular, the petrochemical industry in the region will sustain global demand as MENA turns to become the world’s largest source of polyethylene and polypropylene. The polyethylene and polypropylene production capacities in the GCC alone are expected to increase to 21.5 million tonnes and 9.5 million tonnes by 2015 respectively.

For this Outlook 2013 report, International Plastics News – Middle East and Africa gathered the insights of leading companies, the products they will highlight in 2013, as well as their assessment of the MENA markets and future plans to support growth in this rapidly-growing region.

Highsnobiety Style