The Middle East & North Africa
The Middle East has excellent funding capacity, and offers project investment that is large relative to GDP, population and other market-scale indicators. The region is also one of the most important markets for Marubeni, which focuses on development projects in the infrastructure and energy fields.
Ryusuke Konto
Executive Officer, Regional CEO for Middle East & North Africa
Economic Environment and Initiatives in Fiscal 2008
The global financial crisis has dampened the Middle East region’s overall growth rate. This trend is expected to lead to more conservative development plans from the Gulf’s oil-producing countries.
From a global standpoint, however, economic growth rates in the Middle East remain high, with city development proceeding at a rapid pace. Given the high population growth and other market factors, by 2015 the region is expected to see 60 million KW in electric power development, along with the development of numerous urban water-related projects, including drinking water supply, sewerage and water purification. For Marubeni, the Middle East is highly important to its overseas strategies.
As such, Marubeni will continue the stable trade of crude oil and petroleum products with Middle Eastern oil-producing countries, along with participating in the largest LNG project in the Middle East in Qatar. In the independent water and power producer business, perhaps the most important field for this region, Marubeni will implement three projects in Abu Dhabi, and one each in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, respectively.
The Company will also renew its focus on large-scale infrastructure projects, including a monorail in Dubai and railway infrastructure for crossing the Bosporus Strait in Turkey, as well as power line equipment and drinking water and sewer infrastructure in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
Upcoming Initiatives
In the past, investments in the Middle East were mainly in real estate, especially urban development. However, the focus is expected to shift to infrastructure, specifically independent power and water production and oil and gas development. These are areas where the Company has strengths. For Marubeni, winning contracts, executing projects underway, and concentrating on regions and areas where it has a strong competitive advantage are basic tenets.
