BMI View: UAE IT spending is expected to reach US$3.8bn in 2012, up 5%, with BMI upwardly revising its forecast after the PC market reported strong growth in H111. Government spending and investment should help to support the IT market, with further opportunities in sectors such as education, healthcare, utilities, banking and telecoms. Cloud computing and business analytics are among enterprise IT investment growth areas.Headline Expenditure Projections:Computer hardware sales: US$1.9bn in 2011 to US$2.0bn in 2012, +13.0% in US dollar terms. Forecast in US dollar terms upwardly revised due to stronger than expected retail sales growth in H211.Software sales: US$641mn in 2011 to US$681mn in 2012, +6% in US dollar terms. Forecast in US dollar terms upwardly revised due to analyst modification with the UAE being one of the region's fastest growing enterprise resource planning (ERP) markets.IT Services sales: US$1.0bn in 2011 to US$1.1bn in 2012, +7% in US dollar terms. Forecast in US dollar terms upwardly revised due to analyst modification as services have become an increasingly important component of many deployment contractsRisk/Reward Ratings: The UAE's score was 60.8 out of 100.0. The UAE has top spot in our latest regional RRR table, ahead of other MEA giants such as Saudi Arabia, Israel and South Africa. The country ranked only third for its IT market, but its prime ranking was secured a high Country Structure score of 100.Key Trends & Developments:- The UAE IT market has received a buffeting from global economic headwinds but demand for IT products and services should continue to grow in 2012. However, the property price slump and financial upheavals are likely to continue to influence business and consumer caution. Abu Dhabi has been making most of the running in the wake of the Dubai financial crisis.- Growth potential also exists in the less developed northern emirates of Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al- Qaywayn, Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah. Th

The UAE?s consumer electronics devices market, defined as the addressable market for computing devices, mobile handsets and video, audio and gaming products, is estimated to reach a value of US$3.8bn in 2012. This is expected to increase to US$4.8bn by 2016, driven by the popularity of new electronic devices such as LED and 3G TV sets, 3G mobile handsets, smartphones, feature-rich notebooks, MP3/MP4 players and Blu-ray players.New stores, organised retail sector development, and aggressive promotions targeted at local shoppers and the tourist trade will all impel growth. In H111, UAE retailers reported a surge in demand for consumer electronic products, in many cases fuelled by price cuts. Retailers partly attributed the rebound to recovering markets and an improvement in consumer confidence, which had been damaged by the Dubai financial crash. However, price reductions also seemed to be a significant driver.Significant obstacles still stand in the way of a more pronounced recovery, including weak credit conditions and Dubai's onerous debt repayment schedule. The shift towards more cautious domestic spending patterns is likely to persist well into 2012, with overall consumption growth remaining muted, particularly in Dubai. However, Dubai benefited most from a pick-up in the tourist trade, providing a boost to the important carry trade for electronics goods.Computers:Computer hardware accounted for 54% of the UAE?s consumer electronics spending in 2011. BMI forecasts domestic market computer hardware sales ? including notebooks and accessories ? of US$2.0bn in 2012, up from US$1.9bn in 2011. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for sales of computer hardware over 2012-2016 is forecast at about 7%. Stronger demand in the notebook sector is the main driver as consumers feel the benefits of aggressive channel promotions.AV:AV devices accounted for about 35% of consumer electronics spending in the UAE in 2010. The addressable UAE AV device market is projec

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Dubai-based construction firm Arabtec Holding said it has been awarded project work worth 222 million U.A.E. million dirhams ($60 million) by shareholder Aabar Investments.

BMI View: With rapid growth forecast in the Middle East and Africa (MEA)?s healthcare markets, drugmakers should be considering new strategies for pharmaceutical packaging and marketing to capitalise on this. Local and multinational drugmakers should consider innovative packaging and marketing strategies, especially given the fact that more drugs are bought over-the-counter (OTC) without prescription in Africa, which makes branding all the more important.