Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia on Friday called for political reforms in the Arab state to encourage greater participation by the people and by women in particular, saying Saudi Arabia "cannot be insulated" from broader changes happening in the Arab world.

UAE spending on IT products and services is projected to reach US$3.5bn in 2011 as resurgent growth isled by a continued rebound in PC sales. However, obstacles still stand in the way of a more pronouncedrecovery, including weak credit conditions and Dubai's onerous debt repayment schedule this year.Demand for IT products and services should continue to revive in 2011 with high single-digit growth.Abu Dhabi has been making most of the running and, in the wake of the Dubai financial crisis, but growthpotential also exists in the northern emirates where the government has launched a major infrastructureinvestment programme.IT spending is projected to grow at a 2011-2015 CAGR of 8%. Cloud services are central to the Emirate'se-Government strategy for the next three years. Other fundamental drivers of IT spending should includelocal and federal government initiatives, long-term infrastructure projects, significant population growthand the development of non-oil sectors.Industry DevelopmentsThe UAE's General Information Authority (GIA) is leading efforts to provide cloud services to federalgovernment entities. In December 2010, the GIA delegations from various government bodies, includingthe Federal Council for National Affairs, the Ministry of Labour, and the Ministry of Environment andWater, to plan cloud strategy.In September 2010, the UAE announced plans to set up the first microchip factory in the Middle East by2015. The project is backed by the Abu Dhabi government-owned Advanced Technology InvestmentCompany (ATIC) and is expected to cost the company US$6-7mn. The UAE plans to take advantage ofgrowing demand in key re-export markets in the Gulf and India to reposition Abu Dhabi as a globaltechnology hub.Federal spending will be an important driver of IT opportunities. The Ministry of Education is leading aninitiative to supply computers and the internet to state schools after concerns that they were laggingbehind privat

The Q311 BMI UAE Retail report forecasts that the country?s retail sales will grow from an estimatedAED113.87bn (US$31.01bn) in 2011 to AED151.36bn (US$41.22bn) by 2015. Key factors behind theforecast are strong underlying economic growth (despite the recent problems in Dubai), increasinghousehold consumption, growing acceptance of modern retailing concepts and expatriate wealth.The UAE?s nominal GDP in 2011 is predicted to be US$301.4bn, with growth of 3.3% predicted for theyear. BMI predicts average annual GDP growth of 3.6% between 2011 and 2015. With the populationincreasing from an expected 4.8mn in 2011 to an estimated 5.2mn by 2015, GDP per capita is forecast torise 18.7% by the end of the forecast period, to US$74,484.Average household spending power in the UAE stands at US$14,400 per annum, according to propertyconsultant Colliers International. Emirati households account for the lion?s share of this spending withan average of US$23,000, while Western, other Arab and Asian households have annual spending powerof US$19,500, US$13,500 and US$10,000 respectively.While Emiratis contribute to retail sales, the buying power of the country?s expatriate residents is themajor source of success, according to a study by Indian research firm RNCOS. Tourism is also a massivefactor in stimulating retail growth, with the UAE expecting the number of tourists to have totalled morethan 11mn in 2010.Growing urbanisation is another factor in the buoyancy of the retail sector. Abu Dhabi in particular ishighly urbanised, with the Urban Planning Council (UPC) projecting that Abu Dhabi City?s populationwill rise to 1.3mn by 2013. In 2005, 85.5% of the UAE?s population was classified by the UN as urbanand this is estimated to have increased to 86.3% in 2010.The UN describes 73% of the UAE population in 2005 as economically active, forecast to rise to 78.6%by 2015. In 2005, more than 30% of the population was in the 20-44 age range crucial f

BMI?s Q311 update to the UAE?s telecommunications market report incorporates market data from theTelecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) and telecoms providers Etisalat and EmiratesIntegrated Telecommunication Company (du) relating to the end of March 2011. It contains ananalysis of the mobile, fixed-line and broadband markets, and recent regulatory developments. It alsocontains our first five-year growth forecast for mobile ARPUs in the UAE, in addition to updated forecastfor the mobile, fixed-line and internet sectors.According to the TRA, there were 11.067mn mobile subscribers in the UAE at the end of March 2011.This represents growth of 1.3% q-o-q and 3.8% y-o-y. As in previous quarters, there continues to be aconsiderable difference (1mn subscribers in Q111) in the mobile subscriber data from the regulator andthe operators. However, our analysis this quarter is based solely on the regulators official data. This isbecause of the regulator?s clear definition of the method used to calculate the number of activesubscribers and the use by du of the same method. We, therefore, calculate the number of activesubscribers on Etisalat?s mobile network by subtracting du?s subscriber base of the regulator?s overallsubscriber base.According to the TRA market data during Q111 there were also sharp increases in the number of fixedlineand broadband subscriptions. The fixed-line sector recorded net additions of 261,000 subscribers orgrowth of 17.9% q-o-q. The TRA has not provided explanation for this sudden increase in fixed-linesubscriptions, although BMI believes it is more likely due to the use of a different method for calculatingthe number of fixed-line connections as opposed to actual subscriber uptake, a view supported by the factthat the sum of Etisalat and du?s fixed-line subscriber base now equals the regulator?s figures. Thebroadband sector also saw impressive results during Q111 with net additions of 79,000 subscribers or

Key Insights And Key RisksThe continuing expansion of UAE?s economy should underpin the steady growth of the insurancesector. However, it is not clear what will cause non-life penetration to increase over the forecastperiod.Life insurance will likely remain very underdeveloped, partly because households do not need it.The UAE will remain one of the most important markets for takaful.Most local companies lack scale in a fragmented and not necessarily profitable industry.The regulatory environment is still being developed by the Insurance Authority.The UAE?s insurance market can be categorised as being reasonably large in absolute terms, fairlyrapidly growing, open to foreign companies, fragmented and highly competitive ? with the result that alot of players are not making an adequate return on their capital.Over the past five years, absolute growth has been driven by health insurance, which became compulsoryfor private sector workers in 2008. The latest figures indicate that health insurance premiums continue togrow at double-digit rates, if not at the extraordinarily rapid pace of 2007-2008. The market has also beenboosted by the rise of takaful (shari?a compliant insurance), which accounts for about a fifth of totalpremiums in the UAE. Life insurance has also developed rapidly from a low base, although it isconstrained by various factors: a lack of need and understanding from local households, the absence ofsuitably liquid markets for long-term financial assets, not enough skilled staff and the lack of localcompanies with the necessary scale and brand name. The local companies have gained ground relative tothe foreign companies that are operating in the UAE ? but the foreigners still account for about two-thirdsof the total life segment.Surprisingly, new insurance companies are still being launched. In H111, there were initial publicofferings (IPOs) on the Abu Dhabi Exchange (ADX) for two companies: Insurance House andW