The Knowledge to Decide

European investors are showing keen interest in railway projects in the Middle East and North Africa – estimated to be worth USD300 billion. The Middle East’s market for railway equipment has been largely dominated by European producers of railway cars and facilities. Chinese investors are not far behind. Japan, on the other hand, continues to lag. Although the Japanese are far more advanced in railway technology, their success in winning railway projects abroad is poor, reflecting the preference of many Japanese companies to choose projects only in Asian markets. Qatar presents an up-and-coming test case. To host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Qatar will need four lines covering Greater Doha. Japanese vendors are vying for the project. One advantage the Japanese now have is the weaker Yen versus the US dollar and Euro. Will Japan be able to harness the First Arrow of Abe-nomics to gain railway market share in the Middle-East and globally? https://www.spireresearch.com

Singapore’s 2013 economic growth was revised upwards from 3.7% to 4.1%, thanks to a last-minute surge in manufacturing. Does this portend better times to come? Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his views on Singapore’s economic performance on Channel NewsAsia – Business Central . Perera commented that Singapore’s economic growth exceed expectations and this reflected an improving climate for exports, mainly driven by developed country growth. This would last into 2014 because of the on-going recovery in the US, improvements in Northern Europe, the momentum from Abe-nomics in Japan and a still-respectable showing from China. On the other hand, the domestic retail sector was losing some ground. Perera shared that this was partly due to a slowdown in tourist arrival and spending growth, as a result of slower growth in regional economies like China and India. In contrast, the wholesale market will see some forward momentum on the back