There are also signs that the sector, however modest, is growing. Also in the UAE, ventures such as Dubai Investments Park are actively encouraging the establishment of medium-scale manufacturing activity. The Omani Government is pressing ahead with a number of hydrocarbon-based mega projects. But it is also embracing small and medium-sized manufacturing. In September the government announced the establishment of Salalah Free Zone, which is targeting precisely this sector.
Few economists suggest that the Gulf is ideally suited to becoming a manufacturing powerhouse.
The region's premier endowment is its hydrocarbons, and it can only be correct that the region's manufacturing output reflects this. However, the region is awash with spare capital, and light industry is an effective way of investing that capital which will generate added value for regional economies - especially given an abundance of inexpensive labour on the doorstep. The potential for growth is there to be tapped. The most comprehensive survey of executive salaries in the region. The latest ranking of the Gulf's best business cities, based on their economic weight and their importance as centres of international business.