Earlier this year, Qatar raised a few eyebrows when it bid to host soccer's 2018 World Cup. The small country in the Persian Gulf is unlikely to be awarded this prestigious sporting event even though it and others in the region could have the necessary facilities in place by then.rnHowever, the bid does highlight regional ambitions and infrastructure projects continue to be a vital part of those ambitions, as they have been over the last decade or so when the GCC became a hub of large scale construction activity.rnCertainly, the financial crisis has taken its toll on the region's stock markets and this has been exacerbated by Dubai's badly hit real estate sector. However, many analysts in the Middle East believe the region is well placed to weather the storm and they see opportunities for institutional and private investors in the various GCC bourses.
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