An employee stands near a bathtub for sale at a Chinese Furniture shop at Khartoum's new al-Waha mall...
An employee stands near a bathtub for sale at a Chinese Furniture shop at Khartoum's new al-Waha mall December 2, 2012. Ambitious plans backed by Gulf Arab investors were drawn up when the economy started to accelerate, driven by petro-dollars, after the government signed a peace deal with southern rebels in 2005. New hotels such as the Saudi-built Rotana and expensive stores such as German sports retailers Adidas and Puma set up shop in Khartoum, a rundown city that had seen little development since independence from Britain in 1956. Picture taken December 2, 2012. To match Feature SUDAN-SHOPPING/ REUTERS/ Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah (SUDAN - Tags: BUSINESS SOCIETY)