Economy

Saudi king: Increased spending by $10 billion

Saudi Arabia has increased its domestic spending to weather the global financial crisis, but has not sold any of its sovereign investments to boost liquidity, the ruler of the world's largest oil producing nation said in an interview. Abdullah's comments come as Saudi Arabia - the Arab world's largest economy - is seeing economic growth slide because of fallout from the global meltdown. Analysts and economists, however, expect the country, flush with cash from oil's earlier price spike last year, to be better able than other nations to cope with the current crisis.

Egypt's economic growth may reach 4.5 pct in Q2 2009

Egypt's economic growth may reach an annualised rate of 4.5 percent in the second quarter of 2009, but it was still too early to say the economy had turned a corner, Egypt's finance minister said. Egypt's growth had already risen from 4.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 to 4.3 percent in the first quarter of this year, he said.

BD450m loans on the way

Bahrain's government will receive loans totalling BD450 million from international and local banks to help cover its budget deficit for this year. The Shura Council gave the green light to the Finance Ministry to begin loan formalities, with the government being authorised to take BD200m from international banks and BD250m from local banks. Parliament urgently approved the loan request to ensure that the government doesn't face any setbacks in fulfilling its programmes, services and activities.

Kuwait inflation at 14-month low

Inflation in Kuwait eased to 6.8 percent in January - its lowest level in 14 months - after hitting record double-digit highs last year, official data showed. The annual rise in prices in the state ballooned to 10.6 percent in 2008, almost double the 5.5 percent posted the previous year. The consumer prices index for January 2009 rose to 135.0 points from 126.4 in the year earlier month, according to figures posted on the Central Bank of Kuwait website.

IMF: Oil price rise signals improvement in global economy

The recent rise in oil prices signals a feeling that the sharpest period of global economic decline "is over", a senior International Monetary Fund (IMF) official told a gathering of Group of Eight (G8) energy ministers in Rome. Oil prices in recent weeks have risen to around 60 dollars a barrel "reflecting a general improvement," including that growth in China "may be picking up," IMF First Deputy Managing Director, John Lipsky, said. He also said that the price rise was built "on expectations that the contraction in oil demand may bottom out soon."

Qatar: Transport for the Future

Thanks to its strong fiscal reserves, continued flow of revenue from gas exports and the financial sector's relatively low levels of exposure to the markets in the US or Europe, Qatar is better placed than most of its neighbours to weather the current economic downturn. According to the IMF's latest projections, issued in early May, the Qatari economy will expand by around 17% this year, compared to the predicted 2.6% for the whole Middle East and North African region.

Gulf GDP will hit $1trn by 2020

Secretary-General of the Gulf Co-Operation Council Abdurrahman Al-Attiyah expressed conviction that the GGC bloc will emerge as the 8th-biggest economic congregation in the world wielding $1 trillion of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2020. Speaking at the Euromoney 2009 conference in Riyadh, the top Gulf official underlined that GCC member-states moved swiftly to counter the implications of the global financial downturn and installed measures to curb its negative impact and preserve high growth rates.

Dubai revises '09 GDP growth outlook to 2 pct

Dubai has revised down its economic growth expectation for 2009 to between 1.5 and 2 percent, a newspaper reported, citing comments of the head of Dubai's Department of Economic Development (DED). "He said the department expects Dubai annual growth at between 1.5 and 2 percent if there are no unforeseen events," daily Al-Bayan reported, citing DED Director-General Sami al-Qamzi. At the start of the financial crisis growth expectations for Dubai stood at 4 percent, but this was lowered to 2 percent after a review in light of the current economic situation, Qamzi told al-Bayan.

GCC economies seen to grow 1.5%

The GCC economy, with an estimated size of $1.1 trillion, is likely to see significantly slow growth of about 1.5 percent in 2009 as low hydrocarbon prices will impact the region, according to StanChart Middle East report. "In 2009, we estimate that growth will slow significantly to 1.5 percent for the GCC region as a whole. We expect 0.5 percent growth in the UAE, 1 percent in Saudi Arabia, 2 percent in Oman and Bahrain and zero percent in Kuwait. The main exception will be Qatar, which we expect to grow by 8.5 percent, thanks to an increase of about 50 percent in its liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports," it was stated in the report.

Saudi April inflation at 19-month low of 5.2 pct

Saudi Arabia's annual inflation rate fell for a sixth month running to a 19-month low of 5.21 percent in April, with official data showing food price rises continued to decline while pressures from rents remained steep. Saudi Arabia's cost of living index stood at 121.2 points on April 30 compared with 115.2 points a year earlier, Saudi Arabia's Central Department of Statistics said on its website. That compared with inflation of 6 percent in March and was the lowest inflation rate since September 2007.

Despite losses, GCC government assets remain a valuable buffer against the global downturn

While the credit crunch has hit the liabilities side of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries' balance sheets, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services believes the fall in global asset valuations, including in domestic GCC capital and real estate markets, has had a significant and detrimental effect on the value of their assets, resulting in lower net asset positions and higher contingent liabilities for GCC sovereigns.

Egyptian consumer inflation hits 12.2 pct in April

The annual consumer inflation rate in Egypt rose from 11.6 percent in March to 12.2 percent nationwide in April due to the high prices of food, drink, culture, entertainment and cigarettes, Al Ahram Daily reported. Moreover, the monthly consumer inflation rose from 1.4 percent in March to 1.6 percent in April due to the high prices of vegetables, fruits and fish, the daily quoted Chief of Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics Abou Baker El-gendi as saying.

Oman's Economic Position 'Solid and Stable'

His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said has described Oman's economic and financial position as "solid and stable." He added the government had great expectations on mega industrial and infrastructure projects being carried out in the regions of Al Duqm and Batinah. Sultan Qaboos noted that the two regions would be linked with a railroad to facilitate transport between them, and between GCC states in the future.