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Saudi Arabia Prioritizes Investment Despite Budget Deficits
...rging by $34.5bn to a five-year high of $65.3bn, preliminary Ministry of Finance figures show (see table). This is more than double the originally budgeted figure of $26.9bn. Having run just one budget surplus since 2014, government debt levels have been on the rise in recent years. From just $38bn in...
Volume: 68Issue: 49Published at Fri, 05 Dec 2025 -
Egypt To List Military-Owned Companies for Sale In Renewed Privatization Drive
...power in 2014. And just last week, the military-owned Mostakbal Misr Agency for Sustainable Development took over Egypt’s import of strategic commodities, according to a letter seen by Reuters. The agency replaces the state-owned General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), which has fo...
Volume: 67Issue: 50Published at Fri, 13 Dec 2024 -
Oman Achieves First Budget Surplus Since 2008
...n-hydrocarbon revenues of $8.36bn are also a record. Expenditure edged up this year to an estimated $33.99bn, from $32.25bn in 2021. But this was due to a $1.8bn increase in capital expenditure rather than an increase in subsidies or public sector wage bills. After ballooning to $39.4bn in 2014, Om...
Volume: 65Issue: 51/52Published at Fri, 23 Dec 2022 -
Saudi Budgets For 2022 Surplus: First In Nine Years
...ices began to tumble in the second half of 2014 (see chart 1). Since then, the kingdom has notched up eight consecutive deficits for a cumulative $460bn, if the kingdom’s initial estimates for this year are accurate. For 2021, the government’s latest expectations are that it will accrue a $22.7bn de...
Volume: 64Issue: 50Published at Fri, 17 Dec 2021 -
Qatar Unveils Overly Conservative 2022 Budget
...tari monthly export revenues exceeded $8bn for the first time since December 2014 and with pricing for Qatar’s term LNG sales incorporating a lagging oil-price linkage, Doha can look forward to strong early-2022 revenues. WORLD CUP SPENDING BOOST On the expenditure side of the ledger, Qa...
Volume: 64Issue: 49Published at Fri, 10 Dec 2021 -
Kuwait’s Economy: Major Surgery Needed
...ntral to Kuwait’s travails is a dependence on oil revenues that is high even by regional standards. Oil revenues account for nearly 90% of government revenues, and Kuwait has failed to increase non-oil revenues even since oil prices dropped in 2014. The amended 2020-21 budget (year ending 31 March 2021) en...
Volume: 63Issue: 52Published at Thu, 24 Dec 2020 -
Libya Devalues Currency
...18 in a bid to narrow the gap, effectively creating a third rate (MEES, 29 March 2019). Reflecting Libya’s political division, the CBL’s eastern and western branches have operated independently since October 2014. The board’s meeting comes on the back of a recent UN-led peace effort aimed at en...
Volume: 63Issue: 51Published at Fri, 18 Dec 2020 -
Saudi Arabia Moves Towards 50:50 Oil, Non-Oil Revenue Split
...so drawing down heavily on its reserves at the central bank (SAMA). Having peaked at $354bn in 2014, these dropped to just $125bn in 2019 and are projected to fall to just $92bn by the end of this year (see chart 3). That implies a substantial Q4 drawdown given that the latest SAMA statistics show go...
Volume: 63Issue: 51Published at Fri, 18 Dec 2020 -
Egypt: Current Account Deficit Widens Despite Strengthening Growth
...ficit fell in dollar terms in 2016-17, as share of GDP the deficit peaked at 6.1% that year. Whilst Egypt’s current account notched up successive record deficits of $12.1bn and $19.8bn in 2014-15 and 2015-16, President Sisi’s first two full years in power, the country’s finances were bailed out by re...
Volume: 62Issue: 49Published at Fri, 06 Dec 2019 -
Fitch ‘Junks’ Oman
...one rung above junk (MEES, 23 March), whilst S&P on 9 November affirmed Oman at BB with a stable outlook. Oman has seen several downgrades since oil prices dived in the second half of 2014. Despite this year’s oil price recovery, Oman has been unable to improve its deficit-to-GDP ratio. This ha...
Volume: 61Issue: 51-52Published at Fri, 21 Dec 2018 -
Saudi Reveals Optimistic 2019 Budget But Still Expects To Load Up On Debt
...is is a year-on-year increase of $11.2bn but is still well down on the August 2014 peak of $746bn. Clearly there is considerable scope for the kingdom to again turn to its reserves to finance its deficits, but with Riyadh not planning on balancing the budget before 2023, it can’t lean too heavily on th...
Volume: 61Issue: 51-52Published at Fri, 21 Dec 2018 -
Qatar: New 2.5GW Plant Powers Economic Growth
...erage electricity demand growth of around 10% a year during 2014-16, according to Kahramaa data. With thousands of visitors set to descend on Qatar for the 2022 World Cup, this could mean new peak demand records. With that in mind, Qatar still has major power projects due online in the near te...
Volume: 61Issue: 50Published at Fri, 14 Dec 2018 -
Algeria Set For $5bn 2018 Trade Deficit: As Good As It Gets?
...RTHER RISE IN OIL PRICES WILL BE NEEDED FOR 2019 TO SEE THE FIRST SURPLUS SINCE 2014 *2018 FIGURES ARE JAN-OCT PRO-RATED EXCEPT OIL PRICE WHICH PRESUMES LOWER NOV-DEC VALUES IN LINE WITH LATEST BRENT FUTURES. SOURCE: ALGERIA CUSTOMS, OPEC, MEES CALCULATIONS. PRAYING FOR HIGHER PR...
Volume: 61Issue: 49Published at Fri, 07 Dec 2018 -
Saudi 2018 Budget Delays Austerity To Jump-Start Flat Economy
...ending set to hit the highest level since 2014, in a bid to revive its sluggish economy. Despite running up consecutive multi-billion-dollar deficits since 2014, the kingdom still has relatively low levels of debt, and is prioritizing ending its recession over balancing the budget in the near term. Th...
Volume: 60Issue: 51/52Published at Fri, 22 Dec 2017 -
Saudi Powers Ahead With Reform Plans
...oks set to hit many Saudi households hard in the pocket and could be sufficient to make many think more carefully about electricity use. According to UK consultant Enerdata, Saudi household electricity consumption averaged 24,030kWh (2,002kWh/month) in 2014. This is roughly double US consumption, wh...
Volume: 60Issue: 50Published at Fri, 15 Dec 2017 -
Tunisia Oil Output Rebound From Protests, Fundamental Problems Remain
...hers decline to take any decisions on permits and the like for fear of being branded corrupt (MEES, 31 October). But, in an echo of the situation facing smaller firms in Egypt (MEES, 1 December), the bigger fall came with the collapse in oil prices in the second half of 2014. Many of the minnows in Tu...
Volume: 60Issue: 49Published at Fri, 08 Dec 2017 -
Qatar Slashes 2017 Budget Deficit But Maintains Spending At High Levels
....5bn) from QR203bn in 2016, with revenue up 14.5% to QR170bn ($46.7bn) from QR143bn ($39.3bn). Minister of Finance Ali al-EImadi emphasized the importance of maximizing efficiency in current spending, as oil, and crucially LNG, prices are set to remain well below 2014 levels next year. But Qatar re...
Volume: 59Issue: 51/52Published at Fri, 23 Dec 2016 -
Iraq Budgets For Higher Revenue In 2017 As Oil Prices Rise
...vernment salaries. But this is contingent on the resuscitation of a December 2014 agreement, under which the KRG is supposed to provide state oil marketer Somo with 300,000 b/d from the KRG-controlled Kirkuk fields and 250,000 b/d from fields in the ‘KRG proper’, or the creation of a new agreement. Neither ap...
Volume: 59Issue: 50Published at Fri, 16 Dec 2016 -
Gulf Finance: Rise Of The Renminbi
...counted for 74% of direct payments to China and Hong Kong by value, an increase of 52% compared to 2014, according to data provided by international transactions network Swift. Meanwhile, in Qatar, the RMB was used for 60% of all payments, a huge rise of 247% compared to 2014. In absolute terms, the US...
Volume: 59Issue: 50Published at Fri, 16 Dec 2016 -
Crunch Time For GCC Fiscal Reforms
...e fiscal balance swung into deficit of 2.3% of GDP in 2014 and is expected to worsen to an estimated 22.9% of GDP in 2015, piling extra pressure on the monetary authorities to curb future increases. KUWAIT The pressure on Kuwait’s fiscal and external positions remains contained and ma...
Volume: 58Issue: 52Published at Wed, 23 Dec 2015