1. Tunisia’s Debt-Fueled Revolution Marks 10 Years

    ...tings agency Moody’s puts the figure closer to -10%. But even 2019’s growth of 1% was nowhere near levels needed to create enough jobs and jolt the economy. Tunisia’s biggest problem has been a series of weak governments – some 12 in total since 2011 – that have been unable to carry out structural re...

    Volume: 63
    Issue: 51
    Published at Fri, 18 Dec 2020
  2. Libya: Oil Still Flowing But Revenues In Limbo

    ...itiative, tells MEES. PAYBACK TIME?         “Kabir is fighting all of this because he knows that the reason he is one of the most powerful men in Libya today is because he controls all of the hard currency accounts in Libya,” he adds. Some $190bn in oil revenues have passed through CBL coffers since 2011...

    Volume: 63
    Issue: 48
    Published at Fri, 27 Nov 2020
  3. Oman To Introduce Income Tax: Will Rest Of GCC Follow?

    ...er $100/B prior to late 2014, Oman was still unable to balance the budget as Muscat looked to avoid contagion from the 2011 ‘Arab Spring’ with 2012-14 spending blowouts. While the government is seemingly unable to reduce spending on salaries, the looming implementation of 5% VAT will have a si...

    Volume: 63
    Issue: 46
    Published at Fri, 13 Nov 2020
  4. Egypt’s Debts To IOCs Again On The Rise

    ...rther investment as it did in the years following the 2011 revolution. Egypt has turned again to the IMF for $8bn, bagging $2.8bn via a rapid financing instrument (RFI) and the initial $2bn of a hastily-arranged $5.2bn Stand-by Arrangement (MEES, 12 June). This saw the country’s foreign reserves ri...

    Volume: 63
    Issue: 32
    Published at Fri, 07 Aug 2020
  5. Wanted: A Stable Tunisian Government

    ...rked the end of Tunisia’s 11th government since the 2011 revolution. And there is little hope the next one will prove more durable, never mind effective. October parliamentary elections produced a deeply fractured 217-member assembly that took almost five months to agree on a government (MEES, 21 Fe...

    Volume: 63
    Issue: 30
    Published at Fri, 24 Jul 2020
  6. Algerian Gas To Italy & Spain Sees First Half Crash

    ...rst half, the lowest figure since Medgaz’ 2011 start up. Algeria is uneasy with the fact that the Moroccan section of the GME reverts to Rabat’s control next year. In anticipation of this, state-oil giant Sonatrach purchased a controlling stake in the Medgaz pipeline earlier this year and is wo...

    Volume: 63
    Issue: 29
    Published at Fri, 17 Jul 2020
  7. Oman Feels The Pain As Export Revenues Plummet

    ...onomic outlook. A succession of six sizeable annual deficits since the 2014 price crash has gradually pushed-up Oman’s debt levels, and another substantial rise this year seems inescapable (see chart 2). Current spending jumped in 2011 as Oman sought to ride out ‘Arab Spring’ protests through higher pu...

    Volume: 63
    Issue: 26
    Published at Fri, 26 Jun 2020
  8. Saudi Arabia Taps Foreign Reserves To Fund Overseas Investments

    ...BRUARY 2011 IN APRIL ($BN) SOURCE: SAMA, MEES....

    Volume: 63
    Issue: 23
    Published at Fri, 05 Jun 2020
  9. Qatar Slumps Into Recession

    ...ril). LNG: PAINFUL PRICES               Qatar’s expansion to 77mn t/y liquefaction capacity was completed in 2011 (MEES, 8 April 2011) and drove Qatar’s GDP ever-upwards, especially while oil-linked LNG prices were booming. Mining and quarrying accounted for 58% of the economy in 2011, before the sh...

    Volume: 63
    Issue: 19
    Published at Fri, 08 May 2020
  10. Saudi Arabia Posts $9bn Q1 Deficit, Worse To Come

    ...e $32bn that Finance Minister Muhammad al-Jadaan just last week stated that the government would use (MEES, 24 April). Despite the latest steep fall in reserves, they still stood at a massive $465bn in March. And while this was their lowest level since March 2011, it still represents more than th...

    Volume: 63
    Issue: 18
    Published at Fri, 01 May 2020
  11. Saudi Arabia Announces Borrowing, Reserves Draw-down Plan

    ...llows through on Mr Jadaan’s statement, then reserves would drop to around $468bn. The lowest figure since early 2011, but comfortably above the sub-$400bn levels of 2009. Meanwhile, the balance between borrowing and tapping reserves mentioned by Mr Jadaan highlights the extent to which Saudi Ar...

    Volume: 63
    Issue: 17
    Published at Fri, 24 Apr 2020
  12. Egypt Looks To Cut Deficit Amid Uncertainty

    ...me 80% of tourists have cancelled their planned holidays to Egypt this year. Tourism contributes around 12% of Egypt’s GDP and last year posted a record $13.03bn in revenues. The tourism sector had only just recovered from the aftermath of the Arab Spring in 2011 and a spate of terrorist attacks in...

    Volume: 63
    Issue: 14
    Published at Fri, 03 Apr 2020
  13. Coronavirus Set To Crush North Africa’s Tourism Sector

    ...direct effects on supply chains and investment are factored in (see table). Egypt’s tourism sector was already struggling to recover from the chaos of the 2011 ‘Arab Spring’ when in 2015 disaster struck. Islamic State terrorists blew up a Russian passenger jet over the Sinai, killing all 224 on bo...

    Volume: 63
    Issue: 12
    Published at Fri, 20 Mar 2020
  14. Qatar 2019 Trade: Europe No Panacea As Revenues Fall Despite LNG Volume Surge

    ...ipments of condensate are also imported from Qatar for instance – it is the key one. The biggest increase in volumes appears to have been to the UK. Imports of LNG from Qatar peaked at 21.6mn tons in 2011, but steadily dropped in the ensuing years and reached a 10-year low of 2.9mn tons in 2018. Pr...

    Volume: 63
    Issue: 08
    Published at Fri, 21 Feb 2020
  15. Jordan Budgets For Big 2020 Spend

    ...ectricity is heavily subsidized, Nepco amassed $1bn+ annual deficits from 2011-2014 when high oil prices combined with a shift to costly oil products as Egyptian gas imports dried up (MEES, 31 May 2019). The situation has since improved, but the debts remain. Lucky for Amman, the recent start up of gas im...

    Volume: 63
    Issue: 04
    Published at Fri, 24 Jan 2020
  16. Tunisia’s Pending Economic Transformation

    ...t, Tunisia will head to the polls once again with no guarantee of a decisive result. Many Tunisians have lost hope in the current political system. The 2011 Jasmine Revolution successfully brought about a measure of democracy, but has so far failed to deliver economic prosperity. In fact, plenty of...

    Volume: 63
    Issue: 03
    Published at Fri, 17 Jan 2020