Competition between Gulf economies benefits whole region
Gulf Economies are benefiting from competition and continue to show signs of growth because of competitiveness in the Middle East region, the UAE economy minister told Arab News on Wednesday.
Abdulla bin Touq Al-Marri, who was speaking on a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, said that competition within the Gulf economies was a good thing, and that their trajectories were on an upward path, even in the face of current high interest rates and inflation.
Non-oil sector expected to drive Oman’s economic growth in 2024
With Oil Sector growth set to be dampened once again by constraints on crude production, it will be the non-oil sector that drives economic expansion in Oman this year, according to a leading UAE bank.
Emirates NBD forecasts real GDP growth of 1.7 percent in Oman this year, reflecting a modest acceleration from the 1.5 percent estimated for 2023.
“Once again, it will be the non-oil sector that drives the expansion, as we expect flat growth in the oil sector this year after an estimated contraction in 2023. Even with another year of constrained oil output, we anticipate an ongoing improvement in the fiscal position, with the debt load continuing to ease from the elevated levels seen several years ago,” Daniel Richards, Emirates NBD’s MENA economist, wrote in a research note.
Emirates NBD forecasts Oman’s non-oil growth at 2.5 percent for 2024, in line with the bank’s estimate for last year and moderately stronger than the average over the decade to 2022 (2.2 percent per annum). Over the first three quarters of 2023, non-oil sector growth averaged 2.7 percent year-on-year.
Qatar in vital phase of joining the ranks of developed world
Qatar has embarked on the vital phase towards moving to the ranks of developed countries by launching the Third National Development Strategy (NDS3) 2024-2030, last Wednesday. This is the final stage on the path to achieving the goals of the Qatar National Vision 2030, launched in 2008. The aim is to transform Qatar into an advanced state capable of achieving sustainable development and ensuring the continuation of a decent life for its people for generations to come, through four basic pillars – human, social, economic, and environmental development.
NDS3 aims to strengthen Qatar’s ability to face challenges and aims to accelerate economic growth at an average annual growth rate of 4 percent until 2030 by expanding the production of gas, supporting the sectors contributing to economic diversification and creating specialised economic clusters. It is envisaged to make the country one of the top 10 destinations in the world for investors and companies to create specialised economic clusters and build an innovation system that relies on the private sector.
Saudi FDI inflows rise 29pc
As a result of ongoing economic reforms, Saudi Arabia recorded a 29.13 percent surge in foreign direct investment inflows in the third quarter of 2023, compared to the previous three months.
FDI inflows, which refer to the total amount of capital and investment into Saudi Arabia from foreign investors or entities, totaled SR7.99 billion ($2.13 billion), a rise from SR6.2 billion recorded in the previous quarter, data from the Saudi Central Bank, also known as SAMA, showed.
By contrast, the Kingdom’s total investment in foreign countries dipped by 8 percent during the same period and amounted to SR17.21 billion.
How the UAE is making a splash in Indonesia’s clean energy sector
In November of last year, Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo officially inaugurated the Cirata solar farm in West Java. Built on a reservoir using thousands of floating photovoltaic (PV) panels, the Cirata facility has a generating capacity of 145 MW which makes it the largest floating solar farm in Southeast Asia.
It also represents an important proof of concept which is that Indonesia is, indeed, capable of building new solar capacity at utility scale when it wants to. Despite years of efforts aimed at jump-starting investment in solar, uptake has been incredibly slow. Could Cirata auger a breakthrough and if so, how?
Built at a cost of around IDR 1.7 trillion (a little over $100 million), Cirata is a joint venture between Indonesia’s state-owned electric utility PLN, and a renewable energy firm from the United Arab Emirates called Masdar. Masdar is the minority shareholder, holding 49 percent of the equity. The remaining 51 is held by PLN through a subsidiary.
Morocco joins UAE, Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain in integrated industrial coalition
Morocco has officially joined the Integrated Industrial Coalition for Sustainable Economic Development, comprising the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, and Bahrain.
The Formal agreement welcoming Morocco as a new member was signed on Thursday in Manama during the fourth Ministerial High-Level Meeting, announced the Moroccan Ministry of Industry and Trade in a press release.
Initiated in Abu Dhabi in May 2022, the Integrated Industrial Coalition serves as a collaborative framework among member countries to support sustainable economic development.
Kuwait Amir: Gov’t has many important files to attend, honor citizens’ aspirations
His Highness the Amir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah said Wednesday the new government should, among other matters, focus on many files like appointment of executive officials, equality in appointments, diversifying income, protecting public funds and boost Kuwait’s foreign policy.
His Highness the Amir also instructed the ministers to abide by the constitution, apply the law on all, boost national security, fight corruption and nepotism as well as promote justice and equality in all ministries and institutions. “There are many files that require attention and planning,” he said.