GCC real estate sector to grow with projects worth $1.68 trillion in 2024
The real estate sector in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries has witnessed prosperous growth since the beginning of 2024. The total value of real estate projects currently planned or under construction stands at an estimated $1.68 trillion, up from $1.38 trillion in 2023, the CBRE Group stated in its latest report. The initiatives and strategies the GCC governments have implemented are major drivers for real estate growth and increased demand from both local and international investors.
The latest CBRE report revealed that the UAE and Saudi Arabia are leading the growth of the sector in the region. Both countries’ investment and business initiatives led to an increase in real estate occupancy and demand from different unit types.
Ministry driving UAE’s industrial sector and economy to new highs
The UAE has witnessed a transformative surge in its industrial landscape, bolstered by strategic initiatives and robust legislative reforms, since the establishment of the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology in 2020, Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, has said.
The Arab world’s second-largest economy has recorded a 49 percent increase in the industrial sector’s contribution to the gross domestic product, reaching Dh197 billion ($53.6 billion), since the creation of the ministry, while industrial exports have surged 60 percent to Dh187 billion, Dr Al Jaber told state-owned news agency Wam.
Industrial productivity has increased by 18 percent compared to 2020 and the UAE was ranked first regionally and 29th globally last year in a UN agency’s competitive industrial performance index, climbing seven spots since 2020.
The surge is underpinned by various programmes such as the National In-Country Value (ICV) programme, through which more than Dh237 billion being spent outside the UAE was redirected into the national economy, Dr Al Jaber said.
Switzerland, UAE, China lead double digit imports growth in Feb
A jump in imports from Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and China led to a double-digit increase in India’s imports in February, propelling them to a 17-month high.
After growth in merchandise imports remained in negative territory for most of 2023, inbound shipments have turned positive for two consecutive months since January. While the UAE ($8.2 billion) crossed China ($8.1 billion) as the top source of imports in February, Switzerland (140 percent) topped the list in terms of annual growth, likely due to a jump in gold imports.
In February, imports from Russia (-4.8 percent) contracted due to lower imports of crude oil, while inbound shipments from USA (-7.35 percent) and South Korea (-3.3 percent) also shrank during the month.
S&P affirms Saudi Arabia’s stable outlook on economic and social reforms
S&P Global Ratings has affirmed Saudi Arabia’s rating at “A/A-1” with a stable outlook, on the expectation that economic and social reforms will continue to improve the country’s economic resilience and wealth levels.
The A/A-1 rating indicates the country’s strong capacity to meet its financial commitments.
“The stable outlook reflects that we expect the government’s wide-ranging reforms will continue to underpin the development of the non-oil sector and support non-oil growth and fiscal receipts,” the rating agency said on Friday.
“This is balanced against the cyclicality of a still hydrocarbon-focused economy, and fiscal pressures tied to the country’s transformation plan and expanding population.”
Qatar ranks as the ‘least miserable country’ in MENA region
Qatar has ranked as the least miserable country in the Middle East and North Africa region and the fourth least miserable globally in Hanke’s 2023 Annual Misery Index.
The annual index is published by Steve Hanke, an American economist and professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University.
The rankings are carried out based on multiple factors including inflation, lending rate and the level of unemployment in each country.
Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Oman — the five least miserable in the MENA region — attributed the lending rate as the major contributing factor.
In 2021, Qatar ranked first in the Middle East and sixth worldwide in a list identifying the best countries to live and work in for expatriates by the HSBC Expat Explorer Survey 2020.
Numerous international organisations, including the International Monetary Fund, have provided a positive economic outlook for Qatar.
The IMF has projected that Qatar’s gross domestic product would witness a 2.2 percent increase this year.
On Wednesday, Fitch Ratings upgraded Qatar’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating to third highest. The rating came as Qatar expanded its liquified natural gas (LNG) fields.
Kuwaiti banks reap interest rate benefits even as economy stalls
A weaker aggregate economy has done little to dent the 2023 performance of Kuwait’s banks, which have reaped the benefits of higher interest rates to post strong profitability figures.
Although gross domestic product contracted by 0.7 percent in 2023 on the back of lower oil prices and production, the sector-wide net profits of nine of the country’s largest domestic lenders increased by 28.7 percent to Kd1.5bn ($4.9bn), according to data compiled by Kamco Invest.
This was underscored by a jump in net interest income for these institutions, including the National Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait Finance House, Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait, Gulf Bank, Boubyan Bank and Commercial Bank of Kuwait, which grew to Kd2.6bn in 2023, up from Kd2.3bn in 2022, according to Kamco Invest’s head of investment strategy and research Junaid Ansari.