Algeria continues to face important challenges posed by the fall in oil prices four years ago. Despite a sizeable fiscal consolidation in 2017, the fiscal and current account deficits remain large. Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth slowed sharply, mainly driven by a contraction in hydrocarbon production, although growth in the non-hydrocarbon sector was stable….
The UAE has outperformed various advanced economies such as Sweden, Norway and Canada when its comes to competitiveness and has jumped 21 ranks between the years 2011 and 2018, according to a latest report. According to the latest edition of the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2018, published by the Swiss-based Insatiate of Management Development (IMD), the…
Small island nation Bahrain is spearheading its investment in the technology sector in a bid to position itself as a major technology and innovation hub in the region. During the past few months, many new initiatives have been taken by the government to boost the technology domain while some of the top IT giants have…
In its economic diversification strategy, the Algerian government gives the industrial sector a very high priority, particularly with regard to the mining industry. According to the figures released by the National Agency of Investment Development (ANDI), the overall industrial domain benefited from 88.32 percent of the domestic and foreign investment received in this sector during…
Plummeting GDPs, fluctuating oil prices, a drying up of liquidity, weaker market sentiments, frequent rising or falling prices due to inflation or deflation… these are some of the predicaments that Middle East region is jostling with for the last over a decade. So are these the signs of another economic meltdown looming over the head…
Middle East investors have always been interested in the real estate market of the British city of London but lately the investment has seen a dramatic upsurge. According to market reports, billions have been poured in by regional investors in commercial as well as luxury residential properties in London and other cities of the UK,…
Steadfast on the path of economic diversification and structural reforms, countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) seem to have finally found the equilibrium to adjust to the “new reality” of lower oil prices. This is reflected in the just released outlook for the region in 2018 by various international organizations and analysts….
It was more about fiscal consolidation than being adventurous in 2017 for the banking sector in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which has felt the ripples of continued low oil prices most. Though banks warded off liquidity concerns by keeping capital buffers intact and adopting more stringent lending criteria, the loan growth continues to be…
With VAT of five percent becoming effective across the UAE and Saudi Arabia on January 1st, and the rest of the GCC following suit later in 2018, questions are being asked about what this means for the region’s mobile phone market. International Data Corporation (IDC) monitors this space on a continuous basis through its Quarterly Mobile…
Algeria provides a spectacular case study of a country with tumultuous past, challenges in the present and a fair chance of resolving its conflicts and scripting a bright future. Historians could be forgiven for finding it difficult to explain the country’s military history or to suggest how much real peace it has enjoyed over the…
