LATEST ECONOMIC BRIEFINGS
EMIRATES: DUBAI | 30.07.2010
Dubai’s capital markets appear to be in for significant change with plans unveiled to establish a second-tier stock exchange coming hot on the heels of Dubai Financial Market (DFM) – the government-administered domestic bourse – and the DIFC-based NASDAQ Dubai’s move to formally link their trading platforms. All of this is happening as speculation of a merger between the bourses of Dubai and Abu Dhabi mounts.
ALGERIE | 30.07.2010
Les efforts importants déployés par l’Algérie pour augmenter la production céréalière commencent à porter leurs fruits, dans la mesure où les récoltes record de l’année dernière et les rendements importants de 2010 aideront à réduire les coûts d’importation et à créer des emplois sûrs dans les zones rurales. Cependant, l’objectif de l’autonomie alimentaire fixé par le pays reste encore bien éloigné.
SENEGAL | 30.07.2010
Le Sénégal est en train de devenir un leader en matière de développement de l’énergie solaire comme énergie de l’avenir, et ce, à la fois à l’échelle nationale et continentale. Pour y parvenir, le pays veut augmenter l’utilisation des énergies renouvelables afin de surmonter ses propres manques et promouvoir un grand programme international ayant pour but de mettre fin à la dépendance de l’Afrique de l’Ouest à l’égard des combustibles fossiles.
BULGARIA | 30.07.2010
Though Bulgaria’s economy is likely to remain in the slow lane for the rest of this year, the country’s banking sector continues to show resilience in the face of global economic contraction. There are concerns, however, that increasing levels of bad loans carried by some lenders could add to pressures on the sector.
OMAN | 28.07.2010
A raft of new agreements recently signed by the Ministry of Transport and Communications will see a significant round of investment in Oman’s transport infrastructure. The 15 agreements, signed earlier in July, cover projects in land, sea and air infrastructure and are worth a total of OR136.9m ($355.9m).
COUNTRY COVERAGE
Health Report Card
Bahrain, Volume 117
24.08.2007
24.08.2007
As an exercise in deflating pessimism it couldn't have been better. The merchants of doom and gloom have been predicating their comments on declining oil reserves for years, with the implicit rider that the entire economy of the kingdom was destined to plummet down a slippery slope.
Now a report from the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has left the pessimists spluttering and bereft of ammunition for the slightest tale of woe. Oil revenues are up. Inflation is minimal (something Dubai and Qatar would love to be able to claim). Exports are up. The trade surplus is up. The heart and homeland of banking in the Gulf and beyond is riding the crest of a wave and - perhaps best of all - the vast majority of the new jobs that have been created in the past 12 months are in the private sector.
The report, a first of its kind issued on August 16, showed that the kingdom's gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 7.1% in 2006, driven by strong local and foreign investment, a record high current accounts surplus and an expanding private sector.
Though the rate of GDP growth was slightly down on the 2005 figure of 7.8%, it still compares well with other Gulf countries, most of which are much better supplied with energy resources. With inflation coming in at just 2.1% for the year, and price rises tipped by the bank to stay at around 3% for 2007, Bahrain is at the lower end of the scale on that front, rating well against the 10% predicted for nearby Qatar.
For the 12 months ending December 31, Bahrain accumulated a current account surplus of $1.9bn for 2006, while the trade surplus increased from $2.5bn to $3.8bn year-on-year.
"The current account surplus for 2006 is the highest surplus in the history of the Bahrain economy, " the report said.
Overall, exports rose by 15.3% for the year, with oil accounting for 77.7% of the total revenue of $11.4bn, with non-oil exports increasing by a more modest 4.6%.
To some extent, the growth in export earnings was offset by a 12.6% increase in imports, with oil being the single biggest ticket item, accounting for $4.8bn of the $8.9bn spent overseas.
Another sector that the government has pinned a lot of hopes on to drive the economy is banking, which had a boom year according to the CBB report. Bahrain's banks recorded a 33.5% increase on their consolidated balance sheets in 2006, rising to $187.4bn.
There was also a strong flow of foreign direct investment into Bahrain in 2006, with $2.9bn of overseas capital entering the country's economy.
According to Rasheed Al Maraj, CBB governor, this figure reflects the openness of the kingdom's economy and the success of the policies put in place by the state to attract foreign direct investments.
According to the CBB's report, more than 15,300 new jobs were created in 2006, boosting employment levels by 4.6%, with the total number of people in the workforce rising to 351,862.
Most satisfying for a government that has been actively encouraging the expansion of the Bahraini private sector is that only 1300 of these positions were added to the state's payroll. The 38,800 public servants accounted for 11% of the country's workforce in 2006, slightly down on the percentage for the previous year, in line with the government's policy of reducing the role of the state in the economy.
By contrast, almost 14,000 of the jobs created were in the private sector, with the workforce growing from 299,080 in 2005 to 313,039 in 2006, representing 89% of those employed in the kingdom.
Looking to the future, there are a few concerns for the government, most notably the fact that much of the success of last year was built on strong energy prices. Though there is no immediate prospect of these falling dramatically, fluctuations could eat into Bahrain's revenue in the coming years.
Now a report from the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has left the pessimists spluttering and bereft of ammunition for the slightest tale of woe. Oil revenues are up. Inflation is minimal (something Dubai and Qatar would love to be able to claim). Exports are up. The trade surplus is up. The heart and homeland of banking in the Gulf and beyond is riding the crest of a wave and - perhaps best of all - the vast majority of the new jobs that have been created in the past 12 months are in the private sector.
The report, a first of its kind issued on August 16, showed that the kingdom's gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 7.1% in 2006, driven by strong local and foreign investment, a record high current accounts surplus and an expanding private sector.
Though the rate of GDP growth was slightly down on the 2005 figure of 7.8%, it still compares well with other Gulf countries, most of which are much better supplied with energy resources. With inflation coming in at just 2.1% for the year, and price rises tipped by the bank to stay at around 3% for 2007, Bahrain is at the lower end of the scale on that front, rating well against the 10% predicted for nearby Qatar.
For the 12 months ending December 31, Bahrain accumulated a current account surplus of $1.9bn for 2006, while the trade surplus increased from $2.5bn to $3.8bn year-on-year.
"The current account surplus for 2006 is the highest surplus in the history of the Bahrain economy, " the report said.
Overall, exports rose by 15.3% for the year, with oil accounting for 77.7% of the total revenue of $11.4bn, with non-oil exports increasing by a more modest 4.6%.
To some extent, the growth in export earnings was offset by a 12.6% increase in imports, with oil being the single biggest ticket item, accounting for $4.8bn of the $8.9bn spent overseas.
Another sector that the government has pinned a lot of hopes on to drive the economy is banking, which had a boom year according to the CBB report. Bahrain's banks recorded a 33.5% increase on their consolidated balance sheets in 2006, rising to $187.4bn.
There was also a strong flow of foreign direct investment into Bahrain in 2006, with $2.9bn of overseas capital entering the country's economy.
According to Rasheed Al Maraj, CBB governor, this figure reflects the openness of the kingdom's economy and the success of the policies put in place by the state to attract foreign direct investments.
According to the CBB's report, more than 15,300 new jobs were created in 2006, boosting employment levels by 4.6%, with the total number of people in the workforce rising to 351,862.
Most satisfying for a government that has been actively encouraging the expansion of the Bahraini private sector is that only 1300 of these positions were added to the state's payroll. The 38,800 public servants accounted for 11% of the country's workforce in 2006, slightly down on the percentage for the previous year, in line with the government's policy of reducing the role of the state in the economy.
By contrast, almost 14,000 of the jobs created were in the private sector, with the workforce growing from 299,080 in 2005 to 313,039 in 2006, representing 89% of those employed in the kingdom.
Looking to the future, there are a few concerns for the government, most notably the fact that much of the success of last year was built on strong energy prices. Though there is no immediate prospect of these falling dramatically, fluctuations could eat into Bahrain's revenue in the coming years.
