Sustainability IMF lends Morocco $1.3bn to fight climate change The International Monetary Fund is to lend Morocco $1.3 billion to help the country guard against climate-related risks. The staff-level agreement was confirmed by Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the IMF, who said the funding would be used to build resilience against future climate disasters. “Climate change is already dramatically affecting us,” Georgieva said in […] September 20, 2023
Analysis Finance Morocco’s GDP forecast downgraded after quake Analysts have downgraded growth forecasts for Morocco in the wake of the deadly earthquake on September 8. More than 3,000 people were killed and many more are still missing. Homes and infrastructure in the Al Haouz province, southwest of the High Atlas mountains, were severely damaged. The disaster has prompted analysts at BMI, formerly Fitch […] September 19, 2023
Economy Tunisia repays 74% of debt to ease default fears Tunisia has repaid 74 percent of its cumulative external debt due this year, defying predictions that the country is heading towards a default. As of September 10, the amount of debt repaid was TND6.6 billion ($2 billion), compared with TND8.9 billion forecast for the year in the 2023 budget, as reported by Agence Tunis Afrique […] September 18, 2023
Finance UAE reports fiscal surplus in 2022 as revenue rises 32% The UAE’s revenues rose 31.8 percent in 2022, supporting an overall fiscal surplus last year, according to the country’s finance minister. Spending increased by 6.1 percent in 2022 year-on-year to stand at about AED427 billion ($116 billion), state-run Wam news agency said, citing finance minister Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. “Despite the […] September 18, 2023
Finance Singapore’s non-oil exports fall for 11th straight month Singapore’s annual exports fell for an 11th straight month in August as the trade-reliant economy continues to grapple with global headwinds on inflation and declining demand. Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports fell 20.1 percent year on year in August, official data showed on Monday, as both electronics and non-electronics exports to the US, Europe and China […] September 18, 2023
Finance S&P retains Saudi credit ratings on sustained reforms Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has affirmed the credit rating of Saudi Arabia’s domestic and foreign currency at “A/A-1” with a stable outlook, underpinned by the government’s sustained reform momentum in recent years. The reforms include measures to foster non-oil economic growth, supported by sovereign wealth fund-led non-oil investments. A widening of the non-oil tax base […] September 18, 2023
Finance Lebanon needs deep reforms on unstable outlook says IMF The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has welcomed new policies enacted by Lebanon’s central bank, but said deep reforms were still necessary as the crisis-stricken country’s “outlook remains difficult and unstable”. Lebanon’s nearly four-year economic meltdown has cost the local currency roughly 98 percent of its value and impoverished thousands, but authorities have been slow to […] September 17, 2023
Finance Erdogan says Turkey could ‘part ways’ with EU Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that Ankara could “part ways” with the European Union (EU) if necessary when asked about the contents of a European Parliament report on Turkey. The report, adopted earlier this week, said Turkey’s accession process with the 27-member bloc cannot resume under current circumstances and called for the EU […] September 17, 2023
Economy Egypt urged to devalue pound to progress IMF talks Financial analysts have called on Egypt to devalue the country’s pound to ensure progress in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund and stabilise the economy. In a call on Wednesday, Capital Economics’ Middle East and North Africa economist, James Swanston, said that a further devaluation is “simply needed”, suggesting that the Central Bank of Egypt […] September 15, 2023
Finance World Bank says Turkey’s economy on the right path The World Bank’s Turkey director said on Thursday that the economy was heading in the right direction but there was more to do, a week after the bank said it would double its exposure to Turkey to $35 billion over three years. In an interview with Reuters, Humberto Lopez said that of the additional $18 […] September 15, 2023
Video length: 06:36 VIDEO Trade Abraham Accords – 3 years on, $3 billion in trade An Israeli politician has described how the Abraham Accords, signed three years ago today, have “opened a floodgate to, hopefully, a new Middle East”. Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, deputy mayor of Jerusalem, tells AGBI in an exclusive video interview that the agreement signed at the White House on September 15 2020, is transforming Israel’s relations with the […] September 15, 2023
Economy Saudi inflation continues downward trend to hit 2% Saudi Arabia’s annual inflation eased to 2 percent in August from 2.3 percent the previous month, continuing a downward trend since a high of 3.4 percent in January. The main driver of inflation during August was housing and an increase in rents of 10.8 percent, including 22.5 percent for apartments, the General Authority for Statistics […] September 14, 2023
Economy Lebanon passes 2024 budget but debate rages on taxes and ‘dollarisation’ Lebanon’s caretaker cabinet passed a draft budget for 2024 on Tuesday with a focus on raising tax revenue and a move towards collecting fees and taxes in dollars. It was the first time since 2002 that a budget was approved within the constitutionally delineated time period of 31 October, which caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati […] September 13, 2023
Economy Floods wipe out quarter of Libyan city as death toll passes 5,000 Thousands of people were killed and at least 10,000 were missing in Libya in floods caused by a huge Mediterranean storm that burst dams, swept away buildings and wiped out as much as a quarter of the eastern coastal city of Derna. A senior medic in Derna told Reuters that more than 2,000 people were dead, while […] September 13, 2023
Economy Goldman Sachs ups Turkey’s deficit forecast to $43bn Goldman Sachs raised its forecast on Tuesday for Turkey’s 2023 current account deficit to $43 billion from a previous $38 billion, after it said it “deteriorated sharply” in July. “(I)ncorporating higher oil prices, we now expect Turkey’s current account deficit to reach $43 billion (previously $38 billion) for 2023 as a whole,” the Wall Street […] September 13, 2023
Finance Egypt’s forex reserves rise for 12 consecutive months Egypt’s foreign reserves rose to $34.92 billion in August 2023, recording an increase for 12 consecutive months. The reserves recorded a 5.4 percent increase year on year last month, Egypt Today newspaper reported, citing statistics from the central bank. The reserves stood at $34.87 billion in July, comprising the US dollar, Euro, Australian dollar, Japanese […] September 13, 2023
Economy Dubai businesses ease up on discounting as costs climb Dubai’s appetite for discounting waned in August as more companies opted to pass on increased costs to customers, a survey of non-oil businesses has found. The S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for August found that the impact of rising input costs on margins made companies “less inclined to offer discounts on their products and […] September 12, 2023
Economy Morocco survivors seek aid as earthquake toll passes 2,100 Survivors of Morocco’s deadliest earthquake in more than six decades struggled to find food, water and shelter on Sunday as the search for the missing continued in remote villages and the death toll of more than 2,100 seemed likely to rise further. Many people were spending a third night in the open after the 6.8 […] September 11, 2023
Finance Egypt’s inflation hits 37.4% on rising food prices Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation rate surged to a higher-than-expected record 37.4 percent in August from 36.5 percent in July, data from the country’s statistics agency Capmas showed on Sunday. Headline inflation in July was 36.5 percent and in June 35.7 percent, both also all-time highs. High money supply growth over the last two […] September 11, 2023
Finance Morocco earthquake kills more than 2,000 Moroccan earthquake survivors huddled for a night in the open on the High Atlas Mountains on Saturday, a day after the country’s deadliest quake in more than six decades killed more than 2,000 people and laid waste to villages. Neighbours were still searching for survivors buried on the slopes, where houses of mud brick, stone […] September 10, 2023
Finance Fitch upgrades Turkey’s outlook to ‘stable’ Global ratings agency Fitch on Friday upgraded Turkey’s foreign currency outlook to “stable” and affirmed its rating at “B,” saying its change in economic policy could reduce financial instability in the near term. Turkey has been struggling with inflation for a while and is now at the heels of a policy U-turn after President Tayyip […] September 10, 2023
Finance GCC and Japan resume free trade deal talks The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have restarted talks on a free trade pact with Japan, an Omani minister has confirmed. “We announced today the resumption of talks on the signing and reaching an agreement to free trade between Japan and the GCC countries,” Oman’s foreign minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi told a press conference this […] September 8, 2023
