Oliver Cornock: ALL BLOG POSTS
Despite facing a set of extraordinary external and internal challenges over the past several years, the Jordanian economy remained resilient in 2015, with real GDP growth reaching 2.4% that year. The government is working with the IMF to implement fiscal reform policies, supported by low global oil prices, to reduce the kingdom’s fuel import bill, which should have seen GDP growth and major macroeconomic indicators post a moderate improvement in 2016.
On Thursday's (22/12/16) newspaper review with BBC World News, OBG Editor-in-Chief, Oliver Cornock discusses the short-term pain and long-term gain of the Saudi budget announcement, and the enormity of its impact on the global economy. The review also discusses Italy’s struggling banking sector following the cabinet’s approval of the state-bailout for Banco Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the third largest Italian commercial and retail bank by total assets.
Like other countries in the GCC, Saudi Arabia is undergoing a period of deep economic transformation aimed at easing the pressure on government revenues imposed by a sustained period of low oil prices, while also increasing the contribution of non-oil industries to the national economy. To this end, the government has launched Vision 2030, a long-term policy plan focused on modernising the public sector, developing the country’s human capital and opening up to greater foreign investment.