The Middle East Economy

Having endured low oil prices for the entire year, countries across the resource-rich GCC saw their balance sheets constrained in 2015. In Oman’s case, lower revenues from the petroleum sector led to a nominal GDP contraction of 13.8% and the country’s largest deficit in more than a decade. Closing the fiscal gap is a top priority for the...

Parliament’s vote to raise corporate taxes in May 2016 is among the most significant financial developments in Oman in recent years. A low-tax environment is a key incentive to invest across the GCC, and the tension between drawing growth-promoting investment and maintaining state revenues has made such increases a contentious issue for...

A combination of factors has led to a rise in bond issuance from GCC members in 2016. Over the year, bonds and sukuk (Islamic bonds) issued in the GCC hit $66.5bn, more than doubling the $27.6bn total recorded in 2015, and rivalled only by the $60.9bn issued during 2009. A $17.5bn historic bond sale from Saudi Arabia accounted...

Located in the south-eastern quarter of the Arabian Peninsula, Oman is the only member of the GCC situated outside of the Gulf. Leveraging its strategic location, Oman has invested in infrastructure with the goal of becoming a global logistics centre. While the country is less hydrocarbons-rich than its GCC neighbours, diversification efforts...

The global economy is passing through an unhealthy period which, it is feared, may get worse. Due to the economic recession which is being felt by energy-consuming countries, the demand for energy from these countries has declined. Oil, in addition to being a finite resource, is exposed to the fluctuations and instability of the market. It is...