The Middle East Economy

After recording consecutive declines for seven years, the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Saudi Arabia returned to growth in 2015, increasing by 1.6% to $8.1bn, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development. The declining trend in FDI inflows in recent years has represented a reversal of the surge in inward FDI that...

The question of Saudi Arabia’s economic relationships with global markets has become a prominent one in 2016. Historically, the Kingdom has benefitted greatly from its ability to ship its hydrocarbons resources to consumers across the world, while its strong economic growth over recent decades has meant that it has also become a significant...

While economic debate in 2015 centred on low oil prices and the challenge they posed to the economy, by 2016 the focus of public discourse had shifted to how these hurdles might be overcome. In January the government set the tone for the discussion: after years of only modest reform it would radically reconfigure the Saudi economy to cope with...

The drop in global energy prices from mid-2014 has had a significant impact on the member states of the GCC, which together produce 20% of the world’s crude oil. Hydrocarbons are the basis for the region’s economies, and the drop in oil revenues has driven all six GCC nations into budget deficits. While the large reserves built up during the...

Home to an estimated 15.7% of the world’s proven oil reserves and the single largest economy in the MENA region, Saudi Arabia is a key player not only in the region but also globally. Since the establishment of Saudi Arabia in September 1932, the Kingdom has poured its considerable resources into a series of large-scale economic development,...