Middle East: Arab banks lay regional plans
Bahrain: diversifying away from oil
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait: closed-economy cousins
Although the federal government of the United Arab Emirates predicts 3.5% GDP growth this year most economic commentators expect growth of between 0% and 0.5%. Last year GDP dropped by some 5.5%.
Directly, oil constitutes about a third of GDP so the economy has suffered less from the drop in crude prices than elsewhere in the region. However, oil service companies in Dubai are now beginning to report a slowdown, suggesting that more pain is to come.
The federal budget will be inflationary, increasing spending over 1998's $5.8 billion. Revenue is projected to equal the 1998 figure, which seems optimistic. UAE statistics, covering seven emirates, are in any case notoriously difficult to interpret. There is...
