An oil price hike boosted the expectations of acceleration in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the Arab region at an average rate of 2.8 percent to reach USD 2.7 trillion in 2018, the Arab Investment and Export Credit Guarantee Corporation “Dhaman” has said in a report.
This increase is expected to continue at a rate of 3.9 percent to reach USD 2.8 trillion in 2019, it said.
In a special report on Arab economies as part of its quarterly publication issued Wednesday, the Corporation expected government budgets performance to develop, so that countries fulfilling financial surplus will rise from one country in 2017 to five in 2018 and 2019.
The improvement in oil prices and reforms in exchange prices will reflect on the foreign performance indices, with an improvement in current account performance in 12 Arab countries, including six achieving a financial surplus during 2018 and 2019, it said.
It also expected the number of countries having foreign debt below 50 percent of their GDP to remain unchanged at eight states only in 2018, while saying that states witnessing an improvement in foreign debt index will climb to 11, and reach 12 within 2019.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) indicates that the international reserves in the region’s countries grew to USD158 billion this year, while it might reach USD111 billion in 2019, the report added.
