Middle East ETF News Older than One Year
Saudi Arabia: Concluding Statement of the 2025 Article IV Mission
June 26, 2025-- Saudi Arabia's economy has demonstrated strong resilience to shocks, with non-oil economic activities expanding, inflation contained, and unemployment reaching record-low levels. While lower oil proceeds and investment-linked imports led to the emergence of twin deficits, external and fiscal buffers remain ample.
A higher-than-budgeted fiscal stance in 2025 remains appropriate to prevent procyclicality that could exacerbate the growth impact of lower oil prices.
Addressing strong credit growth and associated funding pressures will be crucial in mitigating risks to systemic financial stability. Given the current heightened global uncertainty, continued efforts on structural reform are essential to sustain non-oil growth and drive economic diversification.
RECENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS[1]
Saudi Arabia's economy has been resilient to shocks. In 2024, non-oil real GDP grew by 4.2 percent, primarily driven by private consumption and non-oil private investment, with retail, hospitality, and construction leading growth.
Source: imf.org
GCC: Growth on the Rise, but Smart Spending Will Shape a Thriving Future
June 19, 2025-Economic growth across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is projected to increase in the medium-term to 3.2% in 2025 and 4.50% in 2026. This growth is likely to be driven by the expected rollback of OPEC+ oil production cuts and robust expansion of non-oil sectors.
According to the latest edition of the Gulf Economic Update (GEU), regional growth was 1.7% in 2024 -an improvement from 0.3% in 2023. The non-hydrocarbon sector remained resilient, expanding by 3.7%--largely fueled by private consumption, investment, and structural reforms across the GCC.
Source: worldbank.org
Saudi Exchange leads market losses across the GCC
June 16, 2025--Tadawul hits 20-month low
Qatar index drops 4%
Fears of a wider regional conflict
The Saudi Exchange closed on Sunday at its lowest level since October 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, as GCC stock markets fell following an escalation in Israel’s conflict with Iran.
Source: agbi.com
Hong Kong and Saudi work on cross-border financial products
May 30, 2025--Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia are considering allowing more cross-border financial products as the two markets seek to deepen financial ties amid rising trade uncertainties.
An exchange-traded fund tracking bonds issued by the Saudi government started trading in Hong Kong on Thursday, the first fixed-income fund listed in the territory to offer such exposure.
Apart from the fund, more products-such as a sharia-compliant sukuk bond and a real estate investment trust -are "in the pipeline" for approval to trade between Hong Kong and Riyadh, said Julia Leung, CEO of Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission.
Source: agbi.com
Growth in the Middle East and North Africa Forecast to Moderately Accelerate in 2025 Amidst Uncertainty
April 23, 2025—According to the World Bank's latest Middle East and North Africa Economic Update, entitled Shifting Gears: The Private Sector as an Engine of Growth in the Middle East and North Africa, the region is estimated to have grown at a modest 1.9 percent in 2024 and growth is forecast to moderately rise to 2.6 percent in 2025.
These forecasts are shadowed by uncertainty, given the rapidly changing global environment.
The uptick among oil exporters is linked to plans to roll back cuts in oil production. The rebound in oil importing countries is expected to be driven by an increase in consumption as inflation eases and a recovery in the agricultural sector in some economies. The forecasts are clouded by high uncertainty, due to factors such as conflict, extreme weather shocks, developments in oil markets and a changing global policy environment.
Source: World Bank
GCC on track to see an uptick in local currency sukuk
April 10, 2025-In the GCC, Saudi Arabia has been the only market ahead of the curve, having established its Saudi Riyal Local Sukuk Program in 2017.
Source: zawya.com
Qatar's Economy Grows 2.4% in 2024, Q4 GDP Up 6.1% Year-on-Year
March 21, 2025--Qatar's economy achieved a real growth rate of 2.4 percent in 2024, totaling QR713 billion in constant prices, up from QR697 billion in 2023. As per information from the National Statistics Center at the National Planning Council, published today, Qatar's real GDP increased by 6.1% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2024, hitting QR 181 billion, up from QR 170.1 billion during the same timeframe in 2023.
The Secretary-General of the National Planning Council (NPC), HE Dr. Abdulaziz bin Nasser Al Khalifa, affirmed that the Qatari economy is achieving significant growth rates, supporting the nation’s advancement towards sustainable development and economic diversification, in accordance with the National Development Strategy 20242030.
Source: asiabusinessoutlook.com
Egypt's economic growth set to improve in Q2, driven by industry: minister
March 20, 2025--Egypt aims for qualitative growth -sustainable growth based on long-term investments, a green economy, entrepreneurship, technology, and digital transformation
Egypt's economic growth is expected to continue its upward trend in the second quarter of the current fiscal year, according to initial indicators, the Minister of Planning and Economic Development and International Cooperation, Rania Al-Mashat, said on Wednesday.
Speaking at the annual Iftar of the American Chamber of Commerce in Cairo, Al-Mashat outlined the developments in the Egyptian economy and its future prospects. She emphasised that improving Egypt's economic future requires a collaborative effort from the government, private sector, civil society, and chambers of commerce.
Source: zawya.com
Qatar: QSE fully waives trading fees on ETFs, aims improved market liquidity
March 11, 2025--This decision reflects the QSE's commitment to stimulating ETF trading by reducing financial burdens on investors, increasing market liquidity, and enhancing investment competitiveness.
This decision reflects the QSE's commitment to stimulating ETF trading by reducing financial burdens on investors, increasing market liquidity, and enhancing investment competitiveness.
By providing a low-cost trading environment, the bourse aims to encourage portfolio diversification and expand the investor base for ETFs.
Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) has completely waived its trading fees on exchange-traded funds (ETFs), effective from March 16, as part of efforts to enhance the attractiveness of ETFs for both investors and brokers, while significantly improving liquidity in the market.
Source: zawya.com
IMF-Financial Conditions and Their Growth Implications for Qatar: Qatar
March 7, 2025-Summary
This paper develops a Financial Conditions Index (FCI) for Qatar and uses the Growth-at-Risk (GaR) framework to examine the impact of financial conditions on Qatar's non-hydrocarbon growth. The analysis shows that the FCI is an important leading indicator of Qatar's non-hydrocarbon growth, highlighting its predictive potential for future economic performance.
The GaR framework suggests that overall, the current downside risks to Qatar's baseline non-hydrocarbon growth projections are relatively mild.
Source: imf.org
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