Middle East ETF News Older than One Year
Saudi Arabia: 2025 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; and Staff Report
August 4, 2025-Summary
As its economic diversification advances, Saudi Arabia has shown strong resilience to external shocks. Non-oil economic activities continue to expand, inflation is contained, and unemployment has fallen to record-low levels.
While lower oil proceeds and investment-linked imports led to the emergence of twin deficits, the country maintains ample external and fiscal buffers.
Source: imf.org
Kuwait bourse to return to debt listing and trade in 2025
July 14, 2025-The Kuwait Stock Exchange will restart the listing and trading of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), sukuk and bonds in 2025, the bourse's CEO Mohammed Saud Al-Osaimi told reporters on Sunday.
The announcement comes months after Kuwait issued a long-awaited debt law to regulate public borrowing as the country prepares for a return to international debt markets after an eight-year absence.
Kuwait needed the new law to mitigate its heavy dependence on oil revenues and reform the economy.
Source: agbi.com
Kuwait bourse to return to debt listing and trade in 2025
July 14, 2025-The Kuwait Stock Exchange will restart the listing and trading of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), sukuk and bonds in 2025, the bourse's CEO Mohammed Saud Al-Osaimi told reporters on Sunday.
The announcement comes months after Kuwait issued a long-awaited debt law to regulate public borrowing as the country prepares for a return to international debt markets after an eight-year absence.
Kuwait needed the new law to mitigate its heavy dependence on oil revenues and reform the economy.
Source: agbi.com
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
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