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Four Questions About Debt and Financing Risks from COVID-19 in the Middle East and North Africa
April 28, 2021--Across the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan (MENAP), countries responded to the COVID-19 pandemic with unprecedented scale and urgency. While this strong response helped save lives and cushion the economic blow, it also exacerbated existing debt vulnerabilities and led to a surge in financing needs.
The IMF's Regional Economic Outlook Update for the Middle East and Central Asia explores these issues and policies to address them.
Here are four key questions:
How significant were debt vulnerabilities in MENAP prior to the pandemic and what were the primary concerns? Many countries were already facing high debt. By the end of 2019, one-half of MENAP countries had government debt ratios above 70 percent of GDP and one in four countries faced public gross financing needs above 15 percent of GDP annually.
Qatar stock market rallies as cabinet approves full foreign ownership draft law
April 15, 2021--Qatar stock market jumped shortly after opening on Thursday on positive news that the country's cabinet has approved a draft law to allow foreign investors to fully own companies listed on the exchange.
The move, if approved into law, is expected to bring in overseas funds.
The country's stock market jumped on the news and the index was last trading 1.8 percent higher at 10,800.87 points at 11 am local time.
IMF-Middle East and Central Asia-Regional Economic Outlook: Arising from the Pandemic: Building Forward Better
April 11, 2021--A year into the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the race between vaccine and virus entered a new phase in the Middle East and Central Asia region, and the path to recovery in 2021 is expected to be long and divergent. The outlook will vary significantly across countries, depending on the pandemic's path, vaccine rollouts, underlying fragilities, exposure to tourism and contact-intensive sectors, and policy space and actions.
Public gross financing needs in most emerging markets in the region are expected to remain elevated in 2021-22, with downside risks in the event of tighter global financial conditions and/or if fiscal consolidation is delayed due to weaker-than-expected recovery. 2021 will be the year of policies that continue saving lives and livelihoods and promote recovery, while balancing the need for debt sustainability and financial resilience. At the same time, policymakers must not lose sight of the transformational challenges to build forward better and accelerate the creation of more inclusive, resilient, sustainable, and green economies. Regional and international cooperation will be key complements to strong domestic policies.
UAE stocks gain $1.36bln in market value
March 3, 2021--ADX closed higher around 0.48% than the last session
UAE financial markets on Tuesday posted gains of around AED5 billion in market cap, with ADX closing higher around 0.48 pct than the last session at 5,710 pts and Dubai's main stocks index edging up 0.68 pct to 2569 pts.
In the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, ADNOC Distribution jumped to AED4.39; FAB closed at AED14.92; Aldar Properties to AED3.75 amid transactions of AED267 million.
Abu Dhabi's Chimera Capital lists new ETF on DFM
March 3, 2021--UAE-based asset management firm Chimera Capital listed its exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) on Wednesday.
The Chimera S&P UAE UCITS ETF has been designed to track the performance of the S&P UAE BMI Liquid 20/35 Capped Index, which includes the largest stocks by capitalisation in the UAE.
The new ETF is a sub-fund of the Chimera UCITS ICAV umbrella fund. It listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange last February 23 and is the second to be launched by Chimera in less than a year.
MENA IPO activity to pick up in 2021 on back of positive regulatory changes
March 2, 2021--Fiscal stimulus measures, abundant liquidity and vaccine confidence will sustain IPO momentum, says EY
There is a strong initial public offering (IPO) pipeline in key MENA markets and activity is set to pick up gradually during 2021, said a new report by EY.
"Although MENA IPO activity remained relatively quiet in 2020, several regulators across the region announced positive regulatory changes during the year that bode well for future and existing public companies," said Gregory Hughes, MENA IPO and Transaction Diligence Leader.
Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange launches strategy to more than double market capitalisation over the next three years
January 27, 2021--New "ADX One" strategy includes initiatives to launch derivatives trading
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) announced a plan to double market capitalisation over the next three years using its new 'ADX One' strategy, which aims to increase market liquidity and further improve market efficiency.
The new strategy comes as the market capitalisation of companies listed on the ADX increased 39.7 per cent in 2020 to a record AED750 billion.
The 'ADX One' strategy aims to increase the exchange's governance through further alignment with best international practices and by making ADX a more attractive destination for foreign investors.
IMF Executive Board Concludes 2020 Article IV Consultation with Israel
January 21, 2021--On January 19, 2021, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation [1] with Israel.
The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted Israel's society and economy.
While Israel's strong growth and large pre-crisis buffers mean Israel entered the crisis with relatively low vulnerabilities, real GDP still contracted by 3 percent (yoy) in the first three quarters of 2020. The scale of the COVID-19 spread required strict containment and mitigation measures, including three nation-wide lockdowns. Nonetheless, the economic contraction was smaller than in other advanced economies in part due to the resilience of the Israeli economy, supported by its large high-tech sector.
The authorities introduced policies to curb the economic fallout of the pandemic. On the fiscal front, a fiscal package of 10¼ percent of GDP for 2020 was approved by parliament. The package included expanded health funding, benefits for unemployed and furloughed workers, grants for the self-employed, and grants and loan guarantees for small and medium enterprises. The central bank's response included measures to ease financial conditions, provide liquidity, and ease access to financial services and credit, including for households and SMEs. Macroprudential and supervisory requirements were also eased, allowing banks to utilize their capital and liquidity buffers in support of the economy.
Chimera Capital's ETF exceeds $13.6mln in assets under management
January 11, 2021--Chimera S&P UAE Shariah Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), owned by Chimera Capital, has exceeded AED 50 million ($13.6 million) in assets under management (AUM) in six months.
Listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and Dubai Financial Market (DFM) in August 2020, the Chimera S&P UAE Shariah ETF became the third-largest ETF listed in the MENA region, according to a press release on Monday.
IMF Staff Concludes Virtual Visit with Qatar
December 11, 2020--The Qatari authorities' strong policy response helped mitigate the health and economic fallouts from the COVID19 pandemic and the decline in international oil prices
A gradual recovery in Qatar-with real GDP growth projected at 2.7 percent in 2021-will be supported by increasing gas production and the rebound in domestic demand.