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- Economic growth in MENAP region expected to reach 2.7 percent in 2019; 3.0 percent in GCC
- Report highlights opportunity to improve competitiveness, boost investment and productivity
- Recommendation to prioritise investment in infrastructure and human capital
Dubai, UAE: Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the leading financial hub in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia region (MEASA), today hosted the launch of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Fall 2018 Regional Economic Outlook (REO) report for the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan (MENAP) region.
The Report highlights economic growth in the region, with real GDP growth predicted to reach 2.7 percent across the MENAP region and 3.0 percent in the GCC in 2019. In the near term, higher oil prices and a slower pace of fiscal consolidation are supporting a positive outlook for most oil exporting countries.
The Report recommends that MENAP countries prioritise growth-enhancing and high-quality investment in infrastructure and human capital, while sustaining well-targeted social spending to promote equity and opportunities for all.
In addition, the Report highlights the importance of promoting private sector-led growth by strengthening governance and accountability, improving education, enhancing labour market flexibility in the GCC, and deepening financial markets.
Commenting on the Report’s findings, Arif Amiri, Chief Executive Officer of DIFC Authority, said: “The region’s economic outlook continues to point to accelerating near-term growth, and the findings of the latest report show that challenging times offer the greatest opportunities. DIFC also remains committed to being a hub for financial services talent and providing the region’s best infrastructure for our clients – two areas that are highlighted as a priority in the latest IMF Report. Through our strategic partnership with the IMF, we unlock significant insights into economic trends in MEASA and beyond that allow us to remain ahead of emerging trends and challenges, and help facilitate long-term sustainable growth across this important market.”
Jihad Azour, Director of the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia Department, said: The changing global economic environment is bringing new challenges for the region. Near-term prospects for oil exporters in the Middle East and North Africa region have improved modestly on the back of higher oil prices and a slower pace of fiscal consolidation. Growth in oil importers is uneven, with rising oil prices adding to fiscal pressures in many countries. Risks from escalating global trade tensions, further tightening of financial conditions, the oil price trajectory, and geopolitical developments cloud the outlook. Fiscal and structural reforms to increase resilience and promote private sector growth need to be sustained and even accelerated if the region is to become a place where all citizens have the equal opportunity to build a more prosperous future. The IMF stands ready to assist in this journey through policy advice as well as technical and financial assistance.”
The twice-yearly IMF Regional Economic Outlook report details trends and developments across countries of the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan (MENAP) and the Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA). The Report’s sectoral indicators are widely used as a benchmark for future economic projections and set the tone for growth, trade and investment.
The full report can be accessed by visiting: https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/REO/MECA/Issues/2018/10/02/mreo1018
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About Dubai International Financial Centre
The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) is one of the world’s top financial centres, and the leading financial hub for the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. The Centre provides a world-class platform connecting the region’s markets with the economies of Europe, Asia and the Americas and facilitates growth in South-South trade and investment. An onshore, international financial centre, DIFC offers a stable, mature and secure base for financial institutions to develop their wholesale businesses.
The Centre offers all the elements found in the world’s most successful financial industry ecosystems, including an independent regulator and judicial system with a common-law framework, a global financial exchange, inspiring architecture, powerful, enabling support services and a vibrant business community. The infrastructure within the district features ultra-modern office space, retail outlets, cafes and restaurants, art galleries, residential apartments, public green areas and hotels.
Located midway between the global financial centres of New York, London in the West and Singapore, Hong Kong in the East, DIFC (GMT +4) fills a vital time-zone gap with a workday that bridges the market and business hours of financial centres in both Asia and North America.
In 2015, DIFC launched its 2024 growth strategy, a blueprint for the next decade of growth of the financial hub. This strategy aims to stimulate trade and investment flows along the South-South economic corridor encompassing the Middle East, Africa, Southern Asia and Latin America.
Currently, 2,003 active registered companies operate from the Centre, with a combined workforce of 22,768 professionals.
DIFC continues to pursue expansion into new services and sectors within the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region, an area comprising over 72 countries with an approximate population of 3 billion and nominal GDP of US$7.7 trillion.
For further information, please visit our website: difc.ae, or follow us on Twitter @DIFC.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Manal Shaikh
Dubai International Financial Centre Authority
Senior Manager, Communications
Tel: +971 4 362 2453
Email: manal.shaikh@difc.ae
Joudi Issa
Brunswick Group
Tel: +971 4 560 9600
Email: DIFC@brunswickgroup.com
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