MANAMA: Bahrain, Oman and the UAE have been named rising stars of global trade by Standard Chartered.
The bank has released a Trade20 Index which identifies the markets with the greatest potential for future trade growth.
The index examines 12 metrics across 66 global markets – the major global economies plus the major economies in each region – to reveal the 20 that are most rapidly improving their potential for trade to grow.
Bahrain, it says, is a leader in terms of improving diversification, indicating that long-term efforts to move its economy away from a reliance on oil and develop its manufacturing, finance and services sectors are paying off.
However, the report also says, Oman and Bahrain in particular need to prioritise their diversification agendas, as they have greater external vulnerabilities: lower oil wealth, rapid accumulation of debt, and questions over the sustainability of their currency pegs.
According to the report, the three Middle Eastern markets in the index have become important trading hubs, propelled by propel improvements in export diversity.
The performance of these economies is powered by fast progress in economic diversity, pointing to the Middle Eastern markets that are making strides to expand their exports beyond oil.
This is becoming even more pertinent as tensions in the Arabian Gulf escalate, which could impact oil prices and threaten the trade growth of these nations.
Middle Eastern markets are also showing impressive trade readiness momentum, propelled by infrastructure investment and an e-commerce market that is rapidly gathering pace, says the report.
Each market’s potential for trade growth over the past 10 years is determined by analysing economic dynamism, trade readiness and export diversity (the pillars).
Sarmad Lone, regional director and co-head for Global Banking, Africa and Middle East in Standard Chartered, said: “There are tremendous opportunities arising from the modernisation and diversification that we are seeing throughout the Middle East, all of which will help to improve the region’s bid to become a financial and investment hub.”
Trade20 examines 12 metrics across 66 global markets – the major global economies plus the major economies in each region – to reveal the 20 economies that are most rapidly improving their potential for trade growth.
While most traditional trade indices are based on a market’s present performance, the index captures changes over time to reveal the markets that have seen the most improvement within the last decade.
This enables the identification of economies where recent positive developments may point to an acceleration in trade growth potential.
The Trade20 Index is topped by Côte d’Ivoire, followed by India, Kenya, China, Ireland, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Oman, the UAE, Hong Kong, Russia, Ghana, Sri Lanka, Bahrain, Singapore, Switzerland, Chile, Turkey and the Philippines.
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