The International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised down slightly its 2013 economic growth forecast for the MENA region to 3.4% from 3.6%, the fund said in a World Economic Outlook update released on January 23. The new forecast is much lower than the 5.2% aggregate GDP growth achieved by the region in 2012, according to the IMF. Many MENA countries will need to maintain macroeconomic stability under difficult internal and external conditions, the IMF said. In 2014, MENAs aggregate GDP growth will quicken to 3.8%, the IMF forecast, keeping the latter unchanged from its WEO Oct 2012 report. |
Bahrain Middle East Bank made a USD 13mn full repayment of a loan obligation including a USD 1.4mn interest payment taking total repayments by the troubled lender to USD 43mn, the bank said in ... more
National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), the UAE's largest lender by market value, initiated a USD 17mn fifteen-year Uridashi bond, MENA's first ever, allowing the bank to directly access Japanese ... more
The GCC economies remain insulated from economic and political turbulence in the MENA region and globally but structural challenges continue to constrain sovereign ratings, ratings agency ... more