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Middle East and Central Asia > Saudi Arabia

You are looking at 1 - 2 of 2 items for :

  • Type: Journal Issue x
  • Industries: Information Technololgy x
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Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Oman: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
This Selected Issues paper reviews the experiences of other emerging markets in developing local capital markets, and describes the challenges faced in the development of such markets. Efforts are ongoing to develop the local currency bond market, supported by IMF technical assistance. Initiatives are underway to enhance access to the domestic equity market and increase its depth and liquidity. Still underdeveloped debt markets and systemic excess liquidity have driven a hold-to-maturity culture among investors, as several of the preconditions for liquid secondary markets are not met. Improving the government debt issuance strategy would enhance overall transparency and help increase secondary market liquidity. The review shows establishing a functioning money and local currency bond market remains a critical first step in successful capital markets' development, while several policy tools beyond tax incentives can be employed to support participation in local markets. Increasing the presence of life insurance companies and reducing information asymmetries would help spur demand from a broader set of institutional investors.
Keywords:
capital markets incentives program; private sector employment; employment growth; SME growth; development in Oman; Digitalization; Capital markets; Stock markets; Securities markets; Global; South Asia; Caribbean
Cover IMF Working Papers
Harnessing Digital Technologies to Promote SMEs in the MENAP Region
Ms. Inutu Lukonga
Policy makers in the MENAP region have been formulating policies and designing programs to develop small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) with a view to create jobs and achieve inclusive growth. But while the programs have helped increase the number of enterprises, growth of SMEs continues to face barriers to growth. As a result, microenterprises predominate and SMEs contribution to employment remains below potential. Partial implementation of reforms explain some of the underperformance, but frictions in strategy design also played an important role. Sustaining current reforms is, therefore, not sufficient to achieve inclusive growth. Digital technologies have potential to boost SMEs productivity and growth and economies are rapidly digitalizing, thus SMEs need to embrace digital solutions to compete and survive. Therefore, for SMEs to be effective engines of inclusive growth, a rethinking of the SME development strategy is needed that makes SMEs’ digital transformation a priority.
Keywords:
WP; SME growth; MENAP country; financing SMEs; SME sector; SME support policy; SMEs in MENAP; SME lending; government service; digital economy; Small and medium enterprises; Business environment; Employment; Digitalization; Global; Middle East; North Africa; Sub-Saharan Africa; Digital Technologies; Inclusive Growth; MENAP Region; SME strategy; private equity; SME policy; SME data