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Middle East and Central Asia > Saudi Arabia

You are looking at 1 - 6 of 6 items for :

  • Type: Journal Issue x
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Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Oman: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
2024 Selected Issues
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
Financial Stability in a Higher-for-Longer Interest Rate Environment The Case of the Middle East and North Africa
Adrian Alter
,
Bashar Hlayhel
,
Thomas Kroen
, and
Thomas Piontek
This paper assesses the state and resilience of corporate and banking sectors in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in a “higher-for-longer” interest rate environment using granular micro data to conduct the first cross-country corporate and banking sector stress tests for the MENA region. The results suggest that corporate sector debt at risk may increase sizably from 12 to 30 percent of total corporate debt. Banking systems would be broadly resilient in an adverse scenario featuring higher interest rates, corporate sector stress, and rising liquidity pressures with Tier-1 capital ratios declining by 2.3 percentage points in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and 4.0 percentage points in non-GCC MENA countries. In the cross-section of banks, there are pockets of vulnerabilities as banks with higher ex-ante vulnerabilities and state-owned banks suffer greater losses. While manageable, the capital losses in the adverse scenario could limit lending and adversely impact growth.
Keywords:
Bank capital; stress testing; financial stability; zombie credit; bank funding profile; banking sector stress test; bank interest rate risk; bank Summary statistics; banking stress test result; Commercial banks; Corporate sector; Credit; Capital adequacy requirements; Middle East; North Africa; East Africa; Global
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
Cover Policy Papers
Enhancing the Role of SMEs in the Arab World—Some Key Considerations
Vahram Stepanyan
,
Gohar Abajyan
,
Anta Ndoye
, and
Ms. Marwa Alnasaa
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are a cornerstone of Arab economies, accounting for over 90 percent of all businesses and providing a major source of new job creation. Governments across the Arab World recognize the important role that SMEs can play in delivering higher and more inclusive growth. Many have rightly placed SME development at the center of growth and jobs strategies to meet the needs of young populations. Authorities have initiated policy interventions and schemes to support SME development. But progress so far has been patchy, and more comprehensive policy action is needed. Fostering vibrant and competitive SMEs that contribute to employment opportunities and high value-added output requires various stakeholders to deliver on a broad range of factors. Arab governments need a holistic policy approach that addresses the gaps in access to finance, creates an enabling business environment, and upgrades human capital and infrastructure. The approach should also promote an entrepreneurial mindset.
Keywords:
PP; SME development; SME support scheme; control group SMES; SME policy; SME sector; SME activity; SME constraint; SME access; SME data availability; SME needs; Small and medium enterprises; Self-employment; Business environment; Financial inclusion; Public sector; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
United Arab Emirates: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
This Selected Issues paper discusses measures to strengthen fiscal policy and budget frameworks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It provides an overview of government’s revenue and expenditure developments, and presents fiscal sustainability analysis that is most relevant to countries with large hydrocarbon wealth such as the UAE. The paper discusses measures to contain expenditure growth—controlling the public wage bill, reducing subsidies and transfers, and stabilizing other expense in real terms. It also proposes options to increase nonhydrocarbon revenue such as broadening corporate income tax with lower rates, introducing a low rate-broad based value added tax, and levying an excise tax on automobiles.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; government; small and medium enterprise; bank; funding; revenue; country authorities; guarantee scheme; portfolio consist; SME access; government expense; rating agency; Small and medium enterprises; Budget planning and preparation; Credit; Energy subsidies; Loans; Middle East; North Africa; East Africa; Sub-Saharan Africa; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Integrated Ownership and Control in the GCC Corporate Sector
Mr. Andre O Santos
The objective of the paper is to assess ownership and control links in the GCC corporate sector. The analysis focuses on the integrated ownership and network arising from ownership data available in Bloomberg and GCC stock exchanges. The paper finds that ownership is concentrated in GCC public sector institutions, holding companies, financial institutions, and family groups. The paper then considers the effect of different definitions of control on the distribution of consolidated debt. Debt concentration is maximized when the wedge between ownership and control is the largest. This is the case when the largest shareholder has at least 5 percent of total shares as defined in Zingales (1994).
Keywords:
WP; GCC country; shareholder debt; GCC countries; network analysis; integreated ownership; concentration; ownership network; GCC shareholder; shareholder portfolios consist; Stock markets; Public sector; Corporate sector; Illicit financial flows; Corporate governance; Africa