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Middle East and Central Asia > Saudi Arabia

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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
Saudi’s Growth and Financial Spillovers to Other GCC Countries: An Empirical Analysis
Mr. Olumuyiwa S Adedeji
,
Mr. Sohaib Shahid
, and
Ling Zhu
This paper examines real and financial linkages between Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries. Growth spillovers from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain are found to be sizeable and statistically significant, but those to other GCC countries are not found to be significant. Equity market movements in Saudi Arabia are found to have significant implications for other GCC countries, while there is no evidence of co-movements in bonds markets. These findings suggest some degree of interdependence among GCC countries.
Keywords:
WP; GCC country; GCC sovereign bond market spillover; Growth; Gulf Corporation Council; Spillovers; growth shock; equity market movement; GCC bond spread; GCC equity; Stock markets; Yield curve; Sovereign bonds; Oil prices; Global
Cover Policy Papers
Gulf Cooperation Council Countries (GCC): How Developed and Inclusive are Financial Systems in the GCC?
International Monetary Fund
Financial systems in the GCC have developed significantly over the last couple of decades, but there appears to be further room for progress. The development of bank and equity markets has been supported by a combination of buoyant economic activity, a booming Islamic finance sector, and financial sector reforms. As a result, financial systems have deepened and, overall, the level of financial development compares well with emerging markets. However, it still lags advanced economies and, other than for Saudi Arabia, appears to be lower than would be expected given economic fundamentals, such as income levels. Financial development in the GCC has relied to a large extent on banks, while debt markets and nonbank financial institutions are less developed and access to equity markets is narrow. The non-bank financial institutions—pension funds, asset management and finance companies, and insurance—remain small. Domestic debt markets are underdeveloped. While equity markets appear to be well developed by market size, they are dominated by a few large (and often public-sector) companies. GCC countries have made progress on financial inclusion, but gaps remain in some important areas. Access to finance for SMEs, women, and youth, in particular, appears relatively low. This may partly reflect social norms, low levels of participation of women in the labor market and private sector activity, and the high level of youth unemployment. Further financial development and inclusion is likely to be associated with stronger economic growth in the GCC countries. While there is uncertainty surrounding the empirical estimates in the paper, further progress with financial development and/or inclusion is likely to go hand-in-hand with stronger growth. The growth benefits, however, are likely to vary across countries depending on the current level of financial development and inclusion. To realize these growth benefits, reforms to strengthen access to finance for SMEs, women, and youth are needed. Addressing institutional weaknesses and promoting financial sector competition would help boost access to finance for SMEs. Reforms to enhance financial literacy and improve SME governance structures and insolvency frameworks are critical. Other reforms encouraging female and youth employment and the use of emerging technologies in finance also appear promising. Additional reforms to foster financial development should focus on developing debt markets and making stock markets more accessible to a larger pool of companies and investors. To grow domestic debt markets, the authorities should develop a government yield curve, seek to increase market liquidity through secondary market trading, and ensure requirements for private issuance are not onerous. Stock market reforms should focus on enhancing corporate governance and investor protection, removing restrictions on foreign ownership, and encouraging financial market competition. The latter would also help the development of non-bank financial institutions.
Keywords:
PP; GCC country; GCC bank; GCC asset manager; GCC government; private sector; GCC equity markets; GCC household; Financial sector development; Financial inclusion; Stock markets; Securities markets; Capital markets; Middle East; North Africa; East Africa; Africa; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Oil Prices and GCC Stock Markets: New Evidence from Smooth Transition Models
Nidhaleddine Ben Cheikh
,
Samy Ben Naceur
,
Mr. Oussama Kanaan
, and
Christophe Rault
Our paper examines the effect of oil price changes on Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) stock markets using nonlinear smooth transition regression (STR) models. Contrary to conventional wisdom, our empirical results reveal that GCC stock markets do not have similar sensitivities to oil price changes. We document the presence of stock market returns’ asymmetric reactions in some GCC countries, but not for others. In Kuwait’s case, negative oil price changes exert larger impacts on stock returns than positive oil price changes. When considering the asymmetry with respect to the magnitude of oil price variation, we find that Oman’s and Qatar’s stock markets are more sensitive to large oil price changes than to small ones. Our results highlight the importance of economic stabilization and reform policies that can potentially reduce the sensitivity of stock returns to oil price changes, especially with regard to the existence of asymmetric behavior.
Keywords:
WP; oil price change; GCC country; correlation coefficient; GCC stock markets; oil prices; smooth transition regression models; GCC stock price volatility; hedging strategy; Stock markets; Asset prices; Oil; Stocks; 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
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Lebanon: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
This Selected Issues paper analyzes the various transmission channels of the Syrian crisis—though quantification is hampered by the lack of reliable data—with focus on the impact on fiscal performance and labor markets; it also takes stock of international donor efforts to date. The paper also provides overviews of main effects on Lebanon’s economy, the expenditure pressures associated with the refugee presence, the impact on poverty and inequality, and the added strains on labor markets. A section of the paper describes the response by the international community to help Lebanon cope with the Syrian crisis. Absent additional international support, the needs of both refugees and affected Lebanese communities will not be met. Sound government policies—including implementation of a concerted policy framework to deal with refugee issues and a commitment to fiscal discipline—will send credible signals to donors and help mobilize budget support. Tackling the unprecedented refugee crisis requires strong international support. There has been a large international humanitarian response, but much more is needed.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; refugee; Lebanon; natural resources; stock market; refugee influx; revenue; stock exchange; resource revenue; influx scenario; refugee crisis; Fiscal stance; Stock markets; Fiscal governance; Labor markets; Middle East; Europe; Asia and Pacific; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
The Finance and Growth Nexus Re-Examined: Do All Countries Benefit Equally?
Mr. Adolfo Barajas
,
Mr. Ralph Chami
, and
Mr. Seyed Reza Yousefi
A large theoretical and empirical literature has focused on the impact of financial deepening on economic growth throughout the world. This paper contributes to the literature by investigating whether this impact differs across regions, income levels, and types of economy. Using a rich dataset for 150 countries for the period 1975–2005, dynamic panel estimation results suggest that the beneficial effect of financial deepening on economic growth in fact displays measurable heterogeneity; it is generally smaller in oil exporting countries; in certain regions, such as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA); and in lower-income countries. Further analysis suggests that these differences might be driven by regulatory/supervisory characteristics and related to differences in the ability to provide widespread access to financial services.
Keywords:
WP; MENA country; private sector; banking system; dependent variable; Growth; Financial Development; Inclusive Growth; Financial Access; MENA region; credit-GDP ratio; MENA growth underperformance; x Middle East and North Africa; x GCC; GCC grouping; MENA depth; banking sector; number of observation; bank financing; oil GDP; Credit; Oil; Personal income; Stock markets; Commercial banks; Central Asia; Sub-Saharan Africa; North Africa; Middle East; East Africa
Cover IMF Working Papers
Global and Regional Spillovers to GCC Equity Markets
Tahsin Saadi Sedik
and
Mr. Oral Williams
This paper analyzes the impact of global and regional spillovers to GCC equity markets. GCC equity markets were impacted by spillovers from U.S. equity markets despite varying degrees of foreign participation. Spillovers from regional equity markets were also important but the magnitude of the effects were on average smaller than that from mature markets. The results also illustrated episodes of contagion in particular during the recent global financial crisis. The findings suggest that given the degree of openness, and open capital accounts the financial channel is an important source through which volatility is transmitted. In this regard, GCC equity markets are not immune from global and regional financial shocks. These findings refute the notion of decoupling between the GCC equity and global equity markets.
Keywords:
WP; GCC equity markets; GCC; Stock markets; spillovers; contagion; financial integration; GCC market; GCC Index; GCC economy; country stock exchanges; country j equity market; response to a rise; Oil prices; Emerging and frontier financial markets; Market capitalization; Global
Cover Departmental Papers
Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries and Challenges Ahead: An Update
Ms. May Y Khamis
and
Mr. Abdelhak S Senhadji
Departmental papers are usually focused on a specific economic topic, country, or region. They are prepared in a timely way to support the outreach needs of the IMF’s area and functional departments.
Keywords:
DPPP; DP; GCC; GCC country; asset; debt; financing; GCC policymaker; GCC corporate; GCC government; GCC market; GCC sovereign; Credit; Credit default swap; Bank credit; Stock markets; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Regional Financial Integration in the GCC
Mr. Raphael A Espinoza
,
Mr. Oral Williams
, and
Mr. Ananthakrishnan Prasad
We investigate the extent of regional financial integration in the member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council. The limited volume data available suggests that regional integration is non-negligible. Bahrain and Kuwait investments especially are oriented towards the region. The development of stock markets in the region will also improve the extent of financial integration. Interest rate data shows that convergence exists and that interest rate differentials are relatively short-lived-especially compared to the ECCU, another emerging market region sharing a common currency. Equities data using cross-listed stocks confirms that stock markets are fairly integrated compared to other emerging market regions, although financial integration is hampered by market illiquidity.
Keywords:
WP; GCC; Total GCC; price