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By Dr. Ali Bolbol* In the mid-2000s, a question was posed to developers about which city in the world had the largest number of cranes protruding all over its sky? Knowledgeable ones said Dubai; better ... read more
Despite high hopes, 2013 failed to show recovery signs taking the economy into deeper pits. On one side, the magnitude of the Syrian war and its spillovers on the Lebanese economy became more pronounced ... read more
When revolutions swept the Arab world starting 2011, journalists and politicians around the world called it the ‘Arab Spring’. But with time it appeared that, as it should have been expected in the first ... read more
The macroeconomic picture in the MENA region was little changed during the second quarter of 2016. Oil-exporting countries were still trying to weather the impact of subdued oil prices on their fiscal and ... read more
No economic progress was recorded when it comes to Egypt during the second quarter of 2016. The country kept on suffering from draining foreign currency (FC) reserves and an overvalued exchange rate. From ... read more
Regime forces launched an offensive on the governorate of Aleppo in late June 2016, a bloody battle aimed at cutting the rebels’ supply and that is still raging at the time of writing. The prize of the ... read more
Besides the spending cuts and the revenue boosting initiatives to reduce their fiscal deficits, as a response to the drops in oil prices, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were, as usual maintaining their ... read more
The era of low oil prices compelled the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to identify the challenges that lie ahead and to determine an action plan drafted under the wing of the Saudi Arabia Vision 2030. The Kingdom ... read more
As the political situation remained unstable in Lebanon, the country observed fluctuations in its economic indices and geopolitical dynamics. Lebanon recorded its lowest levels in several different ... read more
To alleviate the pressure of declining oil prices on its economy, the Qatari government has been taking measures to cut its expenditures. For instance, it has reduced the number of planned stadiums for the ... read more
Pressures on the Jordanian economy continued to grow over the first six months of 2016. As registered refugee numbers remain around the 650,000-mark and funding remains woefully short of the necessary ... read more
By Dr. Ali Bolbol* In the mid-2000s, a question was posed to developers about which city in the world had the largest number of cranes protruding all over its sky? Knowledgeable ones said Dubai; better ... read more
Weak oil prices and political climate continued to dictate economic performance in the MENA region during the first quarter of 2016. Despite the slight year-to-date uptick in oil prices, oil exporting ... read more
To boost its private sector and ease the pressure on the fiscal balance caused by low oil prices, Qatar targets to implement a public-private partnership (PPP) law, by the end of 2016. Qatar has previously ... read more
Amid a continuing political stalemate, with around 21-month of political vacuum, most of Lebanon’s economic indicators recuperated from the low levels reached in the previous years. However, the ... read more
On the ground, Syrian government forces took back the historic city of Palmyra in March after it was seized by IS militants back in May 2015. On the diplomatic front, the Geneva peace talks were anything ... read more
At the onset of 2016, rivalry between the Sunni-kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Shiite-Iran was heated. In January 2016, Saudi Arabia executed 47 people accused of terrorism, amongst them was Sheikh Nimr ... read more
Perhaps one of the few positives witnessed in Jordan recently has been the lower number of Syrian refugees, with official numbers as of April 2016 placing the figure at around 640,000, compared to above ... read more
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) remained focused on its strategic goals in spite of the regional tensions. The government is trying to build a balance between its revenues and expenditures to offset the ... read more
Egypt inaugurated 2016 with a bunch of new economic decisions and international deals topped by the Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) new monetary measures. As a matter of fact, the lack of net foreign ... read more
Investors’ confidence in the economic outlook of MENA countries did not improve in the last quarter of 2015. The geo-political risks of the region that kept on aggravating and the worsening oil prices ... read more
As part of a defense agreement signed in 2014, Turkey will establish a military base in Qatar. 3,000 ground troops would be stationed at the base as well as air and naval units, military trainers and ... read more
Lebanon ended 2015 with disparate developments on the security and political fronts. Two suicide bombings alarmed the security situation in November. However, 2015 was wrapped with positive expectations ... read more
In December, Britain and Germany joined the fight against IS in Syria after the deadly attacks in Paris. Internally, the regime took back Homs, the “capital of the revolution” and Syria’s third largest ... read more
Saudi Arabia continued to be involved in the issues of its neighboring Middle Eastern countries. In December, the Kingdom decided on an $8B investment in Egypt while Egypt is set on renewing a deal to ... read more
It was a busy last quarter in Egypt at all levels. The country completed the parliamentary elections between October and December 2015, thus concluding the 3rd and final step of its political roadmap. ... read more
2015 proved to be a very challenging year for the majority of global economies. However, while the Hashemite Kingdom was certainly affected in certain aspects, with the first six months proving to be ... read more
Similarly to the previous years, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) held on to its strategic goals despite the global economic headwinds and the escalating regional tensions. Deteriorating oil prices were ... read more
The economic outlook of MENA countries remained gloomy during the third quarter of 2015 due to low oil prices and intensifying conflicts in many parts of the region. Economies of oil-exporting countries ... read more
In the cheap oil era, Saudi Arabia is remaining true to defending its market share on the oil market by not cutting its output as it believes it can sustain lower oil prices more than other players such as ... read more
In the third quarter of 2015 (Q3 2015), the regime of Bashar el Assad continued to rely heavily on its allies Russia and Iran. Russia deployed its aircrafts and tanks in Syria in order to support the ... read more
Egypt will finally start electing a new parliament by mid-October this year after 3 years without a legislative Council of Representatives. During Q3 2015, and after president Al-Sisi reshuffled the ... read more
The third quarter of 2015 proved to be a very difficult period to navigate through, as global financial markets experienced volatility hardly seen before, and economies witnessed withdrawals and ... read more
The municipal solid waste crisis has been the main highlight of the third quarter (Q3) in Lebanon. The forceful closing of the Naameh landfill resulted in trash being piled up on the streets, with no ... read more
For the first time, Qatar has deployed ground forces in Yemen, dispatching 1,000 troops to battle rebels in an oil-rich central province. This deployment marks a major escalation by the Saudi-led coalition ... read more
Similar to other oil exporters, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are caught in this current of low commodities’ prices. However, Dubai in specific is moving forward with its diversification strategy away ... read more
With most of MENA countries fainting under the strains of terrorism and violence, the frail levels of oil prices remained a double-edged sword during the second quarter of 2015. While oil-exporting ... read more
The Syrian regime continued to suffer losses in the second quarter of 2015 (Q2 2015). In April, opposition groups captured the Nasib border crossing, which used to be the only functioning crossing between ... read more
The newly appointed king Salman reshuffled several power positions in the Kingdom. After Prince Muqrin relinquished the title of crown prince, Muhammad Bin Nayef was appointed to the role. As for the ... read more
Already overwhelmed by criticism, Qatar’s right to host the 2022 World Cup faced its biggest challenge following the arrest of several FIFA executives and the criminal proceedings in Switzerland. However, ... read more
Mega projects kept on labeling the United Arab Emirates’ strategy to establish itself as a regional financial center and a hub for transport, tourism and trade. In fact, Dubai, being the host of the World ... read more
Lebanon recorded its longest presidential deadlock since independence with more than a year without a president of the republic. Yet, the security situation remained stable, despite few clashes on the ... read more
The second quarter of 2015 proved to be a further step forward for the Hashemite Kingdom’s economy, as most economic sectors improved. However, the tourism sector and the local bourse suffered the brunt of ... read more
The second quarter of 2014 was no different than the previous one. Egypt remained dogmatic in its belief about fighting terrorism that was diffusing through its borders. The most populous country in the ... read more
At the onset of 2015, movements in international oil prices remained at the center of the economic developments in gulf countries while politics and the security situation took center stage in ... read more
The 2015 kick-off was a sour one for the Syrian regime as it lost control over two regions just a few days apart: Bosra-el Cham and Idlib. The region of Bosra el Cham, a region in the province of Deraa ... read more
On the 25th of March 2015, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia led, along with nine other Arab States, the Operation “Decisive Storm” in Yemen. The Kingdom’s military intervention is intended to support the ... read more
The resolution of an 18-month long dispute between Egypt and Qatar, which was brokered by Saudi Arabia, did not last very long as an Egyptian official accused Qatar of financing terrorism, a list that has ... read more
Despite talks between the different political parties, Lebanon continued to witness a protracted political impasse with a presidential vacuum for almost a year, a 5-month period lacking legislative ... read more
The series of terrorist attacks fastened in Q1 2015 with Egypt facing almost 331 incidents compared to 353 for the entirety of 2014. The emerging developments in Yemen and the military intervention of ... read more
Despite the decline in oil prices, the UAE are carrying on with their ongoing projects such as Mall of the World and Dubai World Expo 2020 and continue to be the magnet for multinational headquarters ... read more
Pressure on the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan continued to ease with the decreasing number of Syrian refugees. The UNHCR had previously estimated the number to increase over 2015 from 811,070 to above the ... read more
Sinking to their lowest levels in 5 years, oil prices were the main turbine of global economies during the last quarter of 2014; either they were importers or exporters of the commodity. In the Arab World, ... read more
In a report published in the fourth quarter of 2014, Qatar stated its main purpose of becoming, by 2030, an advanced economy, capable of providing a high and sustainable standard of living to all ... read more
The passing-away of King Abdullah ben Abdel Aziz was undeniably the most prominent event in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The throne is now in the hands of king Abdullah’s half-brother, Crown Prince Salman ... read more
The Syrian battlefield witnessed major developments in the last three months of 2014 which reveal that the conflict is gaining more reach. The Islamic State (IS) made headlines by entering the Kurdish town ... read more
While other Arab countries were struggling to stop the flow of blood on their land, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was setting for its space exploration of the red planet Mars. Other megaprojects and ... read more
With no president of the republic being elected since the 25th of May, the Lebanese Parliament extended its mandate by 2 years and 7 months, in November. However, this extension was coupled with a law ... read more
The drop in the registered number of Syrian refugees served to reduce pressure on the Jordanian Kingdom and allowed for a positive outlook for 2015. In fact, the UNHCR expected the number of Syrian ... read more
The juridical decision regarding Husni Mubarak, and the Jihadists attacks in Sinai, were the two main events that marked the last quarter of 2014. Jihadist attacks in Sinai targeting Egyptian ... read more
Despite high hopes, 2013 failed to show recovery signs taking the economy into deeper pits. On one side, the magnitude of the Syrian war and its spillovers on the Lebanese economy became more pronounced ... read more
The Middle East witnessed a moderate third quarter in 2014 torn between an international decline of oil prices and heightening regional security uprisings. As oil production flooded the international ... read more
One month after the UN dubbed the doings of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) as “mass atrocities” and on the eve of 9/11, US President Barack Obama announced air strikes against IS in Syria and in ... read more
Surviving the regional tensions kept distinguishing the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that focused during the third quarter on boosting tourism, social welfare and financial activity. The UAE also plans ... read more
Amidst a still turbulent Middle Eastern scene, the United Nations blacklisted four Saudi and Kuwaiti nationals for financing Islamists in Syria and Iraq. As a response the two countries announced they ... read more
The shock decision to award the hosting rights of the FIFA 2022 World Cup Tournament to the Gulf country triggered a massive construction boom. As it spends billions of dollars on construction, Qatar’s ... read more
Lebanon sunk in a situation of presidential vacuum, the “master key” whose absence has been impeding other constitutional processes. The Parliamentary election has been postponed for the second time ... read more
The Jordanian Kingdom demonstrated its ability to respond to problems faced in the previous quarter, such as the influx of Syrian and Iraqi refugees and security concerns in the region. Amendments to the ... read more
Egypt’s progress kept painting the third quarter of 2014 amid improving security conditions, numerous reforms and national attention. The land of Pharaohs regained its standing as turbine of the ... read more
Once again, a strengthening global demand for oil in the second quarter of 2014 fueled economic growth in the MENA’s oil exporting countries that remained shielded to the waves of violence and insecurity ... read more
Oil exporters’ countries in the MENA region remain on a different economic scale from their neighboring oil importers; however, their political agendas continue to overlap. The MENA’s most populous ... read more
The gap further widened between oil importers and oil exporters in the Middle East during the third quarter of 2013. The formers’ economies suffered from political turbulences with deteriorating resources ... read more
The second quarter of 2013 was characterized by mass events that threatened to flip the regional status-quo of the Middle East, thus halting most economic plans in oil-importers countries and pausing ... read more
The war in Syria plays a mounting role in the destiny of neighboring economies which are already facing their own domestic challenges, while the oil exporter countries continue to perform well while taking ... read more
Amid a challenging political, economic, and security environment, the decision of investing in Lebanon and specifically in which sector could be crucial for local and foreign investors. The report below ... read more