According to the Yemen’s Central Bank, the country’s economy still suffers from a decrease in foreign reserves and oil export revenues. Economic experts confirmed the negative impact of the political situation on the economy, blaming in particular the continued sabotage of oil pipelines in the Marib province. The government has had to resort to import large quantities of oil derivatives from abroad in order to meet the needs in the domestic market.
[Yemen Observer, 11/24/2014]
Jordanian government presents House with trimmed budget bill
Jordan’s government presented the 2015 state budget draft law to the Lower House, estimating the budget deficit at JD 688 million after foreign grants. According to the minister of finance, the primary challenges to the state’s budget and the major factors behind the increase in public debt have been the deteriorating regional situation, the disruption in Egyptian gas supplies to Jordan, and the ensuing losses of the state-owned National Electric Power Company. [The Jordan Times, 11/23/2014]
Syria’s government spending to increase by 12 percent in 2015
According to Syria’s state news agency, Syria’s spending is expected to rise 12 percent to 1.55 trillion Syrian pounds ($9.10 billion) in the next year. Most of the money is going to go into social support costs, which are expected to reach 983.5 billion pounds, a rise of 368.5 billion from this year. The chairman of the budget committee further recommended increasing the salaries of members of the armed forces and security services and called for action to rein in a wave of high prices hitting low income households. [Reuters, 11/23/2014]
Egypt’s economic summit scheduled for March
Egypt announced March 13 as the new date for the economic summit aimed at attracting investment to the country. The summit had first been scheduled for February 21 but later postponed due to the Chinese new year. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are organizing the summit with two international consultancy firms. Egypt hopes to attract $10-$12 billion in investments for twenty projects, focusing on energy, transport and water. [Ahram Online, 11/22/2014]
Also of Interest:
Tunisia’s foreign secretary on developing the country’s economy | MEED (subscription)
FDI in oil and gas unaffected by Egypt’s instability | Daily News Egypt
Egypt’s political economy | Al-Ahram Weekly
Algeria and Qatar signed agreements and memoranda of understanding | Ennahar Online
Yemen, IMF review financial and monetary developments | SABA
Libya’s commercial bank loans up by 42 percent since 2011 | Libya Monitor (subscription)