ECSSR Expects A 15% Rise In GCC Spending In 2011
Gulf oil producers overshot budgeted spending by nearly 12% in 2010 and are expected to exceed their budgets again this year.
Gulf oil producers overshot budgeted spending by nearly 12% in 2010 and are expected to exceed their budgets again this year, tempted by strong oil prices, according to the Abu Dhabi-based Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR). The six GCC countries – Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman, which control over 40% of the world’s proven oil wealth, had projected 2010 spending at around US$ 269 billion but actual expenditure rose to US$ 301 billion through the year.
… the surge in public spending last year was most pronounced in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar.
The ECSSR indicated that the surge in public spending last year was most pronounced in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar as expenditure in the UAE was primarily in local budgets while public spending in the federal budget remained unchanged.
Furthermore, the study noted that as per available data, the GCC countries’ budget for this year is estimated at US$ 302 billion. However the data provided for the first half of this year points to a projected 15% rise in public spending to approximately US$ 347 billion, as per ECSSR. Oil prices are expected to remain high during the second half of the year, thus encouraging GCC countries to announce a set of measures to expand public spending plans.
The article above has been published as a part of Bank Audi`s MENA Weekly Monitor for Week 33 of 2011. It can be accessed via Internet at the following web address : http://www.banqueaudi.com
Image credit: ECSSR, http://www.ecssr.ac.ae/