Gulf's mid-year surpluses put allocation in question
Flushed with cash from a post-pandemic oil boom, Gulf states once again face a choice: lifting up their citizenries’ short-term contentment or fiscal restructuring and investing in long-term productive assets.
Gulf states are floating on air from the good news of 2022. Money flows upward on the back of inflated energy prices, wire-transferring wealth from inflation-hit countries to oil-exporting nations. Middle Eastern energy exporters will reap up $1.3 trillion in additional revenues over the next four years, the IMF forecasted.
Saudi Arabia is poised to become one of the world’s fastest-growing economies in 2022. Its gross domestic product increased 12.2% in the second quarter as state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco unveiled a record profit of $48.4 billion. LNG heavyweight Qatar posted a 12-fold jump in surplus for the first half. The same goes for Gulf's weakest economies: Bahrain posted a $88 million mid-year surplus, and Oman expects its first yearly surplus in a decade.
