Jordan's Draft 2021 Budget Projects 2.5% Growth

Jordan's economy is expected to shrink by 3 percent this year. (AFP)
Jordan's economy is expected to shrink by 3 percent this year. (AFP)
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Jordan's Draft 2021 Budget Projects 2.5% Growth

Jordan's economy is expected to shrink by 3 percent this year. (AFP)
Jordan's economy is expected to shrink by 3 percent this year. (AFP)

Jordan's draft 2021 budget forecasts JOD9.9 billion (USD14 billion) in state expenditure and economic growth of 2.5 percent after the COVID-19 pandemic caused the worst contraction in decades, the finance minister said on Monday.

Mohamad Al Ississ told Reuters the cabinet had approved a budget that would accelerate IMF-backed reforms to help the kingdom restore fiscal prudence for a sustained recovery.

He said the budget would continue major fiscal reforms, including continuing an aggressive tax evasion campaign that has netted this year hundreds of millions of dinars for the country's strained state finances.

"Despite the unprecedented challenges, fiscal stability remains our priority," he said.

Ississ said the government would not resort to new taxes but a commitment to raise public sector pay that was postponed this year would push state spending, the bulk consumed by salaries and pensions.

Jordan's economy is expected to shrink by 3 percent this year, an improvement from an earlier 5.5 percent, the sharpest contraction in two decades. Before the pandemic struck, the IMF had estimated economic growth of 2 percent.

The government has given priority to cushioning the pandemic's impact on the poor by expanding a social safety net that has provided support to at least 2.5 million people, more than a third of the country's citizens, Ississ said.

It will help to ease the pain of the pandemic that has pushed unemployment to a record 23 percent, he added.

Although the kingdom has been more dependent than other regional economies on hard-hit sectors such as tourism and remittances, its commitment to an IMF-backed USD1.3 billion four-year program has helped to maintain external financing from major Western donors.

Jordan's commitment to IMF reforms and investor confidence in the country's improved outlook helped it to maintain stable sovereign ratings at a time when other emerging markets were being downgraded, the minister added.

Last week, Moody's affirmed Jordan's B1 credit rating, citing expenditure control and improved tax compliance. That followed a B+/B rating from Standard and Poor’s in September.



Qatar’s Budget Registers Deficit in Q1, First Since 2020

A view of Qatar’s capital, Doha. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A view of Qatar’s capital, Doha. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Qatar’s Budget Registers Deficit in Q1, First Since 2020

A view of Qatar’s capital, Doha. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A view of Qatar’s capital, Doha. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Qatar, the world's second-largest LNG exporter, recorded on Tuesday a budget deficit of 529 million riyals ($145.3 million) in the first quarter of 2025, marking the country’s first deficit since 2020.

Qatar achieved a budget surplus of 2 billion riyals ($548.9 million) in the first quarter of 2024 and a surplus of 930 million riyals ($255 million) in the fourth quarter of 2024.

In a statement on the X platform, the Finance Ministry said the deficit was covered through debt instruments.

Qatar expected a budget deficit of 13.2 billion riyals for 2025, while the total expected revenues for the 2025 fiscal year budget was estimated at 197 billion riyals with an average oil price of $60 per barrel.

“Total revenue in the quarter stood at 49.4 billion riyals ($13.57 billion), down 7.5% from the same quarter last year,” the Ministry said on Tuesday, noting that these revenues comprised 42.5 billion riyals in oil and gas revenues and 6.9 billion riyals in non-oil revenues.

The Ministry statement further noted that total public expenditure during the first quarter of 2025 amounted to roughly 49.9 billion riyals, registering a 2.8% decline compared to the first quarter of 2024.

The expenditure was allocated as follows: 16.9 billion riyals for salaries and wages, 18.5 billion riyals for current expenditures, 13.1 billion riyals for major capital expenditures, and 1.2 billion riyals for minor capital expenditures.

The statement highlighted that the total value of government procurement contracts executed through tenders and auctions by public entities during the first quarter of 2025 amounted to approximately 6.4 billion riyals.

Contracts awarded to foreign companies totaled around 1.5 billion riyals, marking a 50% increase compared to the first quarter of 2024.

Overall, the Ministry stated that the top four sectors according to the Business Activity Index during the first quarter of 2025 were municipality and environment, health, energy, and the General Secretariat of the government.