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Tunisia Discusses Reform Program With IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) (Reuters)
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) (Reuters)
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Tunisia Discusses Reform Program With IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) (Reuters)
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) (Reuters)

The Tunisian government asserted its commitment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to develop a program of economic reforms.

The program comes in line with the government's vision of cooperating with the international financial structure, and financial capacity.

During his first virtual meeting with the IMF experts, Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi said that Tunisia is ready to implement a number of structural reforms.

“Tunisia is preparing to launch structural economic and social reforms, after having put in place the institutions and bodies that strengthen the democratic process.”

The Tunisian government is looking for a feasible way to finance the current year’s budget after its agreement with the IMF ended in 2020.

The agreement enabled Tunisia to obtain $2.9 billion used to finance the budget and run state affairs.

A number of Tunisian economic and financial experts expect it will be difficult for the government to fulfill its financial pledges and establish economic, social, and structural reforms.

Former Trade Minister Mohsen Hassan and economist Ezzeddine Saidane indicated that reforms implemented by the current and former government had negative impacts at the local level.

Prices of various commodities continued to increase, including fuel and medicine, as the Tunisian dinar devalued against foreign currencies, especially the euro and the dollar.

Meanwhile, the Tunisian parliament approved a $19.2 billion budget for 2021, a 1.8 percent increase compared to last year's budget.

The budget deficit was estimated at $2.9 billion, over seven percent of the GDP.

The record budget deficit questions the current government capabilities to overcome the deep financial gap, in light of a continuous economic recession and an increase in government expenditures, despite repeated warnings from the IMF.

The budget calculated the price of oil at $45 per barrel, as the Finance Ministry set a growth target of four percent by the end of 2021.

However, economists and financial experts believe the government will not be able to improve the growth index during the current year due to the lack of local resources and the negative indicators affecting the restructuring of the Tunisian economy.

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Business

IMF Welcomes Lebanon Bank Law Changes as 'Major Step' 

Lebanese Central Bank headquarters in Beirut (Reuters)
Lebanese Central Bank headquarters in Beirut (Reuters)
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IMF Welcomes Lebanon Bank Law Changes as 'Major Step' 

Lebanese Central Bank headquarters in Beirut (Reuters)
Lebanese Central Bank headquarters in Beirut (Reuters)

The International Monetary Fund has welcomed the Lebanese parliament's passing of amendments to a bank resolution law as a major step, but challenges to implementing the law could further delay recovery for an economy battered by years of financial collapse and the conflict with Israel.

The reforms are among the IMF's requirements for Lebanon to access funding to bring government debt out of default after decades of profligate spending by the country's ruling elite, sending the economy into a tailspin in late 2019. Banks imposed sweeping capital controls, locking depositors out of their savings, and stopped issuing loans.

In January the IMF had demanded changes to the draft rescue law, Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam told Reuters at the time.

Now, the bank resolution law aims to address vast funding shortfalls in the financial system and is among a set of measures that ultimately aim to fix the banking sector and allow depositors who have been frozen out of their savings to gradually recover their money.

“We met 99% of what they wanted,” legislator Alain Aoun, who sits on Parliament’s Finance and Budget Committee, told Reuters.

The most notable amendments to the law include changes to the Central Bank’s governance procedures. The makeup of the Higher Banking Commission – a governing body within the Central Bank — will be altered, Aoun said. The amendments empower the body to “decide the fate of Lebanon’s banks,” and would determine if a bank requires restructuring or liquidation and any further steps to rehabilitate it.

Federico Lima, the IMF representative in Lebanon, said on Wednesday that the "effective implementation of this new bank resolution framework is critical."

"In addition, we are continuing discussions with the Lebanese authorities on the improvements needed to align the draft Financial Stabilization and Depositor Recovery (FSDR) law with international principles," he added.

In 2022, the government put losses from the financial crisis at about $70 billion, a figure that analysts and economists forecast is now likely to be higher.

Last week, the parliament passed amendments to the law, but it would still be pending approval by the Lebanese president.

The possibility of members challenging the law before the Constitutional Council — which has precedent for annulling provisions of earlier financial legislation — could also bring further delays.

The draft had already undergone several rewrites because of competing demands from different financial institutions; the IMF called on Lebanon to improve the law to bring it in line with international standards and consider tax reforms to spark public spending on reconstruction efforts.

The World Bank ranks the Lebanese economic crisis among the worst globally since the mid-19th century. Depositors were frozen out of dollar accounts and the Lebanese pound fell by more than 90%. Additionally, the war with Israel was estimated to have caused $7 billion in damages.

"This is the only country in the world that has had a banking crises for seven years and has not tried to find a solution," a senior Lebanese official told Reuters. "Staying where we are shouldn't be an option."

Business

Saudi Air Connectivity Program, Saudia Boost Operational Capacity to China and the US

The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
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Saudi Air Connectivity Program, Saudia Boost Operational Capacity to China and the US

The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat

Saudi Air Connectivity Program (ACP), in collaboration with Saudia, has announced an increase in seat capacity across several international routes in 2026.

The new step reflects ongoing efforts to strengthen the Kingdom’s air connectivity with global markets, keep pace with growing travel demand, facilitate access to Saudi Arabia, and provide travelers with broader and more flexible travel options.

Direct routes between Saudi Arabia and China have seen increased seat capacity.

An additional weekly flight has been added to the Guangzhou-Jeddah (CAN-JED) route, bringing the total to four weekly flights and providing more than 124,000 seats annually in both directions.

An additional weekly flight has also been added to the Beijing Daxing-Riyadh (PKX-RUH) route, bringing the total to three weekly flights, with annual capacity exceeding 93,000 seats in both directions.

In addition, direct connectivity between Saudi Arabia and the United States has been enhanced with three additional weekly flights on the New York-Jeddah (JFK-JED) route, bringing the total to seven weekly flights and providing more than 211,000 seats annually in both directions.

These efforts build on the ongoing collaboration between the Air Connectivity Program and Saudi national carriers to expand the international destination network and strengthen the Kingdom’s connectivity with priority markets.

They also aim to meet growing travel demand, increase seat capacity, provide travelers with more diverse and flexible options, and facilitate the arrival of more international visitors to the Kingdom.

These efforts contribute to achieving the objectives of the National Tourism Strategy and the Aviation Sector Strategy, in alignment with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.

The Air Connectivity Program aims to support the growth of Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector by strengthening air connectivity with global markets, developing existing air routes, and launching new international destinations.

These efforts contribute to the Kingdom’s target of connecting to 250 international destinations by 2030.

The program serves as an executive enabler of the National Tourism Strategy and the Aviation Program by building partnerships with government and private-sector entities across the tourism and aviation ecosystems, strengthening Saudi Arabia’s position as a leading global tourism destination.

Business

Gold Retreats after Scaling over 2-month Peak on US Treasury Move

AFP_A photo shows gold bangles and necklaces for sale at a gold shop at the Grand Baazar in Istanbul
AFP_A photo shows gold bangles and necklaces for sale at a gold shop at the Grand Baazar in Istanbul
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Gold Retreats after Scaling over 2-month Peak on US Treasury Move

AFP_A photo shows gold bangles and necklaces for sale at a gold shop at the Grand Baazar in Istanbul
AFP_A photo shows gold bangles and necklaces for sale at a gold shop at the Grand Baazar in Istanbul

Gold fell on Thursday as investors booked profits after prices climbed to a more than two-month peak on a surprise US Treasury liquidity-support announcement for long-duration bonds, which weakened the dollar and lowered Treasury yields.

Spot gold was down 0.7% to $4,488.19 per ounce by 0750 GMT. Earlier, bullion was at $4,525.79, its highest since June 2, after a more than 4% advance on Wednesday.

US gold ‌futures were little ‌changed at $4,546.30. The US Treasury Department said ‌it ⁠would double the ⁠size of liquidity support buyback operations for longer-dated notes and bonds. That came after a major bond selloff as investors demanded higher returns on the back of increased inflationary risks stemming from the US-Israeli war on Iran.

The US dollar was hovering near three-month lows.

"There was obviously a huge rally (in gold), and ⁠there's going to be a degree of digestion ‌in markets after a big ‌move like that," said Ilya Spivak, head of global macro at Tastylive.

"The $4,400 ‌to $4,500 price range has been cleared. If prices hold above ‌this range, the upward momentum is likely to continue." Meanwhile, total US debt outstanding topped $40 trillion for the first time, drawing fresh warnings of fiscal crisis.

"Increasing concern about the financial stability of the market with ‌borrowing and debt and the inability to cut spending on the fiscal side is very ⁠bullish for ⁠gold," said Edward Meir, Marex analyst. Concerns over inflation deepened at the Federal Reserve's meeting last month, with "several" policymakers ready to raise interest rates, minutes of the session showed on Wednesday.

Traders are currently pricing in a 69% chance of a Fed hold and a 31% chance of a rate hike in September, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

While gold is typically seen as a hedge against inflation, higher interest rates tend to diminish non-yielding bullion's appeal.

Among other metals, spot silver fell 0.5% to $66.60 per ounce, platinum dropped 1.6% to $1,794.91, and palladium slid 0.5% to $1,325.94.