A report by Orient Planet Research (OPR), the market research unit of the Orient Planet Group (OPG), said that the economies of the GCC countries would witness a significant growth of 14.51 percent this year.
The report entitled “GCC Countries Macroeconomic Indicators 2021”, was released in partnership with information and communications technology (ICT) expert and independent researcher Abdul Kader Al Kamli.
According to the report, nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of the six Gulf countries, which together constitute about 60 percent of the total Arab region’s GDP in 2020, was projected to see positive growth in 2021.
Referring to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) projections, the report noted an economic turnaround for the GCC -- estimating that the region’s 2021 nominal GDP would be worth $1.61 trillion from last year’s $1.41 trillion.
Nidal Abou Zaki, Managing Director of OPG, said: “GCC economies will experience growth this year, with the same trend carrying over until 2022. The continuous rollout of the member countries’ COVID-19 vaccine programs, coupled with their economic diversification and sustainability policies, will be fundamental to their fast recovery and resiliency."
"Additionally, expectations of sustained increase in global oil demand, improving consumer demand and gradual but steady resumption of key economic activities, including in the tourism and hospitality sectors, will fuel their overall positive growth.”
For his part, Al Kamli said: “The outlook on the region is upbeat as shown by the ‘GCC Countries Macroeconomic Indicators 2021.’ The significant growth projections mirror the global community’s strong confidence in its ability and seriousness to turn the impact of the pandemic around. Moreover, mega global events like Expo 2020 Dubai will bolster economic activities in the UAE, which will highly likely influence the overall region’s global standing in terms of economic performance despite the pandemic.”
Saudi Arabia is expected to register this year a high nominal GDP increase of 14.75 percent amounting to $805 billion from last year’s $701 billion.
The UAE is estimated to rise 13.33 percent, reaching $402 billion in 2021, up from the previous year’s $354 billion. The same upward projection has been made for Qatar (13.65%), Kuwait (17.60%), Oman (17.29%), and Bahrain (10.62%).
