2021-10-14-牛津经济研究院-MENA_UAE_inflation_Israel_re-opening_Saudi_investment_4页_260kb

MENA Weekly Economic Briefing Summary - 14 Oct 2021

• UAE Inflation: Inflation turned positive in August 2021, rising to 0.6% year-over-year from a small decline in July 2021, primarily due to a 21.8% jump in entertainment and cultural services prices and a 1.2% increase in education costs. Expected average inflation for 2021 is -0.5%, rising to 1.1% in 2022.

• Israel Re-opening: Israel likely to reopen borders to vaccinated tourists in November 2021 after delaying due to the Delta variant, benefiting from the bilateral visa waiver with the UAE and Expo 2020 event. Tourism arrivals are recovering slowly, with a 128% year-on-year increase in September 2021 but still below pre-Covid levels.

• Saudi Arabia Investment Strategy: Kingdom launches National Investment Strategy to support Vision 2030, including SAR12 trillion investment from Shareek, Public Investment Fund, and National Investment Strategy, plus SAR10 trillion in planned government spending over the next decade, aimed at economic diversification and development.